How to Choose the Right Font for Your Website

Designing your website is one of the hardest processes when creating your website. Choosing the correct elements is hard especially if you are indecisive, but in this article, I will give you tips on how to choose the right font for your website.

There is so much to think about when designing a website, but one tricky process is coordinating the elements with each other. You need to make it look balanced and visually pleasing to the eyes of the consumer to entice them to stay on your website.

The fonts on a website play a big role in creating that uniformity. Your visitors will usually concentrate on the text to learn more about you and your brand once they have an overall impression of your website.

Your chosen fonts should support your company’s site design and brand language, while still looking sharp on the screen and being clear in their informational delivery.

What is font?

Well, according to TechTarget, a font is a set of printable or displayable text characters with a specific style and design. We use them in both print and digital designs for you to communicate your message effectively.

They communicate your brand voice and content through the fonts you use. It sometimes conveys more information about your brand than words alone.

No matter if your website is a blog, a web store, a portfolio, or the website for a large organization, choosing the proper font is essential to having a successful website design.

How to choose the right font your website

There are many factors to consider when selecting fonts, including the audience, the product or service being offered, and the personality of your brand.

Choosing the perfect font shouldn’t be a snap decision because there are so many font designs available, each bringing its mood and style to the table. 

Consider the following tips as a list of things to keep in mind when you look at fonts.

1. Choose from the basics first

There are so many factors to consider when it comes to selecting website fonts that it may quickly become overwhelming. It is advisable to start from the very beginning before moving on.

You can choose first between serif and sans serif fonts as the first step. See if you like the vibe of the text and if you do, then you are ready to go to the next step. Picking default font types like this one is a good idea because they are frequently easy to read and have been around for a while, so many users have grown used to them.

2. Reflect on your personality, branding, and tone

Although it’s feasible to have a font that’s specific to your product thanks to the virtually infinite variety of fonts available on the web, things can rapidly get too complicated. Because of this, it’s crucial to analyze both your target market and the goal of your product.

You can ask these questions to yourself while choosing the right font: What emotions do you want visitors to your website to have when they first get here? Do you wish to create a welcoming environment? Do you want the website to have an elegant, friendly, fun, or serious vibe? Will your website be mostly text-driven or more aesthetically focused?

It will be much simpler to determine which typeface aligns with your product and message once you have provided answers to these questions and have restricted your options for fonts.

3. Simplicity is the key

Too much of a good thing in typography can quickly become terrible. Aim for only three different fonts when choosing the number of typefaces for your website. Using just one typeface can offer your interface a more unified appearance because fonts from the same typeface worked together.

Your typeface of choice should ideally have enough variety so you can select your primary, secondary, and tertiary typefaces from the same family.

• Primary font – This font will be the most visible on your website and we can see everywhere it. They usually use primary fonts for larger text such as headings. This font should reflect the brand’s identity, so be more creative when choosing a font for this one.
• Secondary font – This is used for the body of your copy. Keep in mind that secondary font must be clean and easy to read since they will go to your articles or blogs.
• Tertiary (accent) font – This font can be found on the navigation buttons or CTA buttons. They should be great to catch the attention of the customers easily. But having a third font is unnecessary, so no need to pressure yourself.

4. Check the readability

Readability should be the top consideration when selecting a font, especially a secondary font, and some typefaces are thought to be more readable than others.

Sans-serif fonts are known for having a more modern and clean design compared to their serif counterparts, which implies they lend themselves better for reading material on digital interfaces. Serif typefaces, the standard for print, are traditionally acclaimed as being more legible.

5. Make sure to check the load time 

Selecting typefaces that are compatible with web browsers is something that many designers frequently forget to do. Few people have the patience for slow page loads; in fact, they may significantly degrade the user experience (UX) of your site.

Never download more character sets, languages, or styles than necessary while downloading web fonts. You can avoid gaining weight in this manner.

6. Choose the perfect font combination

It may work to combine two types with contrasting “moods”; after all, the old saying “opposites attract” works for these typefaces as well. Try contrasting bold font styles with soft, neutral ones. While the latter is ideal for body copy, it should use the former for headlines.

You may always go the safe route and choose two fonts from the same font family because they went together in the first place if you’re still unsure about what fonts to pair together.

There are many excellent online tools that can help you if you need help pairing typefaces, such as fontpair. 

7. Make your fonts scalable

When adding typography to your user interface, it’s essential to make sure your fonts are scalable. We know fonts that can be scaled up or down without distorting as scalable fonts.

Make sure to test the font scalability in your interface with actual text rather than a Lorem Ipsum placeholder. You’ll have a more accurate understanding of how well they scale by doing this.

8. Consider the accessibility

When selecting fonts for your website, accessibility should be a top priority. Make certain that all users, especially those with visual impairments, can read the fonts you choose.

Use fonts that contrast well with the background and are not overly ornamental. Having choices for changing the text size can also increase accessibility.

9. Consider the cultural and international considerations

Think about using fonts that support several character sets and diacritical marks if your website caters to an international audience or has material in multiple languages. Make sure the fonts you select can accurately portray the characters required for your content.

10. Check the license and web font delivery

If you choose to use web fonts that aren’t typically supported by all devices, be sure to check the licensing requirements and take the delivery method into consideration. 

While they can fetch some fonts directly from a font service provider, others may need to be housed on other servers and require license payments.

Conclusion

You shouldn’t minimize the importance of font design because it can directly affect user experience and, as a result, make or break your website. Always test how your fonts appear on various devices and screen sizes to ensure that your website is readable enough for your users’ complete reading comfort.

You can choose from a wide range of options, so you will discover something that suits you.

FAQs

Which one should I use? Serif or sans serif?

The suggestion is that Sans is best for the web, while Serif is ideal for print. There are a ton of websites out there right now that successfully integrate both, and this trend is probably here to stay. But the last call is still up to you.

Can I use customized or unique fonts on my website?

Of course, you can, but always consider the cost, the license terms, and the installation process when looking for fonts online.

How many fonts can I use on my website?

The advisable number of fonts you can use for your website is three, since each has its own purpose. When you add too many fonts, your website may look messy and not pleasing to the eyes of your customers.