Choosing The Right Typeface For Your Website

One of the most crucial aspects of any website design is the typeface that you choose. It’s such a simple thing to overlook, but the wrong typeface can easily make or break your overall design. Not only does your typeface need to align with your brand, but it also needs to be easy for your website visitors to be able to read too.

If you’re not a seasoned web designer it’s easy to pick the wrong typeface. The colours, sizing and placement of your text also need to be carefully considered too. Find a web designer near you.

Here’s our guide on choosing the right typeface for your website to tell you more.

Web Design And Typefaces

Not all design is created equal. When it comes to web design, what you have to remember is that your text needs to facilitate your SEO. If the text isn’t user friendly, your visitors will quickly exit. Whatsmore, your text needs to be easy to read across all devices too.

Taking a news website as an example. The headline and article copy will use a clean font such as Arial or Helvetica. It might seem boring to some, but the idea is that the text has excellent legibility. That doesn’t mean to say there isn’t room for personality, but it’s how and where you implement it that counts.

For example, The New York Times has a characterful logo on all of its pages made from a vintage typeface. But, it would never use the same typeface on the actual articles because it’s not screen compatible. So, it gives a hint of the brand without overwhelming the user.

Sans Serif Vs Serif

Typefaces are either classed as sans serif or serif. The easiest way to tell the difference is that sans serif is without any decoratives strokes or finishes. Serif fonts on the other hand feature flourishes at the base or side of each letter. This is ideal for the likes of invites or branding, but not for reading long reams of text. That’s why sans serif (without flourishes) is the preferred option for web design, because such typefaces are considered to be more readable.

Some examples of sans serif fonts include Avenir, Futura, Helvetica and Proxima Nova. From a practicality point of view, sans serif typefaces are also much easier to place in menus or on buttons. As many serif fonts contain swirly elements, these can be very difficult to read especially at a smaller size. However, sans serif fonts fit neatly into many different types of scenarios such as headers and footers, which are needed for web design.

Sourcing Fonts From The Right Places

There are some excellent places to source fonts from that are curated by fellow web designers. There’s also plenty of free sites that offer practically anything, even if it’s terrible. While it might be tempting to use a free font, it can come with many issues. Bad design aside, such fonts often don’t have the correct licence or are stolen from elsewhere. All of which can create a real headache for businesses further down the line, plus it’s not exactly ethical either.

Some of the best places to source typefaces include Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts and Fontfabric. It’s also possible to have a custom font designed by a typographer too, which can really set your brand apart. Try to use 1-3 fonts maximum, as too many different fonts used can look chaotic. Be sure to use the same font throughout that matches your brand identity.

To Sum Up

When choosing a typeface for your website, your users must be able to read it clearly. There are thousands of typefaces to choose from, which is why it’s always worth getting a professional opinion from a web designer.

That way, you can be safe in the knowledge your website looks great from all angles. After all, if nobody can read what it is you have to say, then your website simply can’t perform to its potential.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes