BigCommerce Footer Customization: Managing Brand Lists with Page Builder

BigCommerce Footer Customization: Managing Brand Lists with Page Builder

Customizing your BigCommerce store's footer is a common task for merchants looking to optimize navigation and present information effectively. One frequent area of inquiry involves brand lists – whether to display them, how to make them clickable, or even how to remove them entirely. This community thread from the BigCommerce forum sheds light on a user's journey to manage their footer's brand list, highlighting the simplicity offered by BigCommerce's Page Builder.

The Initial Query: A Clickable Brand List

The discussion began with a concise question from Ross Moffat: "How to get a clickable brand list at the bottom of the page." This query, while brief, suggests a desire to enhance store navigation by providing direct access to brand-specific product pages from the footer. Such an implementation can improve user experience and help customers discover products from their preferred brands more easily.

Clarification and a Swift Resolution

Initially, the question was met with a request for clarification from Sajid Jameel of Codinative.com, emphasizing the need for more context or a reference design for ambiguous queries. However, Ross Moffat quickly followed up with a crucial clarification: "I was really looking to remove the brand list from the footer and was asking backwards. I figured it out though and removed from the footer in page builder. Thank you anyway."

This swift resolution underscores a key aspect of modern BigCommerce theme management: the power of the Page Builder. For many common layout and content adjustments, merchants no longer need to delve into theme files or code. The Page Builder provides an intuitive, visual interface to add, remove, and rearrange elements on various pages, including the footer.

Addressing the Original Intent: Adding a Clickable Brand List

Despite Ross's resolution, eCommerce Bros later contributed to the thread by addressing the original (misstated) intent of adding a clickable brand list. Their advice reiterates the flexibility of BigCommerce themes:

• Theme's Footer/Page Builder: The ability to add a clickable brand list is typically managed through the theme's footer settings or directly within Page Builder, depending on the specific theme's architecture.
• Linking to Brand Pages: Brands can and should be linked to their respective brand pages, providing a seamless navigational experience for shoppers.
• Theme Backup: A crucial best practice highlighted is to "Keep a backup of the theme before making any template or footer changes." This ensures that any unintended changes can be easily reverted, safeguarding the store's design and functionality.

Community Takeaways for BigCommerce Merchants

This brief but insightful exchange offers several valuable lessons for BigCommerce users:

• Leverage Page Builder: For many common layout adjustments, including adding or removing elements like brand lists from the footer, the BigCommerce Page Builder is often the simplest and most efficient tool. Merchants should familiarize themselves with its capabilities.
• Clarity in Communication: When seeking help in forums, providing detailed context and screenshots can significantly expedite resolution.
• Prioritize Backups: Before making any modifications to your theme, especially those involving the footer or template files, always create a backup. This is a fundamental safeguard against potential issues.
• Enhancing Navigation: Whether adding or removing, the goal of footer customization is often to improve site navigation and user experience. A well-organized footer can guide customers to important sections of your store, including brand pages.

While the original poster's problem was quickly solved by themselves using Page Builder, the thread still serves as a reminder of the common desire to customize footer content and the straightforward tools BigCommerce provides to achieve this.