Typography on the web, what's good what's not?

[angelize]

With the new web designer programs now having the ability to embed fonts, this topic now becomes quite current.

So how many fonts is too many?(assuming here that one is not doing a fonts site as that is a different critter) I think that 3 maybe 4 tops on a site is plenty and I don't think I would use more than 3 very often.

What fonts pair well together?

[Gare]

Web or not web, consider these pairs when laying out an article:

Helvetica for headlines, Times New Roamn for body copy. I've also seen this reversed to good effect.

Futura for headlines, Garamond for body copy.

Lemme think some more of effective pairs of typefaces.

-g-

[mwenz]

...
So how many fonts is too many?(assuming here that one is not doing a fonts site as that is a different critter) I think that 3 maybe 4 tops on a site is plenty and I don't think I would use more than 3 very often.

What fonts pair well together?

Two questions. First Q, I don't think it is much (if at all) different than print as regards how many fonts to use. I can see using 3–4 depending upon the web site.

Second Q. Fonts should convey meaning and I think especially with a web site, structure that fits the design aesthetic. If I design something for print, I think I can get away with being a little more adventurous because someone reading a printed piece is a more or less captive audience. At least more so than the web.

With a web site, there is precious little time to convey the site and its contents to new visitors (returning viewers have made a commitment, so I am disregarding them here). So for me, I need to be clear about the site and its information straight away. Still, it depends on the site and its contents as to what fonts I would pair together. For a business, I would tend to be most conventional (sans serifs for body headings, either serif or sans serif for main title heads, and likely a good readable sans serif for the body).

But that is perhaps just me. Even with print design, I tend towards conventional, conservative lay out and do so with web sites as well.

Take care, Mike

[Gare]

There's an old saying in advertising, "When you got nothing to say, you sing it."

Same is true in print. If what you offer as written content is meager, you can attract attention by dressing up your text in fancy fonts.

This is no excuse for not writing content, but it's just a fire alarm, you pull it when you need to.

On the other hand, a message-intensive tome on a web page demands structure, but not the trendy, glossy treatment you'd graphically inflict on something more appropriate in a fashion magazine.

Taste, restraint, sensibilities, and relying on your previous experiences as a design should help point your course.

There is no ideal number of typefaces to use on a website.

The same as there is no social yardstick for excessive use of color, theme, or graphic style on a website.

The message HAS to dictate the execution of the site.

-g-

[longlivemedia]

Different things for different people, honestly. At the very least, though, things must be easy to read and must be exciting to the eyes.