21 Best Google Fonts For Blogs and Websites

Until recently, when it came to web design, a web designer or developer’s choice of fonts was restricted to a small group of web-safe fonts. These fonts don’t pixelate or blur when displayed on monitors, which can often happen with traditional print-friendly fonts. This has now changed, and there is a large selection of web-safe fonts available.

But having a greater choice available, where do you start to look for web-safe fonts? Well, while there are many font libraries out there, my recommendation is to head straight for Google Fonts. With over 680 font families to choose from, Google Fonts come with plenty of great perks and features.

Personally, I don’t think you’ll need to look any further. And, if you need a little more convincing, here are a few reasons why Google Fonts are good enough for my design projects.

The Importance of Google fonts

Free to use

The best, if not the most obvious, reason to use Google Fonts over any other service is its zero-cost price tag, which allows you to select and use any Google font-face for free of charge.

A premium font may give your website an original look, but it will also take a huge chunk from your design budget. Especially if you have to buy in the license to use a font family not just for web design, but need to extend the license for use on mobile devices and print.

Even worse, some font licenses are priced according to the number of website visits you receive. If you have a lot of visitors, that can easily add up to quite a sum.

The worst part is that you won’t have the freedom to go back and try out a different font once you make the purchase.

Cross-platform display

In some cases, different operating systems and mobile devices can cause font display errors. This can sometimes mess up the look of the entire website by displaying distorted text. Thanks to Google’s incredibly fast content delivery network (CDN), you no longer have to worry about those cross-platform issues.

Google Fonts now supports all major browsers, as well as a wide range of mobile devices.

No licenses required

Google Fonts don’t have any restrictions on how you can use them, as they are all released under Open Source license. You are free to select any font in the database and use however many fonts you want. You can download, customize, print, use them on commercial projects and do much more.

Increased accessibility

Google Fonts allows the browser to connect to Google to get the font – instead of looking at the fonts on your computer. Therefore every user can see the custom Google font, even if it not already pre-installed on their computer, rather than the default font set on that individual computer.

This allows designers to select from many customized fonts and to use that instead.

Massive cost savings

With businesses often having branches or marketing teams scattered around the country, if not the world, we know that cost and licenses are an important consideration. If each of the branches or team had to pay for separate font licenses, the cost implications would be enormous.

Let alone the added costs for suppliers, whether for print or digital content, who would also have to purchase font licenses when creating content for their clients.

This impacts in particular when it comes to printed materials. While for online use you just need to link your website to the google font of your choice, for print you have to have the fonts installed on your Mac or PC.

With Google Fonts that is no problem. You can download copies of the same fonts you are using online, and use them for printed materials or presentations, thereby keeping the brand style going across a wide range of media.

Unlimited usage

Unlike most other web font services, Google Fonts doesn’t have a bandwidth or pageview limitation. This allows you to use any font on any number of websites with no obligations.

Google Fonts serve billions of page views every month for free while other subscription services such as Typekit limits their font use to only 500k pageviews a month for each website, after which additional license fees would apply.

Quick to download

This is yet another advantage of Google Fonts: they are much lighter than other font libraries or self-hosted fonts. Each font has been compressed for speedier download, allowing web pages to download in a split second on any platform, without affecting the font quality.

You can also calculate the best font combinations for your website with the fastest loading time by using the clever font selection dial on Google Fonts.

My take on Google fonts

The only time I can see myself wanting to use some other fonts would be if I wanted to create a unique, one-off piece, where a font needs to be decorative and stand out from the crowd. But when it comes to brand development, you need to consider all the devices your comms will be displayed on, the different suppliers that support you, and the amount of staff and contributors that will be affected by your font choice.

With all these advantages offered by Google Fonts, brands really should consider taking a look at the many fonts available in the Google library and the practicalities of using them.

Human Psychology of Simple Fonts

Two researchers, Hyunjin Song and Norbert Schwarz, did an experiment (source) which involved two groups of people.

The first group was given the direction to an exercise in a simple font (Arial)

While the second group was given the exact instructions in harder to read fonts (Brush)

The Results? Surprising.

The first group of people (with easy-to-read font) estimated that the task would take 8.2 minutes to complete. Whereas, the second group (with hard-to-read font) estimated a whopping 15.1 minutes.

Mind that, both groups didn’t perform the task but estimated based *only* on the instructions they read.

Simply put, the choice of font can make a difference as big as 86% and people tend to overestimate the task if founded hard to read the instructions.

What does it mean for you?

If you are a blogger (high-five!) who share various blogging tutorials and guides, it’s vital that you use simple fonts to boost the count of action-takers.

However, it doesn’t mean fancy fonts are useless. They are as useful as simple fonts based on where they are used. And to prove that, there’s another experiment (by the same researchers.)

