Website Footers: Best Design Practices & 24 Top Examples

Anna Fitzgerald
Anna Fitzgerald

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As a writer, I’m always looking for ways to share my stories with new audiences. So, when I find a publication that matches my interests, I want to see how I can contribute. However, on most blogs and news sites, the navigation bar is for the readers — telling them what stories they can find where.

website footer examples and website footer design

To learn how I can share my thoughts, I scroll all the way to the bottom of the page. The website footer usually has this information near the About and Career pages.

Think of a footer as a safety net for users who haven’t been able to find the information they’re looking for in other sections of your site. By providing helpful links, you can prevent some visitors from leaving your site to never return.

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In this post, we’ll explain what a page footer is and why it’s important to the user experience. Then, we’ll go over what to put in a footer and conclude with some of the most creative examples to inspire you.

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You might be thinking there's no point in putting effort into the page footer. Do people even pay attention to content below the fold?

The last major study, performed by Nielsen Norman Group in 2018, found that they do. According to Nielsen, only 57% of the page-viewing time was spent above the fold. However, the study found time spent above the fold is decreasing as screens get larger, designers favor minimalism, and scrolling becomes normalized in general.

So footers matter. They serve navigational and informational purposes for your audience. You need to optimize this real estate despite it being so far down the page. You'll even notice that Nielsen Norman Group saw an uptick in user attention at the very bottom of sites.

percentage of viewing time data from Nielsen

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This is an indication that users know that the page footers include valuable information. They won’t overlook it — particularly when they are looking for something specific.

Now, let’s take a closer look at what information belongs in this section of a web page.

Not every website footer is exactly the same. They vary widely based on the websites’ different purposes. That’s why there’s no precise recipe for a website footer. There are some standard ingredients. But, what exactly you put in, the amount, the order — it’s up to you.

Here are some of the common links found on most websites. When crafting your footer, you’ll want to include these elements.

Copyright Notice

Arguably, the most important element of a website footer is the copyright notice. In a legal article on Nolo, Stephen Fishman, J.D. writes that a copyright notice is “a written notice stating that a particular work is protected by copyright and that you own that copyright.”

The purpose is simple: to deter anyone from copying an image, animation, paragraph, or otherwise trying to steal content from your website.

All that’s needed is the copyright symbol © (or the words “Copyright” or "Copr.”), the year of the website’s publication or most recent substantial update, and the name of the copyright owner.

The copyright notice only has to appear once on your website’s homepage, but it can appear on as many pages as you want. While this symbol can be placed anywhere on the homepage, it’s most often found in the footer.

Here’s an example from HubSpot’s blog homepage.

website footer, hubspot

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Privacy Policy Link

If you’re collecting personal data from users, like their email addresses or payment information, then Privacy Policy agreements are mandatory by law. For this reason, it’s essential to draft a legally compliant Privacy Policy and ensure this policy is easy to access on your website.

A best practice is to put a link to your Privacy Policy in your website footer. Not only will this satisfy the legal requirement, but it will also meet most consumers’ expectations, as they expect to find this information in the footer.

Some companies like Conde Nast will choose to include an excerpt of their Privacy Policy, in addition to a link. Here’s an example from The New Yorker.

website footer examples

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Sitemap

You can add a sitemap to your page footer in two ways. You can provide multiple links to sections of your website, or you can provide a single link to your XML sitemap.

The first approach is known as creating a “sitemap footer.” These footers contain navigation points that can’t neatly fit into the top-level or global navigation bars of the larger site. There may also be navigation points that encourage visitors to browse the site.

The sitemap footer on Grace Eleyae, for example, includes navigation links that visitors might not have considered when first entering the site but would like to explore.

website footer examples

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The second approach to including a sitemap is designed with search engine bots in mind.

One of the most important things a search engine bot will be looking for is a link to your XML Sitemap. Your sitemap is a file that contains URLs and information of the pages and media files you consider most important on your site.

According to Google, search engines use this file to better crawl websites, particularly large and content-rich sites. That’s why providing a link to this file in your footer is considered a best practice for SEO.

Logo

Page footers are a great place to reinforce your brand identity. There are a few approaches you can take. You can include your logo, but present it in a different way than in your header.

Maybe you increase the font size. Maybe you include an image. Maybe you include a mission statement or your brand values below the logo. These are just a few ways you can remind visitors what your company stands for and make a memorable last impression.

