The Bottom of a Website Used to be Useful

Written 7/10/25

You're scrolling through a webpage and you hit the bottom. But the bottom wasn't an end, it was a pitstop. Before you were options, new things to click, a next button, a web ring, or any number of options. Today the bottom of the webpage doesn't exist. You scroll forever and never stop, never rest, and never get to any useful links.

The footer, as it's called, contained a great number of useful tools. Some navigation for the site you were on, a "return to top", links to more websites, you name it and it could be there. Now not all of this stuff was always there, but it's a joy when you had more to click on. I find myself looking for the bottom of sites as a way to get from a help URL to the main URL, or searching for a different page than a nested nav menu has listed. (Frankly I hate nested navs, let me see where I can go dammit.) When on a modern webpage, the footer is oft missing and it leads to a sense of... well endlessness.

That endlessness is frequently the cause of many a wasted hour or even day. It leads to never having a moment to stop and realize that you're not enjoying yourself anymore. It eats your time and attention, all while trying to sneak ads into your view so the money gets made. Even sites that aren't trying to serve you ads want you to stay on their page so that they can track you and sell that data later. This "commodification" of the time we spend online is a source of dread and for me, loneliness. The lack of a comment field or social moment due to more and more and more and more content. Even on sites with social features built in, you skip them because they're hidden behind a button. Tucked away so you scroll and scroll.

There's an alternative to this. The Bottom. A place where a website ends, an app stops, and you rest. It's an escape, a breakpoint, an out. But that's not capitalism. That's not profitable. So I ask you, can you stop eating at these endless buffets and instead forage for food on your own? Can you find a site that shows what you want instead of asking an algorithm to serve you while you wait at the table? I sure hope so. I sure hope I can.

The internet is a cooler place than we let ourselves see. Much like cross country road trips, the memories are made when we get off the main roads. Join me at the bottom, clicking on new links, loading new pages, and taking a moment to breathe. The bottom of a website used to be useful, and maybe it can be again.