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What's The Best Font To Use For Websites?

Description: When it comes to typefaces and fonts, there are plenty to choose from - and that's half the problem. There might be a lot, but not all of them sit well on a web page. So which one takes the prize as the best one to use?

Given the differences between print media and the computer screen (the main one being the much lower resolution on a screen as compared to a magazine, for example) it's perhaps not surprising that the best font to use for websites is very different from the best font to use in print media.

While there is no clear winner, the Microsoft Sans Serif font pips several others at the post. Its advantage is that it was designed specifically for viewing on a computer screen, and so it takes into account the fact that the screen is made up from pixels and has a lower resolution.

It's also not surprising that it's a sans serif font as opposed to a serif font. Serif refers to all the fonts you see that have curly ends to the letters. Sans serif is a font which is more simple and basic, without those curly ends. Ironically serif fonts are often easier to read in print media, but where the computer screen is concerned those curly letters do not reproduce well. Other popular fonts include Verdana (also created specifically for online use) and the good old staple Arial Black.

While there is nothing to say that you can't use whatever font or typeface you want to, it's better to stick with a sans serif one that is easy on the eye. While it may seem like a minor point, if you make your content unnecessarily hard to read, your visitors are likely to go elsewhere.