Websites are all about connecting with a reader. To ensure an enjoyable reading experience only use web safe fonts (listed below): 

The Three Reasons You Should Use Web Safe Fonts: 

1.      They’re legible

2.      They’re universal

3.      They’re plain

You most likely have a website so people can learn more about you and your services. Ultimately, your goal is to connect with your perfect client and have him or her sign up for counseling, workshops, seminars, etc. 

Your number one priority is to ensure people can easily read your content. 

One of the ways you can guarantee legibility is to use web appropriate fonts (typefaces).

Many novices love to get creative with web text. This is certainly understandable, but it is a big mistake, possibly a costly one. With the exception of your logo, there are only a handful of fonts you should ever use with your website:

·         Verdana

·         Arial

·         Trebuchet MS

·         Helvetica

·         Georgia

·         Times New Roman

There are three reasons for this.

ONE: They’re legible.

Your computer monitor displays images using tiny dots called pixels. Because of this, the best computer fonts have smooth, straight lines. Superfluous lines and creative styles usually mean more pixels and these result in blurrier text.

Some fonts have extra lines called “serifs” that hang down from certain letters, like “T”. Serif fonts on the list above are Times New Roman and Georgia

San serif fonts, like Verdana, do not have serifs (thus “sans” or “without” serifs) and are excellent choices for content on your website.

Verdana is possibly the best font for the bulk of your web text. It was designed specifically for viewing on a monitor. The font you are reading here is most likely Verdana. The extra little lines (serifs) on Times New Roman make it an ideal font for print material like postcards and letters, but less ideal for computer monitors due to the issue with pixels.

However, all of the fonts on the WEB safe fonts lists are good enough for web text.

TWO: They’re universal.

Websites are designed using a type of language commonly referred to as “code.” The code tells your computer and your web browser (Internet Explorer, Fire Fox, Chrome) what to do and what to look like. The font you are reading right now probably shows up as Verdana because the code on my website tells your computer to use Verdana first. If Verdana is not installed on your hard drive, it tells your computer to use Arial, then Helvetica, then Georgia.

It is important to understand that just because you have a font installed on your computer it doesn’t mean your reader does. If you use the font “Gigi”, for instance, and your reader doesn’t have it installed on their computer the font will default to something else and you have no idea what that might be.  Usually it’s Times or Times New Roman, but not necessarily. If it defaults to “symbol” they won’t be able to read anything. They’ll only get gibberish.

The WEB safe fonts are universal and almost 100% guaranteed to be stored on your audience’s computer.

THREE: They’re plain.

We all have our likes and dislikes. We also like to think that our perfect client will like what we like, but that’s not always the case. Keeping the fonts plain and simple is one way to visually connect with your reader. The web safe fonts are predictable and that’s a good thing.

The only time you should even consider using a font that is not on the above list is in your logo image which should be saved as a .jpg, .gif or .png file and embedded into your site somewhere.

The goal is to have text with clean, sharp lines and no frills. Save your inspiration and design for your banner, or display artwork throughout your site.