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Learn How To Edit a Footer in WordPress and Exactly What You Need To Include for Your Users

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You probably made sure the top of your website looks good. That’s smart, because it’s the first thing people see when they visit your site. But don’t forget the bottom of your pages! Footers can be useful for your users, and usually contain legal information that keeps you safe. 

A well-structured footer can even be beneficial for business. For example, UserTesting saw a 50% conversion increase when it added a call to action to its footer. So if you understand how to edit the footer on your WordPress website, you can add tons of helpful features. Want to know more? Then read on to learn: 

  • What a website footer is and why you should edit it
  • What your website footer should include 
  • How to edit WordPress footers
  • Other helpful WordPress footer tips

First things first: What’s a website footer? Simple, it’s the section at the bottom of a webpage. It usually contains contact information, your socials, and links to pages on your website. Your footer should quickly answer your users’ needs and questions.

When a user scrolls down to your footer section, they usually need something from your website. This could be a phone number, your Twitter handle, or a link to your blog. If they can’t easily and quickly find this information, they could get annoyed. 

And don’t forget that your footer is part of your overall website design. If you have a sleek website, you don’t want a clunky footer. For example, the typical WordPress footer template comes with the phrase “Powered By WordPress.” This can take away from your own company’s branding, and shows unnecessary information to your customer.

Learning how to edit your footer in WordPress can help you provide better functionality for users and strengthen your company’s image. 

You have multiple choices when you decide to add a footer in WordPress, or edit your existing footer. The best choice for customization is based on your website and skill level.

Use the Theme Customizer 

Good to know: The theme customizer option is only available for particular themes. So, where can you find the customizer? First, log into your WordPress dashboard and go to Appearance, then Customize. Note: This is a task for WordPress admins. 

Next, look for Footer, or a similar option like Bottom of Page. Depending on the theme, you’ll be able to change the layout, color, text, and icons on the footer. 

If you feel comfortable with coding, you can manually edit your footer with CSS or edit the footer’s PHP file. Always proceed with caution when you change your website’s code! And make sure everything is backed up and saved. 

Install a plugin 

If you want a different functionality, you can choose from multiple WordPress plugins. Think about plugins like Insert Headers and Footers or Head, Footer and Post Injections. 

If you use a page builder like the Bluehost Website Builder for example, it’s very easy to customize page elements to your liking. When you learn how to edit a footer in WordPress using the Bluehost builder, you will have more control over your overall design.

If you can’t edit the theme with the customizer option, you can see what widget options you have. Under Appearance, click Widgets. There, you’ll see multiple widgets you can enable. 

Depending on the available widgets, you’ll be able to choose the options that best suit your website and edit them to include important information. With advanced themes, you’ll have more options and columns you can add to your footer. 

Other useful WordPress footer suggestions 

Footers are highly customizable. You can make yours suitable for your exact needs. Here are a couple tips to make your footer better. 

How to remove “Powered by WordPress” 

Are you happy with your footer, but would you like to remove “Powered by WordPress”? First, check if your theme allows you to remove it. If not, you can edit the code manually or try a plugin like Remove Footer Credit.

How to keep the year up to date

Always make sure your website is up to date. This includes the copyright year on your footer. Instead of updating it every year, you can use HTML to auto-update the year. This hack keeps your website well maintained and saves time from manually updating your footer.

In conclusion

Don’t ignore the footer on your website. It contains helpful information your customers need, so make sure to include all the relevant details. Luckily, you have options when making a WordPress footer edit. You can manually edit the code, use a widget or page builder like Bluehost Website Builder, or tweak it directly on the theme. Now that you know how to edit a footer in WordPress, you can customize your footer to fit your WordPress website.

Does your website need an upgrade? Get started with a Bluehost hosting package today.

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Minal heads Content and Social Marketing for Bluehost. With over 15 years of experience in the technology industry, she believes in creating solutions and producing content that fulfill a customer's needs. She strives to bridge the gap between what users need and what they want. She has worn multiple hats over the years with experience in creative and brand strategy, content and social marketing, event and community marketing, brand operations and strategic partnerships. She is a dog mom and a stickler for calendaring.

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