What is a Footer in WordPress?
When talking about web design, the term Footer generally refers to the bottom section of a page. It typically contains copyright information, links to privacy policies, and credits.
In some cases, it may also contain code or scripts that WordPress theme developers would want to be included. Placing them at the end of your content won’t affect loading times and can still be used on any website if needed.
WordPress theme development has made it easy to construct the footer section of your website. With a single template file known as “footer.php,” you can make this area come alive with widgets and multiple columns!
Adding WordPress widgets to these areas is simple and efficient while always giving an attractive aesthetic that draws customers in.
With the advancement of HTML5, footers and headers now stretch beyond their traditional use. Generally speaking, items housed in a typical website’s footer are relevant to the overall site rather than any specific area – yet with this new technology comes more possibilities.
Because of HTML5’s logical way of marking up pages, the “footer” element can now be found not only in page-level sections but even within different areas of a web page.
Don’t let this bewilder you – it simply means that some websites may possess more than one header and footer.
What Can You Include in Your WordPress Footer?
- Links: Most web admins will include links to their homepage and other important pages, such as About Us, Contact Us, Privacy Policy, etc.
- Social Media Links: If you are active on social media platforms, this is one of the best ways to direct your visitors to your profiles.
- Copyright Notice: This should be included in every website footer, as it is the best way to protect your intellectual property.
- Aesthetic Design Elements: Images, logos, and other designs can be used to make the footer area more attractive and visually appealing.
- Any Other Necessary Widgets/Scripts: You may include any widgets or scripts necessary for your WordPress theme or that you want to include in the footer.
How to Customize Your Footer in WordPress?
The footer of your website can be customized the same way as all other parts of a WordPress site.
- The easiest way to customize the footer is by using a page builder plugin like Elementor or Beaver Builder. With these plugins, you can easily drag and drop elements into your footer without any coding knowledge required.
- You can customize the footer directly from the WordPress dashboard by navigating to Appearance → Widgets. Here, you can add or remove elements from your footer and configure them according to your preference.
- For more advanced customization options, you may need to modify the code of your WordPress theme’s “footer.php” file. But, again, this is a more advanced approach and should only be attempted by experienced developers or those with coding knowledge.