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How to Change Font in HTML

By changing your website’s font in HTML, you can revitalize your site. Read this to learn how to change a font in HTML.

No matter how good your web page looks, it is sometimes necessary to change the font. Perhaps you decided to make it have a bolder look or maybe a more subtle one, depending on what you want to do within your site. Whatever the reason may be, being able to exercise creative freedom by using HTML is one of the main reasons some of us decide to learn to code in HTML to begin with.

Your website becomes the face of your brand because it's often the first impression a person receives about your company. A person looks at every aspect of it and judges what your company does, if it can meet their needs, and if your business is reliable. That's a lot to get out of a website, but it's the nature of the beast nowadays.

Fortunately, you can customize your website down to every minute detail, including the type and size of the font, with HTML coding. When you know the basics of how to change the font in HTML, it's easier than you may have realized.

Understand types of fonts

If you're frantically searching "how to change font," you may be shocked to know that you may choose from nearly 1,000 fonts. The varieties you have available to you range from basic and easily legible to fancy and elaborate, and various types in between. Fortunately, while you can choose every font you use, you may also select font families to work with so each type of font works well with all the others.

Font families

In general, a font family is a group of fonts that are similar. While they share a common design, they have different styles. For instance, their weight may vary. Examples include light, bold, semi-bold, and normal. The slant of the fonts may differ, such as italic or oblique.

Why change font on HTML?

With so many options to select from with fonts and the time it takes to learn how to apply it in HTML, you may question why should you even change your font rather than leave it alone as the original.

There are a number of reasons you may want to change the font in HTML, which we’ll discuss now. The bottom line is that changing your font can help make your website as good as it can be for visitors and potential customers who will often make a decision on whether they want to do business with you by the impression they get of your website site. Below are some more specific ways in which changing fonts in HTML can help your website.

Freshen up your website

One main reason you will want to change the font sometimes is to give your website a fresher look. Or maybe you are having a spring sale or other type of promotion and you want to draw attention to your website's appearance. Add to that the fact that the more appealing and user-friendly your website is, the higher you can rank in search engine results.

Let's say you've been using standard Times New Roman font since you created your website five years ago. Your regular visitors have seen it every time they visited your site. Times have changed, and a lot of your new viewers are looking for much more when they visit a site. Therefore, with the times changing, it's to change the font of your website, too.

By changing the font of your page, you can basically "fluff" your page a bit and give it a new look, possibly one that's more in with the times and easier to read.

Highlight important features

Whether you want your "Contact Us" button to stand out or your section about your staff, you can use different fonts to make certain elements or sections of your text stand out.

Another reason you may want to spruce up your website font is due to promoting new features you may be offering. Different fonts can highlight content within different pages and draw a user’s attention to one place in particular. Thus, you can strategically use fonts to lead visitors through your sales funnel.

For instance, say you offer a special promotion for first-time customers shopping on your website. By advertising this promotion in a font that’s a bold style or color, you can attract attention to it and potentially generate more clicks. This higher level of visibility can eventually lead to more conversion, which ultimately benefits your business.

Solidify brand identity

Brand identity is a vital component of your marketing. The purpose of it is to set your business apart from the competition by having elements that represent your company. You can use font changes to accomplish just that.

Solidifying your brand identity is another reason to change your fonts up a bit from time to time. Remember your brand and logo have a lot to do with your identity online. Just like the golden arches mean "McDonalds," your logo symbolizes your brand. So, if you know how to change fonts in HTML, you will be able to go in and make those changes you need to strengthen your brand. Also, remember that when you change the font, it's not just visitors that will notice—the search engines can notice, too, and that's important for SEO.

How to change font in HTML

In the following sections, we will talk about how to alter the font in your HTML code to change three different aspects of the font. When we speak about font, we are not just talking about changing one aspect of the font, but at least three different aspects of the code so that you can vary the appearance to a greater degree.

HTML is a language that the web browser interprets to show your visitors what you ask it to show them. If you know how to change fonts with HTML, you can produce the result and the look that you want for your website.

How to change font type with HTML

If you want to change a font in HTML, start with the font type. That is, if you want to use a font that will really help your site to stand out, you need a major change. There are thousands of font types. You just need to know the parameters and the language that the browser will understand to make the changes.

To change the font type, take note of these steps. The following method is used to combine old school HTML with the more modern CSS (cascading style sheets).