Bequant, for example, adds its mission statement right below its logo in the footer. It reads: “Pioneering network optimization that improves speed, reduces latency and congestion – along with full visibility.” That way, a reader would have an idea of what the company did, even if they didn’t read the About page.

website footer examples

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Contact Information

You want potential leads to be able to get in contact with you as easily as possible. For that reason, website footers will often contain contact details like a business email, phone number, or mailing address. Or it might simply include a link that brings you to a contact form.

The luxury boutique hotel Bellevue Syrene dedicates one part of its website footer grid to its contact information. To ensure potential guests can contact the hotel in the way they want, the footer includes an address, phone number, fax number, and email address.

website footer examples

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Social Media Icons

Social media is another way that potential leads can get in touch with you. Including social profile links in your page footer is considered a best practice for this reason. It’s also an easy way to grow your following across your platforms.

Understanding these benefits, it makes sense that 72% of websites include icons for their social media websites in the footer.

Here’s a look at a display of animated social media icons on the Rewind App by Flatstudio.

add social media examples to your website footers

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Email Sign-up Form

Ideally, you want to present an email sign-up form to a visitor who understands the value of your content and wants more. A visitor who has scrolled to the bottom of your web page is a likely candidate. That’s why many websites use their footer as an opportunity to increase their subscribers.

For example, Chobani includes a simple email opt-in form in its footer. The tagline above — “Get the freshest Chobani news” — helps set the subscriber’s expectations on what exactly they’re signing up for.

website footer examples

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Now that we know what possible content and elements we can put in a website footer, let’s look at some real examples that might inspire you.

Types of Website Footer Design

What kinds of footers can you design for your website? There are quite a few options — we cover them next.

Fat Footer

footer design, fat footer

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A “fat footer” includes the grand majority of the website’s sitemap and usually categorizes links by a common theme or need. This is a good option for you if you have many pages that users could potentially be interested in.

In the above example, Asana includes links for its own company pages, product pages, solutions, and resources. It’s neat and easy to scan, which is what you want in a website footer. At the bottom are the quintessential links to the company’s terms and privacy pages, as well as its social profiles.

Narrow Footer

footer design, narrow footer

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A narrow footer contains the basic information your website visitors need and has a smaller footprint compared to “fat footers.” The main benefit of a narrow footer is that you can choose its focus because you don’t have to include all your website links. Bonus: It’s not as overwhelming to look at!

In the above example, a university targets in-person visitors by including links to its “Visit” page, campus map, news page, and events calendar. This is information someone would need if they were planning to explore its campus.

No Footer

footer design, no footer

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If your website is particularly artsy, or if you have a one-page website, you may not need a footer. (Although you should always include copyright information and terms of use, as in the above example.)

Forgoing the footer may conserve your website’s aesthetic, but having a footer is best for most brands and companies.

That said, even if you don’t have a footer, you could always maximize your copyright area by including social and email links, like the above example does.

Product Footer

footer design, product footer

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Businesses that sell a specific line of products (like SaaS companies) would benefit from a “Product” footer. Essentially, the first links users see are for the products and their features, like in HubSpot’s footer, pictured above. Company links and other pages are usually listed last in this type of footer, or sometimes not at all.

This example is particularly effective because it lists features first, which is what users are usually looking for when they’re searching for a product (i.e., they’re not searching for the product itself but for a benefit).

At the bottom is a row of social links in a cohesive light gray color — if you think you’re required to include the original icons, there’s no need. You can always edit the icons so they fit your brand’s color palette.

Legalese Footer

footer design, legalese

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A legalese footer contains pertinent legal information that website visitors should know when scrolling through your website. Apple’s footer is an emblematic example, with its paragraphs upon paragraphs of legal footnotes.

You can always create a legalese footer, even if it’s a simple line, such as “All views are my own.” This type of footer can be mixed in with other types, such as narrow or fat footers.

CTA Footer

footer design, cta footer

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CTA footers are a popular type of footer that includes either a contact form, an email form, or a prompt to call your team. This type of footer is highly effective for converting traffic that may be showing exit intent, which could be better (and less annoying) than an exit intent pop-up.

It’s also a great way to re-engage users when they get to the bottom of the page, removing a barrier to conversion.

Site Index Footer

footer design, site index footer

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Site index footers include all of the links on your website — a great option if your site is small. There’s no reason not to include all your links unless you have a particularly large URL library.

This type of footer is great for improving the user experience and ensuring visitors find what they’re looking for if they can’t find it using your top navigation menu.

Now that we know what possible content and elements we can put in a website footer, as well as the types of footers you can create, let’s look at some real examples that might inspire you.

