Hiding Policies in the Footer Only
Type: warning
Stage: Stage 8: Terms / Trust Proof
Difficulty: beginner
Footer links are necessary but not sufficient. Policies hidden at the bottom of the page don't reduce anxiety at the moment users feel risk.
Overview
Footer links are necessary but not sufficient.
Avoid when
Users must scroll to the bottom of the site to find privacy, cancellation, refund, or security information. At the moment a user is about to enter a credit card or upload a file, they will not go hunting for a footer link. They will abandon instead.
Better signal
Contextual trust blocks near signup, checkout, file upload, and API connection points. A privacy link beside the email field. A cancellation note beside the price. A security statement beside the API key input. Trust signals placed at the point of anxiety convert; trust signals placed in the footer satisfy a checkbox.