CSS: p { font-family: Calibri; }

HTML: <h2> How to Change Font Type With HTML [Internal CSS]</h2> <p>Write what you want to write here, combining the CSS with the HTML so the browser will pick up the paragraph symbol in the CSS. </p>

How to change font size with HTML

When you want to change the font size, you might use a variation of the following code instead:

CSS: p { font-size: 16px; }

HTML: The resulting HTML will look something like this: <h2>How to Change Font Size With HTML [Internal CSS]</h2> <p>Once you have taken care of the above CSS coding, the HTML will look like this and the text will appear as the chosen new font. </p>

How to change font color with HTML

CSS: p { color: #FF7A59; }

HTML: <h2>How to Change Font Color With HTML [Inline CSS]</h2> <p style="color: #FF7A59">Write what you want here. The font color should now appear in the hexadecimal value you assigned to it when you applied the changes. </p>

Note: If you place the <p> (paragraph) tags in the heading then refer to the CSS as {inline CSS}, in most cases this should work fine, since the browser will interpret it as a reference to the heading that contains the new font color, size, or style. A little practice makes perfect!

Tips for choosing a font for your company website

If you have decided to change the font for your company website, and are going to change the font on HTML, here are a few tips to make it as good as it can be.

Choose a font that aligns with your brand

Opt for a font that aligns with what your company is and its mission before you change your default font. For instance, if you're marketing as a high-end luxury brand, a basic text like Serif wouldn't mesh well.

Always think about branding first. Don't just play with the HTML for the sake of changing something, though change is sometimes good. But think about what the changes will say about your brand. Don't deviate too much from your brand personality. Let any font you use match your general branding guidelines and make sure it aligns with your brand identity.

Make sure your chosen font color is easy to read

Make sure your chosen font color is easy to read. Be careful not to distract from the theme or purpose of your website by focusing too much on the changes. Make it easy to read and don't make the mistake of using a font color that may not be readable by all users.

You want to express yourself and encourage readers to your page. Therefore, you need a font that's easy to read. By doing so, you can get your point across with no confusion or frustration.

Even if you have 20/20 vision, remember there are older people and some with vision issues who won't be able to read the copy. You need to make your content number one and communicate with the visitor so that they will see the value in your brand. Don't make them have to squint to see it.

This can also happen when you use a font that is too thin to be easily readable. Never use script-type fonts unless you are signing your name at the bottom or there is another reason to apply this. Reading script type fonts is difficult in the long term and you don't want your visitors to have to work to get the meaning of what you are saying.

Simplicity is key

In the end, it all goes back to that old saying we have heard so many times: keep it simple.

Less is more when it comes to your font. While you should give your website personality, simple is always better. Try not to be too over the top with choices so it's eye-catching, rather than eye-blinding.

As we mentioned above, there are thousands of fonts available for use—but that doesn’t mean every one of them is practical for your business. There’s nothing wrong with choosing a simple, common font for your website; a very strange or bold font, on the other hand, may prove distracting or off-putting to visitors.

Consider using a versatile font

Use a font that's versatile to make it easier for you to code and simple for your potential viewers to read.

Versatile fonts are usually best because they tend to give the reader just enough of a change in the font to make them able to engage at a higher level with the text without distracting from its meaning.

Remember, content is the thing to focus on, not pretty fonts. With a versatile font, you can maintain consistency across a variety of pages and apply your chosen font to marketing materials, emails, documentation, and more.

Make your fonts stand out only when it is appropriate and fits the general idea or mood you have for your site and your brand. Again, always consider branding first and then decide whether a particular font fits into the branding guidelines for your organization.

Troubleshooting font issues

You may troubleshoot font issues by carefully reviewing your coding. Make sure that all tags have a closing symptom of ">". Ensure that every time you no longer want to use that font that there's an end tag.

Where to find fonts that fit your brand

If you look online, you can find a list of the different fonts available for you to use. You then can input them into your font tag. As you select one, keep the feeling you want to convey in mind.

Use your company font across all marketing channels

Once you change the font in HTML for your website, use this same font for all aspects of your marketing. It'll become synonymous with your brand. In fact, you can learn HTML email basics and even use it in your emails.

Changing the font type, color, or size is a good idea if you can find the font that best complements your brand, your purpose, your logo, or a special promotion that you are planning on publicizing. But don't overdo it—keep it simple, remain true to your brand without going overboard, and be careful to make sure you don't create what we call in tech "sloppy HTML." This can mess up the user experience in more ways than one and is not worth it.

It all starts with an idea. How do you want to present yourself and your brand? Do you want to come across as flamboyant, full of personality, and fun, or somber and sincere? Whatever your goals are, your font and your website can help convey the message you’re trying to get across.

With Mailchimp, you can quickly and easily claim a domain and build a website that’s easy-to-use and highlights the best parts about your brand. We also enable you to create high-quality landing pages and populate your website with dynamic content that helps you attract and retain customers. Whatever your needs may be, you can’t go wrong with using Mailchimp as a marketing CRM.

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