Guide · Updated October 2026

What Fonts Should I Use on My Website? A Simple Guide for Small Businesses

How to choose fonts for a small business website: readable body text, a heading font with personality, sizes for mobile, loading speed, and the font mistakes to avoid.

What Fonts Should I Use on My Website? A Simple Guide for Small Businesses

Short answer: Use a clean, readable font for body text, optionally a second font with more character for headings, and stop there. Set body text large enough for phones, around 16 pixels or more, and choose web fonts that load quickly.

Readability first

Your font's main job is to be read easily, on a small screen, by a busy person. Personality comes second. If customers have to squint, they leave.

Serif vs sans serif

  • Sans serif fonts, without little strokes on the letters, look clean and modern and read well on screens. Examples include Inter, Roboto, Open Sans, Lato and system fonts.
  • Serif fonts, with small strokes, can feel traditional, established or elegant. Examples include Merriweather, Lora and Playfair Display.

Both work on modern screens. Many sites use a serif for headings and a sans serif for body text, or a single sans serif throughout.

The two-font rule

Use one font, or two at most:

  1. A body font that is plain and highly readable.
  2. A heading font that adds character, if you want one.

A third or fourth font almost always makes a site look less professional.

Want typography that looks sharp on every phone?

SiteDrum builds fast, mobile-first websites from $99 setup and $15 a month, with hosting, security, Google setup and support included. Already have a site that is slow or broken? Try Website Rescue or run our free speed test.

Matching font to your business

  • Trades and practical services: strong, simple sans serif headings feel dependable.
  • Law, accounting, finance: a classic serif heading with a clean body font suggests experience.
  • Beauty, weddings, boutiques: an elegant serif or refined heading font, used sparingly.
  • Cafes and creative businesses: more playful headings can work, but keep body text plain.

Sizes and spacing

  • Body text: around 16 to 18 pixels on mobile.
  • Line height: roughly 1.5 times the font size for comfortable reading.
  • Line length: avoid very wide paragraphs on desktop; aim for comfortable line lengths.
  • Headings: clearly bigger than body text so the structure is obvious.

Fonts and website speed

Every custom font file adds to loading time. Loading several weights of several fonts can slow the first view of your page. Keep it efficient:

  • Load only the weights you use, such as regular and bold.
  • Consider system fonts, which need no download at all.
  • Use modern font formats and sensible loading settings so text shows immediately.

Curious whether fonts or images are slowing you down? Run a free speed test.

Licensing

Free font libraries such as Google Fonts are widely used on websites. Fonts bought for print or downloaded from random sites may not allow web use, so check the licence.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Script or handwriting fonts for body text
  • All capitals for long passages
  • Light, thin fonts in pale grey
  • Different fonts on different pages

The bottom line

Choose a readable body font, an optional heading font with a bit of character, set sensible sizes for phones and keep the number of font files low. Good typography is mostly invisible: people just find your site easy to read.

Frequently asked questions

How many fonts should a website use?

One or two. A body font and optionally a heading font is plenty.

What font size is best for websites?

Around 16 to 18 pixels for body text on mobile, with clearly larger headings.

Are Google Fonts free to use?

Yes, fonts in the Google Fonts library are free for websites, though you should still check each licence.

Do fonts affect website speed?

Yes. Each font file adds loading time, so use only the weights you need or system fonts.

Want a website that brings you customers?

Tell us what you do on WhatsApp and we will send a fixed quote and a free mockup.

Get my free mockup

Related guides

How to Make My Website Trustworthy: 15 Trust Signals Customers Look ForRead guide →Common Website Mistakes Small Businesses Make (And How to Fix Each One)Read guide →How to Use a QR Code to Send People to My WebsiteRead guide →Core Web Vitals Explained: LCP, INP and CLS for Business WebsitesRead guide →

Our products

Starter website$99 setup, $15 a monthBusiness website$249 setup, $29 a monthPremium website$499 setup, $59 a monthWebsite RescueFix a slow, broken or hacked siteFree speed testCheck your site in secondsSample websitesSee designs for your industry

Website design near you

Website design in LondonWebsite design in New YorkWebsite design in TorontoWebsite design in UtrechtWebsite design in SouthamptonWebsite design in WellingtonWebsite design in SheffieldWebsite design in SingaporeWebsite design in GlasgowWebsite design in SeattleAll cities →

SiteDrum home · All guides · Sitemap · Contact us

All guides

Contact us

Tell us about your business

Send a message and we reply within one working day with a fixed quote. Prefer to chat? WhatsApp us or book a free 15-minute call.

We only use your details to reply to you. See our privacy policy.
Chat on WhatsAppBook a free call