A small business needs one typeface for headings and one for body text, or frequently just one used at different weights. What matters is readability at small sizes on a phone, licensing that covers your actual uses, and using them consistently rather than choosing something distinctive.

How many

Two is the standard answer and one is frequently better.

A single family with several weights gives you all the contrast you need: a bold heading against regular body text reads as a hierarchy without any second typeface. It also halves the loading cost and removes the risk of a pairing that does not work.

Where two are used, the pairing should be obviously different rather than subtly so. Two similar typefaces read as a mistake; one clearly different from the other reads as a decision.

Three or more is where small business sites go wrong, usually because a page builder introduced one and nobody noticed.

Readability comes first

The most common mistake is choosing something for character and discovering it is tiring to read.

A distinctive typeface used for a heading and a plainly readable one for body text resolves most of this tension.

The size question

Body text on business sites is habitually too small.

Sixteen pixels is a reasonable floor and slightly larger reads better for most audiences, particularly where customers skew older, which for many trades they do. Line spacing around one and a half times the text size, and a line length of roughly sixty to seventy-five characters, do as much for readability as the typeface choice itself.

Those three settings, applied once in the stylesheet, improve every page. They are also the settings most commonly left at whatever a theme defaulted to.

Web fonts and what they cost

Every family and weight loaded is a separate download, and text cannot be drawn until it arrives unless configured otherwise.

That produces the effect where a page appears blank, then fills with text, which feels slower than a page that shows text immediately in a fallback and swaps it. Setting the loading behaviour so text is visible while the font arrives is a small technical change with a visible result.

Limiting the weights loaded matters more than most people expect. A family loaded in six weights when the site uses two is downloading four files nobody sees.

System fonts, which are a legitimate answer

Using the typefaces already on the visitor's device costs nothing to load, renders instantly, and looks native on each platform.

The trade is that the site looks slightly different on different devices, and it does not carry a distinctive typographic character. For a trades or service business where speed matters more than typographic personality, that is frequently the right trade.

It is worth considering rather than dismissing, particularly for a site where the differentiator is the photographs and the reviews rather than the design.

Licensing

The part that catches businesses out, because a typeface is licensed software rather than a free asset.

A licence permitting desktop use, meaning documents on your own computer, does not automatically permit web use, and web licences are frequently priced by traffic. A licence for either may not cover use in a logo, on signage, or on a vehicle.

For a small business the practical route is open licence families that permit all uses without cost, which now cover most needs comfortably. Where a paid family is used, keep the licence documentation with your logo files, and check the terms cover web, print, and signage before committing to it on a van.

Consistency, which matters more than the choice

Whatever you choose, use it everywhere: the website, quotes, invoices, signage, and anything printed.

A business using one typeface on its site and whatever the word processor defaulted to on its quotes looks like two businesses. That is a more visible inconsistency than most owners realise, because the customer sees both documents within a day of each other.

Record the families and weights alongside your colour values, so the next supplier matches rather than guesses, which is the same document described in choosing colours that work on screen and on a van.

Frequently asked questions

How many typefaces should a small business use?

One or two. A single family at different weights gives enough contrast, halves the loading cost, and removes the risk of a pairing that does not work.

What makes a typeface readable?

Test it at body size on a phone rather than at heading size, check ambiguous characters such as capital I and lowercase l, check the numerals, and read a full paragraph before deciding.

How large should body text be?

Sixteen pixels as a floor, slightly larger where customers skew older. Line spacing around one and a half times the text size and a line length of sixty to seventy-five characters matter as much as the typeface.

Do web fonts slow a site down?

Each family and weight is a separate download, and text may not render until it arrives. Limiting the weights loaded and setting text to display while the font loads both help.

Are system fonts an acceptable choice?

Yes, and frequently a good one. They cost nothing to load, render instantly, and look native on each device. The trade is slight variation between platforms and no distinctive character.

Do I need a licence for a typeface?

Typefaces are licensed software. A desktop licence does not automatically cover web use, and neither may cover a logo, signage, or a vehicle. Open licence families avoid the question entirely.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Website and quotes looking like two different businesses?

We settle the typefaces, sizes, and weights, document them, and make sure the licence covers your website, your print, and your van.

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