The Best Fonts for eCommerce Websites

Apr 7, 2022

Your shop online is constructed from a variety of elements including the color scheme and logo to the language you choose to utilize along with the degree of your customer care. Of course the fonts play an important role in this.

The fonts that you use on your website will contribute to creating the look and feel of your business -- professional, quirky, serious, fun, for instance. Additionally, they play an vital role in providing the most enjoyable experience for the visitors to your site, even people with disabilities in their vision.

However, how do you pick appropriate fonts to use them effectively?

An introduction to typefaces , and fonts

Take a break to take a break for a few minutes. Most of you are familiar with fonts such as Times New Roman, Helvetica along with the very-discriminated Comic Sans. What exactly are they?

The definition of a typeface is a digital representation of text that contains different styles. For instance, Helvetica has 36 different styles. For instance:

  • Helvetica Light (the thin version)
  • Helvetica Oblique (the italicized version)
  • Helvetica Bold (the bold version)
  • Helvetica Black (an even thicker, bolder version)
  • Helvetica Condensed (a version of the alphabet with more letters)
  • Helvetica Rounded (a version with the letters round)

This Helvetica Bold font is very specific, having precise weights and styles. Thus, Helvetica Bold is an actual font. Helvetica is an typeface. In this article We'll use the term "typeface" in addition to "font" in order to use the two terms interchangeably.

There are four primary types of fonts you can choose from, and you can combine with other styles to achieve the perfect appearance for your site.

Serif fonts feature extra strokes for certain letters. contrast, Serif fonts don't. Serif fonts do not include the strokes. Here's an illustration of letters without and with serifs:

serif and sans serif fonts compared

Serif fonts generally tend to be more classic and ideal to convey confidence and expertise. Additionally, they are easier to read as serifs make it easier to distinguish each letter individually. Serif sans fonts look clean and are more comfortable to read than different fonts. They are still simple and easy to read, even when you're reading huge texts.

handwritten fonts and script fontsclosely emulate handwriting they can be incredibly complex. They're a lot simpler to read than other fonts as well as differing in styles. Two examples are:

script font vs. handwritten font

It is evident that the first is classy, while the other seems more friendly.

Display fontsare very diverse. They cover anything that can be classified as decorative. They vary in their appearance and feel, but generally they're used only to create titles. Below are three different types of fonts that can be used for display.

examples of several display fonts

These three don't look very similar to each other, do they? They're nevertheless a good option to build brand merchandise.

What's the most efficient way to select and use the right fonts?

After we've learned the basic principles, let's look over a some helpful guidelines for choosing the best web-based store font.

1. Consider legibility

The whole point of text is understood, therefore readability should be the most important factor in choosing the right font. If your people can't understand your message, they will not know about the services you offer or learn more regarding your company and be able to buy anything!

Your body text should nearly always use either Sans serif or serif fonts since they allow visitors to take in huge blocks or paragraphs of texts. Use display and script fonts used for titles. And, at all times, ensure they're easy to understand.

The next thing to consider is spacing between your texts. Three main factors to consider when spacing:

  1. Kerning The amount of space between words. Correct kerning will ensure that each word can be read in its own way and isn't a duplicate of two.
  2. Leading The gap between paragraphs. When a paragraph is properly led, it will make text easier to read.
  3. Tracking regulates the spacing between letters in words as a whole instead of individual characters. Instead of altering the distance between "t" in addition to the "h" in the expression "this" the next step is change the spacing between all four letters in one go.

Here's an example of the three

illustration of tracking, kerning, and leading

Ideally, spacing between the letters and lines should make it easy for people to comprehend, especially in paragraph format. Do not worry, studying further about this can be enjoyable! There are excellent online games that give you hands-on practice.

2. Take a look at brand image

The brand's personality is what helps you stick out. It's the basis for the identity of your business. Your font choices are the primary element in displaying your personality to prospective as well as current customers.

What kind of feeling do you want to invoke for your visitors on your web site? Do you want to be fun and interesting? Stable and reliable? Elegant and sophisticated? We'll look at the way a couple of websites employ fonts in order to express their personality.

Scratch Pet Foods font usage

Scratch Pet Food has a brand image that is extremely friendly, and their fonts reflect this. They employ a strong sans serif for headlines and a soft sans serif font for body text.

flor fonts on their homepage

FLWR is an interior design company andsince they create styles for events such as weddings, it is logical for their fonts to be sleek and classy. They blend a contemporary serif with a slim sans serif, creating a distinctive design that matches their bouquets.

Ryanair professional fonts

Ryanair's corporate site is, it's true, corporate and the fonts they use reflect this. The fonts they chose were of the same simple, professional font for both headlines and body text. It's a professional font that doesn't seem suffocating.

Are you aware of the way the three businesses use fonts in order to portray the image they would like their customers to see when they see their name? It's the same thing. Be prepared to test different types of fonts too until you have found the perfect look.

3. You should limit yourself to a couple of these fonts

It's tempting to add the entire collection of fonts available in your store however, it's best to limit your selection to a few. In the event that you don't, your shop will appear disjointed and scattered across the place which could cause confusion for your clients.

If you're choosing fonts, try pairing them with various situations to determine if they function well together. One font could be used to be used for headings, and another is suitable for body text. It is also possible to use different versions of a font - for example, bold type or all caps -to differentiate words without diverging from the same font family.

Stroopwaffels website with custom fonts

Daelmans's Stoopwafels , for example, uses the same font to create headlines and body text. It uses an all-caps bold font for headlines as well in a lighter font that is used for body content. To give their site an extra dimension, they sometimes utilize script fonts that resemble caramel in their products. When used only sparingly, works well in accentuating key themes and helping the site appear genuine and distinct.

