Your website‘s footer may be at the bottom of the page, but it‘s certainly not the least important element. In fact, 22% of users scroll all the way to the bottom of a webpage (Chartbeat). That means if your site gets 10,000 visitors a month, over 2,000 of them are likely seeing your footer content.
Far from being a throwaway space for a copyright notice, the footer is valuable real estate for engaging visitors, providing important information, and even boosting conversions. So the question is: are you making the most of it?
If your WordPress footer could use some love, you‘re in the right place. As a WordPress expert who has designed footers for over 100 client sites, I‘m going to walk you through four easy methods for customizing your WordPress footer:
- Using the Theme Customizer
- Editing footer widgets
- Modifying the footer.php file
- Using a page builder plugin
Whether you‘re a WordPress newbie or a seasoned pro, you‘re sure to find an approach that fits your skill level and goals. I‘ll provide detailed steps and real examples so you can follow along.
By the end of this guide, you‘ll be able to transform your lackluster footer into a powerful tool for engaging and converting visitors. Let‘s get started!
Before we dive into the how, let‘s talk about the why. Here are four key reasons you should prioritize customizing your WordPress footer:
Increase engagement: Use your footer to encourage visitors to connect with you on social media, sign up for your newsletter, or explore other content on your site. Engaged visitors are more likely to become customers or clients.
Boost credibility: Your footer is a great place to showcase awards, certifications, or memberships that boost your credibility. For eCommerce sites, including security badges and payment options in the footer can increase trust and drive more sales.
Improve navigation: Help visitors find important pages like your contact or about page by adding footer navigation menus. According to a study by the Nielsen Norman Group, visitors expect to find contact information, about pages, and site maps in the footer.
Drive conversions: Use clear calls-to-action in your footer to move visitors further down your sales funnel. Whether it‘s a button to start a free trial or a link to your booking page, optimizing your footer can directly impact your bottom line.
Now that you‘re convinced, let‘s look at how to actually customize that footer.
Method 1: Using the Theme Customizer
If you‘re not comfortable editing code, using the WordPress Theme Customizer is the easiest way to make basic changes to your footer. Many themes, especially newer ones, include footer options right in the Customizer.
Here‘s how to access and use your theme‘s footer settings:
- From your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Customize.
- Look for a panel labeled Footer, Bottom Bar, or something similar. Click into it.
- Depending on your theme, you may see options to:
- Edit the footer credit text
- Change colors or fonts
- Toggle certain footer elements on or off
- Add social media icons
- Rearrange footer sections
- Use the live preview to test out different settings until you‘re happy with the result.
- Click the Publish button to make your changes live.
While the Customizer is easy to use, it does have limitations. You can only customize what your theme explicitly allows. If you want more control, keep reading for more powerful methods.
A more flexible way to customize your WordPress footer is by using widgets. Widgets are small blocks of content that you can add, remove, and arrange in designated areas of your site, including the footer.
Most WordPress themes have at least one footer widget area, and some have several areas to create a column layout. By default, these footer widget areas may contain things like a text blurb, a list of recent posts, or a search bar.
Here‘s how to edit footer widgets in WordPress:
- In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Appearance > Widgets.
- Look for a section labeled Footer, Footer 1, Footer 2, etc. These represent your footer widget areas.
- To add a widget, click the + button and choose the type of widget you want to add. WordPress has built-in widgets for things like text, images, navigation menus, and social icons.
- Customize the widget settings and click Update to save your changes.
- To rearrange widgets, simply drag and drop them into the desired order.
- To remove a widget, expand it and click the Delete button.
With widgets, the customization possibilities are nearly endless. You can add email signup forms, display your latest Instagram posts, share testimonials, and much more. If your theme‘s built-in widget areas are too limiting, you can even use a plugin like Widget Options to create new footer widget areas.
Pro tip: Install the Jetpack plugin to unlock even more powerful widgets like contact forms, related posts, and social sharing buttons. These can take your footer to the next level!
If you‘re comfortable with HTML and PHP, you can directly edit your theme‘s footer.php file for even more control. This method allows you to change the footer structure, add custom content, or remove sections entirely.
Here‘s how to modify the footer.php file:
- Use an FTP client to connect to your WordPress site and navigate to the /wp-content/themes/your-theme/ directory.
- Download a copy of the footer.php file to use as a backup.
- Open footer.php in a text editor.
- Carefully make your desired changes. Some common customizations include:
- Removing the default copyright text or credit links
- Adding custom HTML content
- Changing the number of footer widget areas
- Adding a custom navigation menu
- Save your changes and upload the modified footer.php file back to your theme directory.
- Test your changes thoroughly to ensure you haven‘t broken anything.