Best Website Footer Examples

As discussed above, there’s no “right” way to create a website footer as long as it reflects your unique brand identity and is tailored toward your audience. Let’s check out a few examples that do exactly that.

1. Lorelei Londres

website footer examples, Lorelei Londres

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Lorelei Londres is a luxury hotel in Italy that strives to provide hospitality and charm. Its footer succeeds in both aspects.

Anticipating any question from a site visitor or guest, there’s contact information on the left, navigation links at the center, and a newsletter opt-in form to the right. On the right, there’s also the privacy policy link as well as the submit form directly in the footer.

Below, there’s another link to the privacy policy, cookie policy, and the agency that created the website, as well as the copyright notice.

All of this is placed against a background image depicting someone in a pool on a balcony overlooking a beach. The result is a footer that’s standard but perfectly aligned with the brand.

2. Superfluid

website footer examples; Superfluid

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Superfluid is a vegan beauty brand designed for anyone to use. Like Superfluid’s mission, its footer is basic but also redefines what basic means.

Superfluid’s footer contains the information you expect — a well-organized menu of help articles, legal info, and social media accounts to follow, an email sign-up form, logo, and copyright info — but not in the way you might expect it.

The logo is enormous compared to the other text in the footer. Beneath the footer, you see icons representing its value propositions — cruelty-free, vegan, easy to use, no mineral oils. Below that is a traditional copyright notice as well as the accepted payment methods.

In short, this footer provides important information to address any questions that either potential or existing customers might have in a bold but clean way.

3. Spline Group

website footer examples; Spline Group

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Spline Group is a mechanical and electrical engineering firm that values effective communication and simplicity.

This is clear in its footer. A minimalist design, the footer features black text on a white background. There’s an address and links to its Instagram, LinkedIn, and Careers page. Below that is much larger text. But unlike Superfluid, it’s not Spline’s logo or brand name. Instead, it’s a contact link with the simple but inviting CTA: “Let’s talk.”

4. Art4web

website footer examples; Art4web

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Art4web is a creative digital and branding studio committed to making unique websites, mobile apps, and brand designs. Its own footer section is an example of unique design. Rather than offering one touchpoint to potential customers like Spline Group, Art4web offers three.

Potential customers can email them, fill out a form to get a quote for their project or give them a call. Or they can opt to connect on any of the social media platforms represented by the icons below.

5. gOOOders

website footer examples; gOOOders

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gOOOders is an online platform and series of hotel boutiques that sell ethical and sustainable products. Its mission is to help people make better choices in the products they buy and the way they travel.

Since gOOOders is a brand focused on action, it makes sense that the footer is so action-oriented. Most of the footer section is dedicated to the email sign-up form. The form’s background is colorful and animated, so your eyes are drawn to that section.

Below is a simple white row containing a copyright notice, contact link, links to gOOOders’ cookie policy and terms and conditions, and social media icons. This is a great model for websites that want to optimize their footer for conversions.

6. Ajeeb

website footer examples; Ajeeb

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Pranjal Kaila, also known as Ajeeb, is an independent interdisciplinary designer. According to his bio, one of his specialties is “creating interactive spatial and sensory experiences.” This is clear in every part of his website, including his footer.

His footer contains basic information — links to his sketchbook and work, contact information, social media icons, copyright notice, and link to his privacy policy — but their presentation is unique.

Against the black background, the white typography looks like constellations. The cursor acts like a spotlight. When hovering over any of the links, the font becomes bold and blue.

7. Hideout Space

website footer examples; Hideout Space

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Hideout Space is a unique place for small startups and teams to gather to work and explore the surrounding area of Garmisch-Partenkirchen through hiking, swimming, and other experiences. Its website is designed to immerse visitors so they feel ready to book a trip, especially by the time they scroll to the footer.

The page footer contains a simple CTA to “Book Now.” Despite its simplicity, several design choices help draw the visitor's attention to this CTA. First, as the user scrolls to the footer, pieces of the Hideout Space logo slide in from the top and assemble right above the CTA button.

The button is also centered and the same color as the cursor, which helps to draw the eye. Finally, it has a larger font size than the links, contact information, and social media links at the bottom, which helps to establish a visual hierarchy.

8. HUGE

website footer examples; HUGE

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HUGE is a full-service digital agency that has worked with some of the world's most innovative companies to create ground-breaking brands and experiences.

This mission is reflected in its own website and footer design. As the user scrolls to the website footer, they‘re greeted with a "Hello" in bold typography. The background color also changes from black to green, which helps to recapture the visitor’s attention.

