How to Edit the Footer in WordPress (4 EASY Ways)

As an experienced WordPress user of over 15 years, I know that the footer area is one of the most overlooked parts of a WordPress site. But it‘s also one of the most important!

The footer appears at the bottom of every page. It allows you to share valuable information with your visitors.

In this guide, I‘ll show you 4 easy ways to customize the footer in WordPress.

What Exactly is the Footer in WordPress?

Before we get started, let‘s quickly go over what the footer is.

The footer is the section at the very bottom of a WordPress site, after the main content area. It typically includes:

• Copyright information
• Links to legal pages like Privacy Policy and Terms
• Secondary navigation menus
• Social media icons
• Email newsletter signup forms
• Contact info
• Back to top buttons

Here are some stats on footers:

• 81% of websites have footer navigation menus [1]
• 70% of users will look at the footer before leaving a website [2]

Many themes include footer widget areas that make it easy to add content. You can also create totally custom footers for specific pages.

Here‘s an example footer from my demo site:

Now let‘s go over 4 different ways you can edit the footer area in WordPress.

1. Adding Widgets to the Footer Area

Most properly coded WordPress themes include widget areas in the footer section. This makes it easy to add content.

To add a widget:

1. Go to Appearance > Widgets in your WP dashboard.

2. Find the footer widget area. It‘s usually called something like "Footer #1", "Footer Sidebar", etc.

3. Click the + Add a Widget button.

4. Select a widget type like text, images, newsletter optin, etc.

5. Configure the widget settings.

6. Click Save to add the widget.

You can repeat steps 3-6 to add multiple widgets. Some good options include:

• Text – For disclaimers, copyright, etc
• Navigation Menu – Useful for secondary menus
• Image – For logos and social icons
• Contact Info – Phone, email, address

I recommend adding 3-5 widgets max so it doesn‘t get too crowded.

Preview your site after adding widgets to make sure they appear properly. Adjust as needed.

2. Removing the ‘Powered by WordPress‘ Link

By default, WordPress displays a "Proudly powered by WordPress" link in the footer. This isn‘t very useful for visitors.

Many sites choose to remove it, which is easy to do:

1. Go to Appearance > Customize in your WP dashboard.

2. Find the footer section. For example, in the Astra theme it‘s under Footer > Bottom Bar.

3. Delete the "Powered by WordPress" text and links.

4. Click Publish to save changes.

You may also need to edit the footer.php file directly depending on the theme. Just search for the text and remove it.

I recommend removing this link from your live sites. It doesn‘t add any value for visitors.

3. Creating Custom Footers for Specific Pages

Here‘s a cool trick that many users don‘t know about.

You can create entirely custom footers for specific WordPress pages like:

• Homepage
• Contact Us
• Checkout page
• Thank You page
• 404 error page

Why would you want custom footers?

• Highlight important info – Add specific details for each page.
• Improve conversions – Use optin forms and contact info where needed.
• Strengthen branding – Match footer colors and style to each page.

This is easy to do using a visual page builder like SeedProd. It lets you create custom-designed pages complete with their own headers and footers.

Here‘s how to create a custom footer with SeedProd:

1. Install and activate SeedProd.

2. Go to SeedProd > Pages and click Add New.

3. Select a template and click Use Template.

4. Give your page a name and URL.

5. Click the Sections tab and select a footer layout.

6. Customize the footer with images, text, links, etc.

7. Click Save & Publish to make your page live.

Now you can make totally custom footers for any WordPress page without touching code.

4. Adding Code to Your Footer

Sometimes you may need to add code snippets to your footer.

For example, adding analytics tracking scripts like Google Analytics.

The easiest way to add code is with a plugin like WPCode.

Here‘s how to use it:

1. Install and activate WPCode.

2. Go to Code Snippets > Header & Footer.

3. Paste your code into the footer box.

4. Click Save Changes.

The code will now be added to the footer of every page on your site.

Some other examples of code you may want to add:

• Facebook pixel
• Retargeting pixels
• Chat widgets
• External scripts

Just make sure to test that any code works properly on your site.

Let‘s Summarize

We covered 4 easy ways to customize your WordPress footer:

1. Use footer widgets to add content
2. Delete the "Powered by WordPress" link
3. Build custom footers for specific pages
4. Add code snippets as needed

A well-designed footer improves navigation and provides useful info for your visitors.

Hopefully this guide gives you some ideas on ways to improve your WordPress footer. Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m always happy to help.