When it comes to choosing a font style for your website, there are plenty of free and premium options to choose from. In fact, companies like Klim Type Foundry, Optimo, and Swiss Typefaces offer high quality paid fonts for those willing to pay for a font. On the other hand, many web designers looking for a free font style to complement their website look to Google Fonts, since there are many design options available at no cost.
Whether you’re in the market for free or high quality paid fonts for your next web design project, we’ve got you covered. Take a look at some of the best free and premium options available for website designers today.
Roboto
- Roboto is one of the most famous serif type Google Web Fonts
- Can be ideally used for navigation menus, paragraphs, or any content headings
- Available in 12 different styles
- Roboto also has Roboto Condensed and Roboto Slab in its family
Questral
- Questral is a modern style font that can be used for body paragraph text and headlines
- Only available in 1 Style
- Has full circle curves in many characters
Muli
- Muli is one of the minimal best sans serif Google Fonts available (14 different styles)
- Was designed primarily for use as a display font
- Perfectly suits navigation menus, subheadings, headings, and paragraph text
Open Sans
- Open Sans is great all-around font for web, print, and mobile app design
- This sans serif type font is available in 10 different style variations and has a friendly appearance
- Has another font called Open Sans Condensed, which comes in 3 different styles
Lato
- Lato is a sleek and elegant sans serif font
- Comes with 10 different weight styles
- Perfectly suitable for headings and body text
- Roboto and Open Sans are the popular pairing fonts with Lato
Poppins
- Poppins is available in 18 different weight style variations
- Designed by Indian Type Foundry, this font supports Devanagari and Latin writing systems
- Perfect pairing fonts with Poppins are Lato, Raleway, and Oswald
Merriweather
- Merriweather comes with 8 different style variations
- Designed with the focus to make reading on screen a pleasant experience
- Can be used for headings and hero text
- Might not be suitable for paragraph text
Dosis
- Dosis is a rounded type sans-serif font
- Popular pairings with Dosis include Open Sans and Roboto
- Available in 7 different styles
Arvo
- Arvo is a geometric slab-serif font with 4 different styles (Regular, Regular Italic, Bold, and Bold Italic)
- Suitable for heading text and testimonial paragraphs
- Might not work for navigation menus and paragraph text
Alegreya Sans
- Alegreya Sans is available in 14 different styles that have a diverse pattern
- Provides a pleasant feeling to the readers
- At its thinnest style, this font looks minimal and elegant at the same time
ASAP
- ASAP comes in 8 different styles and is sans serif type font
- Has slightly rounded corners
- Developed for both screen and desktop use
Caveat
- Caveat is a handwriting font with 2 different styles
- Provides natural handwriting feeling
- One of the best Google Handwriting fonts
- Also has a sister family named Caveat Brush
Montserrat
- The name Montserrat is derived from the name of the place where the designer lives
- Comes in 18 different styles that are perfect for any type of paragraph text
- Is comparable to the popular high quality paid font Proxima Nova
Oswald
- Oswald has 6 different styles
- It’s a classic style type font
- Perfectly suits hero header text in website design
Arimo
- Arimo is a free alternative to the popular premium Helvetica font
- Comes in 4 different styles
- Is a sans serif type design font for easy site readability
Noto Serif
- Noto Serif has 4 different styles
- Visually balanced and compatible for multiple languages
- Is a perfect serif font for heading or other large sized text
Cabin
- Cabin is modern font with its own personality
- Available in 8 different styles
- Letter b, g, p, and q are slightly rounded
Perfect for any paragraph style, though works best on smaller text
Oxygen
- Oxygen is a Google Font that’s available in 3 different styles including Light, Regular, and Bold
- Designed by Vernon Adams, who designed multi-font
- Created as part of a project for the Linux Operating System
Anton
- Anton is available in only 1 style
- Perfect for use on headings and large size text
- Bold style makes for a stylish addition to any website
Libre Franklin
- Libre Franklin has 18 different styles ranging from thin, light, regular, medium, bold, and black
- Pairs perfectly with Open Sans font
- Works great on all website content, regardless of size
Signika
- Signika is a sans serif font with a gentle character
- 4 different styles including light, regular, semi-bold, and bold
- It has an alternate version named Signika Negative
Patua One
- Patua One has thick curved serifs to provide the feel of smoothness
- Comes with 1 style
- Is considered a Latino type font
Passion One
- Passion One comes in 3 different styles
- Perfect for huge title sizes such as site and blog titles
- Designed for those looking to pack a punch with their typography
Antic Slab
- Antic Slab font comes in only one style
- Designed for print use on magazine titles and newspaper headings
- Best use for online in testimonials or other small sections of text
Didact Gothic
- Didact Gothic comes with only 1 style
- Is a sans serif font that’s perfect for online use
- Perfect for learning management systems (online courses)
Archivo
- Archivo is sans serif typeface family which comes in 8 different styles
- Formerly designed for highlights and titles, it can now can be used for both print and digital
- Pairs seamlessly with Roboto font style
Viga
- Viga is a sans serif type font that comes in only one style
- Highly suitable for just headings as it makes it easier to read on the screen
- Is a very unique type font with a strong personality
Quicksand
- Quicksand comes with 4 different style variations
- Rounded type font perfect that’s perfect for lightweight display
- Designed using geometric shapes as a core foundation
Yantramanav
- The best pairings with Yantramanav include Open Sans and Lato
- Is a Devnagari typeface family designed as a nod to Roboto and comes with 6 different styles
- This font is suitable for heading and paragraph text, as well as other small sized text
Ramabhadra
- Ramabhadra comes in only one style, which is Regular
- Perfectly suits large size text
- One of the best Google web font for headlines, with letter styles that are slightly rounded at edges
Best Places for High Quality Paid Fonts for Your Website
It’s often said that typography makes all the difference when it comes to separating good design from great design. In fact, typography plays a key role in most design work you will do, so it’s a good idea to learn as much as you can before you set your site as live. And, since typography is a very broad topic, also make sure you read up on anything type related such as information about micro and macro typography, grids, font pairing, foundry releases, and more.
