Website Typography: How to Catch the Reader’s Attention with Fonts
If you have ever thought about creating your own website from scratch, you will agree with the fact that it is not as simple as it may seem at first sight. There are various elements one should take into account while designing and building the website to make it finally fulfill its purpose that is to attract customers. One should think about how to make it easy to install and customize, responsive, and SEO-friendly. A separate issue is different plugins that must be integrated into it. However, there is something that stands out among all these useful features. It is your website typography.
Typography is considered to be not just a technique of arranging the words but an art of communication. Images, videos and different means of graphics are mainly used either to create additional effects or enhance the key message. However, the message itself is created and transmitted via a written word which is the primary source of sharing the ideas with people. What is more, your visitors will form their opinion on your website just in a few seconds. They will simply look at it for the first time and decide whether they want to come once again or take some action. As the fonts present all the text, it is advisable to pay special attention to the ones you use when you design the website. It is recommended to choose them wisely, taking into consideration the message you want to convey to your customers. It will help you make the website more appealing to your clientele.
All the fonts are designed for a certain purpose. Some of them are used in the headings; others are applied in the body text. If you have started thinking about selecting the proper fonts for your website, there are several important points to consider. Let us analyze them to find out how we can catch the reader’s attention, playing with various aspects of typography. Moreover, we are happy to offer you a superb collection of ready-made business wordpress themes that we will use to demonstrate our pieces of advice.
1. Create Your Personal Brand and Style
One should keep in mind that it is possible to build your brand image, using the corresponding typography. Something extraordinary and unique will certainly draw the reader’s attention. Each font has its meaning. For instance, some fonts are associated with respect and authority. Handwritten fonts have a reputation for being friendly and feminine. Other fonts make the visitors feel comfortable and ensure that this company is stable and offers something that is worth buying. Therefore, opting for one or another font will contribute to transmitting the appropriate message and distinguishing your personal brand.
Furthermore, the typeface may show what kind of product or service you offer. If you specialize in something traditional, simple fonts will tell your visitors everything and make the corresponding impression on them. If you want to amaze people and claim that your product or service is exclusive, creative fonts will be your helpers in this case. Due to them, the customers will come up with the idea that your product is difficult to find somewhere else. As a result, they will come to you again and again.
2. Keep Fonts Legible
Now let us turn to the more practical side of using various typefaces. Choosing beautiful fonts may not always be beneficial for your website if your visitors cannot read your message. In this case, we talk about the issue of legibility which deals with the design of a font itself. On the one hand, the design may give the font a certain personality and make it be noticeable. With the help of original or extraordinary fonts, it is possible to create the corresponding mood and emotions. On the other hand, people do not want to waste their time and decipher what is written on the webpage. Therefore, it is recommended to choose the fonts carefully, as there is no use sacrificing legibility for the sake of creativity. It is possible to use creative fonts for headlines or certain offers. However, they also should be easy for people to scan. The more legible the fonts are, the more effectively they will work.
3. Arrange the Fonts in a Readable Way
Have you ever been interested in the way the words and blocks of the text are arranged on the webpage? It does not matter how perfect the selection of the fonts is if you lay them out on a website page so that it would be difficult for people to read the text. In this case, there is no guarantee that the customers will be impressed by the message you want to convey. What can be done to make them stay on your website and take the corresponding action? Besides choosing the web fonts that are easy to read, adding a white space between letters and lines will make them more readable.
4. Consider the Contrast between the Text and the Background
Contrasting is one more issue we need to be careful with. The key point is that it should be balanced like everything in our life. The main text should be of simple and reader-friendly colors. If you use background images or colors, it is desirable to choose the font color that will not contradict the background one too much. It is necessary to use colors that can be combined successfully and not compel the reader to leave the website. For instance, it can be white and red, white and green, white and blue. Or it is possible to use a fixed pattern people are accustomed to, namely a light background with dark fonts or a dark background with light fonts. It is easy for our brain to process the information that is provided in this way.
5. Pay Attention to the Font Size
Font size is an important factor that should also be taken into consideration. On the one hand, you may play with it, using big size to highlight some headings or significant information. Using more than one font will create a sense of hierarchy that will differentiate the blocks of information. On the other hand, it may do you no good. Nowadays people use devices with different screen resolutions to view the content on the website. If you want to use the font of the big size, it may look great on a large desktop screen. However, it may be too large for a mobile device. Thus, it is necessary to consider fonts compatibility to the web and mobile platforms.
There are several solutions to this problem. First of all, you may use percentages instead of fixed height, as they adapt to personal browser settings, as well as to screen resolutions. Another option is to apply font pairing in your design projects. Selecting fonts with compatible x-height and mood for heading type and body type will definitely come in handy. However, there is one more and even better solution that is to opt for ready-made responsive wordpress themes like this one. In this case, you may play with font size, use both capital and lowercase letters of different size and do not worry about the way it will look like in various browsers.
6. Highlight Specific Information
We have already mentioned simple fonts that are usually used if you offer people traditional products or services. However, even in this case, it is also possible to underline some key words or phrases in your message. Just use bold effect or italics to emphasize the words that contain the specific or meaningful information you want your reader to pay attention to. What is more, it will contribute to your SEO, as well.
Thus, typography plays a crucial role in the website design. As you can see, due to the choice of the fonts, it is possible either to attract more customers to the website or to send the wrong message. We are sure you aim at offering the best experience to your clients. Therefore, it is recommended to balance similar fonts with contrasting ones, stirring interest and ensuring the readability of the text at the same time.
