I’ve come to the conclusion that footnotes are not user-centred. I’m not talking about source references, although I mostly tend to see those in the form of endnotes that come at the end of a book or chapter. I’m talking about the references that lead to more discussion or information on the bottom of the page, set apart from the main text.

In three separate reading experiences over the last few days, I’ve encountered footnotes that provided additional discussion. Two of them were in print books and one was online.

Footnotes are hard to see, especially for people with visual impairments

In all cases, I missed the first indicator of the footnote in the text, and only circled back to find them after I bumped into the footnotes themselves. Most times I struggled visually to pick out the tiny superscript numerals in the text, even when I knew they had to be there somewhere.

If I did detect them in the text on my first read, I didn’t know whether to finish the paragraph or page before reading the footnote. I wasn’t sure what sequence the author wanted me to read the information in or how important they were.

Luckily, in most cases I was very motivated, so I eventually tracked them down and came to understand all the information the authors intended for me. In the books, the footnotes often contained amusing anecdotes that enhanced my experience and I was glad I read them. In the online example, the footnotes contained small details that were useful to the lay reader, if not for the specialist audiences that might also be reading.

Always respect your reader’s time

Footnotes are ambiguous. They seem to say that they’re not important enough to include in the main text, but they’re not irrelevant enough to edit out entirely. As a reader, what am I supposed to do with that mixed message? I was left a little grumpy. I had used up precious reading time (in short supply in a house with kids) trying to find and read the footnotes that I could have spent reading a page or two more of books I was thoroughly enjoying.

If it’s important enough to include, just include it

While it’s easy enough to make a case for footnotes in print books, I think the author or editor could take it upon themselves to do the thinking for the reader. If it’s important enough information to keep in a footnote, find the right place in the reading experience to put it in the main text. If it’s not, just let it go and don’t waste the reader’s time. Editing is a service to the reader.

Don’t make room for footnotes on your website

As for online, I don’t think footnotes have any place. If the information isn’t relevant to the user(s) you’re writing for, delete delete delete. And if it is, help the user out by putting it where it makes sense.