{
  "_description": "Generated from data/ — edit the sources, not this file. The agent access guide explains the evidence boundary of every field.",
  "schemaVersion": "1.0.0",
  "kind": "entry",
  "locale": "en",
  "id": "site-footer",
  "name": {
    "zh": "站点页脚",
    "en": "Site Footer"
  },
  "page": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/entries/site-footer/",
  "self": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/entries/site-footer.json",
  "alternates": {
    "zh-CN": "https://designvocabulary.com/zh/entries/site-footer.json",
    "en": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/entries/site-footer.json"
  },
  "site": {
    "catalogSchemaVersion": "0.1.0",
    "entries": 137,
    "index": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/entries/index.json",
    "query": "https://designvocabulary.com/api/query?lang=en",
    "guide": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/agents/",
    "llms": "https://designvocabulary.com/llms.txt"
  },
  "provenance": {
    "sourceBacked": [
      "entry.definition"
    ],
    "editorial": [
      "entry.boundary",
      "entry.signature",
      "entry.when",
      "entry.when_not",
      "entry.tradeoff",
      "entry.comparison",
      "entry.rules",
      "entry.relations",
      "entry.implementationNote",
      "entry.behavior"
    ],
    "scope": "Definitions reference these sources. Digital specimens, selection advice, relationships, and recipes are editorial work and have not been validated through user research.",
    "editorialStatus": "drafted",
    "specimenData": "fictional",
    "specimenNote": "Original fictional specimens. Definitions cite sources; usage advice and recipes are editorial.",
    "sources": [
      {
        "id": "footer-nng",
        "url": "https://www.nngroup.com/articles/footers/",
        "title": "NN/g · Web Page Footers 101: Design Patterns and When to Use Each",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-16",
        "archive": {
          "status": "available",
          "confirmed": true,
          "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916132608/https://www.nngroup.com/articles/footers/",
          "capturedAt": "2026-09-16T13:26:08Z",
          "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916*/https://www.nngroup.com/articles/footers/"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "footer-uswds",
        "url": "https://designsystem.digital.gov/components/footer/",
        "title": "U.S. Web Design System · Footer",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-16",
        "archive": {
          "status": "available",
          "confirmed": true,
          "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916132644/https://designsystem.digital.gov/components/footer/",
          "capturedAt": "2026-09-16T13:26:44Z",
          "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916*/https://designsystem.digital.gov/components/footer/"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "footer-ui-patterns",
        "url": "https://ui-patterns.com/patterns/FatFooter",
        "title": "UI Patterns · Fat Footer design pattern",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-16",
        "archive": {
          "status": "available",
          "confirmed": true,
          "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916132653/https://ui-patterns.com/patterns/FatFooter",
          "capturedAt": "2026-09-16T13:26:53Z",
          "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916*/https://ui-patterns.com/patterns/FatFooter"
        }
      }
    ],
    "lists": [],
    "ordered": false,
    "listDisclaimer": "Seat numbers are editorial positions, not scores, rankings, or popularity measurements. A list that is not filled is left as it is."
  },
  "entry": {
    "id": "site-footer",
    "type": "layout",
    "name": {
      "zh": "站点页脚",
      "en": "Site Footer"
    },
    "aliases": [
      "Footer",
      "Fat Footer",
      "页脚",
      "胖页脚"
    ],
    "granularity": "component",
    "intents": [
      "navigate-sections",
      "organize-content"
    ],
    "tags": [
      "footer",
      "secondary navigation",
      "legal",
      "contact",
      "utility links"
    ],
    "definition": "A full-width region repeated at the bottom of every page that gathers secondary navigation, contact details, legal and policy links, and the utility entry points the top navigation cannot comfortably hold.",
    "boundary": "This entry means the site-level footer repeated across pages, not the closing section of a single page and not an app’s bottom action bar — that bar carries actions for the current task, while a footer carries site information unrelated to it. A \"fat footer\" is one shape of it, expanded into a multi-column site map, not a separate term. A footer is not a place to pile content freely: it is cheap precisely because it comes after the user’s main task, and that premise fails as soon as necessary information exists only there.",
    "signature": [
      "The same content appears at the bottom of every page in a consistent position and order",
      "Links are grouped into themed columns rather than one flat run",
      "It holds contact, legal, and policy entry points that sit outside the top navigation"
    ],
    "when": [
      "The site has many secondary pages that the top navigation cannot hold",
      "Users deliberately go to the bottom looking for contact details, terms, or support",
      "Consistent legal and compliance information has to appear on every page"
    ],
    "when_not": [
      "An entry point the user needs to finish a task exists only in the footer",
      "The footer swells until it needs its own scrolling and hides the signal that the page has ended",
      "Pages are short and the site has only a few of them, where a grouped footer rings hollow"
    ],
    "tradeoff": "A footer barely competes with the main task, so adding to it costs little; but because it comes last, whatever sits there is by default unseen by most people and cannot carry information that must be noticed.",
    "comparison": {
      "focus": "Offering site-level secondary entry points after the main task",
      "mechanism": "A grouped link region repeated at the bottom of every page",
