Web designers have a number of tools at their disposal to make a website really pop, including color, graphics, logos, and images. Yet the text is at the heart of many websites, and the size, font, and placement of this text can have a significant impact on the overall success of the design.
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Look at the Bigger Picture
The type of font you choose and its placement can play a big role in defining your website’s appeal. You most likely have already crafted your content carefully to convey a message, so you’ll want to keep this in mind as you start selecting the design elements that will bring the website together. It’s helpful to write down your website’s main goals and use these to narrow down the range of options.
For an eCommerce site, your goal may be to direct the viewer’s eye to your main catalog of products. For this, a simple, clean typography scheme would be ideal. On the other hand, for an agency specializing in web design San Francisco, the emphasis may be on showcasing their knowledge of the latest typography trends. In this case, multiple fonts or a cool, image-heavy look would be preferable.
Narrow Down the Options
Using multiple fonts is becoming quite trendy, but there is a limit to the amount that you can get away with as a designer. Even if you have access to thousands of different fonts, try to choose two or three that will complement one another. A simple, clean design is always more effective than one that’s overly cluttered. It can be difficult for readers to get through text that includes too many fonts, and you may find your conversion rates dropping as visitors quickly leave your website.
Pay Attention to Readability
Fancy fonts can give your website a unique design, but when used for large blocks of text they can give the reader a headache. Fonts with clean lines will help make your site more legible. The use of space around your text is also important. Don’t be afraid to break up text with white space to make certain lines stand out and give the page a cleaner look. The size of the text is another factor to consider. Not everyone looking at your website is going to have perfect vision, so erring on the size of a larger text is usually safer. This is particularly important if you are adapting your site for smartphone devices.
Give Text a Hierarchy
When a viewer looks at your page, the headlines and subheadings should be clear. Using hierarchy in your text placement can help give your page structure, and lets the viewer know where their eyes should go first. This is a way to visually guide your audience through the content, by using bigger and bolder headings to break up smaller blocks of text.
Avoid Distracting Formats
There are certain formats that can be a nightmare for viewers to wade through. Writing your website in all caps, for example, is an instant turn-off. It feels like your website is shouting and can come across as overly spam-my. This is a common mistake with marketing-oriented websites. Centering large blocks of text is also distracting because it makes the edges uneven and confusing to readers.
You may need to play around with many different fonts and layouts before you reach the best design for your website. Yet the right use of typography can really make it stand out from the competition.
Image Source: BigStock
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