The process of creating the content for the website is usually known by identifying the topics, choosing the tone then developing the content, whether from the scratch or inspired from other sources. During this process, the choice of the font type is critical. In fact, there are conventional and common types of fonts that are widely used. Somehow, the freelance web designer Singapore may opt for the creation of new font types especially for the website they are designing. Actually, both of the font types, common fonts, and the custom fonts have their advantages and their downsides. Therefore, it is very important to know the properties of each and which of the two types of font would win the contest.
Differentiating font from typeface:
It is important to make the difference between font and typeface. Although they are used to designate the same elements, these two words are meant for different things. In fact, the typeface is the design that describes the alphanumeric symbols of the writing, whereas the font is a particular version of the typeface, i.e. a definite style (size, regular or italic, regular or bold). Commonly, the word font is widely used and it is employed to signify typeface as well.
The impacts of the font choice:
Fonts type have an important impact on how users perceive the website. The impacts are summarized as follow:
- Fonts impact the readability of the content: there are some fonts which are more suitable for the business because they do not confuse the readers about their significance.
- Fonts impact the psychology of the readers: the used style is absolutely a great psychological factor that impacts the interactivity with the website.
- Fonts are part of the design of the layout: it is important to choose the fonts that fit the overall design and do not create contrast in the layout.
Common or custom fonts?
A recent research has shown that even among the common fonts, there are some which are more preferred by the audience. Also, the browsers are likely to display a range of fonts and styles better than some others. It is possible that the custom font or even the custom typeface properties are not supported by the browser, and then will reduce the ergonomics of the design. Yet they are not penalized by the search engine bots, the fonts seem to have an impact on the attractiveness of the website. If they are custom, it seems that they have to fuse with the layout, the audience preferences and the main message of the website.
Conclusion:
Whether they are custom fonts or common fonts, the picked fonts have to fulfill a set of conditions in order to achieve the purpose of having them on the website. In other words, the conditions of readability and the condition of compliance with the overall design have to be respected. Yet the SEO principles and the W3C rules do not impose a particular set of fonts, the choice of the fonts has to come from a relevant UX study and research.