What is a Google Font
Do you often use Word to create texts and documents? Then you probably noticed it has a rather limited font choice. Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, plus a few others – and that's where the editor's possibilities end. If you want to try new, modern, and original fonts and would like to stand out from the competition, then the Google Fonts library offers this opportunity completely for free.
Google Fonts is a service with over 1,000 typefaces that you can download to your PC and use in text editors, as well as on websites or in other programs where font selection is available.
Using Google Fonts's service interface, you can filter fonts by type and instantly check how your text will look before downloading. If you lack inspiration and don't know which fonts to get, browse the thematic collections and the "Featured" section to check the latest trends.
Why use Google Fonts
From a casual and fun font like Comic Sans to a more professional and serious one like Helvetica, a typeface can greatly impact how the text is perceived. Therefore, when choosing, you need to think about what exactly you need from the font. For example, if you make captions, the font that has too much going on is not suitable as it would be harder to read.
In the case of Google Fonts, they have their advantages. They are optimized for the web environment and thus do not affect the website's loading speed; plus, they allow to easily implement a much wider variety of typefaces into it. They are easy to download and install on PC as well.
It is also important that with Google Fonts, there are no licensing issues, so they can be freely used in your projects without worrying about having legal problems.
Another good thing is that there are some great font and font family choices. Pretty serif fonts, simple sans serif ones, typewriter-like fonts, or handwritten-looking ones – you name it! With the sheer amount of different fonts available, you can be sure to find the one that suits your project best.
However, there are shortcomings as well. One of them is the popularity of some Google Fonts on the web, which means they are so familiar to the reader that they are not so eye-catching anymore. The other drawback is that not every font family includes different weights and italics and is available for every language.
How to use Google Fonts
Before you choose a font, you may want to look at which ones your competitors use and the leading brands in your field. The former will help you avoid repetition and really stand out against the other market players, and the latter will inspire you with new ideas.
After you've chosen the font you want to get on the website, click the card with its name, and then click the "Download Family" button in the upper right corner. "Family" means that the font will be downloaded not in one single typeface but in all available variations (thin, regular, bold, italic, and so on).
Once downloaded, unzip the archive, then open the "static" folder. There are subfolders where you have to select all fonts ending with .ttf, double-click, then confirm the installation. After installation, the new font will be available not only in text editors on your computer but also in other programs where font selection is available.
If you would like to use these fonts on a web project, try the Google Font API service. With it, you can access the entire open-source font and icon library.
The Google Font API is a great solution to many @font-face problems. First of all, this service makes using web fonts really simple. Just one line of HTML and a few lines of CSS scripts, and you have them added to your page. You don't have to worry about browser quirks, font formats, or how it works – the Google Font API takes care of all that. Fonts are officially supported in all popular browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari.
Most popular Google Fonts
Can't decide which font to use, as you don't know where to look first because of their diversity? If your project does not require a specific thematic font, you can use classic fonts that have already been tested over time.
The list of such Google Fonts might include the following most "classic" ones: