Your footer is a second hero, treat it like one

Footers are the part of the page that no one designs and everyone scrolls to. By the time a visitor reaches the bottom, they've either decided to convert or they're hunting for one of three things: docs, pricing, or a way to contact a human. The footer either gives them that exit ramp, or it doesn't, and they bounce.

There are exactly two footer archetypes worth knowing, plus one trap to avoid.

The mega-footer

Six to eight columns of links: Product, Resources, Company, Legal, sometimes Status and Changelog. This is what Stripe, Vercel, and Linear all ship. The mega-footer is a sitemap with a logo on it.

It works when your product surface is wide enough that the top nav can't carry every entry point. The footer becomes the second navigation system, the one people use when the top nav has failed them.

• Group by mental model, not by org chart. Visitors don't know which team owns the changelog. They just want to find it.
• Status link belongs here, and only here. Top nav is for selling. Footer is for trust.
• Legal stays last. Privacy, terms, cookies, small type, dim color, end of the column.

The minimal footer

Logo, one row of links, copyright. This is what Apple's product pages, Arc, and most editorial sites ship. The minimal footer says we're confident the page above did the job, and we're not going to clutter the exit.

It works when your site is small enough that the top nav already covers everything important, or when the page is so editorial that a mega-footer would break the spell.

The trap: the call-to-action footer

The CTA footer is what teams ship when they're not confident in the hero. It's almost always a sign that the rest of the page should be rewritten, not that the footer should be louder.

Newsletter signup in the footer

Acceptable, but small. A one-line input and a button, not a full-width gradient panel. The newsletter is something visitors discover, not something the footer shouts at them. If you need a full-width signup, it belongs above the footer, not inside it.

Ship one

The directory has mega-footer and minimal-footer entries with the column structures and tuned prompts. Pair with the navigation entry, your top and bottom nav should feel like one system, not two.