Website footer design: what to include and leave out

Key takeaways

A good business website footer gives visitors who reach the bottom of a page a way forward: contact details, links to key services, legal and company information, and trust signals. The common mistakes are an empty footer, a footer stuffed with every page, low-contrast text, an out-of-date copyright year and missing company details.

• Include phone, email or WhatsApp, address or service area, and hours.
• Link to main services, About, Contact and legal pages.
• Add company name, number and registered office if you are a limited company.
• Check footer text contrast: dark footers often fail.

Why does the footer matter?

Visitors who scroll to the bottom of a page have read it and are deciding what to do next, or are looking for something specific such as an address, a phone number or a policy. Nielsen Norman Group describes the footer as a place people deliberately look for this information. An empty or messy footer wastes that moment.

• The most common business website design mistakes
• Website dead ends: pages that leave visitors nowhere to go

What should a business website footer include?

Include the information visitors expect to find at the bottom of any business website. Keep it organised in a few columns with short headings.

• Contact: phone, email or WhatsApp, address or service area, opening hours.
• Key links: main services, About, Contact, and a careers page if you hire.
• Legal: privacy policy, cookie policy, terms.
• Company details: registered name, number and registered office for limited companies.
• Trust: accreditations, memberships or review badges, sparingly.
• Social links, if your profiles are active.

• Legal requirements for a UK business website
• Where to put contact details on your website

Mistake 1: an empty footer

A footer with only a copyright line leaves visitors at a dead end. Add at least contact details and links to your main pages so anyone who reaches the bottom can carry on.

Mistake 2: a footer that lists everything

Dumping every page, tag and location into the footer creates a wall of links that nobody reads. Group the important links under a few headings. A sitemap page can hold the full list.

Mistake 3: low contrast and tiny text

Footers often use small grey text on dark grey backgrounds. It looks discreet and fails readability. Apply the same 4.5:1 contrast and minimum text size as the rest of the site; the footer often holds the phone number people are looking for.

• Colour contrast on websites: why grey text loses readers

Mistake 4: out-of-date details

A copyright year from several years ago, an old address or a dead social link suggests the business may have closed. Update the year automatically, and check footer details whenever anything changes.

Mistake 5: missing company information

UK limited companies must show their registered name, company number, place of registration and registered office address on their website. The footer is the conventional place. Sole traders should show their name and business address.

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a footer shows a logo, social icons and 'All rights reserved 2019', and the only phone number on the site is on the contact page. Adding contact details, key links and company information turns the bottom of every page into a useful next step.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses
• Website design review: score your own site in 30 minutes

Footer checklist

• Add phone, email or WhatsApp, address and hours.
• Link to main services, About and Contact.
• Link to privacy, cookies and terms.
• Show company name, number and registered office.
• Check contrast and text size.
• Update the copyright year automatically.

Next step

Scroll to the bottom of your homepage and check whether a visitor could contact you from there without scrolling back up.