Did you know that most of the time, the difference between a website that has a professional design from an amateur one can be found in the tiny details.
These are the small changes you can make, that could have huge impacts. They won’t cost you much in money or time and they’re minimal effort!
Imagine it like this: Have you ever tried changing the way you grip your golf club? Just a tiny change to the grip the result is a significant improvement in your golf game. Just like most people, when building a website, you get so consumed by all things you need to do, these tiny gems, that can make your website sparkle, are completely overlooked.
The perfect font design for your website is one of the most crucial gems we are talking about. It sounds pretty boring and insignificant – but that’s why you haven’t heard much about it! Successful publications all choose their font designs very deliberately and carefully. Their font choices, as simple as it seems, are not random at all.
Ease of viewing
When Steve Jobs was creating the first Mac, he created 10 font designs (typography) that you can choose from. This had never been done before and made such a big impact on the industry he is known as the Grandfather of Typography.
No one could possibly stare at these robotic fonts without their eyes getting tired or completely losing interest in what they are reading. Choosing the right font design has this “magical” ability of making your website look better, causing visitors to feel more at ease and improving their experiences on your website.
Communication
Believe it or not, specific font styles can convey different messages. Examples of these include strength, elegance, creativity. Imagine if you want to build a website for your accounting or legal business, the font you choose will be different to that of a website build for an artist or wedding photography.
Similar to the outfit you choose to wear to different occasions, the font you choose works in the same way. You want your outfit to be purposeful and appropriate to the occasion. You want it to represent who you are. The font you choose needs to do all this too.
So, on this basis never give up readability for design! The right font communicates different subconscious messages to the audience you’re appealing to. Get it right and it can help build your brand identity and increase traffic to your website.
Versatility
The font you choose will be used throughout your website, and your website could be viewed on different devices with different screen sizes. Therefore, you need the font design to look good regardless of size, weight or style. So, for versatility ask yourself these questions:
- Does it look good in different weight like bold, italics or normal?
- Does it look good in various sizes?
Simplicity
Less is more! Keep the number of font designs on your website to a maximum of 4:
- 1 font style for Headline or Page Title
- A single font style for Subtitles (optional)
- 1 font style for body content areas
- Use only one font style for quotes
Too many styles of fonts can make your website look messy and unprofessional. Readers may have a hard time focusing on what the important messages you are tying to communicate.
To help – think spacing and colour. The magic number for a perfect line height is 150% of the font size you are using. And in terms of colour; well this is a powerful branding tool and so when choosing the colour of your font pick only 1 or 2 brand colours that truly represent you or your business.
Business growth
Picking the font that matches your brand identity and layout of your website can make readers feel more comfortable, and increases the chances they will read more of your content material. This helps you build trust with your visitors and gives you a far better chance of growing your business. Let’s face it, the more content visitors read and can follow at ease the more likely your business will grow online.
As a website or business owner, you should constantly be on the lookout for outsize rewards with minimal effort. Picking the right font is one of those rewards that could potentially have a major, positive impact on your website and business – with relatively less effort on your part. We all like the sound of that!
Most people are not skilled designer, but from this post, it’s easy to see you don’t need to be a design Rockstar to improve your website’s readability and communicate what your brand is about. Apply some of the hints and tips above and you’ll be well on your way. Or if you’re still struggling and would like some personal help, get in touch with us today!
