Best font for website: How to make your brand pop

Creating a website for your new venture is an exciting opportunity to bring your dream to life. Maybe you’ve already put a lot of thought into choosing and using brand colors, or you’re already familiar with logo design. But there are a couple of details that one might gloss over, like font selection. You know your brand's tone of voice and identity, but selecting the right typeface for your website helps convey a cohesive image in the same way as the use of color or a slogan.  

There are quite literally thousands of typefaces to choose from — and a lot of them are free. Yet, with so many options available, how do you navigate the waters of typography? How do you retain legibility and character? Luckily, we have just the thing to help you choose the right font. Check out this breakdown of the best fonts for websites based on your branding needs and design desires. 

The 12 best fonts for websites

To consider a font the best font — or among the best, there are a few factors to keep in mind. Though personal preference and brand identity are crucial considerations, the font needs to be readable. A website typeface, in particular, should be crisp and clean because your site’s main purpose is to convey information to your viewers. Therefore, all 12 examples in our guide are easily understandable, so you can focus on spreading your message. 

1: Montserrat 

Google Fonts

Montserrat is a popular font for website creation due to its bold and forthright appearance. The modernity of this sans serif font is great for everything from eye-catching headers to smaller text. Thanks to an update in the summer of 2017, weight adjustments make the Montserrat Regular options ideal for longer text, like body copy. For brands or personal websites catering to visionaries in the creative field, Montserrat does the trick. It’s young, fresh, and innovative.

2: Roboto

Google Fonts

The inherent versatility of Roboto makes it a visually compelling font best for website design or any other project where you want to come across as both accessible and professional. It’s become quite trendy, and it’s easy to see why with its geometric yet open curve form. And regardless of its Gothic origins, it doesn’t feature constricted, narrow shapes like its predecessors, taking up the needed space to improve readability while maintaining its distinctive style. 

3: Open Sans

Google Fonts

Chances are you’ve heard of this one. Open Sans requires no introduction because it’s one of the most well-known, go-to sans serif fonts. It exudes character and warmth while prioritizing legibility, so it makes sense why brands favor its robust font library. It’s perfect for a brand site in the healthcare or hospitality fields because it promotes integrity and good values — a strong moral compass that people can trust. 

4: Poppins

Google Fonts

The geometric sans serif style of Poppins is nothing new, but it’s an alternative to the genre worth contemplating thanks to its rounded letters and versatility. It’s soft yet dominant. It’s simple to decipher and also a visually dynamic choice for a variety of website copy. And as a result, it can be used for a host of sites.  

5: Arsenal

Google Fonts

Gaining recognition in 2011 at the Ukrainian Type Design Competition, Arsenal is great for body copy and conveying professional information. A lot of fonts favor headings and larger text on a screen, but Arsenal understands the subtleties of contrast, elegance, and personality that make typography engaging. 

6: Merriweather

Google Fonts

Merriweather is reminiscent of Times New Roman — the distinguished older gentleman of the typography world that we’ve come to know and love. Yet, Merriweather is a bit more relaxed, making it a perfect contemporary font for websites with a lot of body copy. If you want to create a blog or have a section of your site devoted to articles and musings, then this durable serif font with its overwhelming pleasantness will serve you well. 

7: Monolith

Envato Elements

In the sans serif family, Monolith prides itself on clarity. Therefore, it’s great for print and web legibility. Plus, it possesses true matching italics so any emphasis to your typed text looks right at home. It’s a fantastic alternative to Open Sans if you’re looking for that beloved friendliness with a twist. Modern and elegant, this font is suitable for headings, subheadings, and body text.   

8: Libre Franklin

Google Fonts

Libre Franklin is an alternative to Franklin Gothic. It’s an homage to that 1912 typeface, elaborating on its brilliance and bringing it into the 21st century. Created by a type design foundry in Argentina, the new version includes nine typeface weights. This font is guaranteed to make a statement in headers or a banner ad sprawled across the homepage of your site.  

9: Metropolis

Github

An alternative to the trendy Proxima Nova, Metropolis has nine weights and italics, and it’s the perfect dupe for its inspiration. The free font is structured, dynamic, and crisp, so you can employ it in your website copy easily without having to worry about legibility. It would work well for any brand identity because of the simplicity that makes it a design chameleon, lending itself to the environment it inhabits. 

10: Pulse

Envato Elements

A minimalist and classic typeface, Pulse is a high-quality Montserrat alternative. It’s got just a touch of flair, so it can effortlessly move between headers and body copy on websites — a hallmark of the best fonts for website flexibility. The popularity of striking yet simple sans serif fonts comes from their barebones aesthetic with the right amount of elegance that delivers on professionalism and poise. 

11: Nanum Gothic

Google Fonts

Optimal for screen use, Nanum Gothic has that warmth and approachability that delights casual scrollers in search of information at a glance. A font that lends itself to a variety of sizes and languages, Nanum Gothic is strong and dependable. But don’t discount its visual appeal that implements modern typographical elements to provide form as well as function. 

12: Enriqueta

Font Squirrel

A free dupe for Rockwell, a popular slab serif typeface, Enriqueta has curved letters and a dash of pizzaz that serif fonts tend to bring to the metaphorical table. The letters are a little closer together in this typeface, so consider using them in larger text. It makes for a striking header or banner ad when you have something important and declarative to say to your viewers. Use the font sparingly and let the finishing strokes on the letterforms dazzle audience members as you wow them with your wit. 

Other considerations for choosing a font for your website

The best font for your website comes down to your discretion. You’ve witnessed several of the top contenders strut their stuff, and you might be forming a solid idea of what makes a font good for visitors to your site. But let’s hammer home some key factors to consider for your website font selection. These tips will aid you in your search for that perfect typeface that helps take your brand to the next level. 

Your brand. Ultimately, the font has to reflect your brand, your style guide, and the memorable visual identity you’ve crafted to perfection. A font that’s lyrical or distinguished might bode well in the literary sector of the internet. However, for a brand emphasizing its relatability and salt-of-the-earth persona, a warmer, rounder font is a better option.

Sans serif vs. serif. To serif or not to serif? That is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler on the internet to end a letter with a decorative embellishment or favor the clean, crisp edges of an abrupt ending, we may never truly know. And yet the sans serif style is growing among brands that want to ensure their websites are easy to read for all visitors.

The serif style is still readable, but it’s more classic and traditional, whereas fonts that forgo the serif are modern and fresh. Once again, the choice is yours — think of your brand identity and legibility in equal measure.

Variability. When a typeface is variable, it allows for variations in the weight and width of fonts. This is important to consider when selecting a typeface because a header could require letters with more weight, while body text could have regular or lighter leanings. A font with variability looks right in all weights, sizes, and header applications.

What font works best for your site? 

Typography is an art, and deciding on the right typeface takes a deep understanding of your brand and website needs. It’s another form of expression that can help your viewers understand the mission behind the brand — whether personal or professional. It’s another identifier that showcases your personality. Are you old-fashioned and serious like Times New Roman, or are you looking to shake up the past with a contemporary look that’s worthy of applause? 

Thankfully, with Namecheap’s free font generator, you’ll have a place to turn to for top fonts that are worthy of every form of expression. Here, you’ll have the ability to create eye-catching, legible text that works across a slew of platforms, like social media, personal websites, and more. There’s no fee or login required to use Font Maker — just type, style, copy, and paste!

Likewise, if you’re looking to make a website from scratch, Namecheap’s Site Maker provides an easy and accessible option.