Footer links vs Homepage Content

[SoundinTheory]

We are redesigning this site http://www.crystalshop.co.uk/ but not reinstating the ecommerce yet so the primary aim of the site is to increase foot traffic in the shops. The list of shops on the RHS of the homepage is really messy  but is useful. I would like to move these to the footer... is this a bad idea?

If this is, is it a bit of a gamble to move it to the bottom of the homepage rather than higher up as it is? We are already featuring a link to the shop finder page but I want to get the locations in as prominent place as possible but it's quite a long list!

[MattAntonino]

I think the best practice would be to create a dropdown near the top of the page, enclosed in a

<nav>html5 tag.

http://html5doctor.com/nav-element/

According to at least one other site:

<nav></nav>

This new element can give search engine indexing algorithms clues to the information architecture of your website, (just like how sitemaps help them gain a better understanding of the website’s structure).

This is what you want, right?  To create a better looking structure but not necessarily make it a long list in a prominent spot?

</nav>

[SoundinTheory]

This does indeed seem like an excellent solution that we can use for the featured item on the homepage. Thank you

I do, however, have this pending sense of doom that I am not going to be able to convince the client. I suspect that they want it permanently visible on the homepage if not in the footer.

These links are fundamental to the current site goals will I get penalised if they are added to the footer? If so then it will definitely help persuading the client.

Thanks again for your help