In this article, we will follow up on the ways to build and edit the footer or invoice part that we started in the previous article
The second way : using plugins
In a previous article, we mentioned the first way to build a footer or footer using the widget area and now we will explain how to use plugins
The best way to customize WordPress is with plugins . Then there are a lot of plugins dedicated to the WordPress footer area .
So you just need to find the tool that best suits your needs . However, some of the most useful plugins for the footer area may not necessarily be intended for the footer only .
For example, if you want to add a photo gallery in the footer, you can use the Gallery plugin .
Also this special tool can be used anywhere you need in WordPress .
These types of plugins often have blocks that work perfectly in the footer area, so don’t just look for plugins that mention “footer” .
Here are some plugins that you may find useful when it comes to customizing your footer area :
If you are one of the millions of website owners who already use / Elementor Page Builder/, installing Elementor Header & Footer Builder is a no-brainer .
Allows you to use the Elementor toolkit to create a custom footer for your site . And it is free to use .
This plugin allows you to create headers, blocks and a variety of other elements using Elementor tools .
This is the most powerful and easy-to-use editor compared to the default WordPress editors .
Thus, it will give you more options and a lot of things that require additional code or components built into the tool .
If you are looking for the most effective editor for customizing the footer area, then this is the plugin you should use .
For some users, editing files directly in is terrifying, but using the wpcode plugin, you can insert code into these files in a much simpler process .
This can help reduce the risk of your site crashing . Basically, just access the area you want to add to (header or footer) and enter the code .
If this sounds easy, there’s not much to say except that this tool (and other similar ones) still requires you to know the basics of coding in PHP to take full advantage of it .
Footer grid columns are a great way to customize the footer area in WordPress if you try to add a lot of information to the footer area .
It can be very difficult to read everything so this is where the Footer Mega Grid Columns plugin comes in. It will allow you to configure a column in the footer section . The width of these stylish columns can also be customized to better fit your information.
One of the downsides of this plugin is that you will need to add a line of code to your template, but it’s just a quick copy and paste job .
So, it’s not difficult and you will be able to access it in the widget area .
Also, each column will appear as its own widget and you can customize each column to suit your needs . Also it should be noted that this plugin works only with the old tools area of WordPress .
Using the metaslider plugin MetaSlider is a great addition to any website because you can add it anywhere using a shortcode .
Thus, to use it in the footer area, you can just add a shortcode block to the footer to use it there .
Well, you can use it to add a slider, gallery or carousel . It’s great if you want to add something like a periodic review slider or even a sharing slider .
It has been designed to be responsive, so there is no need to worry about mobile users .
The third way to build footer : theme customization tool
The theme customization tool allows you to customize various elements of your site, and this is what the invoice includes . However, the options in the theme customization tool depend entirely on your theme .
Many themes do not allow you to edit the footer, while others do . Even when you can edit the invoice, your options may be limited or missing items that you might want to add .
For this reason, the theme customization tool is not the best option, but sometimes the customization options are great, so it’s worth covering it even if not many can enjoy its advantages .
Step 1: we select a custom site for templates
This guide uses the free Astra theme as a reference because it allows users to edit the footer area in several ways . The only difference will be the options that you display inside the customization tool itself .
And to do this, click on Appearance and select the Customize option . Choose the Customize option .
Step 2: Locate the footer section
The theme customization tool is again different depending on each theme. This includes the naming convention .
Also most themes will have a “footer” option .
In the case of this topic, it is called Footer Builder, so be aware that it can be called differently .
And as long as it has a “footer” in the name, it’s probably the right place .
Thus, select the billing or footer area in your WordPress template .
If you don’t see the footer option, this theme customization tool won’t work for you .
Step 3: customize the footer area
Again, every theme is different and some things will have a variety of options that you can configure and others will not. In the case of the Astra theme, the options are simply not there .
Instead, you need to click on the actual footer or billing area to customize it .
This will drag a small box containing all the customizable items that you can add to the billing area .
Now, I won’t explain what these are because they are unique in my subject . But in most cases, they will include an option to add a widget .
If you add a widget, basically an entire widget area will be added ! And you can add widgets to it just like in the first method . Of course, other themes will include different customization options .
This can also include things like configuring the color (sometimes it’s a universal theme option), changing the font, and much more .
For this reason, you should figure out the topic before committing to it . Discovering that it lacks a vital feature that you want later on can create a lot of trouble if you switch themes on it .
Method four: manually edit the footer or invoice
This method is unlike any other, as it will work with every WordPress theme and provide you with as much customization as possible . Being the last on this list it is also the most difficult (at least in a relative sense).
This is because you are editing the footer file.php manually . If you don’t have the right knowledge of PHP coding, it can be difficult to achieve good effectiveness .
Even worse, you may be causing an error on your website . That’s why we strongly recommend making a backup copy of your WordPress installation before editing any code, no matter where it is located .
How to encode your footer depends on your theme and what you actually want this code to do . All I can tell you is that you need to know how and where to actually edit the file .
Learn PHP
Imagine that the most important aspect of this is knowledge of the PHP language. You won’t be able to do anything if you don’t have this knowledge .
And the good thing about it is that there are a lot of resources to take advantage of. While there are plenty of resources to choose from, the official PHP documentation is probably the best option .
Guides you through every aspect of the PHP language with explanations and examples. The information also comes directly from the source, so it is up-to-date.
Of course, this is just one of several ways to learn the language . And many people prefer to watch the video content and have someone guide them through the code .
For those cases, there are a variety of excellent video guides on the YouTube program. In addition you can also enroll in a PHP Course .
This can give you access to an expert who can help answer basic questions faster than a Google search shows up.
Anyway, learning PHP allows you to do more than just edit the invoice .
And the important question here is: where do I find the footer file.php
Find the footer file.php is simple and easy, you just need to start registering to log in to your cPanel account .
Once inside, locate and click on the File Manager option .
Select the public_html directory and then enter the wp-content folder.
Then enter the themes folder and choose the theme you are currently using. Once inside, you should be able to select the foowater file.php
Now, this is just one way to do this as you can also use an FTP client, such as FileZilla, to access the file .
There is also a Theme Editor in WordPress that allows you to access the file directly .
Note : it is also possible to make these changes using a sub-theme .