Human Psychology of Fancy Fonts

Again, the experiment involved two groups of people – first, who got a printed menu in a simple font and other received a printed menu in a fancy font.

The Results? Not what you’d expect.

The people who received the printed menu in Fancy fonts assumed that the chef has more skills. While another group who received the menu written in simple font thought that the chef isn’t as skilled.

What made them believe that? Fancy fonts provoked a thought that more work has gone into creating the product.

As put by the researchers, “If you are selling a costly product, describing it using a hard to read font will suggest to the viewer that more effort went into creating that product.”

Now that you understand the Human Psychology behind fonts, let me present you with the top 21 best Google fonts to use on a blog for a modern look and a better user experience.

21 Best Google Fonts For Blogs and Websites

The list is in not sorted by a specific order or preference. I’ll keep adding more amazing Google fonts to the list as time passes, so make sure to either bookmark this page or subscribe to our newsletter.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #1: Montserrat

Montserrat, created by Julieta Ulanovsky, was inspired by Old posters and Signage. It is a Sans-Serif font and has excellent readability.

It’s best used for headings and titles on the page. And there are 18 different styles available.

It pairs best with Open Sans and Raleway fonts.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #2: Oswald

Oswald is another simple font for blogger which looks beautiful yet readable.

It is a reworking of the classic style and fits best for body content and heading for articles.

Available in 6 different styles, Oswald is best paired with Roboto and Lato typefaces.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #3: Zilla Slab

Zilla Slab is the popular typeface used by Mozilla for its own products like Firefox browser. It has smooth curves for better look and usability.

Due to its lightweight, Zilla Slab is a perfect fit for body content. It is available in 10 different font weights and can even be used for headings. It pairs best with Roboto and Open Sans fonts.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #4: Open Sans

Designed by Steve Matteson, Open Sans is my favorite font to use on a blog or website. It looks neat and is optimized for print, web, and mobile interfaces.

Available in 10 different styles, Open Sans is best suited for Heading, however, can be used for body content without a glitch. And it pairs best with Oswald and Montserrat.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #5: Bitter

Bitter is another popular font which is designed for comfortable reading on any computer or device. It is designed by Sol Matas and has only 3 styles available. The ‘Regular’ style is thicker than other ‘regular’ typefaces.

It can be best used for website headings and sidebar. And pairs best with Open Sans and Source Sans Pro.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #6: Raleway

Raleway is an elegant typeface which looks easy on eyes and professional at the same time. It is available in 18 different styles and intended for large size usages like headings and page title.

Open Sans and Josefin Slab look excellent when paired with Raleway.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #7: Nunito Sans

Available in 14 different styles, Nunito Sans is a well-balanced font with smooth curves. It looks good on both the article body and page headings. However, I prefer to use it for the sidebar.

Nunito Sans pairs well with Roboto and Montserrat typefaces.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #8: Ubuntu

As you may have already guessed, Ubuntu is the font used by popular open source Operating System which goes by the same name. It has edges which look cool for technology-oriented websites and blogs.

Available in 8 different weights, Ubuntu typeface is most-suitable for content body and graphic designing. And it pairs well with Open Sans and Oswald for a professional yet elegant appearance.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #8: Josefin Sans

Josefin Sans comes under the group of fancy fonts and thus widely used for graphics designing work. However, due to its elegance, it can be used on a website without much problem.

It is available in 10 different styles and looks neat for heading and sidebar titles. Moreover, it pairs best with Open Sans and Lato.

If you’re using Josefin Slab, make sure to use a large font size since it can be harder to read in smaller variants.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #9: Arvo

Arvo is another professionally designed typeface which looks pleasant on all screen devices. Due to its thickness and curves, it can also be used as a fancy font.

It’s also suitable for prints and originates from an Estonian name meaning “number, value, worth.” Arvo is available in 4 different weights and pairs best with Oswald and Lato for a polished look.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #10: Lato

Lato is a classic font which pairs well with almost all of the fonts for blogs on this page. It was designed by Łukasz Dziedzic in 2010 and has been widely adopted afterward. Currently, it is adopted by more than 8,600,000 websites.

It’s a perfect font for article body due to its simplicity and ease of reading and available in 10 different styles. Lato pairs well with Open Sans and Raleway.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #11: Vollkorn

Another popular font known for its simplicity and adoption, Vollkorn is widely used for article body and headings. It’s available in 8 different styles and pairs well with Lato and Roboto.

This font is also adopted in prints in cases where a simplistic approach is taken. As you can see in the snapshot, Vollkorn doesn’t hurt eyes when reading even if smaller font-size is used.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #12: Playfair Display

If you’re looking for a fancy font which is easy-to-read but doesn’t give a touch of professionalism, Playfair Display is the best Google font you can get.