There is a flood of free fonts available these days, partly due to Google Fonts. Most of these are worth avoiding, although not all. That said, since typography plays such an important part in web design, it’s worth investing in a high quality paid font. Also, it’s worth noting that if you have an Adobe CC subscription, you automatically get access to Typekit, which is a fantastic resource for type.
So, if you want to go beyond the free fonts available in the market for your website, check out these best high quality paid fonts for your website.
Klim Type Foundry
Klim Type Foundry was founded in 2005 and focuses on making things that look and work well for others. Claiming to combine historical knowledge with contemporary craft, Klim Type Foundry features a range of premium fonts that can be used for projects of all kinds and sizes.
Pangram Foundry
Pangram is a premium font shop that believes in letting web designers try before they buy to make sure the font being used is perfect. It offers font packs that come with a variety of typefaces and weights to be used on your personal projects. There are also commercial font licenses available that are especially helpful if you run a web design agency and build websites for clients.
General Type Studio
General Type Studio is another great place to find high quality paid fonts for your website and marketing materials. Packed full of funky, bold, and unique font styles that are not going to be seen across the web or be used by your competition, this font company knows what it takes to help you create a standout site.
Grilli Type
Grilli Type is an independent Swiss font company that offers completely original and custom typefaces for use on any web design project. Delivering fonts in four standard industry formats that are sure to be compatible with all web browsers, this font shop strives to make their font types available for everyone viewing them. Plus, once you make a purchase, you get a discount on any future purchase.
VLLG
VLLG is a small, independent distributor, publisher, and designer of typefaces. It comes filled with foundries, fonts, news, and more, making it the perfect one stop shop for all things font related when it comes to web design. Better than that, this small company takes the time to represent under-represented designers, which means there are never before seen font types found here.
Family Type
Family Type, based in London, England, is a digital type foundry that focuses on the design and development of both retail and custom fonts. The goal behind this foundry is to provide people with exceptional fonts that enhance the digital world and give online publishers a way to stand out from the crowd.
Letters from Sweden
Creating retail and custom fonts for both local and international clients, Letters from Sweden aims to take typefaces beyond what is seemingly possible. In fact, the team of designers want to bring their letters to the web, print, lectures, workshops, and talks so that all people can learn more about how to get the best print or pixels for their project.
Swiss Typefaces
Swiss Typefaces prides itself in providing high quality paid fonts (with a touch of Swiss style) that you don’t have to pay for twice. In fact, when you purchase a font for print, you get the webfont with it. Plus, any purchases can be used on up to 10 websites, making team collaboration or client work a lot easier when you find that perfect style.
Optimo
Optimo, another Swiss based type foundry, engineers premium high quality paid fonts suitable for all web design projects. Pairing a little bit of type history with contemporary trends, this font company seeks to release innovative and experimental font styles that anyone looking to create something unique will want.
Milieu Grotesque
Mileu Grotesque offers an extensive catalogue of typefaces for desktop, webfont self hosting, and even mobile app licensing. Established in 2010, this independent type foundry strives to provide typefaces to people that are flexible when it comes to design, are system-oriented, and are of course, beautiful to look at.
Google Web Fonts in WordPress Websites
If you choose to use the WordPress content management system, you don’t have to worry about editing CSS or embedding HTML codes. In fact, you can install your favorite Google Fonts like Roboto, Muli, Lato, and more by using a WordPress plugin called Easy Google Fonts.
