Does font type affect SEO

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

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  Craig Anthony: infact - the body is also written which a font that, as i have just researched, is not on the 15 best fonts to use list that i found online. So do i need to change the font throughout my whole site ? :/
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  Michael Martinez: Well, the technical definition of a "web safe font" is a font that is installed by all operating systems. If the browser has to download the font that would slow down the user experience on first visit (and every subsequent visit if they delete the fo...Lihat Lainnya
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  Craig Anthony: thank you - very informative - would that apply to just the navigation font. or any font on my pages throughout my site ?
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  Najam Ul Hasan: It is okay to use any font just make sure to define failsafe fonts and desync font download so when user visits your site he able to see whats written through default font and when he downloads the font it will automatically change
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  Daniel Fonda: What style? Like.. I get sacrificing SEO for style... but I mean... the site looks pretty bad.Im sorry if it comes across as harsh.. but I dont see the point of sugarcoating.. it jist looks like something out of 2008
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  Craig Anthony: interesting - I thought i was doing ok ? its clear - its crisp - its minimal. What are your suggestions of better sites so i can take a look and compare.
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  Jim Munro: Craig Anthony I`ve seen your site before. I like it. :)
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  Craig Anthony: i designed it in 2012 with zero experience and have been tweaking it every 4 months or so - so 2008 is not too far off the mark haha
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  Daniel Fonda: It doesnt have a real direction, cursive, difficult to read and over the top fonts arent really the hot thing anymore. The logo is just the name in the same font. Having a black and white color scheme doesnt mean the site is following a minimalistic design approach.This is super cliche, but check awwwards for comparison of what someone would call a "good design" which sacrifices SEO.Not to say that you should compare yourself with those sites.. they are made with huge budgets and entire studios, but just as a general idea.
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  Craig Anthony: Jim Munro Ah cheers Jim. Really glad you like it. It been a work in progress for many years.
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  Daniel Fonda: Also to add - relatively speaking it`s not a bad site (especially as a solo effort if you happen to not be a full time developer/designer), but it`s not at the level where you could consider sacrificing SEO or usability / readability because of a design decision.
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  Craig Anthony: Daniel Fonda you made some eye opening points. do you have one more site i should look at please. Yes i completely see your point , they do have a big budget. But i can always learn from those sites that do have a big budget.
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  Daniel Fonda: Css design awards on facebook is a pretty decent page as well - they post daily, so you should definitely be able to see what works and why. Lets say this is one of the examples which might be within the same design direction as you were going for: https://ceremonycoffee.com/And you really dont need a bunch of awesome effects that they`ve used... it`s just a nice, clean, easy to read, well-polished site.I find that a lot more "minimalistic"
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  Craig Anthony: Daniel Fonda Yes i can see the attraction to a page like that. I will take every thing you say on board. Thank you for all of your advice.
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  Michael Martinez: Craig Anthony I think your site looks fine but you can`t please everyone.
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  Craig Anthony: Michael Martinez That is so true. You can`t please everyone. Personal i too am happy with the site, but i guess it`s an ever changing project and always will be.
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  Daniel Fonda: Craig Anthony just don`t overdo cursive fonts...it`s an old fad... you have amazing photos...levarage that and make those the center point of the design
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  Michael Martinez: Craig Anthony Well, ever-changing is a fact of life on some of my sites. My most popular site makes professional Web designers squint with agony. I`m not too pleased with the design myself, but it`s too big for a quick makeover and I can`t really make it do everything I want it to do. That doesn`t stop the search engines from sending a lot of traffic to it. They are very tolerant and flexible on design.
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  Craig Anthony: Michael Martinez id love to see it - Do you think i should change the font of my navigation and / or body ? from an seo perspective ?
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  Michael Martinez: Craig Anthony I don`t see an SEO reason to do that. Maybe you should post a question asking people why and how they think fonts might affect SEO. I will stay out of that discussion so people don`t feel intimidated about replying. Maybe I will learn something new.
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  Dave Elliott: I`m all good with cursive fonts being used for an art site! Down with the homogenisation of web design! I like it.
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  Craig Anthony: Dave Elliott this is relieving to hear - thank you
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  Michelle Hartwell Hamill: Build your rankings and traffic first with seo friendly fonts, then when you feel you`re in a good spot, switch to the other fonts
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  Craig Anthony: would i need to have seo friendly fonts within the WHOLE website. or just the navigation ? sorry im a bit confused and a part time noob
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  Michael Martinez: Craig Anthony I have never before encountered the phrase "seo friendly fonts" but I don`t want to start any arguments here. You are receiving a variety of opinions. Remember, you build the site for yourself first, for others second, and for search engines last. Of course you want to learn from as many people as possible, but think about ALL the feedback you`re receiving before committing to anything specific.
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  Craig Anthony: Michael Martinez ah yes web friendly is probably the better term, if not the only one ;)
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  Jeremy L. Knauff: I didn’t look at the font, but look at the size of the font file. If it’s large, it will slow down your load speed, which can have an impact on SEO.