livebooks blog

With so much of our online activity being done from our mobile phones, there’s no surprise that one in two people will not recommend a business with a poorly designed website. We’ve stressed on the importance of having a mobile-responsive website in one of our articles, so if your website still behaves the same wherever you access it from, we’re here to give yet another incentive as to why you should switch: the footer.

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The footer – the info that lies at the bottom of all website pages – always comes last, but that’s no reason to neglect it. Why? Well, for once, it’s the last thing your visitor or potential client sees after browsing any of your pages; and since you’ve made sure they’re welcome with a beautiful homepage, why not bid them farewell in the same way?

Most website owners tend to give the footer as little attention as possible, but for everyone else the footer is the gift shop at the end of the expo – an opportunity to browse and sink in what they’ve already seen, a chance to keep in touch with you.

The footer can serve as the home of many different tools, helpful not only for your clients, but for your business as well. We’ve put together a list of all the things you can use in your footer.

The guide

Take mobile browsers, for instance: on mobile, we tend to spend most of our time scrolling down until we reach the end of the page. Then what? Well, with a footer containing links to your most visited pages, the browsing could go on without having to scroll back to top and figuring out where to go next. Using the footer as a guide to your website will ensure your visitors spend more time on your website. This is especially useful when you have pages with lots of content.

The help

As much as the footer is beneficial to your visitors, it’s also a great help for you and your website when it comes down to SEO. The fact of the matter is that search engine crawlers that go through your website use the links provided by you in the footer to get a better read of what you consider to be important, ranking those pages higher. This doesn’t mean you should put links to all your pages in the footer, but make sure you don’t leave out the most important ones: your Contact and About pages, as well as your most visited page.

The proof

When dealing with clients it’s always a big plus of you can showcase your awards, certificates or badges to further grow your credibility. The footer is the best place for these seals of approval and can be the It-factor that helps your clients choose your service or products confidently.

The token

After your client has exhausted all your content, use the footer to lay down the bricks of future conversations: your social links or newsletter.

The brand

Of course your footer has to be in the same visual parameters as your brand, so go ahead and include your logo, your main copy, your campaign headline, or any other visual elements that are distinctive to your brand.

The fine print

Any site may come with its own technical and legal info. Use to footer to link to Privacy Policies, Terms & Conditions or Disclaimers.

General tips when building your footer:

• Space is important – footers sometimes tend to clutter, so do your best to avoid it. The more whitespace you have between your links, the easier they are to read and, most importantly, access. Never neglect the mobile users!
• Important links on top – you should try and keep your footer organized, starting with a hierarchy of the links you add.
• Make sure anyone can read it – this is especially important considering that most of the time, the font in the footer is smaller than that of the rest of the website. Make sure the font is still easy to read and that the contrast between the text and the background is easy on the eyes.

Sign up for a free trial today to see the many ways a footer can look and feel on all devices!

The liveBooks platform is all about creating the most beautiful websites one can imagine. So what happens when the online portfolio of your dreams is a clean page where your images are the only actors? No header, no navigation items, no footer. It’s more than a minimalist approach to visual aesthetics.

Today, we will focus on the ability to hide elements from your page that we otherwise take for granted: the header, the navigation and the footer. Hiding the header and the navigation bar will put the elements in that page in full focus. You will create a distraction-free environment for your clients to enjoy your work.

Don’t worry! You can still help your visitors return to a previous page, say Homepage, by adding a link at the bottom of your gallery. This can be an image, a block of text or a simple button.

To hide the header, navigation and footer from a specific page, you must:

1. Access your Design editor.
2. Click on the page you wish to edit and select Page in the right-hand panel. 
3. Click the gear icon and check the boxes you want to hide. 
4. Save.
5. Publish.

If you feel that your content is too close to either end of your screen, adjust the padding of the container(s). Also, make sure you check how your website will look on all devices by switching the preview from the options at the top of your editor.

It’s your choice which of the three elements you want to hide, and as always, we encourage you to be consistent in your editing. For example, if only one of your three portfolio pages have a hidden header, your clients could get disoriented and begin to ask themselves if the missing piece is a bug or some other flaw in the system. That’s why you should keep the same settings for the same type of pages.

The more you will look into the content and design editor of our platform, the more possibilities emerge. Don’t have a website of your own that you can play with? Start a free trial today and get two weeks free.