✒️ Typography Tips for Readable and Professional Websites

 

✒️ Typography Tips for Readable and Professional Websites

Typography is more than choosing a pretty font. It’s about guiding your visitors through your content with ease, building trust, and delivering your message clearly — especially important for Kenyan businesses, where clarity and professionalism build credibility.

Whether you're running a blog, selling cars, or offering services, great typography can mean the difference between bounce and engagement.

In this article, we’ll explore:

• Why typography matters for user experience and branding

• How to choose the right fonts

• Best font sizes and spacing

• Font pairing strategies

• Typography for mobile users

• SEO and accessibility considerations

• Real-world Kenyan examples

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🧠 Why Typography Matters

Here’s what good typography does:

• Improves readability and scanability

• Creates a visual hierarchy so users know where to focus

• Establishes brand identity (modern, classy, fun, etc.)

• Builds trust and keeps users engaged

• Influences conversion rates (like clicking a CTA)

Imagine landing on a site where everything is written in comic sans, or all caps — you’d probably bounce. In contrast, clean, modern fonts say: “This site is legit.”

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🔤 Choosing the Right Font

✅ 1. Go for Web-Safe and Google Fonts

Fonts like:

• Roboto

• Open Sans

• Poppins

• Lato

• Inter

• Source Sans Pro

They’re:

• Easy to load

• Easy to read on all screens

• Widely supported

Avoid over-stylized fonts or decorative scripts for body text — they reduce readability.

✅ 2. Match Your Brand Personality

• Techy/Modern: Roboto, Inter, Montserrat

• Luxury/Elegance: Playfair Display, Lora

• Friendly/Approachable: Nunito, Quicksand

• Bold/Confident: Oswald, Bebas Neue

Ask yourself: How do I want users to feel?

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🔠 Font Pairing Strategy

Use no more than two fonts:

• One for headings

• One for body text

📊 Example Combos:

Heading Font	Body Font	Style
Poppins	Roboto	Modern, clean
Montserrat	Open Sans	Business/professional
Oswald	Lato	Bold and readable
Playfair	Source Sans	Classic with a touch of elegance

Always test font pairs visually — what works on one site might feel off on another.

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📏 Font Sizes & Line Spacing

A well-designed layout uses clear hierarchy.

📐 Recommended Sizes:

• H1: 32–48px

• H2: 24–36px

• H3: 18–24px

• Body Text: 16–18px

• Buttons/Labels: 14–16px

For mobile: scale down by ~10–15%

🔁 Line Height (Line Spacing):

• Body: 1.5x font size

• Headings: 1.2x or tighter

↔️ Letter Spacing:

• For headings: slight negative spacing works well (e.g., -0.5px)

• For body: use default or +0.2px for readability

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📱 Typography for Mobile Screens

Kenya has over 25 million mobile internet users, so design with them first.

Best Practices:

• Avoid tiny fonts (minimum 16px)

• Use readable spacing — no cramped lines

• Test fonts across devices (Infinix, Samsung, iPhones, etc.)

• Keep headings short — mobile users skim

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🌐 Typography & SEO

While Google doesn’t rank you just for fonts, typography impacts:

• Bounce rate (from hard-to-read content)

• Time on page (from comfortable reading)

• Accessibility (which Google values)

💡 Use Semantic HTML:

• <h1> for main title

• <h2>, <h3> for structure

• <p> for paragraphs

• <button>, <label> for interactivity

This helps screen readers, SEO crawlers, and mobile users.

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🧑🏾‍💻 Kenyan Examples of Good Typography

Website	Font Choices	Why It Works
Safaricom.co.ke	Poppins + Roboto	Clean, bold, accessible
Twiga.com	Lato + Inter	Modern and professional
CodeandClutch.blogspot.com (You!)	Open Sans + custom	Informative, easy to read

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🎨 Style Guidelines You Should Follow

✅ Use Contrast:

• Light text on dark background (or vice versa)

• Avoid light grey on white — hard to read

• Tools: Contrast Checker

✅ Use Consistency:

• Don’t switch fonts randomly

• Maintain hierarchy (e.g., all H2s look the same)

✅ Avoid ALL CAPS (in body)

• Makes reading slower and looks aggressive

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🛠 HTML & CSS Typography Examples

Basic Structure:

html
<h1>Welcome to Code & Clutch</h1>
<p>We help Kenyans import cars and understand tech.</p>

CSS Snippet:

css
body {
  font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif;
  font-size: 16px;
  line-height: 1.6;
  color: #333;
}

h1, h2, h3 {
  font-family: 'Poppins', sans-serif;
  margin-bottom: 16px;
  font-weight: 700;
}

h1 {
  font-size: 36px;
}
h2 {
  font-size: 28px;
}

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🔍 Tools to Improve Typography

Tool	Use	Free?
Google Fonts	Font selection & preview	✅
FontPair	Font pairing ideas	✅
TypeScale	Font sizing guide	✅
Contrast Ratio Checker	Accessibility test	✅
CSS Tricks	Typography tutorials	✅

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❌ Typography Mistakes to Avoid

• Using too many fonts (makes the site chaotic)

• Tiny text sizes (especially on mobile)

• Poor color contrast

• No visual hierarchy (everything looks the same)

• Using display fonts in body text

• Ignoring mobile responsiveness

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✅ Typography Checklist for Code & Clutch

✔ Choose 1–2 professional fonts
✔ Set consistent font sizes
✔ Use semantic HTML tags
✔ Optimize for mobile readability
✔ Maintain good contrast
✔ Test fonts across screens
✔ Make headings stand out
✔ Keep line height and spacing comfortable

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🎯 Final Thoughts

Typography might seem small, but it has a huge impact on how users experience your site. In Kenya’s growing digital space, a clean, readable site instantly sets your brand apart. It shows professionalism, respect for the user, and attention to detail.

At Code & Clutch, we believe typography is the foundation of every great digital experience.

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📲 Need help picking fonts or cleaning up your site’s layout?
We offer:

• Full web design packages

• Blog layout audits

• Mobile typography optimization

👉 WhatsApp us: 0717423659
📧 Email: connectkenyacars@gmail.com