10 Google Fonts That Are Easy To Read And Perfect For Your Website

Whether you’re looking to improve the aesthetics of your website or to increase conversions, choosing the right fonts can make a big difference, especially in the user experience.

When it comes to choosing fonts for your website, there are a lot of factors to consider: color, size, weight, style, and even the language you’re writing in. But, if you want to choose the perfect font for your site, there are a few things you should know before you start.

In this article, I’ll list my top 10 easy to read google fonts that are perfect for your website and can also be used for content marketing and emails.  Plus they will look great on desktop, tablets and mobile devices.  You’ll also see some examples of the fonts in use to save you some time in researching them.

tip: make sure that the fonts you choose look good on a website navigation menu.

Have you ever searched for fonts?  Just visiting the Google Fonts website can be overwhelming.  With so many options available, how do you know which ones you should use?

You’ll start by keeping things simple, the fonts you choose should fit your brand and be readable at all sizes.  For example:

• If you’re an accountant, you wouldn’t use a delicate and frilly font for our website. 
• if you’re a designer of baby clothing, you wouldn’t use a font that has an overly corporate look to it.
• if you’re a doctor’s office, you don’t want to use a font that is so bold and flashy that it doesn’t look professional.

As for the readability of the text, you want to make sure that the font you choose is legible.  If you have a large amount of text on a page, you want to make sure that the font is large enough so that the text is easy to read.  

You want to make sure that your font is consistent throughout your site.  If you have different fonts in different places on your website, it can be confusing for users and it makes it harder for them to navigate.  So keep your font choices to two.  One for headlines and titles and one for the body of your text. 

Side Note: Fonts can be a personal preference, but there are a lot of opinions out there about which fonts are the best and which ones are the worst. In this article, I’m going to focus on readability only and the fonts I’ve actually used not only for my website, but for client websites as well.

You won’t find any frilly or fancy fonts on this list because they’re just too hard to read and if people can’t read your content, it’s see you later alligator!

I’m also not going to go into the technical details such as who designed the font, the year it was designed etc.  If you’d like all this nitty gritty detail, you can check out the Google fonts website. 

Font Lingo

Now, before you get to the list of fonts, let’s get some lingo out of the way:

• style:  refers to the font style as thin, light, regular, medium, bold, black and italic
• san-serif font:  generally more readable than a serif font, because the serifs (the small lines at the end of strokes) are often omitted from them. This makes them easier on the eyes and also gives them a more modern, friendly and minimal look. 
• serif font:  typography designs in which the strokes that make up the letters are “serifs”, which are little projections from the main strokes. Serif fonts tend to be easier on the eyes and look more classic, formal and professional than sans serif fonts. They’re also popular for body text because they can handle a lot of copy without looking too busy. 
• Font pairing:  the use of two fonts together on a web page or design. A good font pairing is one that is easy to read and looks good. Some popular font pairings are Raleway/Open Sans and Lato and Oswald.
• Body text:  the text that appears on the body of a website, below your website menu, below headers and above the footer. It’s typically written in a plain style so it stands out from the rest of the content on a site.

Here we go:

Roboto

Roboto is a sans-serif font which has 12 different styles making it a very versatile font to use.  The font is easy to read and perfect for displaying body text on your website.  According to Google Fonts analytics, Roboto is their most popular font.   

Pairs with Montserrat and Oswald

Open Sans

Open Sans is a sans-serif font. It’s designed for easy reading on websites.  The font is available in 12 different styles and is one of the most versatile and popular fonts available, making it perfect for any website.

Pairs with Roboto and Lato

Lato

Lato is a sans serif font that pairs so well with many other fonts.  With 10 different styles, it’s sleek and classic.   Great for body text, but use it in all caps, it’s fantastic for headlines.

Pairs well with Oswald and Open Sans

Montserrat

Montserrat is a sans-serif font that has rounded edges. With 18 different styles, this font is great for websites that need to look professional and have a modern feel. It is also easy to read, so your website visitors will be able to navigate easily.  Use the regular style for body text or extra bold or black for headlines that demand attention.

Pairs well with Lato and Oswald

Roboto Condensed

Roboto Condensed is the condensed version of Roboto, which was designed for readability and legibility. It’s good for body text or for headlines and sub-headlines on your website.

Pairs well with Roboto, Open Sans and Raleway

Oswald

Oswald is another condensed font which has a classic feel to it. It’s perfect for use on websites that need to look professional and timeless. Its condensed letterforms and 6 styles make it perfect for headings and titles that need to be easy to read. 

Pairs well with Lato and Raleway

Source Sans Pro

Source Sans Pro is a sans-serif font that comes in 12 different styles. This makes it perfect for use on websites that need a versatile font that can be used in a variety of contexts. Additionally, Source Sans Pro is highly legible and easy to read, which will make it ideal for use on websites that are meant to be accessible to a wide audience.

Pairs well with Open Sans and Raleway

Poppins

Poppins is a sans serif font with 18 different styles. 

Poppins is a sans serif font with 18 different styles that are perfect for your website. Poppins is easy to read and can be used for a variety of different purposes, including branding and logo design, headlines, and text. Each style is unique and perfect for a specific purpose. 

Pairs well with Roboto and Open Sans

Merriweather

Merriweather is a serif font which is slightly condensed and it’s easy to read on small devices.  The numbers 3, 4 5, 7 and 9 are dropped lower than the other numbers which is why this font is at the bottom of my list.  In the video below, I demonstrate what the numbers look like.

With 8 styles available, I prefer to use this font for headlines and titles only.

Pairs well with Montserrat and Open Sans/Open Sans Condensed

Lora

Lora is a serif font which reminds me of calligraphy.  I’ve use it for body text on websites that needed a romantic feminine feel to it.  I prefer this font for headlines and titles.  It’s available in 8 styles.

Pairs well with Raleway and Open Sans.

How to Test a Font Before Committing to a Font Choice

Now that you know what to look for in a font for your website, you’ve seen examples of the top 10 google fonts I’ve used not only for my website but for client websites as well, it’s time to put things into practice. 

If you’ve found a font pairing that you like and want to see it in practice, follow these steps:

• Head on over to Canva.com.  If you don’t have an account, you can signup for a free one. 
• Create a blank letter sized design.
• Press the letter T – which should being up a text box.  Type a sample headline.
• Click in a blank spot on the canvas, press the letter T again.  Type at least 3-4 paragraphs of text. 
• Tip:  copy existing text from your website to make a true comparison
• Format the headline and body text with your font choice.  

Here is a video demonstration to show you exactly how to do this.

Captions are available.

How to Use Your New Fonts on Your Website

When it comes to using Google fonts on your website, the popular page builders and Themes for WordPress such as Elementor, Divi and Astra have Google fonts already connected, so you just have to choose what you want to use.

Conclusion

Now that you know what to look for when choosing your fonts, use this list of top 10 google fonts for website, test the look on Canva and compare it to what you’re currently using.

The goal is to have a font that represents your brand and more importantly, is readable on desktop, tablets and mobile devices.

When you’ve narrowed your choices down to one font for headers/titles and one font for the body text, update the settings in your website and you’re good to go.

Until next time, stay inspired.

Gisèle