It’s Not My Font – The Importance of Typography in Web Design

Typography accounts for 90% of website design. The main reason that people visit a website is to read text, whether this means finding information about the company or reading your content. The words on your website matter, so, the way in which you present these words should hold equal importance.

Each website must convey the intent and emotion of the business to its visitors and in a digital world, the easiest way to do that is through the typeface. Typography is personal and can be used as an extension of a brand. It is important to pick a type face that is appropriate for your industry, but also one that compliments your branding and image.

Typography maintains consistency throughout a website, giving it a more professional aesthetic. Similarly, it can help to make your content attractive and impacts the readability of your site which all counts towards a positive user experience.

Here are some tips for making the most of typography on your website:

It’s all about context

Some typefaces are appropriate for different industries, purposes and brands. For example, you wouldn’t expect a toy manufacturer’s website to use the same font as a law firm’s. Using a simple font is, often, the most appropriate option, whereas at other times the use of a decorative font could get people talking and add interest to your website. We advise that you carefully consider the messages your brand wishes to convey before deciding on your typography style.

Limit your typefaces

Having too many fonts on a website can look disorganised and confuse your visitors. It can also be distracting and take attention away from your all-important content but let’s be honest, it doesn’t look great either.

It is recommended that you use between 2 and 4 typefaces in your website design and use them for everything. Consistency is the key to making your website (and subsequently your business) look professional and using the same fonts throughout is the first step towards this.

Alignment is important

The way that your text is aligned can dictate how the reader looks through your webpage. To provide the best user experience, text must be aligned to compliment the structure and flow of your content. Think of alignment as a guide for your readers, the easier it is to follow, the more likely they are to read it.

Text size matters

The size of the words on your page can also contribute to the user experience. When sitting comfortably, most people are around 20 to 23 inches from their computer screens. This is important to keep in mind when implementing your website design strategy. Text must be large enough to be legible. If a website visitor has to zoom in or out it will negatively impact their user experience.

Spacing is also important when considering text size. Having the correct distance between characters and words can impact the appearance of your content and its readability. Having letters too far apart will not only be harder to read but it will make your content appear longer, which may deter visitors from reading it.

Change weight

Changing the weight of your text to highlight keywords on your webpage can enhance readability for users. This is a much better way of drawing attention to significant points than using multiple fonts, as it looks much cleaner on the screen and doesn’t detract from the website.

Check your typography in different browsers

Google offers many web safe fonts that can be downloaded for free but it is important that to be aware that not all of them display well across different browsers and platforms. Websites should always be checked to ensure that they are web safe and render consistently. However, in today’s mobile-first world, developers must now check that fonts are legible on smaller screens and in different browsers.

Source:- business2community