When it comes to creating a successful website, font choice is often overlooked.
I remember when I was creating my first website for my business (which hopefully no one ever saw because yikes…) I was overwhelmed with the amount of font options that were available in Squarespace and in Canva.
I had built my logo in Canva (do not recommend!) and found that the font I chose was not available in Squarespace, so back to the drawing board I went.
I decided I needed this list of all of the Canva fonts you can use on Squarespace to refer back to and to help guide my web design clients too, if they wanted to make life and content creation a little easier.
The right font can be the difference between a website visitors enjoy and one they quickly navigate away from. That's why having a comprehensive list of Canva fonts you can use on Squarespace and understanding why consistent branding is so important is key.
Through this article, you'll learn what font options you have available, why you should use them, and how to create the perfect branding for your website. From discovering why pairing fonts is critical, to learning how to use them to create visually pleasing pages, this article covers it all — so that your website can be a reflection of the brand you want it to be.
The Importance of Brand Consistency
You may be wondering, what does brand consistency have to do with the fonts I use across my website and social media platforms? I’m here to tell you that it means everything!
Successful branding requires uniformity across the entirety of your brand foundation - fonts, color palettes, design elements and key messages.
A brand is more than a pretty logo. It should tell a story about who you are, who you serve, and what you have to offer. Having a consistent brand makes you more recognizable to your unique audience.
Think about it, when you’re scrolling through Instagram, and you see a graphic without a photo of the person, can you identify who that graphic may be from?
If there are lots of bold letters and colors, signature elements and fonts you don’t see anywhere else, with copywriting that actually sounds like that person, you are much more likely to be able to identify who it is with a quick glance.
The fonts you utilize in your branding create your overall mood and depict how your brand messages will be received. Typography is a language in and of itself and is the key to helping keep things streamlined.
Questions to Ask Yourself When Designing Your Brand
I love browsing sites like 99 Designs and Creative Market for brand design inspiration. Some questions to ask yourself when designing a brand for your business may include:
What is the purpose of my brand? What values and beliefs do I want it to represent?
Who is my target audience? What are their needs, wants, and preferences?
How do I want my brand to be perceived? What kind of tone, voice, and visual style will best convey this?
What sets my brand apart from competitors? What unique qualities or benefits do I offer?
How can I ensure consistency across all touchpoints? What guidelines and standards should I establish for messaging, design, and brand representation?
These questions are a great starting point for figuring out what colors, fonts, style, and images will work best to not only represent you and your business, but also to appeal to your target audience.
For more advice on brand design specific to your website, be sure to download my Squarespace Website Planner which contains branding tips, copywriting prompts, and SEO guidance to get you started building your first website.
Do I have to use the same font on my social media posts as I do on my Squarespace site?
YES! Using the same fonts throughout your website and social media platform will increase your recognition and help build trust with your audience.
One of the first steps in your branding or rebranding process should be choosing only two fonts for your entire brand, three being the maximum.
Your primary font should be used in your logo followed by a secondary font for content and a tertiary font if you need more variety. Assign specific rules for your fonts: one is for headings, another one is for your paragraph text, etc.
For any Squarespace website I build, I create a settings page where you can see how all of the different font styles and colors will look with each theme. This ensures your colors and text have enough contrast and clarity that they will make a cohesive and visually appealing section on your website.
See the image below for an example.
The font pairs you choose will attract the types of clientele you are working to appeal to and build trusting relationships with. The first thing you should ask yourself when choosing your font pair is, who am I talking to? Every font has a personality and needs to be complemented. The fonts you choose should speak your target audience's language and effectively captivate their personalities.
One of the best ways to pair two fonts is by creating contrast through sizing, line thickness, color and letter spacing.
Best Font Types for Different Industries
Serif and sans-serif fonts pair great together and create a sophisticated, high-end aesthetic.
If you are looking for a more functional and warm touch, pairing a sans-serif font with another sans-serif font will generally establish a modern, sleek look.
Display fonts and handwritten fonts appeal to the more playful and bold - like event planners, florists and restaurateurs.
