How to Choose Fonts for Your Website

The typeface known as script is a great option to personalize your site with the look of natural handwriting.

Script typefaces might not be the best choice for long paragraphs, but they add a beautiful touch to headlines. A few common applications for script fonts include:

• Emphasis: Script typeface adds a special touch and draws attention to key text.

• Elegant style: It can accentuate elements in travel, wedding, hospitality, holistic wellness, and culinary websites.

• Whimsical and delicate: Script fonts add a dreamy factor to any site, tapping directly into visitors' emotions.

Learn how to add a script font for emphasis with simple code

Choosing the right fonts involves more than just picking the right typeface. You'll also want to consider font weights, font size, letter spacing, and styles.

These help users understand your message by creating visual hierarchy and order. If text is larger, bolder, or in a different color or text, for example, it's more likely to draw the eye and therefore sits higher in a page's visual hierarchy.

Learn how to style fonts on Squarespace

Font weights

Font weight refers to how thick or thin the letters appear. These values range from thin (100) to extra bold (900). Generally, headline font weights are usually between 500 to 900 and paragraph font weights are typically 400.

Font size

Font sizes impact what text draws attention on a web page and how readable your copy is.

Aim for a font size between 14 to 19 pixels. This offers the best reading experience. Also, set your Paragraph 2 font size to 1 rem. All other font sizes are extrapolated from this base size. "Rem" is just a special unit that helps your text size automatically adjust on different screens.

Squarespace automatically scales your font sizes, ensuring important elements like headings stand out. It also handles matching sizes natively, but it's worth keeping in mind as you customize your site.

Letter spacing

Adjusting the space between letters can improve readability, especially for headings or large blocks of text. For headlines and buttons, you can even try slightly negative letter spacing (up to -0.06). Just remember to prioritize readability and scannability, which we'll talk about more in a moment.

Font styles

Use italics, bold, or underlining sparingly to emphasize specific words or phrases. For example, you might use an underline to emphasize the word "new" for a new online course you're offering, or to highlight an important project you just added to your homepage. Overusing these styles can make your text look cluttered and difficult to read.

Accessibility considerations

Let's not forget about making sure your fonts are easy for everyone to read. Here are some key accessibility considerations to keep in mind.

• Contrast: Make sure there's enough difference between your text color and your background color. If the contrast is too low, it'll be difficult to read.

• Readability: Your fonts should be easy to read on any screen size. Simpler and well-sized fonts help ensure visitors can read your content.

In summary:

• Keep base font size between 14 to 19px.

• Keep Paragraph 2 at 1 REM.

• Use a headings font weight of 500 to 900, ideally 600.

• For body text font weight, start with 400, letter spacing 0, and a line height around 1.4 to 1.9.

These settings optimize your pages for legibility, which is crucial for building your audience because visitors are more likely to engage with quality content when it's easy to read.

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