Scrollino website with unique fonts

Scrollino It is a store selling kids' products utilizes a highly easy and playful serif font on their headers. The font is combined with a clean, simple sans serif body text to create a clear and enjoyable feeling.

4. Select the correct font size

It is vital that your font size is large enough for people to read, including those with visual impairments. It is generally recommended to use 16px for the minimum size which you have to use however, this can vary in accordance with the font you use. For example, some fonts are harder to read in smaller sizes.

If you're in a position get someone else review the text and see whether it's simple to understand. Also, make sure you review the text on all devices that includes desktops, tablets and tablets and mobile phones. Software such as Screenfly can make your task much more simple.

Heggerty uses friendly fonts on their site

Heggerty, the company that offers the curriculum and various other educational materials, uses pleasantly big text sizes. Although they're not huge enough to dominate style, they're easy and straightforward to read across all devices.

5. Take into account accessibility

The other aspect to take into consideration is to make sure that the text is big enough for reading, and not too complicated like we discussed earlier. But you also want to consider the contrast of colors. You need to make sure your text is easy to read on any background that you're using, regardless of whether it's a solid or solid-colored design, or an image.

The contrast ratio may be as low as 1:1 (white on white) up to 21:1 (black on white). The contrast ratio that you are looking for when you use text is 7:1 in body text , and 4.5:1 in headlines. The WAVE accessibility software to analyze your site to find contrast ratios on color, along with other factors that affect accessibility.

good font color contrast

Track 7 Brewing performs a fantastic job of contrasting colors on dark backgrounds. On their homepage, they use either white or bright red text to ensure that it is distinct from the darker images behind it.

6. Take note of the caps in paragraphs.

Although all caps can be effective in making impression, they could also be difficult to read in large text. Our brains aren't able to make sense of texts that are capitalized, especially when in paragraph form. The result is that reading becomes slower and more difficult.

Veer website using all caps in headlines

If you wish to make use of the entire alphabet, be sure that you use them in a limited manner, and only for headlines. That's the way Veer makes use of it the capital letters. They make an impression and draw attention to the site, however, they don't use it within paragraphs.

What fonts are safe for web?

Fonts are rendered and loaded differently for different web browsers. Safe fonts for web are ones that are stunning and operate properly on every browser and on all devices. And while you don't necessarily need to choose the stunning personal fonts you select for your brand but it is recommended to add safe web options to the font library that is the font library used on your site.

It basically makes an alternative font to your shop and allows you full control over how text displays if, because of some issue, your custom font won't be available for customers. In this case, for instance it is possible to tell browsers to select Playfair in the event that your custom font cannot be accessed, Georgia if Playfair isn't an option, and then a standard serif font if the two don't work.

Kinsta gives great advice regarding adding secure fonts for backup on your website.

What fonts are you able to use on your website?

So how do you find the best fonts that you can use on your website shop? First thing you need to do is to ensure you're legally entitled to make use of the options you choose. There are fonts that are available for free to use in all circumstances Some fonts can be purchased to use in any way. Some fonts are totally free but onlyfor personal use. You should be aware of how the license works on the fonts you use.

These are some amazing web fonts that you can use on your websites:

  • Google Fonts: Google Fonts has an extensive library of fonts. They are available for free commercial and personal use. Additionally, they have tools for observing Fonts as they work.
  • A theme that you select WordPress theme Many WordPress themes include font libraries, which are often from sources like Google fonts. You can choose these fonts to use to build your web site.
  • Creative Market A web-based marketplace to sell digital assets Creative Market offers some really stunning, unique fonts with a range of designs.
  • Font Squirrel The site sort fonts into categories and allows you to view the fonts. Be careful though -- there are some fonts that are intended meant for use by the user. So ensure you're conscious of the font you're downloading.
  • Adobe Fonts Typefaces of high-quality for business who have Creative Cloud licensing.

What can you do to alter the font used on your website?

When you've picked your fonts, you're ready to incorporate them into your website. There are three main ways to incorporate them into your site:

1. Select the theme you prefer.

We mentioned that in the past, many themes come with a collection of fonts. Certain themes allow you to add those fonts to your site within their settings panel. Also, you can set your fonts using the WordPress Customizer:

  1. In your WordPress Dashboard, click the Appearance tab, and then customize.
  2. Click on the Option for Fontsoption.
  3. Choose the dropdowns that are available for various types of textsuch as Headings as well as Base Font etc. Choose the font that you would like to apply. When you update fonts, the look of your website's appearance will change to let you see how the new appearance will look before you install the new font.

The Customizer also allows you to adjust the font styles (bold italicized, bold etc.).) as well as the font size.

2. Use a plugin

If the theme you're using isn't compatible with fonts or isn't compatible with the fonts you'd prefer to use one of the best options is using an extension. There's a myriad of options that are available. However, if you want to use the Google font, then WordPress Google Fonts is an excellent choice. It lets you use the entire Google Fonts library, then allows you to include individual fonts for various sections of your website, including paragraphs, headings, as well as lists.

If you want to use an original font that has been found on the internet look into the customized fonts plugin. You can design custom fonts that you can integrate with well-known themes as well as page builders to make the easiest installation.

3. Utilize a custom-code

If you're familiar with code There are two additional options:

  1. Host fonts on your own site and use codes to include them in the text
  2. Install the fonts downloaded from third-party sources (like Google Fonts) and enqueue them

Further details and directions For more specifics and directions, refer to this article by Kinsta.

Find your own creative side But be aware that the easy way is always best.

Have the time of your life with your fonts! Create a unique brand and choose options that best reflect the essence of your company. But, at the same time, remember that simple is the best way to go. Choose fonts that are simple to read, and don't complicate the process with four or five alternative options. Your customers should be the most important thing to you.

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