Signs it is time to revisit web typography
It comes up on almost every project, usually later than it should. A few signals that web typography is due some attention.
The measurable part of design is whether people can find what they came for and act on it without hesitating. The failure mode is not doing it wrong, it is doing it once and assuming it stays done.
The signals
- Nobody can say when it was last reviewed
- The answer depends on who you ask
- Body text below 16px is a readability problem, not a style choice
- Line length between 50 and 75 characters is easiest to read
The practical version
Two typefaces is plenty for almost any site. None of that requires a large budget, only a decision and someone to own it. If two people in the business would answer this differently, that gap is the actual problem.
What this looks like day to day
Consistency is the quiet half of design work: it rarely gets complimented, and its absence is noticed immediately. Three things worth confirming about web typography before you move on:
- Someone can say what the current setup is without going to look
- Body text below 16px is a readability problem, not a style choice — and you know whether that is true here
- There is a way to tell whether the last change to this helped
If you want a second opinion on how yours is set up, ask.