Bill Gates was right when he said “Content is king”. And like it or not, content will always be king. But when it comes to user experience, great content goes beyond readability and legibility. It is about getting your content to the right people and making sure they read what you want them to read.
So how do you get the right people to read your content you ask? Well, there is no shortage of tools available to accomplish this task; from toolbars to navigation, SEO, sidebars and social media platforms. And while these tools are all important, fonts play the central role of displaying your writing in ways that add charm to your content.
The fact is typography is a critically important part of any design and it influences all other parts of the design. Therefore, selecting your fonts well and using those fonts to communicate your brand is the litmus for making or breaking the user experience.
Think of different fonts as different outfits you’d wear to various occasions
Picture going to a fancy dinner party for instance. A sophisticated pinstripe suit or an elegant dress might just be the right outfit. On the other hand, hitting the gym would mean some sweats and a random vest right?
The thing is, what you wear speaks volumes about who you are, your style, your age, your personality and even how much you are worth!
The fonts you choose for your designs act in a similar way. Font designs speak volumes about you, your website and what your business is all about.
The goal here is to make sure your outfit is appropriate for the event you are attending. You need to ensure that it represents your true self.
Choosing any random font design is not an option by any means!
Fonts are useful in establishing the right tone and voice for your brand
The fonts you choose for your designs play an important role in evoking specific emotions and feelings to your audience. For instance, Arial, has a more business-like appeal while a font such as Comic Sans conveys a more relaxed, friendly and casual feeling. Fonts greatly influence how users interpret your messages.
Use the right Font size
The ease of reading smaller fonts decreases with age. So for your older audience, designing your website, application or products using small fonts is a perfect recipe for disaster. In fact, older web users complain of low contrast and small fonts all the time.
You want your text to be more accessible and readable and to achieve this, go for bigger fonts with high contrast. Your preferred font should not only be legible but also help to convey the desired voice of your content.
Font type determines the ease of reading text
According to a study carried out by tech giants Google and IBM, users read text written in Georgia font 7.9% faster than text written in the Helvetica font. So be careful to choose a font that will improve your text’s readability and credibility.
A font’s ability to influence user attention is more evident on products or websites that have a lot of text in them. In order to achieve a comfortable user experience, be careful with your typography. That does not mean you should only stick to one particular font type. You can experiment with fonts that are less common but be sure to check their readability and user experience again and again before settling for any of them.
Fonts can be persuasive and influential
Several studies have shown that the fonts play an important part in shaping people’s opinions about any given topic. Users tend to pay much attention to fonts that are clear and readable and dismiss fonts with minimal readability. You should also keep in mind that certain fonts are inviting while others are alienating and less persuasive.
Choose the right font color
It is not enough to use a bright font color on a dark background. Well, it might be legible when viewed indoors but might not work well if accessed in bright light. The font size, type and color are crucial in determining user attention.
The Take Away
With countless font types out there, you should be constantly on the lookout for great rewards that require minimal efforts. These are gems that will make a big difference in your designs. As a matter of fact, picking the right font is one the tiny things you could do to have a major positive impact on your products and website with minimal effort on your part.
The good news is you don’t have to be a veteran designer to know the fonts that are right for you. Follow the guidelines provided above to improve your website’s readability and to enhance user attention while communicating your brand.
Finally, we could discuss 10, 15, 20 more reasons why Using Correct Fonts on Your Website Increases User Attention but we’ll stop there and save them for another time so you can continue on with your web browsing. But before you go, we’d love to hear your thoughts! Why do you think typography is important?
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