Squarespace Footer Design: Make Your Footer Work For You
You’ve spent hours designing and perfecting your website on Squarespace, but have you given much thought to your footer? Your footer appears on every page of your website and can be a valuable tool to drive conversions and engagement.
It's time to upgrade your footer from a simple copyright symbol to a strategic part of your website strategy.
In this blog, we’ll discuss how to make the most out of your footer design and the essential elements that you should include.
But, before I dive into that – who the rubber duck 🐥 am I? If we haven't met before, I’m Shaz and I run Elmtree Digital Marketing. I’m a Squarespace designer and educator and have been building websites for eons. I’m a solopreneur since (ahem … let’s just say a long time ago). I’ve seen lots of good design and lots of not-so-good design and now I help small business owners get seen + noticed + remembered online with great design on easy-to-maintain squarespace websites. If that’s of interest to you …
👇read on …TABLE OF CONTENTS Show
The Must Have's. What Needs To Be in Every Squarespace Footer?
Page Links for Primary and Secondary Navigation
Best practice design for your top navigation is to keep things simple. You should ONLY include the most important information in your header and try to keep to a maximum of 5 items.
Your footer navigation, on the other hand, can be a little bit more complex. All of the website pages that are represented in your header (including those in dropdowns) can be included in your footer plus, you can add any other pages that your customers need easy access to.
But what navigation links should you include in your footer area? Some suggestions are:
Individual Service Pages
Press or Media Pages
Return Policy and Shipping Policy for E-commerce sites
Portfolio Pages
Blog Pages
When designing your footer navigation, make sure to prioritize the most important pages at the top and add a clear hierarchy with headings and subheadings. This will help website visitors easily find what they are looking for.
Squarespace’s Footer is a great example of including primary and secondary navigation links.
And did you know, all of this internal linking is good for search engine optimization! So be sure to include your most important page links in your footer navigation.
Contact Page Link
It’s important to make it easy for customers to contact you and adding your contact information in the footer is a great way to do it.
For bricks and mortar businesses, a phone number and physical address can be especially important along with a map or directions. In fact, on mobile, this address can be linked directly to Google Maps making it easy for potential customers to drive right to your doorstep.
While including your email address in your footer section can make it easy for customers to reach out, it also makes it easy for spammers and robots. Unfortunately, including your email can act like a spam magnet so you may choose to include a contact form or a link to your contact page instead.
Social Links
Social media is an integral part of most businesses’ marketing strategies, and your footer is another opportunity to plug your social media channels through social links. Adding social icons to your footer will encourage your audience to follow you on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Threads or wherever you are active.
How to add Social Links to Your Squarespace Footer?
Scroll down to your footer and select EDIT FOOTER.
Add a block - and select SOCIAL LINKS.
Add your links.
In Squarespace 7.1, you can add over 20 different social links with their corresponding logos. Here is the full list.
Pro Tip: If your social links are currently living in your top navigation, my recommendation is to move them to your footer navigation instead.
It's not that you don't want people to find you on social, it's just that you have worked so hard to get them to your website, that you don't want to send them away quite so quickly.
Legal Pages
As boring as legal jargon can be, it’s essential to include any necessary information in your footer, such as terms and conditions and privacy policy. Your legal pages not only protect your business but also reassure potential customers that you’re trustworthy and professional. And in most jurisdictions, sharing your privacy policy in a conspicuous location is actually a legal requirement so displaying it in your footer area is perfect.
On your Squarespace website, the blog post functionality is an easy way to organize and display the necessary Legalese. Simply set up a blog and give each legal policy its own page.
Looking for an easy to implement solution? I recommend Termageddon (👉affiliate link). It’s an affordable cost & time efficient solution for your website policies.
See it in action by clicking the Change My Privacy Settings in the footer of my website (look way 👇 down!)
Copyright and Credits
While not the most glamorous part of your footer, it’s important to include your copyright information. In Canada and the United States, your website is original content (or at least it ought to be!) which means it is automatically copyrighted. But it's not a bad idea to state that outright.
Adding credits for any media or content used on your website is also a nice touch and your web designer will love you for it. It shows that you care about giving credit and it may encourage other websites or media outlets to link back to your site.
Pro Tip: For Web DevelopersIt's common practice to include a *designed by* statement at the bottom of your client's websites. Stay in line with Google's recommendations and only do this with the website owner's permission.
And as importantly, the link should use your actual company name not a keyword-optimized term like "Web Designer Vancouver Island" as this would be considered a black hat SEO technique.
In fact, Google recommends these links be no-follow links which can easily be done by adding a code or markdown block as follows:
<a href="https://www.elmtreedm.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Elmtree Digital Marketing</a> in Squarespace.
All you have to do is customize the URL and the link text.
Call to Action
A footer CTA serves as a final prompt, nudging those on your page to take a desired action such as subscribing to a newsletter, downloading a resource, or making a purchase.
What Else Might Go Into Your Squarespace Footer?
Social Feed
If you’re heavily invested in social media, consider adding your latest social feeds to your footer navigation. Including your Instagram feed can act as a portfolio of your work.
You should only be including your social feed, if you are current and active on it. It doesn’t look good when you send a potential client to a site that was last updated in 1986 😜.
Newsletter Opt In
Encouraging prospective clients to subscribe to your newsletter can be an effective way to keep them engaged and build your email list so that you can connect with them later.
A newsletter opt-in form in your footer can attract subscribers who might have missed it on the rest of your website.
Account Login
Including an account login in your footer navigation provides a super easy way for returning customers to quickly log in and access personalized features or content.
It signifies a constant and accessible point of entry, no matter where users might be on your site. This promotes easy navigation and saves time for your users.
Business Bio / Mission / Values
Sharing a concise business bio in your footer is a great way to introduce your business quickly and effectively. It’s an opportunity to share your mission statement, services, or other key points to help visitors understand what your business is all about and to build brand recognition.
Your Logo
Your logo is another essential brand element, and it’s worth showcasing in your footer.
Awards and Certifications
Featuring Awards and Certifications in your footer can boost your credibility and consumer trust.
These accolades form an integral part of your business journey, demonstrating your expertise and commitment to delivering quality. For visitors to your website, it's a clear indication of your industry recognition and standard of excellence.
Search Bar
If your website has a lot of content, consider adding a search bar in your footer. Visitors can use it to search for specific pages or posts on your site, making the navigation process even more comfortable.
Your website footer doesn’t have to be an afterthought or an insignificant aspect of your Squarespace design.
With a little planning and effort, it can become a strategic element of your website that drives engagement and conversions. Including the essential elements for your footer like primary and secondary navigation, contact info, legalities, credits, and social media links will make all the difference.
Remember to stay focused on the user's experience and make it easy for them to browse and engage with your Squarespace website. Happy designing!
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