How to Create a Footer in WordPress and What to Add To It

Along with the header and sidebar, the footer plays a very important role in the architecture of a WordPress (not just WordPress) website. It is one of the essential elements of a page and therefore should be designed and created with great care. In premium WordPress themes, the footer already comes with its own structure, but you don’t have to stick to it in any way.

In this article, you will learn exactly what is a footer, how to make it and what to include in it.

what is footer

Footer in web design is often bottom of a web page. Most websites have it and usually include some important information such as links to the following. About us pages, copyright notices, privacy policy, FAQ, support links, community and social linksand such that.

As web users, we are used to finding this type of information in the footer. Let’s say when we need to find a business’s email address or opening hours, we will instinctively scroll down to the bottom of the page.

If a website is using a WordPress theme, the footer area is most likely footer.php file. Depending on the theme, it can also be a footer area. with widget – this means it contains multiple columns where you can add the widgets of your choice.

In addition to widgets, sometimes we may need to add code to your WordPress footer. Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Google Search Console etc. This may be the case when integrating certain monitoring and analytics services, such as

How to Create a Footer

As we said before, footer is usually something predefined in your theme. But that doesn’t mean you can’t customize it or more specifically edit its content. After all, this is your website and it should be up to you to decide what you want to put in your footer. And you don’t even need any special tools or CSS skills to do it.

Content is placed in footer using widgets so this is where you should go to add and edit footer content.

1. Login to your WordPress Dashboard, navigate to: Appearance and click on widgets.

2. Here you will see all the widgets available for the theme you are using.

3. Widgets will be listed on the left side of the screen, while existing footer widget areas (in this case, Footer 1 and Footer 2, etc.) will be displayed on the right.

Note that this may vary from theme to theme. Some themes have multiple footers, some have only one. Some templates even come with a header and a footer.

4. To add a widget to your footer drag and drop. Widgets can be rearranged within a footer, again using drag and drop. Change the settings for each widget and click on it. Completed.

And that’s all. Check your live page to see if the footer appears correctly. If you change your mind about one of the widgets in the footer, you can easily get rid of it by clicking Delete at the bottom of the widget.

Another way to add widgets to the footer of your WordPress site is to go to: Appearance and clicking on Customize.

From there, choose widgets. Click the footer and then (+) Add a Widget.

When you’re done, hit Publishand that’s it.

What Should You Add to Your Footer?

The footer usually stays the same throughout the WordPress site regardless of the page. This means that the content in the footer should be relevant to the entire website, not just a specific page. Informative and/or navigational content in its nature is often the best choice. There are also certain types of content traditionally found in the footer, such as “rights reserved” and rightsholder information.

Here are some of the things you might want to add to your WordPress footer:

Contact information

As we said earlier, visitors tend to intuitively scroll to the bottom of the page to find their contact information. Include your email, phone number and physical address and hours of operation.

interactive map

The map represents another useful piece of information your visitors can search for. Adding an interactive map to your footer lets them see your location right away without having to enter your address into Google maps or any other service.

About Us, Logo and Mission

Navigation Links

To improve the user experience, which is always beneficial on many levels, you need to ensure that your visitors get to the pages they need quickly and effortlessly. Proper site navigation is crucial here and this includes adding navigation links to the footer.

Exactly which links you decide to place in the footer will depend on the nature of your website. Blog owners may want to include links to their most popular posts or other content they want to feature. Online stores often put on the latest products or popular product categories.

call to action

CTA buttons are used to direct visitors to take a specific action that leads to your destination. They are often placed in more than one place on a website, including the footer. Again, the button itself will be tied to your website: Buy Now button, email or newsletter subscription button, donate button, etc. it could be.

Social Icons

Another thing visitors are used to finding in the footer is quick links to your social media pages and profiles. These are great tools for building a base of followers and expanding your reach. The footer is definitely a better place for them than the header (where many people place it) because if your visitors go to your social pages right away, they may not return to your site.

You can also consider using social media widgets for this purpose. They are more complex than simple social icons and can give your footer a nice touch.

final thoughts

The footer is a very important part of any website and should not be neglected. Often times, people don’t give it the attention it deserves, but now that you know how to add and edit your footer, you can be sure it’s getting the proper credit.

Keep a few things in mind though: make sure you don’t put too much content in your footer. Clutter is never a good thing and you want to keep everything as clean and clear as possible. Also, consider adding headers to the columns in your footer for better user experience and easier navigation.