When designing your website, the page footer always seems to be the “back of the closet” where you just pile things you do not want people to see. Most people find it surprising that footers are often viewed more than headers, which takes much more of our attention when we design a website.
With mobile taking front stage the footer is no longer the back of the closet but a strategic place to capture your visitor’s attention one last time before they leave your site.
Chartbeat published interesting conclusions derived from the analysis of 25 million user sessions (1).
- Many visitors scroll down the page before it finishes loading, which means that no portion of a typical article is viewed by 100% of viewers and the very top of the top of the page actually has about a 20% lower view rate than slightly farther down.
- The most viewed area of the page is just above the fold, at about 550 pixels, with just over 80% viewership.
- From this peak at 550 pixels, there is a slow decay in viewership. About 50% of readers see 1500 pixels down the page on content pages, while on home pages and section fronts 50% of readers make it to pixel 1000.
Why is the page footer important?
- Last impression – your last opportunity to make a connection
- Quick view on some of the important pages on your site
- It shows professionalism and gives shoppers confidence in your site
- Another place to remind your visitors your important messages such as shipping
- Contact information and social badges may encourage the shopper to get in touch with your store
10 must have items to include in the page footer
I would consider the page footer on Sephora eCommerce website as an example of the almost perfect page footer
- Store locator – a link to store locator page if you have more than one location or a link to your map and address.
- Language switch if applicable – if your site has more than one language including the language switch in the header as well as in the footer will help reduce bounce rate because if site visitors are looking for the switch as they browse, they don’t need to scroll up again
- Account Link – having a link to the account information is a great way to encourage sign up for an account or log-in since most people just start scrolling as soon as they land on a page
- Social media links – the one place you want your shoppers to visit outside of the main store is your social pages where you can showcase what your products are all about and connect on an emotional level
- Privacy & Terms – those are mandatory pages of every site today and must be always present in the footer.
- Email sign up – this is your last opportunity to encourage your shoppers to sign up to receive your emails
- Contact information – including a phone number and email address will allow shoppers who have questions or concerns to quickly contact you. Do not hide this information as you will lose potential customers.
- Shipping info and link – if you have free shipping include that tag line in the footer and also have a link to the full shipping details
- Faqs & About US-have another link to this important information for those people who might not be ready to buy today but would like to learn more about your company
- Security Info for the site – very important to include your security badges or any other reference to site safety for those shoppers a who are really concerned about your site security
This article is a continuation of our eCommerce websites best practice article series
References
- Scroll behavior across the web, http://blog.chartbeat.com/2013/08/12/scroll-behavior-across-the-web/
