If you’re in the beginning stages of your web design project, you may be wondering when you get out of information architecture purgatory and into the ever-exciting design stage. The design stage is fun, don’t get me wrong. But, it’s also a lot of work and requires critical thought. One of the most frequently overlooked components of design is font, or typeface (fancy, eh?). Clients don’t often know much about the logistics of licensing fonts and are therefore caught off guard when we tell them they can’t just use whatever font they want without taking the proper steps.

Today, we’re answering your basic questions. Consider it how to license web fonts for my website 101. Of course, there is a lot we won’t get into in this particular post. So, we have added a few great references for those looking to take a deeper dive into web font licensing for websites. You can find that at the bottom of our post.

What are font licenses?

Font licenses give users the right to use fonts in a variety of different ways, depending on the particular license. For full information on the license, you can typically view the end-user license agreement that is included in the typeface you purchase or download.

Web fonts vs desktop fonts

If you have done a little research, you may have come across the terms desktop fonts and web fonts. What are the differences between the two? It’s pretty simple, actually. A desktop license ensures you can install the font on your computer and use it in design tools such as Photoshop. If you have ever tried to open a design file and been prompted with a message about not having the proper fonts, it is because you don’t have that specific desktop font. Web fonts, on the other hand, are utilized in the actual implementation of the website. It enables you to embed the font right into the code to display on the website.

In general, there are two types of web fonts: self hosted (Myfonts, Fontspring) and hosted (Typekit, Google Web Fonts). The font designer will determine what kind of font license the typeface will be. Options include one-time payments, subscription based on page views per month or cumulative, or our favorite – free. If you are looking for free fonts, check out Google Fonts.

How will web fonts display for my site visitors?

You don’t have to worry about if your website users have the particular font installed on their computer; the font will render appropriately as long as your site has the web font installed correctly. This is because all major browsers have the ability to link to fonts stored on remote servers. That said, you will want to ensure you license the web front file for each of the weights you intend to use on your site including bold, italics, etc.

Still have questions? Check out the resources below:

Font Licensing 101: The basics of proper font usage (note: this is just applicable for Monotype licenses)

Understanding Web Font Licensing 

What is a Font License? (And do I need one?)