How to Choose a Font for Digital Use

Fonts are like the outfits your words wear—choosing the right ones ensures they make the best impression! Whether you're crafting emails or designing a website, font selection can make or break how your audience perceives your content. But don’t worry—we’ve got the ultimate guide to help you pick the perfect typeface!

Table of Contents

• Why Font Selection is Important

• Types of Fonts You Need to Know

  • 1. Web Fonts

  • 2. Web-Safe Fonts

  • 3. Email-Safe Fonts

• Why Picking “Safe” Fonts is Crucial

• Pairing Fonts Like a Pro

  • Font Resources & tools

• W.T.F. - What the Font

In this article you’re learn how to choose the perfect fonts to elevate your designs and explore typography basics, trends, and tips to create impactful, cohesive content, and ensure your message is able to be read on the web. Let’s talk type!

Why Font Selection is Important

Ever struggled to read cramped or mismatched fonts? Yep, we’ve all been there. Fonts do more than look pretty; they influence readability, brand perception, and even the way we process ideas. Whether you're shouting about a sale or telling your brand's story, the right font ensures your message lands perfectly.

For emails, using an email-safe font ensures your text looks consistent across devices and email clients. On websites, web-safe fonts or web fonts help maintain style and readability no matter where or how people view your content.

Types of Fonts You Need to Know

1. Web Fonts

Web fonts are hosted on the internet and are embedded into websites for consistent display. They’re exciting because they allow for creative expression with access to thousands of unique styles. But remember, they’re browser-dependent, so using backup fonts for emails is a must!

Examples of Web Fonts:

• Roboto

• Open Sans

• Lato

• Merriweather

• Raleway

2. Web-Safe Fonts

Web-safe fonts are universally recognized by almost every browser and operating system. These fonts ensure the best possible appearance for your text with almost no risk of alteration.

Examples of Web-Safe Fonts:

• Arial

• Helvetica

• Verdana

• Times New Roman

• Georgia

Want to use a web-safe font? Most of these should already exist in your computer’s font library or within text editors you use, no downloads needed!

3. Email-Safe Fonts

Email-safe fonts are the ultimate team players—they’re the safest choice for ensuring your email looks just as you intended across Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and more!

Examples of Email-Safe Fonts:

• Arial

• Tahoma

• Trebuchet MS

• Georgia

• Times New Roman

Why Picking “Safe” Fonts is Crucial

Here’s the deal—your beautifully branded font might not always show up for everyone. This is especially important in emails! If someone’s email client or browser doesn’t support your selected font, it’ll replace it with a default one. That could completely hike up readability and ruin your carefully crafted aesthetic (nooo!). Selecting web-safe or email-safe fonts—or using proper backups—gives you peace of mind that your audience will see your content just how you intended.

Pairing Fonts Like a Pro

Font pairing is the secret sauce to typographic magic. You want your fonts to complement each other, creating visual hierarchy and reinforcing your message.

W.T.F. - What the Font

Your font choice shapes how people feel about your content. A clean, cohesive look with fonts that load seamlessly keeps readers engaged and reinforces your brand. Whether you’re crafting emails or websites, start simple with email-safe or web-safe fonts, and explore creative options with web fonts when possible.

What’s your favorite font, and why? Drop it in the comments below—because we love discovering fresh favorites!

Happy designing! 😊

Sources

1  Google Design

2  Typewolf

3  Google Fonts