The fonts you choose for your website are a key aspect of branding. The font styles you choose make your website distinctive, and subtly communicate your values. The Google Fonts directory even has keywords for the feelings and seasons evoked by a font.
Font choice has been in the news lately, as the US State Department has reverted to Times New Roman (which Microsoft abandoned as its default font in 2007).
Sans-serif fonts are easier to read on screens. This is especially true for people with visual impairments, visual processing difficulties, and dyslexia. But sans-serif fonts are easier to read for everyone.
Carnelian Web Services is committed to accessibility and inclusion, so we create websites with accessible font choices.
I generally advise people to avoid using Arial (which is Google Drive’s default font) because it does not have proper font smoothing. This is a feature which makes the curves and diagonals of font characters more realistic. In my opinion, it also looks like you did not change the default setting.
I would always advise against using Times New Roman, mostly because it is inaccessible when used online, but also because I think it is an ugly font.
Calibri is quite a nice font (and certainly accessible) but I find it a little too small, and prefer fonts with broader letters.
I like Lora (serif) and Lato (sans-serif) as an easy-to-read and stylistically compatible pair of fonts.
The Canadian government website uses Noto Sans, which is a solidly respectable-looking choice of font, and is very accessible.
The Ontario government uses Raleway (another font that I like) for headings and Open Sans for body text. Both of these are good accessible fonts, and Raleway is rather stylish. Good choices.
Some font choices are highly controversial. For example, the debate over Comic Sans is like the pineapple on pizza debate – people either love it or hate it. There are more stylish alternatives available, including Comic Neue, a remake of Comic Sans that implements letter spacing, bold, and italic versions correctly. I am in the group of people who dislike Comic Sans intensely. I did succumb to pineapple on pizza the other day, though. It wasn’t too bad.
The answer is always no.
Some fonts are associated with a particular decade or artistic style. Papyrus instantly takes me back to the late 1990s. Viner Hand takes me back to the early 2000s, when it was my favourite calligraphy font. Pacifico reminds me of the 1950s.
The fonts offered in WordPress templates are usually a combination of serif and sans-serif. Some of them are monospace fonts (fonts where each letter takes up exactly the same amount of space).
I am currently using Platypi (serif) and Ysabeau Office (sans-serif) for the Carnelian website. The other preset options with the 2025 template are:
- Beiruti (sans-serif) and Literata (serif);
- Vollkorn (serif) and Fira Code (monotype);
- Roboto Slab (serif) and Manrope (sans-serif);
- Literata (serif) and Ysabeau Office (sans-serif);
- Platypi and Literata (both serif fonts);
- Literata (serif) and Fira Sans (sans-serif).
I don’t find Fira Code very readable, but if you wanted a grunge aesthetic for your website, it might be suitable. Otherwise I would recommend a serif font for headings and a sans-serif font for body text.
You can probably override the template presets with CSS, but I have not tried to do this yet.
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably thinking that I am a massive nerd for worrying about this stuff, but you’re probably also reassured that I care so much about the design of your website.
Do you have a most-loved or most-hated font? Let me know in the comments.
Further reading
- Calibri Font Debate: Designer Responds to Times New Roman Reversal. Memesita, December 12, 2025
- We can all be friends: Times New Roman vs Calibri – Si Daniels, Microsoft Design blog (read all the way to the end for the subtle Monty Python reference)
- Why Comic Sans Became the Most Hated Font in the World – Afkari Studio
- Google Fonts