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Best font and font size
easyrider
Posts: 248
Joined: 25 Jul 10
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27 Sep 11 5:19 am

Best font and font size

At the moment on my Wordpress website I have selected the following options:

Body Text Font: Arial, Verdana, Sans-serif

Article Panel Text Size: 12

The problem is that the text seems a little small and hard to read (compared to other sites I have looked at) and this might be turning some people off. The larger context of this is that my website bounce rate is around 71% and I'm only getting the occasional sale with a reasonable amount of traffic. I want to reduce my bounce rate and increase my conversion rate to sales.

What do you guys recommend in terms of fonts?
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Greg
 
cecille.l
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27 Sep 11 7:46 am

 I think a font size of 12 is a good enough size. I think it is the standard font size, not too big and not too small. We use different systems though so that size may be too big on some and too small on other but the difference will not be too far apart.
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newstart
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27 Sep 11 11:02 am

 I don't see a problem with a 12 point font size.

On most of my sites I have been using a 10 point font in Verdana or Arial.

May I suggest you run a test to determine if there are any variations as to your conversion sales rate.

Margene
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esolutions
Posts: 475
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27 Sep 11 3:38 pm

 Hi,

Arial is good, just a standard font.

12 is small for some, although again, a standard size. Try 14 pixels, slightly larger and easier to read, yet small enough to not overpower the page.
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essexboyracer
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27 Sep 11 5:57 pm

 As screen resolutions increase in size, I have been using larger font sizes, both for body text (14px) as well as main headings, H1, H2, etc. (26, 20 and 16px).
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newstart
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27 Sep 11 8:45 pm

 I have a question to pose.

Can a font size be too large? Is it not likely that a visitor will adjust their individual monitor to view a website making font size larger than a normally typed page irrelevant?

Margene
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essexboyracer
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28 Sep 11 5:14 pm

 Take a look at this website, http://www.papercut.com/, their H1 font size is a massive 72px!

I wouldnt get too hung up on font sizes. You can always try Google Website Optimizer to run an A/B test on a pages' conversions to see if a larger/smaller size works better.

I personally find myself zooming in on sites as I run my laptop at 1920x1200 resolution. As a consequence sites I have built tend to have slightly larger font sizes.
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mark schaaf
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03 Oct 11 9:35 pm

 I used a free tool called font finder which you can use on any website to see what type font is being used as well as size. When I did this I learned my web editor was using a bigger font then what I was telling it. I called them and they didn't know why and no one else was having this problem. Maybe your text looks small for the same reason but showing something smaller then what you want. As far as font Verdana and Arial are two of the most widely uses fonts for websites. You may try georga and see how it looks. I have been going back and forth as to which one I can see better and it is funny sometimes I can read one much better then the other and then a few days later I can read the other better. It is difficult to really know why people don't stay or stay and don't buy. People on the internet are a fickle bunch.
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Mark
 
easyrider
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04 Oct 11 1:03 pm

 I have installed the Firefox Font Finder plugin to see what font other people are using. The result is that I have changed my standard text font to Arial 14 pt like this on this forum and it looks much better.
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Greg
 
essexboyracer
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04 Oct 11 5:12 pm

 You can always use fontsquirrel to use non-standard fonts embedded within @font-face kits (http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fontface) on a website, with a complaint fallback font
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cecille.l
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07 Oct 11 1:25 am
mark schaaf wrote:It is difficult to really know why people don't stay or stay and don't buy. People on the internet are a fickle bunch.


I don't think they are fickle, rather they are easily distracted, just not sold into what you're presenting to them or don't like what they see. So they leave, or they look around and then leave. While it is important to have great content on your site, I think it is equally important to have a neat, good-looking design/layout. Fonts are a component of web design and affects how a page looks. No one will read a good article with fonts that are too small or too ornate.
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Cecille

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jetpackbuilder
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18 Oct 11 12:41 pm

 People come to your site looking for answers. They want it quick. When they get there and see an article written in a smaller font they may be put off by what looks like a lot of reading. A larger font of around 14 points not only looks neater but also gives the appearance of having less to read to find the answer they are in search of.

That's my two cents,
Steve
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markboardmanonline
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26 Oct 11 11:28 am

 Hi, i think 12 is a good size and georgia for font! but that's me.

At the end end of the day its how you think it looks?

Mark
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cecille.l
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27 Oct 11 2:00 am

 Hi Mark,

I think what matters at the end of the day is how the site looks to your readers. They should be able to access information on your site easily and read you articles comfortably.

Have a good day! :)
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jetpackbuilder
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27 Oct 11 12:00 pm

 Mark,

What I often do is set up my site and get things the way I want them and then just leave it alone for a day. When I come back the next day I have a fresh perspective. Sometimes it will look 'perfect' and I will leave it alone and other times things that need to be changed (such as font size) will jump right out at me.

Steve
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michellerana
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27 Oct 11 3:54 pm

 Use simple fonts such as Arial, which lend authority to your texts. Do not mix too many font styles and don't use comic sans because your site will look unprofessional to your visitors.
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aarondsouzaa
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31 Oct 11 1:32 pm

 Of course font size 12 enough good for your issue.. Always the font should be viewable at least from the shorter distance that is the good font we can use ..



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Cegonsoft
 
mariamabbott23
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25 Dec 11 10:08 pm

 I read that Arial is the best, it's easier when people are reading because it has simple characters and without a lot of effort and focus you can read the letters. Is relaxing for the mind.
As for the size, I also believe that 12 is good and for titles 14
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hardnova01
Posts: 13
Joined: 27 Dec 11
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27 Dec 11 5:20 pm

 I think as a matter of practicality you should use Arial and default font sizes as this will ensure that all browsers display as intended and since your headers and subheaders etc should be <H#> tags, you are usually good to go. In a perfect world all computers would come with Helvetica as it was scientifically developed to be the most readable font.

easyrider wrote:At the moment on my Wordpress website I have selected the following options:

Body Text Font: Arial, Verdana, Sans-serif

Article Panel Text Size: 12

The problem is that the text seems a little small and hard to read (compared to other sites I have looked at) and this might be turning some people off. The larger context of this is that my website bounce rate is around 71% and I'm only getting the occasional sale with a reasonable amount of traffic. I want to reduce my bounce rate and increase my conversion rate to sales.

What do you guys recommend in terms of fonts?
  • 0

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