What are Footers in Web Design?

Web designers are often underappreciated for the work they do, given they are the ones who put footers on the bottom of websites where they play an integral part in improving user experience and assisting with website navigation. In this article, we will discuss about Footers, their types, uses, and benefits.

Footers in UI Design

What are Footers?

The footers function as the closing parts of web pages and include a variety of useful resources and information, as users wrap up their browsing sessions. From contact information to the important links for the supplementary content, the footer is all that the website offers and provides the user with many resources to be able to explore further in the site. Though their unobtrusive nature, footers represent a very important part of web design, being essential to a smooth & coherent flow for users.

Types of Footers

1. Standard Footer:

A standard footer is a basic type, which often contains key elements for example copyright information, links to legal pages (e.g. about us, contact, privacy policy), and social media icons for sharing purposes easily. It works like a home page providing vital information and as a secondary route of navigation for the user to reach vital sections of the website.

2. Extended Footer:

An extended footer adds to the uniform style by containing sections and functionalities such as others. Features in a standard footer include the basic elements, but an entire footer may include recent blog posts, newsletter signup forms, featured products or services, customer testimonials, and site-wide search bars among other things. Such type of footer is familiar most with the huge websites or the e-commerce sites that have a lot of the content.

3. Minimalist Footer:

A footer with a minimalist look uses only the most important finely selected elements to reflect a clean and mere design. The footers which are of minimalist will always include copyright details, a back to the top button, and possibly a small contact form. That is why this simple design is often used where the main thing is simplicity and clarity.

Uses of Footers

Footers fulfill several critical functions in web design:

1. Navigation:

Footers just like other tabs and navigation tools that serve as a supplementary option for the user to move around in the website. They provide links to other parts of the website that may not be included in the main navigation menu in order to give clear access to such pages as the legal disclaimer, sitemap, accessibility statement, etc.

2. Information Accessibility:

Footers may serve as repositories for important information, such as contact information, hours of operation, physical address addresses, links to social media platforms and privacy policies. Thus, the footer provides a convenient location for such information upon which web designers can constantly have it available to the users without causing distractions to the main content area.

3. Brand Reinforcement:

Footers have a great role which is to reiterate the brand identity by comprising of features that include website’s logo, color scheme and typography. Brand consistency delivered through the whole footter gives the feel of a coherent visual effect and earns brand recognition between users.

Benefits of Footers

Footers offer a myriad of benefits for both website owners and users:

1. Enhanced User Experience:

Well made footers play a part in delivering favorable user experience when users get additional navigation options and needed info right at fingertips. They help customers find what they want fast and easy enabling the user website experience to be better.

2. Improved Website Accessibility:

The footers of the websites are key to the improvement of website accessibility as they provide links to necessary pages including the sitemap, the privacy policy, and the accessibility statement. The reason for designers to add these resources into the footer is to make them easily accessible by any user irrespective of the path they choose to navigate the website.

3. Increased Engagement:

Footers can also be implemented to promote user engagement as they can incorporate elements like newsletter sign-up forms, social feeds, and related content sections. Users can be motivated to explore more and interact with the site by footers, thereby enabling the increase in engagement as well as conversion.

Examples

• Standard Footer Example: A standard footer usually features copyright information, hyperlinks to the important pages (e.g. About Us, Contact, Privacy Policy) and social networking media icons. As an example, an electronic magazine may be comprised of hyperlinks to different areas (e.g., News, Features, Lifestyle) and communicate buttons for sharing articles.
• Extended Footer Example: The longer footer that can have other sections besides the first one like the most recent blog posts, highlights of the products or services, customer testimonials, and newsletter form. Consider, that an e-commerce site may demonstrate top-selling products, provide customer reviews and ask their users to subscribe for the newsletter to get the intriguing offers only.
• Minimalist Footer Example: In a minimalist footer the only items that may be included are copyright information, an up-back button, and a short form to fill out. It is adopted often on sites that have a few goals, and it is all about the simplest and minimalistic design.

Conclusion

In conclusion, footers are an inseparable element of web design that ensure the level of user experience, provide navigation facility and brand identity is strengthened. Whether an ordinary footer is used for site info and navigation links, an extended one as a toolbar featuring additional web site perks and features, or a simple type designed to be as clear and concise as possible, each has a specific role in user’s journey on the web site. Using footers well, web designers can obtain more lively websites that the visitors can use without hassle and that are filled with important information Consequently, footers are a perfect chance for the website owners to improve the user’s experience on their websites and eventually satisfy their needs in such a challenging environment like online market.