Loading ...Many things make a contribution to a successful, attractive internet site and font is no exception – in fact, it’s crucial.
The world of fonts is an exciting one, with so many different styles to choose from. You may go looking and find something that really excites you, but remember this – fancy fonts are fine used sparingly in graphics, but they are a total pain if overdone.
You need above all to be careful that the main reading font on your site is articulate, can be easily discerned, and is pleasing to the eye. And I’ll talk more about this later.
As an exercise, try comparing sites - Craigslist and Barnes & Noble are ideal examples. The sites are comparable in that each has plenty of text, but the font quality varies greatly.
- Craigslist offers a good selection of categories, but all of their text is identical size, color and font, except for the occasional title, which is still just boldened and increased merely a font size or 2.
- Alternatively, Barnes & Noble offers a great illustration showing how text should be used to distinguish between category titles, sub-titles, menu bars, prices, reviews and plenty of other similar classes. The text on Barnes and Noble’s site varies in font colors, styles and sizes. This makes it simple to quickly scan the Web site for the material one is looking for.
Note however, that if you decide to go in for varying your font sizes and styles, you need to have consistency in what you do. For example, you may decide to apply Georgia for your headings, and Arial for your body text. Decide what you want to do, and apply it consistently so your reader subconsciously knows what to expect as they read your site. The reader actually uses font style as a clue to identifying what text they are looking at.
As you know, it is beneficial to use some variation in color between text on a Web page, but on the same note don’t use too many colors that the web site becomes confusing.
It’s a mistake to underestimate the importance of font to the look and usability of your site. If you use fonts in the wrong way, it can actually detract from the impression created by your pages. So take some care in selecting a font that’s straightforward to read. Then users will navigate more easily and find what they need at a glance.
And if they can do that, you have a much higher chance of them returning – and return visitors are just what you are looking for!
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