In order to better understand the merits of this topic, we may have to go back to the origin of typography and how it developed over the years. The first type of messages that were conveyed to Homo sapiens consisted primarily of Pictographs. From Pictographs evolved Ideographs and thence to Hieroglyphics, that was developed by Egyptians. However, the first alphabets that were created by Phoenicians were later developed by Greeks and finally given shape by the Romans who added short finishing strokes at the end of letters known as serifs. Roman letters feature the first examples of thick and thin strokes. Incidentally, those letters (in a type font) that do not sport these strokes are known as Sans-serifs.

Roles That Typography Play in Developing Websites

Needless to say, the typography and the font-faces that we select has tremendous impact on the different aspects of our website that includes legibility (readability), mood, size of the content, user experience and many more. It is, therefore, quite imperative that the website designer should know and cultivate the different principles of typography so that he/she can create an engaging design that can genuinely portray the vision and mood of the site. However, here are a few points through which typography will impact your website.Limit the number of typefaces for websites so that the consistency is not lost as in that case the whole purpose will be lost.

Font selection helps giving character to your site. However, this requires you to review the basic purpose of your website and its content and/or product/services. Once you become aware of these factors, your selection becomes much easier. But remember, your chosen typeface should reflect the purpose of your content.

Selecting the most appropriate fonts for your website is importantApart from using compelling images, arresting colors and user-friendly design, appropriate type fonts are also key to creation of a successful website. Knowing which typeface or type font will be most suitable for a given web environment will go a long way towards attracting visitors to your site. Even though there are innumerable type fonts that are available with most PCs and Macs, you may do well to keep it in your mind that only a handful of these fonts are suitable for websites.

World of Typography

In the world of typography, there are, in fact, only five rudimentary types of fonts: Serif, Sans Serif, Cursive, Fancy and Monospace. Out of these, serif and sans serif fonts are generally used in the bodies of text. However, serif fonts are customarily used in books, magazines, newspapers, etc, while sans serif fonts are primarily preferred as newspaper headlines, photo captions, technical documents and of course in all matters relating to computers. Of course, there are very many reasons behind such selections. Since computer screen resolution vary a lot, serif fonts, on account of their thick and thin structure, often look blurred, creating much eye strain. On the other hand, the clear cut formation of sans serif fonts makes them ideal for websites and PowerPoint presentations. Nevertheless, sans serif fonts are considered by many as cold, impersonal and dispassionate. But since there is hardly any scope for displaying passion in a Google research, nobody bothers about it. However, if you intend to display such humane themes as artistic or purely traditional to the point of getting personal, you may consider using serif fonts that are essentially “warm”. AS for sans serif fonts, you may consider using this font for your website if you intend to convey qualities that include cool, crisp, youthful, contemporary and uncluttered versions.

However, once you have made up your mind about which type font (serif or sans serif) you will be using for your website, you need to identify the fonts that are most accessible and effective on the World Wide Web. And in this respect it is always better to go for common fonts that include the following.Serif: Time New Roman or GeorgiaSans Serif: Arial, Trebuchet, Verdana (Andale, Mono, Impact).

Bottom line

Try to mentally match the type font with the message your website is trying to give. Use Serif font if it is sentimental or personal. Opt for Sans Serif if it is merely informative or full of technical jargons. Check other websites in your trade or industry that appeal to you and see the type faces used there. Chances are, you will find the fonts discussed in this blog post.