How to Add Custom Fonts to Your Squarespace Website
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How to Add Custom Fonts to Your Squarespace Website
Deciding to add custom fonts to your website is a fantastic way to add a pop of personality and on-brand design to your site. In this post, I will show you how to add custom fonts using Squarespace. I’ll also provide some tips on choosing the right font for your website.
Let's get started!
Step 01: Choose a Font
When it comes to a business website, you have to use commercial fonts, and one of the best places to find commercial use web fonts is Creative Market. When it comes to custom fonts, they are better used with headings and accents, not as your primary text font. The reasoning behind that is that if every piece of text on your page is a custom font, your page speed can suffer.
Other great spots to grab custom header or accent fonts are:
Jen Wagner Fonts* (where I purchased my fonts for this site!)
For your paragraph text font, you'll want to stick to a traditional font or a Google font, such as Open Sans, Arial, or Merriweather.
Considerations for Font Readability and Accessibility
When choosing a font, it's important to consider its readability and accessibility.
A font that's hard to read can detract from your user's experience and make your website less accessible. Ensure the font you choose is legible, with clear distinctions between characters, and consider how it will look in various sizes. Also, think about color contrast between the font and its background to ensure it's easily readable by all users, including those with visual impairments.
Understanding Font Licensing
Before you download and use a font, it's essential to understand its licensing. Not all fonts are free for commercial use, and some may require purchasing a license. This is particularly important for business websites, as using a font without the proper license can lead to legal issues.
Always check the license of the font you plan to use and ensure it's suitable for your intended use. This step is crucial to avoid any potential copyright infringements and maintain the professionalism of your website.
Step 02: Download the Font
A web font needs to be saved in WOFF or WOFF2 format to be embedded into your website. Make sure you save all of the font formats available to you via your font purchase, and we'll upload them all according to your website platform.
WHAT IS WOFF AND WOFF2??
WOFF (Web Open Font Format) and WOFF2 are specifically designed for use on the web, providing both efficiency and performance improvements over traditional font formats like TrueType or OpenType.
WOFF is essentially a compressed version of these older formats, making it faster to load on web pages without sacrificing quality. WOFF2, introduced later, takes this a step further. It offers even better compression, leading to quicker page load times and a smoother user experience.
By saving fonts in these formats, you ensure that they are optimized for web use, maintaining aesthetic quality while enhancing website performance. This is particularly important as search engines increasingly prioritize site speed in their ranking algorithms.
Step 03: Add the Font to Your Website
The next step is to upload and add the custom font to your website. Depending on your website builder or platform, there are a couple of ways to do this. I’m sharing below how to add fonts to Squarespace, since that’s the platform I’m most familiar with.
How to Add a Custom Font in Squarespace
01. Upload Your Font
First, you need to upload your custom font file to Squarespace. Click the backlash key and type CSS like this: /CSS.
Here, you'll find the option to "Manage Custom Files." Click on this and then select "Add Images or Fonts." You can then upload your font file. Make sure your font file is in a web-friendly format like WOFF or WOFF2. You can also use OTF.
02. Using CSS to Implement the Font
After uploading, you'll need to write some CSS code to use your font on the website. You'll use the `@font-face` rule in the Custom CSS section. This rule should define the font's name and specify the URL of the uploaded font file. After defining the font with `@font-face`, you can apply it to different elements of your website, such as headers or paragraphs, by specifying the font-family in your CSS rules:
@font-face {
font-family: 'California Coast';
src: url('your-font-url.woff2') format('woff2'),
url('your-font-url.woff') format('woff');
}
Apply it to elements like headers or paragraphs:
h1 {
font-family: 'California Coast', sans-serif;
}
03. Testing and Adjustments
Once you've added your custom font through CSS, it's important to test your website on different browsers and devices to ensure that the font displays correctly. Adjustments might be needed if the font doesn't load properly or affects the website's performance. Keep in mind that custom fonts can impact page load times, which is an important factor for user experience and SEO.
Note: The exact steps and code may vary depending on the specific version of Squarespace you are using and the font file format. Always check Squarespace's guidelines and the font's licensing agreement.
Responsive Design Considerations
When adding custom fonts, it's important to ensure they look good across all devices and screen sizes.
Responsive design is about more than just resizing elements; it's about ensuring a seamless user experience on any device. Test how your font looks on different devices, and adjust the font size or style if necessary. This might include making fonts larger on mobile devices for easier readability or adjusting the line height and spacing for a cleaner look.
Key Takeaways
Adding custom fonts to your website is a fantastic way to add personality and branding to your site. Just be sure to use them sparingly and only for headings or accents, not as your primary text font. When choosing the right font, do some research and try out a few different options before settling on one.
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