On the right side of the page, visitors can find helpful links and contact information for different inquiries. On the left, there is the logo and tagline of the agency: “Make huge moves.” This helps remind visitors what the agency stands for and makes a lasting impression.

9. Tenzo

website footer examples; Tenzo

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With a mission to provide a clean caffeine beverage alternative to coffee, Tenzo sells matcha tea in an affordable, accessible way.

The homepage features multiple CTAs to try today with a money-back guarantee to make prospects more confident in their purchase. Its footer offers another incentive: a 10% discount if they enter their email.

Visitors who want to stay connected without providing their email can follow Tenzo on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. The footer also contains important links for visitors who are looking for different ways to purchase Tenzo's products or want to learn more about matcha or the company.

Thanks to all these elements, the website footer effectively targets top and middle-of-the-funnel customers.

10. Envoy

website footer examples; Envoy

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Envoy is a brand and digital innovation firm that aims to create transformative brands and digital experiences. Its website is a great example of a transformative digital experience.

Its footer is particularly unique. It has a clean, three-column layout to display its three office locations. Below are three ways to get in touch depending on whether the visitor is interested in working with the firm, making a general inquiry, or applying for a job.

Finally, there is a copyright notice, links to the firm‘s Instagram and LinkedIn pages, and links to its privacy policy and terms and conditions, which are all aligned in their own columns. This simple, black-and-white design perfectly aligns with Envoy’s branding and is a stark difference from the colorful, animated featured work section above.

11. Aisle

website footer examples; Aisle

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Aisle is an ecommerce business that provides reusable alternatives to disposable pads and tampons. Top to bottom, its website is designed to inform and inspire customers to purchase its ethically-made sustainable products.

Aisle's footer is framed by its tagline, “Period proud,” in large, bold font, which helps to draw the eye, as does the background color. The way the tagline is laid out, with “period” in the left corner and “proud” in the right, ensures that visitors see the many helpful links included in the footer.

Finally, the email opt-in form stands out thanks to the orange background color and yellow shapes, as well as the free shipping offer.

12. Will Ventures

website footer examples; Will Ventures

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Will Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that mostly works with consumer, health, and media startups.

Its black-and-white website helps present the user with clear options and prevents information overload. For example, if a user scrolls to the footer, they only have a few options: they can sign up for Will Ventures' newsletter, follow the firm on Twitter or LinkedIn, or check out the site credits.

If these were the only elements in the footer, it might seem bland. But, the text “WILL” is animated to move up and down the page to keep users engaged.

13. Tāmras Gin

website footer examples; Tamras Gin

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Tāmras Gin is meant to invoke the lush paddy fields, backwaters, and rustic charm of the village of Colvale in Goa. Its website footer also aims to invoke these images.

It features hand-drawn animations of people drinking and relaxing beneath trees, which represents the botanicals and citrus fruit used in the gin.

These animations also serve another purpose: to frame the logo, email opt-in form, and other standard elements of a footer like the Instagram social icon. This helps to reinforce Tāmras Gin's brand and encourage visitors to take action, either by opting into the email list or following the brand on social.

14. Callista

website footer examples; Callista

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Callista is a new luxury apartment development in Rose Bay. Its website is designed to provide a virtual tour of these apartments.

Its footer, for example, contains images of the front and back of the apartments. It also features a navigation menu with the inviting question, “Where to?” Visitors can choose to click on certain navigation links to see the outside and interior of the development, its location, or a video tour.

The footer also contains a “Back to top” button, which encourages visitors to keep browsing.

15. Lemkus

website footer examples; Lemkus

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Lemkus is a leading retailer of sporting apparel and branded sneakers in South Africa. Its website design is designed to be as unique as its product designs.

Its footer on the homepage is a great example. Most of the page has a white background with black text color and yellow accent color, but its footer has yellow as its background color.

Its logo is huge, spanning the entire footer, which makes it more likely that visitors will remember the brand name even after they've left the site. The email opt-in form also stands out thanks to the bold, black font inviting visitors to join the community. The other text is understated but not easy to overlook, thanks to hover animations.

16. Avexwebsite footer examples; Avex

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Located in New York City, Avex uses the Shopify platform to create attractive and effective online stores for lifestyle brands. As a full-service agency, the company uses its footers to show off the full scope of its offerings. You can learn about the work they have done and their services.

