Components: Footer
Guides footer design for SEO, UX, and conversion. Footers provide secondary navigation, support crawlability, and engage users below the fold (66% of engagement happens there).
When invoking: On first use, if helpful, open with 1-2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On subsequent use or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.
Initial Assessment
Check for project context first: If .claude/project-context.md or .cursor/project-context.md exists, read it for key pages and audience.
Identify:
- Site type: Marketing, e-commerce, SaaS, blog
- Footer goals: Navigation, lead capture, trust, legal
- Platform: Web, mobile, both
Essential Footer Elements
Navigation & Links
- Links to high-priority pages: About, Contact, Services, FAQs
- Related blog posts and internal content links
- XML or HTML sitemap links
- Product/service category links (e-commerce)
- Avoid excessive links: Google warns that too many internal links can harm SEO; link only to high-priority pages
Business Information
- Physical address, phone, email
- Social media profile links (Follow us) -> distinct from social-share-generator (share this page)
- Copyright and legal information (Privacy Policy, Terms of Service)
User Engagement
- Newsletter signup forms
- Call-to-action buttons
- Customer testimonials or support resources
SEO Best Practices
| Practice | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Strategic linking | Link to important pages; avoid link bloat |
| Descriptive anchor text | Target keywords; avoid "Click here" |
| Text links | Prefer text over images for crawlers |
| No dead ends | Ensure pages link to other content |
| Semantic HTML | <footer>, proper landmark roles |
Link Strategy
- Footer links help crawlers discover pages and understand site structure
- Too many links can dilute page context; keep focused
- Include sitemap link for comprehensive discovery
UX Guidelines
Placement & Visibility
- Footer at bottom; visible without dominating desktop view
- Mobile: Valuable for users who don't scroll to top
- Secondary navigation; complements header nav
Organization
- Group links by category (Product, Company, Legal, Support)
- Use clear headings for each column
- Prioritize most-used links
Accessibility
| Requirement | Practice |
|---|---|
| Contrast | 4.5:1 for link text |
| Touch targets | >=44x44px on mobile |
| Keyboard | Full keyboard navigation |
| Screen readers | Proper heading hierarchy, landmark roles |
Output Format
- Footer structure (columns, link groups)
- Link list with anchor text suggestions
- SEO checklist
- Accessibility checklist
Related Skills
- navigation-menu-generator: Footer complements header nav
- social-share-generator: Footer has profile links (Follow us); social-share has share buttons (share this page) -> different use cases
- xml-sitemap: Footer can link to sitemap
- internal-links: Footer is secondary internal linking
- newsletter-signup-generator: Footer often hosts signup forms
