9 Best Practices for Using Typography in Web Design

Using different writing styles and swirly fonts on a website is an awesome way of boosting its appeal.

Alihashmi, who has extensive experience in web design and currently teaches people his skills, says that “the right typography makes reading a website’s content effortless, while poor typography sends readers away.”

Simple body font when complemented with fancy, elegant fonts makes an article easy on the eyes and pleasant to read.

When writing a piece, you need to use a simple, discernible, and easy to read font type; the content can become monotonous and boring when the typography is too plain.

Here are nine best practices for using typography in web design.

1. Keep It Simple

Readability is key. You definitely don’t want to overdo the calligraphy fonts to a point that readers can barely make out the words you have penned down.

In fact, using standard fonts can engage readers’ mind better since most people are familiar with them.

Simplicity adds to your website’s readability and boosts its visual appeal. You should strive to use a minimum number of fonts on your website to maintain structure and professionalism.

Trying too hard to appear sophisticated using calligraphy fonts can be disastrous for your website when the content turns into an indiscernible mess.

The typography of your website largely depends on your needs. For instance, when promoting your brand, custom fonts can be useful at that point.

Also, consider the device on which users will mostly access your website — whether laptops, tablets, or smartphones.

This will help you in choosing fonts that are legible and well displayed on the target devices.

2. Properly Match and Pair the Fonts

System fonts are a safe bet for web designers as they are easy to use and do not give out a complex layout.

However, to use properly the numerous calligraphy fonts available in the text tool, you need to select and match them up in pairs that give a great mix.

Some calligraphic fonts give favorable results when matched with other specific fonts; therefore, you need to skillfully pick and mix them.

There are websites that offer a selection of free fonts but it is important to confirm if they are licensed and whether you are allowed to use them.

You don’t want to use calligraphic fonts that require licensing on your website since it would amount to stealing.

Some websites require pesky uploading of fonts while some don’t, so you will have to find those that work best for you.

3. Avoid Lengthy Lines

The number of characters on a line of texts largely determines the ease with which a user can read and grasp a message.

Shorter sentences offer better readability than the longer ones; therefore, your typography should not be too wide or too narrow.

A common web typography rule is to restrict the range of characters per line to about 50–60.

For an optimal line length of your website, you should consider fixing the width of your layout.

4. Correctly Use Vertical White Space

The correct use of white spaces between lines of text not only boosts visibility and visual appeal but also improves legibility.

Failing to allow the right line height measurements can make your website to appear cluttered and fail to draw the reader’s interest.

You should consider applying the right line height between the lines of text on your website for better typography.

5. Make Good Use of Color Contrast

Color plays a huge role in web typography best practice. Therefore, carefully contrasting the text and background colors can boost the legibility of texts.

6. Consider the Message You Wish to Relay

How a message is received and interpreted by the end users will largely depend on the penmanship.

To convey a message in a design effectively, ensure that your choice of fonts does not change the intention of the message.

For instance, if your aim is to create and communicate a happy and relaxed atmosphere, formal fonts would not suffice — and screaming or “scary” fonts would not work either.

Therefore, follow font best practices to realize effective designs.

7. What’s the Occasion?

The occasion for which you are crafting content influences typography in web design.

It should always come into play as you make a decision on the fonts to use for a design.

For instance, a fun and creative font such as Princess Sophia would best suit a website selling children ware.

And, if designing for a wedding, a more sophisticated and romantic font such as Coneria Script would be appropriate.

The event for which you are creating a design should always guide you on the best font to use on the project.

8. All Caps Texts are a No-No

Capitalizing all characters on a text or message makes it appear like you are screaming and imposing on your readers.

It is unpleasant to the eyes and most of the readers won’t even get to the end of the message as it will likely put them off.

9. What’s your Target Audience?

For your website to sit well with your targeted audience, you should understand the end users and take their needs and expectations into consideration as you craft your typographical design.

Who are you designing for? What is their age group?

What are their likes and dislikes?

Answering such questions about the target audience will help you to choose the right fonts for the message you wish to convey to them.

Final Word

To realize your web design objectives, you need to ensure your website’s typography content is legible, polished, and not distracting.

Furthermore, you need to be creative and go through the different font collections and practice using various systemic and custom lettering to determine which ones match up best.

Above all, there’s no single formula to attaining perfection in web design typography but with enough practice, you will grow your skills.

Do you have another tip about typography in web design?

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.