Free Fonts: Best High-Quality Websites for Font Downloads

Key Points

• Google Fonts ranks first in the best free font websites with its huge font library, fast and convenient CDN and ability to improve website loading speed. Other resources worth noting include Creative Market’s free merchandise area, Font Squirrel, FontSpace, Befonts and Font Shop.
• The format of the required font depends on its purpose - it is recommended to use WOFF2 format for web page embedding, while the TTF/OTF format is suitable for other purposes. The style of the font should focus on clarity (the difficulty of character distinction) and readability (the difficulty of overall reading of sentences).
• Free fonts can be a powerful design tool that provides visual and emotional appeal without adding clutter. However, be careful when downloading from free font sites to make sure they are reputable and to scan the downloaded files for malware. Always check the license before using the font for commercial use.

You need to make your website look great, and typography is a key factor in design. Where can you find free online fonts that meet high quality standards in 2020? I believe that the user interface should contain only the necessary content while making these necessary elements attractive. We want the best balance between minimalism and visual appeal. Keep it simple, but make it look great. But, what exactly does simplicity look like? Remove clutter, most of the remaining ones are UI text and text content. It's not exciting, but to be honest: it's the most important aspect of any app or website. Information is the entire reason users use our apps or websites. So, combining the right font with the right font style (see the ultimate guide to fonts and fonts), we can create designs that are both simple and attractive. This highlights the focus of the design, uses fewer resources, and reduces unnecessary cognitive burden. Typelation can be very powerful. But, which are the best free font websites?

Where are places that are not suitable for finding free fonts

There are many treasures hidden on websites such as Dribbble, Behance, Gumroad, etc., but this requires filtering out many digital resources, some of which are incomplete side jobs and "lite versions". That said, if you do come across any great resources, be sure to bookmark it. Even Instagram may surprise you, and Twitter should not be ignored. Apart from that, let's take a look at the best free font websites.

1. Google Fonts

The first place on this list is obviously Google Fonts, which goes beyond what most alternatives offer. First, Google Fonts provides a fast and convenient CDN (Content Distribution Network), making it very easy to embed web fonts into websites without actually hosting them. Google fonts can be subset by script and thickness, and we can also control how they load on the web by setting the font-display CSS attribute from the query string of the embedded code, thereby improving website loading speed. (CSS-Tricks' article on "Google Fonts and font-display" explains how to do it.) Note that self-hosting fonts are more conducive to privacy (because it is cookie-free) and speed (because it gives developers more control). Either way, Google Fonts has a huge library of fonts.

2. Creative Market

I know what you are thinking: "Creative Market is not free, Daniel!" Ah, but what about the free product area? What's interesting about free merchandise is that these are actually temporarily free premiumfonts. Although fonts are not guaranteed, six new design resources are updated every week (three more after registration, if X amount is spent on the resource, three more). I've been checking the free merchandise area of ​​Creative Market every week for years and I've built a large library of high-quality fonts that are all free of charge. Font Bundles offers similar offers.

3. Font Squirrel

Font Squirrel is like Unsplash, but is used for fonts, although considering how long it has been around (a long time!), maybe it is said that Unsplash is like Font Squirrel, but is more accurate for stock images! Like Dafont and Urban Fonts, it is also one of the veteran free font sites, although "squirrel" is better. Although many veteran sites look a bit outdated, Font Squirrel's website is relatively modern compared to others. It also has some very useful tools:

Webfont Generator (Convert TrueType/OpenType font to web font)

• Font Identifier (used to find the font name from uploaded image/screenshot)

4. FontSpace

FontSpace is one of the more beautiful websites, although it only offers free fonts for personal purposes, and Font Squirrel confirms that all of its fonts are available for free for commercial use. FontSpace may not always be suitable.

5. Befonts

What makes Befonts unique is that it focuses on displaying fonts. While some fonts are only available in a slim/demo and often only in TTF/OTF format (which means they are not very suitable for the web), Befonts is one of the few that doesn't take the "we have everything" approach (sometimes It'll be overwhelming) one of the websites. Additionally, you can always convert TTF and OTF fonts to web fonts.

6. Font Shop

Font Shop isn't entirely focused on free fonts like Font Squirrel and FontSpace, but it's still a pretty good alternative if the first four options don't have what you're looking for. I found it to be the least user-friendly option, but the font quality is relatively high.

It is worth mentioning

The following free font sites look a bit outdated, and to be honest, some fonts are the same, but they are arguably one of the largest free font databases today:

• Dafont
• Urban Fonts
• Fontsly

What font format do I need?

OpenType (OTF) and TrueType (TTF) font formats have been standard for a long time and they are still widely used in graphic design. But that being said, the WOFF format compresses better on the web (especially WOFF2, which is now supported in 94.49% of web browsers, according to caniuse.com). In fact, the new Google Fonts embed code is now only available in WOFF2 format. So, in short:

• WOFF2 is used for web embedding
• TTF/OTF is used for all other purposes

What font style do I need?

Nowadays, this is actually not important, because the specification has been slightly abandoned. For example, Serif fonts can now have a modern feel (think Medium). Instead, we should focus more on clarity:

• Sharpness (difficulty of character distinction)
• Readability (the difficulty of overall reading of sentences)

Some of them depends on the font itself, so you should be careful when deciding which fonts to use, but others depend on the style of the font (in terms of size, thickness, etc.). If in doubt, WCAG 2.0/2.1 (Web Content Accessibility Guide) contains all the information you need to know about typography and its many properties, such as line spacing, line width, line height, font size, and more.

Conclusion

Fonts are very useful, and they are often everything you need to achieve proper visual and emotional appeal without adding more and more visual clutter. Your design requires text anyway, so why not use it as the most prominent aspect?

FAQs about free fonts (FAQ)

What are the best free fonts for commercial use?

There are many free fonts available for commercial use. Some of the best include Open Sans, Roboto, Lato, Oswald and Montserrat. These fonts are popular because of their versatility and readability on different platforms. They are suitable for a variety of design projects, including websites, printed materials and logos. It is important to remember that before using the font for commercial use, check the license.

How to download and install free fonts?

Downloading and installing free fonts is an easy process. First, select the font you want and click the Download button. After downloading, decompress the file if the file is compressed. For Windows users, right-click the font file and select Install. For Mac users, double-click the font file and click Install Fonts.

Is it safe to download free fonts?

While most free font websites are safe, caution must be taken. Always download from reputable websites and scan the downloaded files for malware. Avoid clicking on suspicious ads or links.

Can I use free fonts in my logo design?

Yes, you can use free fonts in your logo design. However, make sure that the font is licensed for commercial use. Some free fonts may require attribution or have other usage restrictions.

How to identify fonts in images?

There are some online tools like WhatTheFont and FontSquirrel Matcher that can help identify fonts in images. Just upload the image and these tools will suggest similar fonts.

What are web fonts and how do they work?

Web fonts are fonts hosted on servers and available for websites. They allow for greater creative flexibility in web design, as they can be displayed regardless of whether the user has fonts installed on their devices.

Can I use Google fonts for commercial purposes?

Yes, all fonts in the Google Font Library are open source and are available for free for personal and commercial projects.

How many free fonts are there?

There are thousands of free fonts online. The exact number is difficult to determine, as new fonts are constantly being created and shared.

What are the most popular free fonts?

Some of the most popular free fonts include Roboto, Open Sans, Lato, Slabo and Oswald. These fonts are highly favored for their readability and versatility in a variety of design environments.

How to create my own font?

There are some online tools like FontStruct and Calligraphr that allow you to create your own fonts. You can design each character, set spacing and kerning, and export fonts for use with your project.

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