What is: Footer?

In WordPress, the term “footer” generally refers to an area or section of a webpage that is usually displayed at the bottom (or “foot”) of a web page.

By default, WordPress begins with a footer section at the bottom of every webpage that includes information about the current version of WordPress that is being used. As an administrator, you can choose what appears in the footer, including text, copyright information, menus, advertisements, and/or widgets. In some cases, scripts may also be stored in the footer area.

For designers, the layout information and contents of the footer are usually included in the file “footer.php” inside the template directory.

It must be understood that footer is just a label for a given piece of screen real estate and a footer section can be displayed anywhere, not only at the bottom of the page.

Purpose Of A Footer

The purpose of a footer is to provide additional information and navigation options at the end of a webpage. It’s a place to include important but not necessarily primary information that you want available on every page.

Footer Best Practices

Best practices are to only place information in the footer section that is relevant to the entire website, not a specific post or page. The exception to this, would be to have links to legal pages on the site that weren’t included in the main navigation, like the terms of service, disclaimers, privacy policy, or a sitemap. It is perfectly acceptable to have links to these pages in your footer.

Here are some examples of other content that might be included in a footer:

• Contact Information: This could include the physical address of the business, phone numbers, email addresses, or a link to a contact form. Possibly even a small area map for your business if you are a store with a geographical location.
• Social Media Links: Many websites use their footer to include links or icons leading to their profiles on social media platforms.
• Copyright Information: This typically includes the copyright symbol, the year, and the name of the copyright owner. Your copyright information applies to the entire website and so should be placed in the footer section.
• Newsletter Signup: If a website has a newsletter, they might include a signup form in the footer.

Note: It is possible for a WordPress site to have multiple footers depending on the theme that you are using. Generally, however, most WordPress sites have a single footer that displays the same across all web pages.

The opposite of the footer section is the header section which usually is displayed at the top of a WordPress website.