It is popularly adopted by fashion blogs and female bloggers for body content as well as headings. Available in 6 different weights, Playfair Display combines best with Raleway and Open Sans Condensed.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #13: Roboto

As the name suggests, Roboto has a mechanical skeleton while having open curves both at the same time. Roboto perfectly fits for headings and it is available in 12 different weights which can extend its use to sidebar font and page title.

Undoubtedly, Roboto is one of the most popular Google fonts featuring on more than 13,000,000 websites. It pairs well with Open Sans and Lato.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #14: Allerta Stencil

Initially designed for signage and posters, Allerta Stencil is a decent fancy font which can be easily and clearly read from a distance.

Each letter of Allerta is distinguished which improves readability. However, it won’t look good on blogs and websites for body content. Allerta Stencil is a theme best used for graphics designing and prints.

It is available in only one style and pairs best with Special Elite typeface.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #15: Source Sans Pro

You may have already noticed, Source Sans Pro is a font which combines beautifully with rest of the best Google fonts on the list. It is Adobe’s first open-source typeface family, designed by Paul D. Hunt.

Available in 10 different styles, Source Sans Pro can be used anywhere on the website and still look pleasant. Also, it is one of the most popular Google web fonts being featured in more than 4,200,000 websites.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #16: PT Sans

PT Sans is based on Russian sans serif types and was developed for the project “Public Types of Russian Federation.” It is widely used inspired by Russian history and popularly used for headings and Title of the page.

The font is available in 8 different styles and popularly paired with Roboto and PT Serif (same family)

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #17: Merriweather

One of my favorite pick for graphics work, Merriweather font has a fancy look while being easily readable. It is designed for screens and features a condensed form of text.

Available in 8 different styles, Merriweather is an excellent font for headings and titles. Although it can be clearly used as a body font, it can cost some stress on eyes for long reading.

It is popularly paired with Oswald font and has been proudly featured in more than 2,700,000 websites.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #18: Oxygen

The Oxygen font was initially designed for KDE Project, a libre desktop for the GNU+Linux operating systems. It looks beautiful and due to its simplicity, Oxygen font can be used on desktop and mobile devices freely.

Available in only three body weights, Oxygen is used for article body and sidebar font. The letters are longer than usual and thinner to give a professional look. It is popularly paired with Open Sans and Oswald typefaces.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #19: Maven Pro

Maven Pro has round edges and blending which looks appealing on the desktop as well as prints. Its simplistic approach makes it an excellent for content body and sidebar font.

Available in only 4 different body weights (Regular, Medium, Bold, and Black), Maven Pro is well paired with Playfair Display and Roboto fonts.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #20: Lora

Perfect font for essay writing, Lora is another popular best Google font available for Free. It has brushed curves which makes it appealing and sophisticated at the same time.

It is available in 4 styles only, which are enough for story writing. Lora is best paired with Open Sans and Lato fonts. For the web, Lora looks decent for the article body.

Best Google Fonts For Blogs #21: Lobster

Lobster is another very popular fancy theme which is an ideal choice for graphics designing but the article body. Due to its complexion, Lobster is hard-to-read font and requires stressing the eyes on certain words.

However, Lobster is an excellent pick for headings (considering that they aren’t too long) for fun-filled writing. It is available in only 1 style and combines best with Raleway and Josefin Slab typefaces.

How to Add Google Fonts to WordPress

Now that you may have picked a font from the list, let’s see how can add it to your WordPress site. Since WordPress is the most popular CMS for blogging (read more), I’m discussing the tutorial for it only. If you’re using any other blog platform and want a tutorial, just comment below.

Note: Many of the popular WordPress themes have an inbuilt Google fonts option. If that’s the case, you don’t need to follow the below steps.

1. Login to Your WordPress Dashboard

2. Go to Plugins > Add New

3. Search for “Easy Google Fonts”

4. Locate the “Easy Google Fonts” plugin by Titanium Themes and click the Install Now button. Activate it.

5. Go to Settings > Google Fonts and create a “New Font Control.”

6. Next, go to Themes > Customize > Typography to manage what fonts are used for which object.

ta! da!

Final Words

Content readability can affect the user experience of your site which in turns increases the bounce rate and lowers the time a user spends on the site.

Choosing a good font may not seem a crucial task at the beginning, but as you start focusing on blog metrics, you would know the importance.

My top three picks for best Google fonts for blogs and website are:

Open Sans
Raleway
Lato

What font are you using on your blog and does it look perfect? Leave a comment and let us know. Also, make sure to share this post with your friends and followers.