OK so you probably wondering whats this promo for Google for, you know that mega-opoly that owns all your data and sells it to the NSA? But lets face it, we all use it, to find our way to this website, to find the way to your friends house, and to let them (and the NSA) know you’re coming.
And hey, they do have a whole load of pretty nifty gizmos, which have for better and worse become ubiqitous in our live. This post reveals one of Google’s little known projects, which although you’ve probably never heard of, you’re looking at it right now.
Fonts are ubiqitous, we see them every where, and when they are good we don’t pay too much attention to them, but when they go wrong they give you a worse aversion to reading that you got from your high school English class.
Choosing excellent fonts is surprisingly difficult, and for the web designer, installing fonts that will work on all platforms, everywhere, is a challenge that makes you remember longing for the 3:30 school bell.
Google Fonts makes choosing fonts easier with their tools to filter for Serif, Sans-Serif, thickness, slant, and width.
They also make it easier to choose pairs of fonts which work together as headlines and paragraph text.
All the fonts available are Open-Source and will work on all devices. The choice is limited to fairly standard looking fonts, if you are looking for more outlandish scripts (for free) then we recommend dafont.com which also has great filters to find what you are looking for.
The advantage of Google Fonts is that you don’t need to do much to make them available to your websites readers. Simply installing the WordPress plugin will make it easy for you to select which of Google’s fonts you want to apply to your basic html tags _____. You may need to use some basic CSS to apply these font changes to more specific targets in your theme.
So, check out Google Fonts, install the WordPress Plugin, and it will make it easy for you to mix, match, and change fonts at the drop of a hat. There is still a lot that a professional graphic designer or typographer can offer to your website, but if you don’t have the funds then this is a good plan B.
And next time you look up at the night sky, and realise that the phone in your pocket is capable of tracking your every move, thanks to Google, give them the finger, but also wave and say thanks for their brilliant font-engine.
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