How can you design a footer navigation that complements the main navigation?

1 Define the purpose

Before you start designing the footer navigation, you need to define its purpose and scope. What are the goals and objectives of the footer navigation? How does it relate to the main navigation and the overall content strategy? What are the user needs and expectations for the footer navigation? How will you measure its effectiveness and usability? Answering these questions will help you clarify the role and value of the footer navigation, and guide your design decisions.

2 Choose the content

The next step is to choose the content that will go into the footer navigation. The content should be relevant, useful, and consistent with the main navigation and the site's theme. Some common types of content that are often found in the footer navigation are: legal and policy links, contact and social media links, site map and search, newsletter and feedback forms, copyright and branding elements, and related or external links. You should prioritize and group the content according to its importance and frequency of use, and avoid cluttering the footer with too much or redundant information.

3 Apply the principles

Once you have selected the content, you need to apply some principles of information architecture to organize and present it in the footer navigation. Some of these principles are: hierarchy, alignment, proximity, contrast, and balance. Hierarchy means using different sizes, colors, and fonts to indicate the level of importance and relationship of the content. Alignment means aligning the content to a grid or a baseline to create a sense of order and harmony. Proximity means placing related content close together and separating unrelated content to create a clear distinction and association. Contrast means using different colors, shapes, and textures to create a visual difference and emphasis. Balance means distributing the content evenly and symmetrically to create a stable and pleasing appearance.

4 Test and refine

The final step is to test and refine the footer navigation to ensure that it works well and complements the main navigation. You can use various methods and tools to test the footer navigation, such as usability testing, user feedback, analytics, and heatmaps. You should evaluate the footer navigation based on some criteria, such as accessibility, readability, responsiveness, and functionality. You should also compare the footer navigation with the main navigation and check for any inconsistencies or conflicts. Based on the results, you should make any necessary changes or improvements to the footer navigation until you achieve your desired outcome.