Primer

Footnotes

Use footnotes to display contextual information and cite sources in the page content.

On this page

On this page

Anatomy

Footnotes as an ordered list of citations, with visual indicators marking items and return urls

Usage

Position

Footnotes should generally appear at the bottom of the page.

Do

Place footnotes towards the end of a page.

Citations in the format of a numbered list should feature both a local description and a link to return the user to the original context.

Do

Include sufficient descriptions for each citation, alongside a return link.

Don’t

Don't require users to manually locate the original context for each citation.

Paragraphs

Use paragraphs to present disclaimers or similar types of content.

Do

Use paragraphs for context-agnostic items of text.

Don’t

Don't use paragraphs to represent citations or numbered lists.