The term “typography” pertains to the art of structuring letter forms so that they’re more legible and readable to whoever encounters them. This craft has obvious applications in traditional print, such as in book, newsprint, and poster design. But in the digital era, which welcomes a larger population of internet users than ever, typography has become of increasing significance in web design.
If you commission a professional web designer to work on your business website, a good chunk of the workload—in fact, oftentimes around 95 percent of it—will go into typography design. The effort goes a long way, as the right typography choices can spell the difference between a value-generating website and a website that’s a bigger liability than it is an asset.
What effect does typography have on modern web design, and how will professional web design services help you get the most mileage out of this design element? Here’s a brief overview of all things typography, plus the benefits of hiring a full-service agency like SearchWorks.PH to take care of it.
What Purpose Does Your Website’s Typography Serve?
When developing a website for your business, you may be inclined to think about flashier elements like graphics and video first. But the web designers you commission will put a lot of their energies into seemingly simple things, like deciding on the right typefaces to use, which font variations to utilize, and how much space to put between lines and paragraphs.
It’s important to be deliberate about these things for the following reasons:
Good Typography Sets a Strong Visual Impression for Your Website
Your typography works alongside the other visual elements on your website to create a particular impression on your visitors. Even at first glance, it can do a lot to communicate your brand identity and make a statement about the types of customers you want to attract.
The right choices of typeface and font truly depend on the business, and what works for one company may not work for another. For example, script-like fonts may fit a website that advertises products or services related to the beauty or luxury industry. In contrast, sans serif fonts are better suited to retail websites with more uncomplicated offerings.
In general, however, it’s good for businesses to aspire towards clean, crisp, and consistent typography design for their websites. These are more likely to exude professionality and to command trust—two things that will work in your favor when you want to reach out to online customers and clients.
Good Typography Creates a Visual Hierarchy and Graphic Balance for Your Web Content
Visual hierarchy and graphic balance are not new concepts, and you may already understand their importance in printed materials. When you’re looking at a book, the first details you’ll want to find are the author’s name and the book’s title. On newspapers, your eyes are trained toward the headlines.
Certain words or phrases should be able to jump at you the minute you read them, and when you do read them, it shouldn’t be hard to get a clear idea of what’s being conveyed. Those very same principles apply to typography design.
As any good web designer will tell you, it’s in the small things: the size of headers versus the body text, the ideal line length or how many characters there should be per line, and the ideal spacing and alignment. You’ll only be able to achieve the right visual hierarchy and graphic balance through careful, purposeful decisions like these.
Good Typography Makes It Easier for Visitors to Interact with Your Website
Just like your graphics or multimedia content, your typography design can hook visitors and make them curious about what you offer. But more than that, it can make your web content both more readable and more accessible, which in turn affects your web engagement.
If customers have no trouble finding the information they need on your website, and if that info is clearly communicated through the typography medium, they’ll have no qualms spending a lot of time on your pages. As a result, you’re likelier to get leads and convert customer and client interest into inquiries and purchases.
Leveraging Great Typography for the Success of Your Business Website
Now that you know the value of good typography design, here are three things that you can do to leverage it for your business’s web presence:
Do Typography Studies with Professionals
Consider hiring a web design agency to help you with tasks related to typography design. Have a designer curate serif, sans serif, slab serif, or script fonts that capture your brand’s identity and key messages and that work well for your web content.
Adopt Mobile First Typography Design
It’s also in your best interest to work with your web designer to achieve mobile-first typography design, or typography design that’s primarily meant for consumption on mobile screens. Many of your customers will be accessing your website from their smartphones or tablets, so it would be good to determine the ideal typeface size, color calibration, and spacing for mobile users.
Think Carefully about the Hierarchy and Structure of Your Web Content
Lastly, while a professional web designer can suggest design choices for your website based on their knowledge and experience, what will be published on the page is ultimately your call. You will make the final decisions about your website’s typography design, so think carefully about how well the typography serves the visual hierarchy, structure, and organization you want for your web content.
Partner with SearchWorks for Web Design Solutions That Work
A great web designer will help you sharpen your vision for your business through design elements like typography. Here at SearchWorks, we’re known to be sticklers for detail, and that translates into SEO, content development, and web design solutions that work. Contact SearchWorks now to learn more, and partner with us to strengthen your web presence.
