Most people visit a business website to find one thing fast. They want a price, a service or a way to get in touch. If the words are hard to read, many of them leave. Typography is the quiet part of design that decides how easy that reading feels.
The good news is that readable type follows a few clear principles. You do not need a design degree to apply them. Government design teams and the W3C publish plain guidance on font size, spacing and line length. This post pulls that guidance together for a small business site.
Why typography matters for a business website
Typography covers the fonts you choose and how you set them on the page. It includes size, spacing, line length, weight and colour. Each of these changes how quickly a visitor can scan and understand your copy. Good type gets out of the way so the message comes through.
Poor type does the opposite. Tiny grey text on a pale background makes people squint. Long lines that run across a wide screen make it easy to lose your place. Visitors rarely complain about this. They simply stop reading and go back to the search results.
Readable type also supports your search work. Clear headings and comfortable body text help people stay on the page and take in what you wrote. If you want to maximise your content impact on SEO, the way that content looks matters as much as the words. A well written page set in hard to read type will struggle to keep anyone.
Choosing a font that suits your brand and your readers
Many business sites try to use too many fonts. One typeface for headings and one for body text is plenty for most brands. The NSW Government goes further and uses a single typeface, Public Sans, for both headings and body copy. It sets Arial as the backup font in case Public Sans fails to load.
That backup matters. Web fonts can be slow or blocked on some connections. A sensible fallback stack means the page still reads well if your chosen font never arrives. Ask your developer to list a common system font after your brand font in the CSS.
For body text, choose a plain font with open letter shapes and clear spacing. Save decorative or script fonts for a logo or a short heading. They can look lovely at large sizes but become hard work in a paragraph. Test any font with real sentences from your site, not just your business name.
Setting a sensible base font size
Body text on many small sites is still set too small. The NSW Design System sets its body text at 1rem, which is 16 pixels in most browsers. It pairs that with a line height of 1.5. Treat 16 pixels as a sensible starting point and test on a phone as well as a desktop.
Headings in the same system are set in bold at weight 700. They step down in size from heading one to heading five. That clear hierarchy helps readers see how a page is organised at a glance. Keep your own heading sizes consistent across every page so the structure stays familiar.
Spacing, line length and alignment
Space around text is as important as the text itself. The NSW Government typography guidance asks for line spacing of at least 1.5 times the font size. It also asks for paragraph spacing of at least 2 times the font size. Letter spacing should be at least 0.12 times the font size and word spacing at least 0.16 times.
Line length is the next thing to check. The W3C guidance on visual presentation of text says blocks of text should be no more than 80 characters wide. Long lines make it hard to find the start of the next line. Narrower columns are easier to follow, especially for people with reading difficulties.
The same W3C guidance says text should not be justified to both margins. Full justification can leave uneven gaps between words. The W3C calls these gaps rivers of white, and they make word boundaries harder to see. Left aligned text with a ragged right edge is the safer choice for web pages.
Most page builders let you control these settings without code. Many WordPress plugins for web design add typography panels for size, line height and width. Set them once in your global styles rather than page by page. That keeps every page consistent and saves time later.
Colour contrast and readable text
Text needs enough contrast against its background to be read easily. The NSW guidance sets a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5 to 1 for body text. Headings and large text need at least 3 to 1. It defines large text as anything over 18 point.
Light grey text on white is the most common problem on small business sites. It can look clean in a design mockup but fails in bright daylight on a phone. Free contrast checkers let you enter two colours and see the ratio. Run your brand colours through one before you lock in a style guide.
Do not rely on colour alone to show meaning either. A link should look like a link through underlining or another clear cue. Readers with colour vision deficiency may not see a subtle change in hue. A clear visual cue helps every visitor.
Testing your typography with real readers
The best test is watching people use your site. Ask a few customers to find a price or a phone number while you watch. Note where they hesitate or zoom in. Those moments often point straight to a type problem.
You can also gather feedback at scale. Simple surveys and online market research tools can ask visitors how easy your pages are to read. Combine that with your analytics to see where people leave. Small changes to size or spacing can make a clear difference.
Check that text still works when it is enlarged. The W3C guidance says text should resize up to 200 percent without the reader scrolling sideways to read a line. Try zooming your own pages in a browser and see what breaks. Fix any text that gets cut off or overlaps.
Remember that typography carries into your ads and social posts too. Short, clear text on a strong background works better in a busy feed. The same rules on size and contrast apply to ad creative, and our Facebook ads resource list is a good place to start. Keep your brand fonts and colours consistent across every channel.
Frequently asked questions
What font size should body text be on a website?
The NSW Design System uses 16 pixels for body text with a line height of 1.5. That is a sensible starting point for most business sites. Test it on a phone and a laptop. Go larger if your audience includes many older readers.
How many fonts should a business website use?
One or two is enough for most brands. The NSW Government uses a single typeface for both headings and body text. Fewer fonts also means fewer files to load. Add a common system font as a fallback in case your main font fails.
Should website text be justified?
No, the W3C guidance says blocks of text should not be justified. Full justification can create uneven gaps between words. Left aligned text is easier to read on screen. Keep justified text for print layouts if you use it at all.
What is a good line length for reading on screen?
The W3C guidance says blocks of text should be no more than 80 characters wide. Shorter lines help readers find the start of the next line. Set a maximum width on your content area so lines stay comfortable on wide screens. Check the result on a large monitor.