It was recorded at The Ranch Studios by Jonathan Gilmore and Joseph Rogers and mixed by Neal Avron at The Casita with assistance from Scott Skrzynski.

[2] Guitarist Eli Maiman stated the song is "indicative of the album's 'bigger, epic sound'", while lead singer Nicholas Petricca said: "'One Foot' is facing the void.

"[3] In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Petricca recalled the band's return to making music in Austin, Texas, mentioning how "it was just the four of [them] in a room for the first time" since their last tour.

[12] "One Foot" is described an upbeat new wave song by music journalists, incorporating a funk-inspired beat set to a slinky rhythm.

[14] Billboard said the song "encourages the same ecstatic abandon as 'Shut Up and Dance' but, unlike its '90s-worshipping predecessor, follows EDM logic with a gravity-defying beat drop and reverberating vocals".

"[13] The song's lyrics also urge listeners to "take things one step at a time" while pointing a finger at the United States, with the band calling it "the so-called Land of the Free" in the final refrain of the chorus.

[14] He also noted that the song sums up the theme of What If Nothing about "[s]taring out into the unknown, being faced with uncertainty and what could be certain failure, but deciding to move forward and take that first step anyway".

[14] Writing for Stereogum, Chris DeVille called "One Foot" a "[r]equisite '80s throwback" that "boasts some of those iridescent melodic squeals that have become a pop staple post-Purpose".

[21] The video for "One Foot" was shot in Joshua Tree National Park and, according to a press release, it was "methodically planned to coincide exactly with the Great American eclipse of 2017" (though not in the path of totality).

Robert Hales (Nine Inch Nails, Imagine Dragons) directed the video, and the visual effects were executed by creative director, Felipe Posada (The Invisible Realm).

[26] On September 20, 2019, Cirque du Soleil joined Walk the Moon onstage during their performance of "One Foot" at the seventh annual Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.