That said, choosing the right font for your website can be a daunting task. You have to pick the perfect combination of fonts and colors, while still expressing your creativity. Just don’t forget too make the fonts you choose for your site user-friendly and readable, so that your readers can view It effortlessly.
Why & How to Choose the Best Fonts
With advancements in technology, websites have become one of the most effective tools for attracting customers to an online business. But without the right font styles, you can quickly turn away potential customers instantly simply because your web design is not up to par.
Remember, the typography you use on your site has a significant impact on your customers’ impression of your brand. To start, it encourages site visitors to read your site’s content. Second, it engages site visitors so that they want to stay on your page for a longer time.
Of course, you can hire an expert web designer to create a custom website for you. In fact, if you’re in need of affordable, high-quality web design services, Keen to Design can help.
But for now, let’s check out why fonts are so important to web design.
To Make a Great First Impression
Most designers think critically before selecting any font, regardless of the project. This is because the impression you make on site visitors the moment they arrive will help them decide whether to stay or go.
The longer people stay on your site, reading the content you’ve published, in the font type you chose to use, the higher the likelihood you’ll land a sale or earn another subscriber. So, choose a font that is easy to read and suits your overall web design.
To Stand Out From the Crowd
While choosing the perfect font for your site, it’s important you take the time to think about the tone of your website and the message you want to convey to site visitors. For example, if you run a legal website, you cannot select a font that looks funky. After all, the goal is to have a modern and professional look when you launch a legal website.
But you don’t want to blend in with the competition either. You have to balance keeping in line with the message of your brand and the creativity you want to share with others. This can be done easily using the right font type.
Now let’s take a look at how to choose the best web font for your website and use it properly on your website.
Pay Attention to Typographic Hierarchy
Typographic hierarchy is an important factor when it comes to choosing web fonts. The larger text font styles differ every much from the smaller text font styles, and you must consider both when designing your website:
- Concentrate on things like titles, headings, and subtitles
- Determine the size of the content as a whole before picking a web font
- Remember that people view site content on various device types and screen sizes
- Pay close attention to bold and italic emphasis in your content
- Do not make too many color changes to your text throughout your site
In the end, the goal is to make your website’s content easy to scan, consume, and understand.
Monitor the Size of the Font
As we mentioned above, people access websites on various device types and screen sizes. Because of this, it’s crucial you monitor not only the type of font style you use, but the size as well. This is especially true when you consider the fact that many people view website content in low resolution environments, making it even more difficult to read. Want to make things really easy for people? Include a text size switcher on your site so people can adjust the size of the text to suit their own needs.
Avoid Justified Text
Try to only use flush left or centered text when publishing content on your site. Again, this is for formatting purposes and again ties back to the fact that different devices and screen sizes display websites differently.
If you use justified text, you run the risk of having ill formatted text on your website that site visitors will not be able to read. If this happens, you could see your bounce rate increasing, time on site decreasing, and conversions dropping.
Use Special Effects Carefully
Special effects should be used correctly and carefully. At first, try to figure out what your customers want from your page and then center your use of special effects accordingly.
For example, you can highlight text with color so that customers are drawn to it and the overall look of your page can be enhanced. In addition, you can arrange individual icons, starbursts, and buttons properly, complete with the font of your choosing.
Adjust the Contrast
There’s more to font styling than just choosing the right font type. The contrast between the color of your site’s font and the background of your site should be perfect. Light fonts displayed on dark backgrounds look best and are easiest to read. Additionally, it’s important to use a streamlined, clean, and simple font if your background is busy. Otherwise, it’ll be difficult to read.
Consider Your Use of Whitespace
One of the most tried and true tips for achieving a readable website is making use of whitespaces. Too much activity on a site can cause confusion or distract people from your central message or call to action. Make it easy for people to understand what you’ve written and want to know more by keeping your site clutter free.
Think About Compatibility
Before choosing the perfect web font, don’t forget to check for compatibility. Oftentimes, people use more than one font on their website to make it more unique and create a contrast between headers and paragraph text. This means you need to compare font styles against one another to make sure they complement each other, not distract from the text.
In addition, some site visitors cannot access some web fonts because they are being downloaded from a remote server and do not appear correctly, or at all. This is why in choosing a unique font, you also consider using font types that are compatible with popular web browsers. Some of these include Verdana, Arial, Trebuchet, or Verdana. And when it comes to serif fonts, some of the best include Georgia or Times New Roman.
Wrapping Up
And there you have it! You now know where to find the best free and high quality paid Google fonts for your next web design project. In addition, you know what it takes to make your font choice work for you – not against you – in attracting site visitors, engaging readers, and converting people into loyal, long-lasting customers.Do you need help with your WordPress web design? When it comes to designing your website, Keen to Design has the experience and knowledge needed to create a highly converting website that is not only easy to read, but exciting to read too. So, get in touch with us today and see how we can help you design the perfect WordPress website.
