Advantages of a Custom Footer in WordPress
In WordPress, the post footer of the default theme gives information on the categories the post was placed in, links to the permalink of the post, an edit link if the post author is logged in and links to the previous and next posts in the blog. Although these are useful ways that visitors can access other content on your site, by customizing the post footer you can add additional functionality and aid your blog in a number of ways.
Other People Are Reading
-
Distribute Your Work
-
Many blogs now include links to the primary social media outlets in their post footers. If a visitor is logged in to, for example, Twitter on a separate tab and then clicks a share link for Twitter on your blog, they can share your post in just a couple of clicks. You can place social media links into your footer manually through the Theme Editor or use a free plugin such as ShareThis.
Highlight Your Other Work
-
If your user has taken the time to read to the bottom of your post, they would probably be interested in your other articles on similar topics. But if they don't know you have them, they won't be able to read them. This problem can be solved with a related-posts plugin, such as Contextual Related Posts. This puts a list of similar posts at the end of each article, which are updated based on the content in that article.
-
Monetization
-
If you have monetized your blog through ebooks or advertising, the post footer is a great place to let your visitors know. The advantage of using the footer for this purpose is that on one hand, it is less intrusive than embedding advertisements and promotions into the content itself. On the other hand, you always have the option of doing both if you want to maximize your revenue. You can also advertise your newsletter here, giving you another way to reach your customers.
Comment Rules
-
Comments are enabled in most WordPress themes by default and they are a useful way to create interaction with your readers. However, sometimes the comment area can become a haven for flaming and spam, which might put some readers off of joining the discussion. To assuage this somewhat, you could use the content footer to put a list of guidelines for commenters to follow, so that everyone knows your ground-rules.
Site Footer
-
WordPress themes also include a footer at the bottom of each page. In the default theme, this includes the site title and a "Proudly powered by WordPress" message, but this too can be customized. You can place extra navigation here, such as tag clouds, category lists and author lists, which help lure readers deeper into your site. Copyright messages and disclaimers can be placed here, which help protect you legally. This can also be a good place for advertising banners.
-
References
- Photo Credit Thinkstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
