Why Picking the Right Fonts for Your Emails Matters

[Lauren_H]

When it comes to email marketing, design plays a huge role in grabbing attention and keeping your readers engaged. While it’s tempting to use fancy custom fonts to match your brand, not all fonts play nicely across different email clients. That’s why choosing email-safe and web-safe fonts is key to making sure your emails look great for everyone.

 

The Role of Typography in Your Branding

Typography is a key element of your brand identity. The fonts you choose convey personality, professionalism, and tone, making them just as important as colors and imagery in your design. Here’s why typography matters for branding:

• Creates Brand Recognition – Consistent typography helps reinforce your brand identity.
• Sets the Tone – Serif fonts can feel traditional and elegant, while sans-serif fonts can feel modern and clean.
• Enhances Readability – A well-chosen font makes your content more engaging and easier to digest.
• Builds Trust – Professional typography ensures credibility and trust with your audience.

 

Why Email-Safe Fonts Are a Big Deal

Emails are opened on a wide range of devices and email clients, such as Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail. However, not all of these clients support the same fonts. If your chosen font isn’t supported, it could be replaced with something totally different, messing up your email’s layout and style. Here’s why email-safe fonts should be your go-to:

• They keep your emails looking consistent – No surprises when your email lands in an inbox.
• They make reading easy – No squinting or struggling to read the text.
• They help avoid spam filters – Some email clients flag emails with strange formatting.
• They keep your brand looking sharp – A professional and polished design is key!

 

What Are Email-Safe Fonts?

Email-safe fonts are those that work well across all major email clients. If your email client doesn’t support a specific font, it will swap it for a fallback font. Here are some safe bets:

• Arial (sans-serif) – Simple, clean, and works everywhere.
• Verdana (sans-serif) – A great choice for readability.
• Helvetica (sans-serif) – Modern and professional.
• Georgia (serif) – A stylish serif font that’s easy on the eyes.
• Times New Roman (serif) – A classic, formal choice.
• Tahoma (sans-serif) – Similar to Verdana but a bit more compact.
• Courier New (monospace) – A typewriter-style font, often used for coding or quirky designs.

 

Web-Safe Fonts vs. Email-Safe Fonts

Web-safe fonts are widely supported on browsers but may not always show up properly in emails. Some solid options that usually work well include:

• Trebuchet MS – A modern sans-serif font that’s easy to read.
• Lucida Sans – A clean and versatile font.
• Palatino Linotype – A classy serif font, great for long text blocks.

 

Can You Use Custom Fonts in Emails? (Yes–with Caution!)

If you really want to use a custom font and have experience with coding, you can try embedding it using CSS @font-face or Google Fonts in Constant Contact’s Custom Code editor. But here’s the catch—not all email clients support this! Plus, it’s crucial to define fallback fonts.

Here’s an example use-case:

• First choice: ‘Roboto’ (Custom font)
• Second choice: Arial (Web-safe font)
• Third choice: (Sans-serif (Generic email-safe fallback font)

font-family: 'Roboto', Arial, sans-serif;

This way, if ‘Roboto’ isn’t supported, the email will use Arial, and if that’s not available, it’ll default to any sans-serif font.

 

Pros and Cons of Using Custom Fonts

 

Pros:

• Brand Personalization – Custom fonts help emails align perfectly with your brand identity.
• Enhanced Visual Appeal – Unique fonts can make your emails stand out.
• More Creative Freedom – Allows you to experiment with typography to create visually engaging emails.

Cons:

• Limited Email Client Support – Many email clients do not support custom fonts, leading to inconsistencies.
• Rendering Issues – If the font is not properly supported, it may break your email layout.
• Increased Load Time – Custom fonts require additional CSS or external resources, which may slow down email load speeds.
• Decreased Delivery Rate - Increased code complexity can be flagged by spam filters as suspicious, preventing your email from landing in the inbox.

 

Best Practices for Email Fonts

1. Stick to Email-Safe Fonts – This keeps your emails looking good everywhere.
2. Choose Readable Sizes – Keep body text at least 14px for easy reading.
3. Limit Font Styles – Too many variations (bold, italic, different sizes) can make things look messy.
4. Always Have a Backup Font – Define fallbacks so your text still looks good if your main font isn’t supported.
5. Test Before Sending – Use email testing tools to see how your fonts render across different email clients.

 

Final Thoughts

Custom fonts might be tempting, but sticking to email-safe fonts ensures your emails always look polished and professional. By choosing the right fonts and defining fallbacks, you can send beautiful emails that look great no matter where they’re opened.

Want to learn more about using safe fonts with Constant Contact? Explore this helpful Knowledge Base article or check out our Custom Code editor.