How to choose the perfect font for a website? Step by step guide + Examples!

By Karol Andruszków

Do you refresh or create a website or online store from scratch? So you have to choose the fonts that you will use on your website. It is a crucial choice. Why? The layout and appearance of texts significantly affect the aesthetics of the website and its functionality and readability. Pages with appropriate fonts are much more user-friendly. And that translates into a higher conversion!
In this article, you will learn:
- How is a font different from font and a typeface?
- How to choose the perfect font for a website
- What tricks to use to combine fonts effectively
- And much more!
How to choose the best fonts for a website?
Choosing the perfect fonts for your website:
- Define the character of your brand
- Define the goals of the texts on your website
- Make sure the font has the correct characters!
- Check font license!
- Choose Primary and Secondary
- Fonts Skillfully combine the fonts and get even more out of them!
- Focus on legibility
Step I
Define the nature of your brand

How to do it? First, you need to define the nature of your brand.
How to determine the nature of your brand when choosing a font?
- Is it a technical company, or is it an aesthetic products and services company?
- People of what age and gender are its offers addressed to?
- Are the services or products intended for a broad or narrow audience?
- Is it a "brand for everyone"? Or is the target exact, e.g., educated women aged 25-35 from big cities?
- What are a given company's values, and what does it want to communicate to the recipients?
- Is the brand elegant or maybe humorous?
Step II
Define the goals of the texts on your website

After identifying your brand's characteristics, you need to know the fonts' types and features on the web.
This knowledge will allow you not only to match the font to the character of your brand perfectly.
Classification of fonts
Fonts are mainly divided into:
- Serif fonts
- Sans-serif fonts
- Script fonts
- Decorative (display fonts)
When to use the different types?
You will find the answer below:
Serif Fonts

Newsreader - a top example of a serif font
Due to their decorative character, serif fonts also look good on websites ... but most of all, when they are used as additional content elements, e.g.:
- headings,
- quotes,
- subtitles,
- logos, they
- slogan
Sans-serif fonts

Lato - an example of a sans serif font
Popular sans serif fonts: Arial, Open Sans, Montserrat, Helvetica, Futura, Verdana, Trebuchet MS, Univers.
Script fonts

Popular script fonts: Great Vibes, Lobster, Grand Hotel, Sofia, Arizonia, Black Jack, Cookie, Germanica, Miama, Pacifico, Tangerine.

Ready to create your website?
Use the most convenient website builder, trusted by thousands of designers and create websites that will provide you with customers!
Start now!
Decorative fonts (display fonts)
Tip:
You have already defined the nature of your brand. You know the types of fonts and their characteristics.
To quickly find font ideas, you can look at our list of the best fonts for different industries.
Step III
Check that the font has the correct characters!
Watch out for Lorem ipsum and subtitle generators!
What is going on?
Not having all the signs is a common trap. It's easy to fall into it when we use text generators and check the font's appearance not with our target content but with, for example, Lorem ipsum.
As this text is written entirely in Latin, we may not notice the lack of vital signs, including language diacritics.
Remember about the language versions!
- by changing the font to another
- coding the page in such a way that the correct CSS podmieniał the mark on a visually similar for different language versions
Step IV
Check Font License!
Be careful, especially with the fonts that install with the Adobe suite or the operating system. Their license often only allows them to be used in printed materials, not on websites. Therefore, not every typeface can be converted into a digital font and placed on the page.
Step V
Choose Primary and Secondary
Remember that you can't use too many of them. 2-3 fonts on a website are the optimal number.
The use of many fonts introduces chaos on the website. It makes it difficult to read the text - then you will not reach potential customers.
Most professional websites include:
- Primary Font
- Secondary Font
- Accent Font (optional)
Font, each of these fonts, has a different role and is used for other content. To give your website a professional look and make it easier for you to choose the best fonts - take a look at how each of these groups differs from each other:
Primary font
Secondary font
Will be the one that will fill the text blocks: paragraphs, product descriptions, or blog entries.
Accent font (optional)
It's not a required font, but you should consider selecting it.
Tip
How can I recognize a font that has been used on another website?
Step VI
Skillfully combine the fonts and get even more out of them!


Ready to create your website?
Use the most convenient website builder, trusted by thousands of designers and create websites that will provide you with customers!
Start Now!
8 tricks for better font combining
1. Serif with sans serif
Serif and sans serif font matching fonts are a safe combination - mainly when we use them in different sizes. Such fonts are so different that, in many cases, they look attractive.
2. Contrasting size
Serif and sans-serif fonts are a safe combination - mainly when we use them in different sizes. Such fonts are so different that, in many cases, they look attractive.
3. Contrast weight
It is worth writing the headline in thicker font and the content thinner. Then the text will be better readable.
4. Using fonts from one font family
5. Avoiding fonts that are too similar
This rule also applies to contrast. Suppose the difference between the font is too tiny (fonts are too similar to each other). In that case, the connection will not look good - even if one is Serif fonts and the second - sans serif.
6. Similar emotional expression
7. Expressive fonts with neutral
If you use a script (similar to handwriting) font in your header, use a neutral font to write your body text. Besides, the use of two expressive fonts, again, close to each other, will distract the reader and make it difficult for him to read.
8. Conflict avoidance
Tip:
Smart and Easy Ways to Combine Fonts
Font pair
Canva Font Combinations
Straightforward and practical tool. First, you choose a font name from the list. Then the search engine suggests a different font for it. Next, it presents an example of what such a font combination looks like.
Typ.io
Step VII
Go for legibility
If you conclude that a handwritten font suits your brand best, then… you should not use it as the primary font on your website. Decorative fonts add style but are challenging to read, and you should want users to spend as much time as possible on your website and read the content you publish.
You should ask yourself:
Factors affecting the readability of the text on the page:
Inter-letter lights
Leading
Too small leading will make reading difficult. Ideally, the line spacing should be at least 120% letter case (150% is often considered optimal).
Space Between Paragraphs
Text alignment
Contrast
Font should be of such color that it stands out against the background on which it is presented. Both too low and too high contrast will make reading difficult.
Size
- Titles: 30 - 70,
- Subheadings: 22 - 30,
- Plain text: 16 - 20
Italic, bold, and underlined.
Best used these effects sparingly. Underlining is rarely used on web pages. Bold emphasizes the importance of the items, increasing their visibility. Italics are great for foreign language expressions and quotes.
Did you like this article? See also:
8 Golden Rules Of Typography. UX-Guide
51+ Best Fonts For Your Website!
7 reliable ways to write a captivating title [+EXAMPLES]
Conclusion
- Define the nature of your brand. The font is to express the personality of your brand and match the style of your audience.
- Define the purpose of the texts on your website.
- Check that the font has all the necessary characters.
- Check that the font is appropriately licensed.
- Choose Primary, Secondary, and (if necessary) Accent Font.
- Skillfully choose the fonts on your website.
- Don't forget about legibility.

Karol is a serial entrepreneur and founder of 3 startups, as part of which he has advised several hundred companies. He was also responsible for projects of the largest financial institutions in Europe, worth over EUR 50 million. He has two master's degrees, one in computer science and the other in management, obtained during his studies in Poland and Portugal. He gained experience in Silicon Valley and while running companies in many countries, including Poland, Portugal, the United States, and Great Britain. For over ten years, he has been helping startups, financial institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises to improve their functioning through digitization.