It may sound cliché, but first impressions do have a lasting effect.

When a user visits your website, typography is the first thing that they notice. It creates a user experience even before they’ve read a single word of the content that your website offers.

Typography has the potential to go beyond just telling a story. It depicts who is behind the website and what they are offering. Think of website typography the same as you would your tone of voice during a speech, it is used to create an atmosphere that elicits an emotional response from the audience.

Using different fonts and writing styles on your website is a great way to improve its visual appeal, while poor typography offers visitors no incentive to stay because there is nothing interesting to grb and hold their attention. With the the right typography in place, you can make the user experience effortless, seamless, and ultimately more enjoyable!

In essence, typography is just a set of rules for seemingly simple things— letter spacing, cap height, shapes of strokes and other such minor details. But the way it interacts, behaves and looks with other elements makes one website different from another. It creates a lasting impression and prevents the reader from bouncing to other websites.

When you’re writing a new piece of content, you need to use a font type that’s easy to read on any device. If the Typography is too plain, then even the most exciting piece of content can end up looking boring and monotonous.

Let’s be honest. We are living in an era where almost every top-tier website offers dynamic element and optimized navigation. With that in mind, will something as inconsequential as line-style typography really make a difference in your audience.

The truth is, that in capable hands, line typography can make a bold statement about your brand and even act as a cornerstone for your online presence.

Here are some examples to prove our point.

Alphaputt

Take a look at the website of Alphaputt. It has a trendy-looking hero area that incorporates quirky animations. From the looks of it, it seems like the team of Alphaputt has really thought their UX through. The animation takes up only a small part of the screen. Everything else is static and clean. The result is a secure background for the outline typography.

Toonami

The Toonami Adult Swim website is another great example of why line style typography is a great choice. The web design has an amazing cosmic vibe to it. There are shallow boxes, a grid and outlined circles. There are hollow shaped letters that are techy and refined. They are blended beautifully with the entire web design. The choices are really well thought out as nothing else would’ve gone as perfectly as this typography.

1MD

1MD is a great example of how good typography can make a difference in getting the attention of the website visitors almost immediately. The website uses huge white typography with a slideshow of various animations that keep the audience glued to their screens. The result is immediate attention of the website visitors.

Yukie Nail New York

Yukie Nail New York’s web design uses some excellent typography as well. The hero area of the website is an eye-catching canvas with a liquid-style effect. A ripple disturbs the entire surface with every move of the mouse over this canvas. While the hollow typeface used on the website does merge with the background a little, it still blends perfectly with the feminine atmosphere of the website.

Marie Guillaumet

The website uses a handwritten typeface that aligns with the services they offer. It gives a sense of personalization to the portfolio that makes one believe that the designer is physically involved with the production process. There is an air of uniqueness and individuality in this website, that is perfectly illustrated in the hand-drawn icons that pair perfectly with the hand-written typeface, adding character to the overall look of the website.

Good Fortune

Another good example of line typography with a touch of retro style is the Good Fortune website. There is a generous amount of white-space, thanks to the monochrome canvas. The graceful typeface is enough to draw the attention of the visitors. The end result is a clean and classy look that really gets across the USPs of the brand.

The Best Practices Of Using Typography In Your Web Design

1. Keep It Simple

While working on your web typography is important, you don’t want to overdo it. Readability is the key, and you shouldn’t complicate the font and styles you use to a point where it becomes impossible for the readers to figure out what is written.

Simplicity not only boosts the visual appeal of the website, but it also adds to the readability of your content. Using a minimum number of fonts and staying consistent with them on the website also establishes a sense of professionalism and structure in your content.

Trying too hard will only make the content look like an indiscernible mess that users don’t find interesting or intriguing. Thus, it is best to keep it as simple as you can while keeping in mind the readability and structure of your website. Choose fonts that are well-displayed and legible on the target devices. Work on typography, but don’t overdo it.

2. Avoid Lengthy Sentences

Users will grasp your message with ease if you include a fewer number of characters per line.

