Last updated on November 13th, 2017
Web fonts are bringing about revolutionary changes in website designs, increasing a designer’s dependence on typefaces. With font face support being extended across all major browsers like Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Netscape and Maxthon; there has been a considerable increase in the number of font hosting service providers too. However, sometimes even the experienced designers find it difficult to use these web fonts efficaciously to enhance their web design.
Here’s a short guide intended to help such designers on how to effectively use web fonts.
Carefully Select Your Fonts
Choose a typeface that better complements your content’s clarity and readability rather than just following the norm. This largely depends on the type of content you are targeting; a header, a heading or the text body. The best practice is to read through the text again and again in order to acquire its thorough understanding. Here are few expert suggestions that may prove to be utterly helpful.
- Oswald is an excellent display font to be used for headlines.
- Gravitas One is a perfect font for headers as well as tabs.
- Rosario goes well with paragraph type.
- Roboto Slab offers enriched reading experience.
- Use of Crimson Text must be considered when a solid well-proportioned impact has to be delivered.
Don’t Forget About Your File Size
Some of the web fonts like Fedra Sans and Typotheque can make your files excessively large, so it makes sense to optimize them if you considering using such fonts in your website design. A better trick would be to shred off the unwanted and undesired characters completely off your web font installation as many web browsers will not be able to access all the characters found in the download. Moreover, this will considerably lower down your file size saving you from problems like a site hang.
Consider Type Usage In The First Place
It is smart to choose the typefaces first and then take a decision on how to craft its design. Substituting fonts into a readymade design format is completely different from designing something from the starch and is independent of typefaces. The latter approach helps you in better designing of your website. After all, it’s the overall user experience that matters the most!
Testing Has No Alternatives
Even the best of the design elements that are now in popular practise have once undergone testing phases. So, consider it as an essential key of your successful font implementation to ensure that nothing has fallen off the place. Moreover, as a web designer, it is your responsibility to ensure that thorough testing has been carried out across multiple browsers and platforms so that your viewers get nothing but the best. Though many may not find this point so relevant, it is apparent and vital considering the platform differences, especially between Windows and Macintosh.
These are just a few amongst the many other ways that can help you effectively enhance the look and feel of your website and make it look more professional.
