Everyone wants a unique website that represents their content and sets them apart from the competition, and with over 20 years in the online marketing business, your Bay Area Website Designer and Boylan Point Agency team have seen it all.
From flashy fonts and bouncing links to neon color schemes.
However, in recent years there has been an increased concern with how fonts may affect SEO.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of ensuring your website is quickly visible to a specific demographic online as effectively as possible.
From the point of view of a Website Developer, the font and colors of a web design has nothing to do with search engine optimization.
Not from the technical side of things at least.
From a different perspective though, your website’s design (including typography or font design) could support your SEO campaign due to a variety of different factors.
Website traffic will improve your SEO, but if your site is unappealing to your clients, you will eventually lose visibility online.
In fact, one study found that 94% of negative website feedback was design related, and font colors or font sizes can have a lot to do with that.
Font Size
Most individuals don’t take the time to consider font size when designing their website; however, it should be taken into account since 60% to 80% of internet users search online using a smartphone or a tablet much more often than a desktop computer.
If a potential client is having a difficult time reading the text on your website, chances are they will leave and search for similar content elsewhere.
That is what we call a bounce back – when a user clicks a website link and goes back to their Google search pages within a matter of seconds.
An industry standard is to use a font size of 12px to 14px, so that phone and desktop users can both easily read any type of text.
But, I strongly recommend using a font size of 18px or 20px as it’s much easier to read on any device.
Just don’t overdue it…
Font Colors
Your brand likely has a color scheme, which means you should be making use of it – consistently.
We have seen individuals shy away from colors out of fear that it will make their websites look childish or old-school (think MySpace) but there is a way to utilize color in a way that is aesthetically pleasing without being overwhelming.
Ensure that your font color is easy to read and does not clash with your background color.
For example, if you choose white for your background, choosing a light grey for your text could make it difficult for your clients to read.
On average it takes about 50 milliseconds for users to form an opinion about your website, and whether or not they will stay on the page
Choosing a color scheme that is easy to read will help improve the credibility of your page and encourage clients to explore your site in depth.
Standard Fonts
While I absolutely encourage my clients to use unique fonts that will help set their brands apart from the rest, there are boundaries.
F o n t s s h o u l d b e e a s y t o r e a d.
If your chosen font is not easy to read, it will reflect poorly on your brand and your potential growth.
Choose a standard font family such as Serif, which is easy to visualize, and common enough that your client will probably have access to it on their own devices.
While font does not directly affect your SEO, it can influence the way your clients choose to interact with your business.
Search Engine Optimization has both a technical and an aesthetic side, and I recommend keeping track of both for higher efficiency.
Increasing the visual appeal of your site with these simple font tips will help grow organic traffic to your online business.
If you are still uncertain on how to improve your website, or you would like some more guidance in SEO, please call your Bay Area Website Designer at (707) 278-4120 today or reach us over at the Boylan Point.