The shorter the length of the sentences, the better the readability. Don’t make your typography too narrow or too wide. Try to restrict the range of characters per line to about 50-60. Consider fixing the layout’s width for getting an optimal line length to improve the impact on the audience.

3. Pair The Fonts With The Right Matches

System fonts are a safe bet when it comes to web design, they don’t complicate the website layout and are generally easier to read and understand.

However, if you wish to improve the effect of these fonts in the text tool, it is best to choose and match them up in pairs. This will give you a great mix as some of these fonts work best when they are paired with other fonts. Pick and match them skillfully to get the maximum attention of your audience.

4. Use White Spaces Correctly

Using the white spaces present between the lines of text should be done smartly. These white spaces not only improve the legibility of the text but also boost visual appeal and visibility. They also help prevent the website from appearing too cluttered. Make sure to apply the right line height when it comes to your website to improve its typography and hence the impact it has on the visitors.

5. Color Contrast

While color contrast may seem like an elementary concept when it comes to web design, many still tend to overlook it. This principle is especially important when it comes time to select the colors for your overall design and typography.

One common mistakes that many web designers make is putting black text on an all-white background. This creates so much contrast that it doesn’t appeal to the user at all. If you take a quick look at various websites, you will find out that the text on white backgrounds is not really black. In fact, to keep the contrast down and make the text easy to read, they use grey colored text.

You cannot achieve the perfect contrast just by finding two very different colors. Just because these are different colors doesn’t mean that they will work great together. If you are not sure how to choose the right colors, consider converting it to grey scale. This will let you see the value of colors, which is more important than picking just any two contrasting colors.

6. Kerning

The process of adjusting space between each character is referred to as kerning. The aim of kerning is to achieve a symmetrical and balanced look as it helps in equalizing the appearance of white-space present between each letter. While it is not very important in paragraphs, you need to pay close attention to the large type and headers. Kerning is an important tool to avoid any line breaks in your design. Although kerning is generally more closely related to print designs, it is now becoming increasingly important to web designs as well.

7. Sans Serif Vs. Serif

There is an ongoing debate about which fonts are more legible, serif or sans serif. When working on web design of any kind, it is generally agreed upon that sans serif fonts are much easier to read on screen as compared to serif fonts.When working on the typeface of your website, use sans serif fonts for the majority of the text and use serif fonts for small sections of the web copy, headers and titles.

8. Your Target Audience

Your typography should also depend on your audience. It is important that your website sits well with your target audience. Make sure that you understand the end user and keep their expectations and needs in mind when you are creating the typographical design of your website.

Think about the age group of the target audience. What are their likes and dislikes? What are their preferences?

Answers to these questions will help you design your website as per the expectations of your target audience. It will also help you choose the right typography elements for your audience.

9. Hierarchy

Typographic hierarchy is often established by using <h1>, <h2>, etc., tags. It is not only related to the size of the text, but it also determines the prominence of one typographic element relative to the other. It can be determined by using the contrasting colors, size, white space and different typefaces. If you wish to get the perfect hierarchy for your website, start with the sketch of your layout. The most important visual elements should be at the top and the least important ones should be at the bottom. The most important elements in your typography don’t have to be larger in size. They should have maximum prominence as compared to the other elements. To understand the importance of each element, ask yourself what you want your audience to read first. This element doesn’t necessarily have to be on the top of your web layout, but it should be the focal point.

10. All Caps Texts

Using all caps texts makes the reader feel like you are screaming your message to them. Remember, you don’t want to impose your content on the readers. If they get a sense that you’re pushing marketing materials at them then, they will be put off by your website before you are able to convey the core of your message to them.

If you are keen on using all caps, make sure you only do it when it is genuinely required and as mentioned above, keep the intent of the audience in mind.

Summing It Up

If you wish to realize the objectives of your web design, you must ensure that the website’s typography is polished and legible. It should be pleasing to the eye;not distracting. Don’t be afraid of being creative. Patiently go through the various fonts collection and take your time to determine what works the best for you. While there is no single formula that can help you attain the perfect web design typography, you will be able to grow your skills with enough practice.