      "cost": "It goes unseen by default and cannot carry what must be noticed"
    },
    "sources": [
      {
        "id": "footer-nng",
        "title": "NN/g · Web Page Footers 101: Design Patterns and When to Use Each",
        "url": "https://www.nngroup.com/articles/footers/",
        "claim": "The article notes that a footer is rarely a website’s highest-priority goal but has a valuable usability property: it never gets in the way of users whose needs are met higher up the page. It also observes that users often go straight to the footer for contact information or ways to get support, and recommends including those links there whether or not they also appear at the top. This entry paraphrases the positioning and the utility-link guidance from it.",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-16",
        "archive": {
          "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916*/https://www.nngroup.com/articles/footers/",
          "status": "available",
          "checkedAt": "2026-09-16T13:25:40.579Z",
          "jobId": "spn2-db7ace296b16896be0596221cf990d6123d22eac",
          "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916132608/https://www.nngroup.com/articles/footers/",
          "timestamp": "20260916132608"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "footer-uswds",
        "title": "U.S. Web Design System · Footer",
        "url": "https://designsystem.digital.gov/components/footer/",
        "claim": "The component defines the footer as a multi-column link region grouped by topic, with a variant that collapses the groups into expandable sections on narrow screens. This entry paraphrases the grouping and responsive description from it.",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-16",
        "archive": {
          "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916*/https://designsystem.digital.gov/components/footer/",
          "status": "available",
          "checkedAt": "2026-09-16T13:26:19.785Z",
          "jobId": "spn2-d7c65eefddb6dec07a0b1a6b67edf7a8f0750eea",
          "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916132644/https://designsystem.digital.gov/components/footer/",
          "timestamp": "20260916132644"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "footer-ui-patterns",
        "title": "UI Patterns · Fat Footer design pattern",
        "url": "https://ui-patterns.com/patterns/FatFooter",
        "claim": "The pattern describes a fat footer as a link region at the bottom of the page expanded into a site-map, giving readers somewhere to go after finishing the page. This entry cites it to show that a fat footer is one shape of the site footer rather than a separate concept.",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-16",
        "archive": {
          "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916*/https://ui-patterns.com/patterns/FatFooter",
          "status": "available",
          "checkedAt": "2026-09-16T13:26:25.105Z",
          "jobId": "spn2-5edd904f4e803c1d8d7e17c42d1c68dfbb7e4d91",
          "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916132653/https://ui-patterns.com/patterns/FatFooter",
          "timestamp": "20260916132653"
        }
      }
    ],
    "relations": [
      {
        "target": "contact-page",
        "kind": "composes_with",
        "condition": "Users find the contact entry point in the footer and need the full details",
        "reason": "The footer answers where to look while the contact page carries the full details and the submission path; the two divide the work.",
        "basis": "editorial"
      },
      {
        "target": "mega-menu",
        "kind": "alternative",
        "condition": "Site-map-style links need one place to be presented",
        "reason": "A mega menu expands on demand at the top and suits navigating before a task; a footer sits permanently at the bottom and suits after one. They can coexist but serve different moments.",
        "basis": "editorial"
      },
      {
        "target": "hidden-subscription",
        "kind": "conflicts_when",
        "condition": "The only path to cancel, unsubscribe, or close an account sits deep in the footer",
        "reason": "A footer goes unnoticed by default, so hiding the exit there raises the cost of leaving.",
        "basis": "editorial"
      }
    ],
    "rules": [
      {
        "when": "The footer carries legal, privacy, or support entry points",
        "instruction": "Keep the same position and wording on every page and make sure the links are keyboard-reachable and announced as one navigation group.",
        "strength": "must",
        "basis": "editorial"
      },
      {
        "when": "The footer takes up a lot of screen height on narrow viewports",
        "instruction": "Collapse the groups into expandable blocks and keep the group headings as readable structure, instead of hiding the content outright.",
        "strength": "recommend",
        "basis": "editorial"
      }
    ],
    "behavior": {
      "states": [
        "wide",
        "compact"
      ],
      "a11y": [
        "The footer uses the contentinfo landmark and each link group has an accessible heading",
        "Collapsed groups expose their state on the toggle and can be operated from the keyboard"
      ],
      "motion": "Expanding and collapsing may be instant, with no transition under a reduced-motion preference"
    },
    "demo": null,
    "version": "0.1.0",
    "editorialStatus": "drafted",
    "requirements": [],
    "demoCapabilities": [],
    "implementationNote": "This entry has no runnable specimen; the illustration is an editorial sketch of how grouped links are arranged, not a verified implementation. Before shipping, confirm that no necessary entry point exists only in the footer and check reachability after collapsing on narrow screens.",
    "image": {
      "src": "/images/site-footer.webp",
      "alt": "A fictional FIELDNOTES page-bottom sketch: a dark full-width band divided into four columns of grey placeholder link bars under small headings, with a bottom row of copyright and policy link bars."
    },
    "searchTerms": [
      "页脚",
      "次级导航",
      "法律信息",
      "联系方式",
      "实用链接"
    ]
  }
}