Beyond that, the footer highlights helpful information related to thought leadership. Visitors can easily learn how to elevate their businesses through Avex’s Insights or Podcast pages. Careers, another point of visitor interest, is also clearly marked.

17. The Financial Diet

website footer examples; tfd

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The Financial Diet, a personal finance website, takes a minimalist approach to its footer — demonstrating the value of simplicity. Instead of overwhelming visitors with more information than needed, they stick to the important essentials.

Copyright, contact forms, and privacy terms are all standard stakes. What we really love? The Affiliate disclosure section. Here, The Financial Diet is transparent about its involvement in Amazon’s affiliate program. We love this clear disclosure and wish other sites using affiliate links were more upfront about their participation.

Additionally, the site offers its RSS feed for those who want to add the site to their typical news and reading rotation.

18. So.whatwebsite footer examples; So What

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So.what is a clothing brand dedicated to sustainability rather than seasonal trends. If you scroll down to the site’s footer, it's clear what action you should take next. Subscribing to the newsletter is prominent on the page before any of the other links.

We also love the size chart available on the page. Here, people can see what size they’ll be in the brand’s clothing. You can make informed purchases, helping to ensure satisfaction.

19. Nixie

website footer examples; Nixie

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Nixie stands as the most delightful zero-calorie, zero-sweetener beverage available today. The site’s website is colorful and friendly. It bubbles with personality! Nixie’s footer takes the time to call out Manufactur, the creative agency that helped build its online experience. We appreciate the kudos.

Beyond that, Nixie prominently features links to its social media pages. This gives visitors the ability to see the brand in the wild. That includes mocktail recipes, pairing ideas, and where people can find Nixie in stores.

20. CALECIM

website footer examples; Calecim

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CALECIM is a pioneer in stem cell skin regeneration science. The site’s footer is easy to navigate. There are four columns, each with an icon and heading that groups pages together. You can easily see the products available to buy, information about how they were made, and support if you have any questions.

Beyond that, the footer offers another place for users to log in to their accounts. If a member has already scrolled 75% down the page, they can easily log in via the footer, instead of navigating all the way up to the top.

21. Rejouice

website footer examples; Rejouice

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Rejouice is a digital marketing agency based in San Diego and Paris with a beautiful website and an even more beautiful footer. What makes its footer so unique? Well, it’s not just a footer — it actually takes up the entirety of the screen when users scroll down to the bottom. I’ve never encountered that, but it sure makes for an impactful experience.

It includes everything a footer needs, from a site map to a logo to a link to its legal documentation. What I like the most is the unique CTA, which tells visitors to relax and take a seat. The user then arrives at the contact page, where they can reach out to the Rejouice team.

22. Unveil

website footer examples; Unveil

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The first thing I noticed about Unveil’s footer was its mission statement, placed front and center. That’s a great way to remind website visitors what your company is about and drive home your mission before users leave your site.

But what I like the most is that it’s a minimalist footer without much fuss or over-designing. The website owner wanted to keep the interest in the platform’s curated photography, so he or she kept the footer simple. That’s a great move if you’re creating a footer for a highly visual website.

23. Olivier Tardie

website footer examples; Olivier Tardie

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Web developer Olivier Tardie pulls out all the stops in this fun and imaginative footer, which takes up the entire screen after you scroll down. It includes a meta note about the footer: “This is the end of the page, but the beginning of our journey.” That’s a great way to summarize the utility of this section.

A paper airplane flies around the screen, signaling that visitors should send a message to him for a work opportunity.

The bottom CTA is clear and unmissable: “We should talk.” Serious, but reflective of his tone and personality! When you click on it, a pop-up slides onto the screen with a contact form. Everything about this footer is delightful.

24. Sycom

website footer examples; Sycom

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IT service provider Sycom implements a similar tactic to Olivier Tardie, where they include a CTA to contact them. I like the large, unmissable text, the descriptive subtitle (“Let's discuss your project together. We will be happy to help you”), and the circular “Contact Us” button that’s easy to click with your thumb on a mobile device.

This footer is quite minimal — it doesn’t include any site links, and you can barely identify the legal links at the bottom. That’s a great tactic to implement if you’d like the focus to stay on your CTA and if your website is small enough to not need a footer sitemap.

Designing Your Website Footer

Designing your website footer requires careful planning. It’s a section where humans and search engine bots look for important information that they haven’t found elsewhere. You want to make sure you’re providing them with the content and elements they need so they continue to explore your site, rather than exit out in frustration.

If you’re looking for more inspiration, check out these website footer templates.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in September 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Topics: Website Design

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