How to customize your Squarespace footer and what to include in the design
A key design element that is too often overlooked, the omnipresent footer is the one thing that appears consistently at the very bottom of EVERY page on your website.
It's prime real estate that's very likely to be noticed by your site visitors (especially if it's a cute design!) so you want to make sure you're not missing out on making it work for your biz.
Just about everyone will see it as they scroll down your site pages, and if their interest has been piqued or even if they haven't quite found what they're looking for, the content in your footer is crucial in retaining their attention and redirecting them to somewhere else on your site.
Rather than clicking away (or before they do so), your site visitors might choose to subscribe to your newsletter if you have an appealing sign up in your footer, they might also take a peek at your social accounts and give you a follow if you display your Instagram feed, or they might even head to your blog and have another explore if you include a link to it. Basically any action they take is good for business! 👍
Footers typically contain a ton of important info for your visitors, things like contact details, links to important pages, and extra navigation tools, and you can get really strategic with your design! So this week, we're showing you exactly what you can (and should) add in your footer design and how to do so on your Squarespace 7.1 site!
Let's jump in!
How to add and edit a footer on Squarespace 7.1
Whether you're starting from scratch or using a pre-made template design, you will almost always have a footer added to your site already. If for some reason you don't, here's how to add one in!
Go to your Squarespace account dashboard and click on your site.
Go to any page, and click Edit in the top left corner to access the editor.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
If you don't have a footer yet, you will see an Add Site Footer note with an Add Section button.
Click the button and choose from one of Squarespace's pre-made footer designs or add a blank section if you prefer to start from scratch!
If you do already have a default or generic footer design on your site, or if you just want to edit your current footer, hover over the very last section of your page. It will grey out and you will see an Edit Footer button.
Click on the button to start editing your footer design!
Here, you'll be able to add and remove blocks and sections, and move things around the grid just like you would on any other Squarespace page! (If you need some tips on how to use Squarespace 7.1's Fluid Editor, check out this post!)
Tip! It's important to remember that your footer is the same across every page on your site. This means you need to make sure the design is cohesive with the rest of your website! If for some reason you don't want to display your footer on a particular page, check out this tutorial.
What to include in your footer design
1. Your business name or logo
Adding your business name or logo to your footer is not only good for the looks, it's also a pretty strategic business move, reinforcing your brand identity and recognition. It's a standard footer element that is associated with professionalism, but also trust and credibility, reassuring your site visitors that, yes, you are a legit biz 👩💻
If your regular logo is too big and bulky, try to create a simpler secondary logo that you can use in tighter spaces like your footer! Fun shapes like circles work really well to give your footer design a little extra pizzazz ✨
👉 Check out our Iris Squarespace Template footer for yourself
2. Your brand messaging
Including a little paragraph about you, your business, and what you stand for is also a good idea to really reinforce who you are in your visitors' eyes. Even just a tagline can be really effective here!
👉 Check out our Noire Squarespace Template footer for yourself
3. Navigation links
Apart from your header navigation, your footer is a great place to add links to the most important pages around your site, and then some! You likely won't be able to fit all of your website pages into your header menu, so the most important ones, and the extras should be clearly linked in your footer so that your site visitors can easily access them!
Plus, it's good for SEO! Including relevant internal links in your footer can help search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your website. This can improve visibility and potentially increase organic traffic to your site 🌱
We recommend organising your page links in tidy columns in your footer, especially if you have a few!
👉 Check out our Victoria Squarespace Template footer for yourself
4. Contact details
Make it as easy as can be for your customers to reach out and find you!
If you are an online only business, this can be as simple as adding a link to your contact page or support form.
👉 Check out our Verano Squarespace Template footer for yourself
If you have a physical location, adding your business' address, phone number, and business hours will make sure your potential customers don't have any trouble getting to you.
5. Social media links
Having (and promoting) a social media online presence is a pretty big deal for any businesses in this digital day and age, and what better place to showcase your socials than in your footer!
An established social media presence gives your business both legitimacy and trustworthiness, and in the event your visitors are ready to leave your site, they might still swing by your socials, looking to connect if they like your vibe! Easy access to your social accounts also means that your visitors will stay engaged longer and you may gain a new loyal follower.
Squarespace makes it super easy to do promote your socials with its Social Links and Instagram blocks! Just click Add Block in your footer area and select either or both.
Want help setting up your socials on your Squarespace site? Check out this full tutorial.
👉 This footer is available when you 'Build-Your-Own Squarespace Template, check it out here!
6. Newsletter and freebie opt-in
Having a newsletter, mailing list, or freebie, allowing your site visitors to subscribe or sign up directly from your footer is sure to bring in some leads, as they'll be able to do so from literally every page on your site!
👉 How to create an automatic opt-in download in Squarespace
👉 How to add an email sign-up form to your Squarespace site
👉 This footer is available when you 'Build-Your-Own Squarespace Template, check it out here!
7. Legal stuff
All websites should have clear access to a few legal bits and bobs to keep themselves, and their visitors out of trouble. This commonly includes a copyright statement including the © symbol, a link to your site's terms & conditions, and a link to your privacy policies.
You'll see we've got a whole section dedicated just to that in our own website footer.
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