Selecting Fonts for Website Usability and Website Conversion

Visitors form an immediate impression of your website based on your website’s design, graphics, images, copy, and fonts.  Because fonts make it easy or difficult for visitors to navigate your site and interact with you, your font selections will impact your website’s usability and your website’s conversion rate.

Selecting a Font for Your Site

You want the fonts on your website to look the same on every visitor’s computer.  If the font on your website is not installed on a visitor’s computer, their computer’s default font will be substituted for your font.  It may sound like a small thing, but it could change the entire look and feel of your website.  This means selecting fonts for your site that are pre-installed on both PCs and Macs.

Readability

A font needs to be readable on everything from a big screen TV to an iPhone screen.  A decorative font that looks great on a large monitor may not be readable on a small PDA screen. As more and more people surf the web from their phone or PDA, simple, easy to read fonts on your website are critical.

A Serif font has short lines which stem from the upper and lower strokes of the letters making them easier to distinguish on the printed page.  On a computer screen the little strokes which distinguish Serif fonts can cause the letters to blur together. Sans Serif fonts, or fonts without the extra strokes, are best for copy you expect visitors to read from a computer screen.  An Example of a Sans Serif font would be Ariel.  For white papers or documents you expect the majority of visitors will want to print out to read, use a Serif font.  Times New Roman (or Times on an Apple Computer) is an example of a Serif font.

Getting the Size Right

The size of a font (height and width) is called point.  Fonts that are too large may seem like you’re shouting at the visitor.  Fonts that are too small may cause visitors to struggle to read your message.   A 12 point font is considered a good size for readability.  However, a word of caution, type sizes between fonts can vary significantly.   11 point on one font can seem large compared to 12 point on another.  I have always used Times New Roman 12 point (Times on a Mac) as my standard for comparing font sizes.  If the font I’m using looks smaller in 12 point than Times New Roman, I increase the size until they look relatively equal.

Using Stylistic Features

Adding stylistic features to your fonts (e.g. bold or italics) can break up the text on the page and make it easier for the reader to determine what is important.  A limited amount of bold font will make key phrases on a page stand out.  Too much bolding and it seems like you’re shouting at the visitor.

Just like bold, italics should be used sparingly.  It’s more difficult to read than plain type and therefore should be used for emphasis; to highlight quotes, captions or to give credit.

Because links are identified by underlining, do not use underlines on other text on your webpage.  Underlined words that look like they should be links, but aren’t, will frustrate your visitors.

Colors for Fonts and Background

Everyone loves color, but on a website you’ll need to decide on a limited palate of colors and then stick to your palate.  Headings in one color on one page and in a different color on the next page distract and confuse visitors.  Too many font colors tend to emphasize the colors and not the message.  The eye is drawn to color.  Make sure that your font colors are drawing your visitors where you want them to go and not just making them jump around a page.

The background color of your website is very important in determining the readability of your site.  A white background with black text will always be the easiest for the majority of your visitors.  Dark backgrounds with light text are dramatic to look at, but much harder to read.

Consistency

Consistency is extremely important.  Your fonts, color palate and background color should be consistent throughout your site.  Changing fonts, color schemes and background colors from page to page is distracting and unsettling for your visitors.

Making an Impression on Your Visitors

Fonts convey important information about your company, products and services. They leave the visitor with an impression about your company and contribute to your site’s overall mood and visitor experience. Keep your fonts simple, basic, and easy to read, and you will improve your website’s usability and your website’s conversion rate.

How have you used fonts to optimize your website’s conversion rate?