When I was getting ready for work today I was thinking about site footer links and if we still need to use them as a standard anymore. I understand that most sites, especially corporate sites that need great SEO, so they work wonders, but I see them used even if all navigation is already text based (usually in list form).
So if not needed it still might come in handy on event that the page your viewing is large, you can navigate somewhere else without scrolling to the top, right? I thought about this and realized on average, even corporate sites I see don’t have this on some of the longest pages anymore. I see more and more sites replacing the (ugly and unnecessary) footer links with a simple anchor back to the top. Now some are more fancy than others when you involve a little javascript, but plain and simple, when I’m not at work (because we still use the footer links as a standard on every site), I’m more trained to look for the anchor than the footer links anymore.
Are the footer links a thing of the past [for non-image based navigation sites especially]? Do they seem a little cumbersome to anyone else?
Which do you prefer? Is there really a point to repeat the navigation links at the bottom of every page, or do we still think people need those links? It comes down to a user to user basis I’m sure, but I think those days are over and most people (yeah I said most people, ha) don’t necessarily look for them as much as they once did.
My vote, if possible, get rid of them, if nothing else it clogs up the space where you could sit your Privacy Policy and Site Map, or more important information… like your validation links :)
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Validation links have become annoying if you ask me, anyone really interested in site validity uses HTML Validator.
I am often annoyed by blog navigation. At the top of entries often I have a next/before navigation. But sometimes entries are long and have many comments. Arrived at the bottom : What now? Oh and that bothers me as well on guru=blogs.
I don’t like the header navigation at the bottom tho, but think there are other options. Lately I have been implementing footer-tag clouds on certain sites.
Usability shouldn’t only aim at/be restricted to the header. If there is no more navigation in the footer (at least next/forward), give my my Top anchor back.
In addition to footer links, I like to have some sort of interactive feature, like a miniature contact form, or links to popular places on my sites–sort of like how you have the music, blogroll, and podcasts section. I think footer links are ok, but they should be understated so they don’t take up too much space.
[Franky] I agree sometimes with the validation links, I just think its there to remind people that standards are being used, and its somewhat trendy. And I agree with using the anchors…those are nice.
[Jordan] I like what you did on your site with the mini quick contact form… Isn’t that just logically more useful than duplicating links, like some sites…and like you could have.
I think anchors are useful, especially in long pages and blogs. There are plenty anchors being used on this page and it just adds for usability.
I did recently take the validation links off the header of GANB simply because there is a large user base who either doesn’t care or doesn’t know what they are for.
I agree about the validation links. Most people won’t even know what that means unless they are designers/developers. That space could be used for something more useful to the users.
TJ: Yeah, it totally makes sense to promote certain areas of your site that you think need attention. I think for bloggers, it’s a good idea to do a sort of top or favorite posts section, and for companies, have a similar pages area, news, or a stripped-down contact form.
On a side note, the validation links always seemed sort of snobby to me…it’s like a automotive company advertising that it’s cars all come with a decorated interior and a steering wheel.
love the auto company analogy