Regardless of the font pair you end up falling in love with, each and every font must be readable. If your audience can’t read the script or display font you use, they will be confused and your message won’t be conveyed.
If I don’t want to purchase a font license, where do I find free fonts for my website and how do I use them on both Squarespace and Canva?
There are an endless amount of free and licensed fonts but if you are trying to save time and money, utilizing what is readily accessible is always a great idea. You can do this through Canva and Squarespace, which offer free fonts and require no licensing.
Not every Squarespace font is available on Canva but if you sign up for the Canva Pro Membership, you will have access to the luxury of uploading your own fonts.
If you are able to spend the extra money on buying fonts and their licenses, Creative Market and Envato are great platforms. This article explains how to upload your own fonts to Squarespace.
Be sure that when you are purchasing fonts, you have the correct license for what you intend to use the font for. For example, if you plan to use your purchased fonts for your website that gets an average of 10,000 monthly visitors, you may be spending more than you would for a website that only gets 500 monthly visitor.
Sticking with the free options allows you to skip the legal mess that can sometimes be confusing when purchasing fonts for your business’ brand.
So, what fonts ARE available on both Canva and Squarespace?
Ah, the moment you’ve been waiting for- a full list of the available font pairings on both Canva and Squarespace.
ABeeZee
Abril Fatface
Advent
Pro Aileron
Alef
Alegreya
Alfa Slab One
Alice Alike
Allerta Stencil
Allura
Amaranth
Amatic SC
Amiko
Andika
Anonymous Pro
Antic
Antic Didone
Anton
Arapey
Arbutus Slab
Architects Daughter
Archivo Black
Arima Madurai
Arimo
Arvo
Asap
Asset
Assistant
Athiti
Atma
Bad Script
Balloo
Bangers
Bebas Neue
Belgrano
Belleza
Bentham
Berkshire Swash
Bevan
Bitter
Black Ops One
Bree Serif
Buenard
Bungee
Bungee Outline
Bungee Shade
Cabin
Cabin Sketch
Cagliostro
Cairo
Candal
Cantara One
Capriola
Cardo
Carter One
Caveat
Caveat Brush
Chango
Chathura
Chau Philomene
Chewy
Chicken Script
Cinzel
Coiny
Comfortaa Light
Coming Soon
Contrail One
Corban
Cormorant Garamond
Cormorant SC
Courgette
Courier Prime
Coustard
Crafty Girls
Crimson
Crushed
Cuprum
Cutive
Dancing Script
Dekko
Didact Gothic
Diplomata SC
Dosis
Dr Sugiyama
Droid Serif
Duru Sans
Eczar
Emblema One
Erica One
Euphoria Script
Exo
Farmhand Sans
Farsan
Fascinate
Fascinate Inline
Fira Sans
Forum
Francois One
Freckle Face
Fredoka One
Gilda Display
Give You Glory
Glass Antiqua
Glegoo
Gloria Hallelujah
Gochi Hand
Graduate
Grand Hotel
Great Vibes
Gruppo
Hammersmith One
Heebo
Hero Van Muellerhoff
Homemade Apple
IBX Plex Mono
IBX Plex Sans
IBX Plex Serif
Josefin Sans
Josefin Slab
Julius Sans One
Jura
Just Another Hand
Kalam
Karma
Kaushan Script
Kavoon
Kite One
Kumar One
Kumar One Outline
Kurale
Laila
Lalezar
And here are some font pairing ideas to get you started.
There are many different serif, sans-serif, script, display and handwritten fonts available on both Canva and Squarespace. These carefully curated font pairs are a great variety for elegant and timeless brands.
These font combinations are visually playful and are hard to ignore. Laila and Quicksand are great options for a more organically pleasing aesthetic.
Conclusion
Finding your font pairs can be stressful and time consuming but just try and have fun with it. I recommend pretending like you are talking to your dream clients through the fonts you are seeing!
Once you have your list, try them out in a Canva template or on Squarespace for a more detailed visual.
If you’d like to keep a list handy with all of the available fonts on Squarespace and Canva, be sure to download this free pairings guide.
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