What is Big Footer Energy?

_{Day 172/100}

Hey—It's Tim. 

My browser history looks like a crime scene this week.

Every tab ends the same way:

I scroll,
the lights go dim,
the bass drops… and then, boom

a footer the size of a billboard.

It’s like the internet grew a pair of snowshoes overnight and decided to stomp all over “minimalism”.

I’m not complaining.

I’ve been preaching Big Footer Energy since a Workello demo four years ago where the team casually tossed an entire library under the fold like it was nothing. I left thinking, “Oh, so the basement is where the party is.”

Since when have website had size 11 feet?

Footers used to be polite. Now they’re loud, helpful, and a little unhinged - in the best way. Here’s why that matters for you:

• The top nav is your billboard. The footer is your curiosity closet. It’s where the 10% of power-browsers (and buyers) go to snoop.
  

• It’s the only place you can stash everything without hurting the story up top: deep docs, hiring, changelog, legal, brand kit, community, podcasts, AND the big logo your investors keeps whispering to make “tastefully smaller.”
  

• It’s a magnet for high-intent, oddball traffic: “security.txt”, “status”, “pricing footnotes”, “press kit”. Let them find it without hunting.

Footers I’m stealing from right now

• Workello - The OG “basement library.” Product, assessments, reviews, community, legal, jobs — it functions like a mini site map with zero shame. This is what first flipped my brain on big footers.
  

  

• Supabase - Very clean. Honestly a bit safe. But it works. Could be bigger. A good place to start if you’re still testing the waters.
  

  

• eleken - Holy full-screen, Batman. It’s less “footer” and more “second homepage.” Multiple paths for different intents, all scannable, zero shame. If you’ve got range, show it.
  

  

  
  

• abode - Smaller in height, big on charm. That cute, oversized logo does more brand work than most hero sections. Proof you don’t need a skyscraper to make a statement. (Also, the site design is just adorable)
  

  

  
  

• SavvyCal - Massive. The whole thing animates when you hit bottom and it feels like the underground carpark turned into a block party. That giant type is chef’s kiss 🤌.
  

  

  I’m not gonna spoil it for you. Their entire footer animates when you scroll a little further down.

• SpeakEasy - Clean AF. Surgical layout. I cut myself on the whitespace. Big-ass footer that still breathes. If you fear density, study this to learn how to stack without smothering.
  

  

  
  

How I use giants like these in real life

When I design a footer now, I ask two rude questions:

• What links would make a returning user whisper “finally”? Put those there.

• What’s too niche for the top nav but wildly useful for evaluators? Put that there too.

What to steal for your site (ship this on Monday)

• Add a “For the curious” column. That’s where you dump: roadmap, changelog, security, brand kit, press, status, open roles, affiliates, community.
  

• Add one Easter egg. A /humans.txt or /everything page that lists every page on your site, brutally. It feels like opening the backstage door.
  

• Give it a headline. Not “Company.” Something with personality: “The Afterparty,” “Basement Level,” “The Drawer Everyone Opens.”
  

• Permission to go big. Use the MASSIVE logo. Use images. Add faces. The footer can carry brand weight because the intent is different: people down here are choosing to look

• Rethink sequencing. Put Pricing & Docs up top — but put the weirdly persuasive stuff down below: “Security,” “How we work,” “Quality,” “README.”

Jus sayin’

If your footer is three anemic links and a ©, that’s not minimalist — it’s neglect. Your most motivated visitors made it to the bottom. Reward curiosity. Treat the footer like a second chance to convert the grown-ups in the room.

What to do next

Audit your footer against these questions:

• Could a VP of Security, a journalist, and a new hire all find what they need without scrolling back up?

• Does the footer echo your brand POV, or does it read like boilerplate?

• Is there at least one reason to smile down there? A line, a tiny drawing, a hidden link, something human.

If your footer doesn’t make a curious person click once more, it’s not done.

✌️ Tim "bottom text" Hanson
CMO @Penfriend.ai

Same brain, different platforms: X, Threads, LinkedIn.

P.S.  Quick trick I use
Create a barebones /everything index - literally every page, alphabetically-sorted - and link it as “Site map” in the footer. It feels honest.

If you’re feeling spicy, tuck a /humans.txt note from the team in there too.
If the robots get a .txt, why not the people too?

Keep it messy. Keep it yours.

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