A Brief Introduction on Website Fonts
Back then, website contents seemed to be similar, and this was a result of less knowledge about typography beyond the standard fonts known to many.
Everyone depended on typically the same layout and web fonts due to the limited font styles.
However, things changed in 2010 when Google fonts were introduced in the website world and being an open source it allowed more direct and hassle-free execution of customized fonts on web pages and websites.
Designers spend a lot of time deciding which typefaces add up and most sites do not offer a real preview of how the text will appear.
What is The Best Font for a Website?
The standard font which is mostly recommended by website creators is based on specific factors. For instance: the font should be able to attract the audience attention and be legible enough to keep the audience interested.
Using the right font design with the proper layout design makes readers more comfortable, and this automatically results to too many readers accessing your material.
What is The Most Readable Font on Screen?
There has been a heated debate on which is the best readable font on screen between sans-serif and serif.
Serif font originated from Roman antiquity, where letters were carved into the stone with a chisel.
When printing press became into use the serif fonts were primarily used in printing publications because of their readability. Serif fonts used on the
On the other hand, sans-serif fonts fit more into the screen pixel grid, that’s why are the most commonly used on the web.
Even though there were several studies done, the
Which Fonts are Most Preferred by Web Designers?
Fonts can be classified according to their legibility factor and attractiveness when they are used on a web page.
As I mentioned before, sans-serif fonts are prevailing on the internet, that is why web designers use this type of font for the larger text blocks or when small text font is needed.
But sometimes the website style dictates the use of serif fonts, so it’s important to use serif fonts that are clearly readable on the computer screen, such as Merriweather, Lora or Playfair Display.
What is the Recommended Font and Size for a Website?
You might wonder which is the best font and size for a website,
This is used by for the main body text, some designers use because of its medium size. It is somewhere between small and big, this factor makes it possible for many people to clearly see hence it improves the paragraphs legibility and readability.
If you choose 16 px size font for the body text, you can calculate recommendable title sizes with the use of GTR Calculator.
How to Choose the Right Font for Your Website
You might wonder what makes one website look professional and another one amateurish and the key distinguish between the two is in the arrangement of website elements.
There are small details that change the site and this results to a substantial improvement on your website.
Successful websites should have the right fonts and designers choose their font designs deliberately and carefully, and their choice fonts are not chosen randomly at all.
The right font selection should be captivating and grab the reader’s attention.
How Fonts are Classified According to the Nature of Websites
Website fonts can be classified according to the nature of the website. For instance, there are specific fonts for various websites such as fonts for educational websites, fonts for personal websites, business websites, and fonts for mobile sites.
Cooperate websites which deal with business-related activities stick on Arial and serif fonts since they are clear and this makes them ideal in communicating a message.
On the other hand, art related sites use fancy fonts to represent the art and this serves as a theme for the art websites.
Which Font is Most Suitable for a Business Website?
In a business website, one should at least combine three fonts but you need to decipher a little harder to come up with the right typeface, and this requirement applies to the typeface you choose for the website body.
When selecting the right typefaces you need to create the right visual contrast between your headlines and the body.
For example: when you want to achieve this it is advisable to use a sans serif headline and a serif body face.
Why Should You Use Google Fonts?
Google fonts are a quickly growing bunch of hundreds of typefaces which are successful designs done by lots of kind designers worldwide, who have devoted their works of art to come up with a reliable website fonts resource.
The term Google font is used since Google is the largest promoter of the initiative offering a distributing platform for these fonts to web developers.
Google fonts provide designers with readily available web fonts which are easy to use and easy to access. Users don’t have to have any Google web fonts pre-installed for the website fonts to display correctly.
Traditionally, web designers are always limited to some safe fonts that are likely available to most computers.
However, Google fonts have eliminated all these by offering a much more comprehensive selection of fonts that do not require a lot of loading time.
What Are Pros and Cons of Google Fonts?
Pros
- Google fonts are free to use and to download.
- No licensing restrictions
- When using Google fonts, there is no bandwidth or page view limit which might result to other coding limits when creating a website.
- The Google fonts do not need JavaScript codes.
Cons
- It does not include commercial fonts which are commonly used on cooperate website.
- Their quality is distorted due to compression.
- It limits designers who might want to combine google fonts and other fonts since it does not offer favorite commercial fonts from Adobe and other foundries.
How to Detect The Font which a Website is Using.
If you are curious about what type of fonts website uses, you can
Highlight text you would like to analyze the font, then right click and choose inspect element – this can be used by Firefox or Chrome users.
After that type into the style search box: font-family, and you will see which fonts are used in
However, if you are not comfortable with CSS, you can use Chrome or Firefox extensions for easier font recognition, such as Font Finder.
Which Criteria A Designer Uses to Choose The Correct Typefaces?
A designer should be well conversant with the basics of the type of typefaces used. Some Specified types are used for long copy, like books and magazines.
The font should be recognizable and easy to read in bulk and small sizes. However, there are some exceptions which include understanding the rules before breaking them.
The choice of type fonts is often influenced by the layout, line heights and the spaces between the letters.
Selecting the right text gives a voice and has the power to create grand or subtle differences in the look and feel of design in UX or otherwise.
How Many Fonts Should a Web Designer Use On a Site?
It is advisable for a designer to use not more than three fonts in a piece of design and it does not have to be a website.
Visual hierarchy is crucial, and this is achieved by creating fonts which vary in boldness and size.
Any addition of a different font can completely change the balance and tone of your design substantially.
