6 Articles on How to Choose a Great Font

One of the confusing aspects of web design is choosing great fonts. Here are links to sources suggesting which fonts to use and which fonts to stay away from. A couple of these articles are addressing general web design issues and touch on fonts as one part of the puzzle.

1. Size Matters When it Comes to Fonts

Susan Weinschenk on her blog What Makes Them Click, writes, “When it comes to fonts, size matters a lot. The font size needs to be big enough so that people can read it without strain.”

She explains the concept of “x-height” and why it matters. She demonstrates that even though two fonts may each be 12-point, the one with the larger x-height will look larger and be easier to read.

2. A Guide to Web Typography

This post from the website I Love Typography offers an explanation of how to make the text on a website clear and readable. Several elements, including which font you use, work together to make your website a delight to visit.

3. Lazy Eyes: How We Read Online

Author Michael Agger, writing in Slate, tells us we need to choose a font that is designed for online reading. He suggests Verdana, Trebuchet, and Georgia.

His article contains many other suggestions for good website design. He also includes hints of how to make reading on a computer screen a pleasurable experience.

4. 16 Best-Loved Fonts in Web Design

These sixteen fonts were chosen by a group of web designers because they “are considered ‘web-safe’ – they’re supported by all major browsers on any platform.”

If for no other reason, this article is worth reading to learn a bit of each font’s history.

5. The Best Fonts for Websites (Web Safe Fonts)

This is a straight-to-the-point discussion of things to consider when choosing a font. One of the problems with choosing a font for text (as opposed to an image) is that you don’t know which operating system a visitor to your site will be using. The author lists eight fonts you can always use with confidence. That is, you can be confident that even an ancient operating system supports these fonts.

6. 10 Iconic Fonts and Why You Should Never Use Them

Author Matthew Carpenter gives his reasons why these ten fonts should not be used on your website. He writes:

This isn’t a riff on the world’s worst fonts, but rather an invitation for amateur designers and business users to stop abusing some of the world’s best fonts.

Nothing is particularly wrong with Impact or Comic Sans as fonts per se, but there is a huge deal wrong with using them in every situation. The 10 fonts below are overused and patently annoying, and we give 10 good reasons to stop using all of them.

His post stirred up a lot of readers as you will see in the many thoughtful comments.

What’s Next?

Please take a look at these links and tell me in the comments if you found them useful. Also, please share any good links that you have.

Now that we have some standards for choosing great fonts, next week I’ll share with you a few places where you can download fonts for your website.

Picture by Brenda Starr