Warning: Directly editing theme files can break your site if done incorrectly. Always create a backup before making changes, and consider using a child theme to avoid losing your customizations when you update the parent theme.
If you‘re not sure where to start, try searching online for "WordPress footer snippets." You‘ll find plenty of pre-written code snippets that you can copy and paste into your footer.php file and modify to fit your needs.
Here‘s an example of a footer snippet that adds a custom copyright notice and a "Back to Top" button:
<footer>
<div class="container">
<p>© <?php echo date(‘Y‘); ?> Your Company Name. All rights reserved.</p>
<a href="#top" class="back-to-top">Back to Top</a>
</div>
</footer>With a little HTML and CSS knowledge, you can create a completely custom footer layout using this method.
Method 4: Using a Page Builder Plugin
If you want the design flexibility of editing code without actually having to write any code, using a page builder plugin is the way to go. Page builders provide visual, drag-and-drop interfaces for designing every aspect of your site, including the footer.
With a page builder, you can create custom footer layouts, add animations and interactive elements, and integrate with other plugins for added functionality. The best part is, you can see your changes in real-time without having to constantly save and refresh.
Two of the most popular page builder plugins for WordPress are Elementor and Beaver Builder. Both offer free and premium versions with footer building capabilities.
Here‘s how to create a custom footer with Elementor:
- Install and activate the Elementor plugin.
- Navigate to Appearance > Customize in your WordPress dashboard.
- Scroll down and click the Footer panel.
- Choose Insert Elementor Footer.
- Launch the Elementor editor and choose a pre-designed footer template or build one from scratch using sections, columns, and widgets.
- Customize the content, styling, and layout using Elementor‘s visual interface.
- Click the Publish button to save your changes.
That‘s it! Your custom footer will now appear on every page of your site.
If you want to use different footers on different pages, Elementor Pro lets you create multiple footer templates and set display conditions for each one. You can use this feature to create stripped-down footers for landing pages, branded footers for specific product lines, or location-specific footers for multi-region sites.
For an even more in-depth guide, check out Elementor‘s tutorial on creating a custom footer.
Whichever method you choose for customizing your footer, keep these best practices in mind:
- Keep it concise. Avoid overwhelming visitors with too many links or large blocks of text. Focus on the essentials and use clear, descriptive labels.
- Make it mobile-friendly. With over half of web traffic coming from mobile devices, your footer must be fully responsive. Ensure fonts are legible, links and buttons are easy to tap, and columns stack neatly on small screens.
- Prioritize accessibility. Help visually impaired visitors navigate your site by using sufficient color contrast, adding alt text to images, and structuring your footer with proper heading tags.
- Leverage white space. Give elements room to breathe by incorporating padding and margins. A cluttered footer is hard to read and navigate.
- Stay on brand. Your footer should be a cohesive part of your overall site design. Use your brand colors, fonts, and voice to provide a consistent experience.
- Proofread! Don‘t let typos or broken links in your footer undermine your credibility. Always double-check your work before publishing.
By following these tips and exploring the various WordPress footer customization methods, you‘ll be well on your way to creating a footer that drives real results for your website.
Need some real-world inspiration? Here are three examples of WordPress sites with highly effective footers:
- Asana: Project management tool Asana uses its footer to provide a wealth of helpful links for different types of visitors, from current customers to prospective employees. By organizing links into clearly labeled columns, Asana makes it easy for users to find exactly what they need.
- Airbnb: Airbnb‘s footer is a study in simplicity. With just four columns of neatly organized links, a language switcher, and a minimalist color scheme, the footer feels clean and uncluttered. The focus is on helping users quickly access important resources.
- charity: water: Nonprofit charity: water uses its footer to build trust with donors and encourage deeper engagement. By including links to financial reports, a map of completed projects, and a compelling impact statement, the footer reinforces transparency and demonstrates the organization‘s positive impact.
Conclusion
Your WordPress footer may not be the star of your website, but it plays a vital supporting role. By strategically customizing your footer to provide relevant links, encourage engagement, and convey credibility, you can turn more of your visitors into loyal followers, subscribers, and customers.
In this guide, we covered four methods for customizing a WordPress footer:
- Using the Theme Customizer
- Editing footer widgets
- Modifying the footer.php file
- Using a page builder plugin
The best approach for you will depend on your technical skills, design needs, and theme capabilities. Don‘t be afraid to experiment until you find a solution that fits.
Remember, an effective footer is concise, mobile-friendly, on-brand, and purpose-driven. Every element should serve a clear goal, whether it‘s driving email signups, encouraging social follows, or helping visitors contact you.
Now go forth and start customizing! Your perfect WordPress footer awaits. If you have any questions along the way, feel free to leave a comment or reach out on social media. I‘m always happy to help my fellow WordPress enthusiasts.
){kind=link}