Using Font in Effective Website Design

Most people who come to your website will be looking for information which can include text, pictures and video. However, there are some important visitors you shouldn't forget about - search engine spiders. You will need ample text on your website pages to help with organic search engine optimization - but it will also play a strong role in your website visitors experience. The use of fonts will work alongside your color choices. A font can be understood as a collection of letters, symbols or numbers such as bold, roman, or italic characters. There are literally thousands of possible fonts available for standard design but you will most likely deal with a few common ones when it comes to website design, word templates, graphic designers and social websites like Blogger.

Only a handful of fonts are installed by default on both Windows and Macs as well as the internet. 

Consequently, these "browser safe fonts" find their way into almost every website out there. Here is an image from a screen shot from a Windows machine and a Mac (blue) to show the browser safe fonts and how they compare on each platform.

Some background on Font Styles:

Block Fonts - Arial, Lucida, Trebuchet and Verdana
These fonts are simple and bold. They are easy to read for most people but usually lack in terms of style.

Serif Fonts - Book Antiqua, Palatino, Comic Sans, Georgia & Times New Roman
These can be used to add more style to your text but be aware that they can be difficult to read if too small in size.


All in all, choosing the right combination of colors and the size of the text plays a remarkable role in enhancing the website architecture and overall appearance. Be sure to consider this when coming up with website ideas and designs for yourself or when choosing to hire a graphic designer. Always ask to see their website portfolio. If you aren't sure about something - poll your family, friends and clients. Designing a website is not a perfect science so make sure your put the effort in to ensure it accurately represents your business. Remember - you only have one chance for your website to make that first impression.