Achieve Clean & Professional Typography with Elementor & WP Astra

Preface

Tired of your website’s typography looking like it was designed in the early 2000s? Do you want to create a website with typography that is both clean and professional? Then this blog post is definitely for you! Typography is more than just picking pretty fonts; it’s about creating a visual hierarchy, improving readability, and reinforcing your brand identity. With the right approach, you can transform your website from amateurish to a polished, professional platform. In this guide, we’ll explore how to achieve clean and professional typography using Elementor and WP Astra, two of the most popular tools in the WordPress ecosystem.

Hint: Good typography enhances user experience and keeps visitors engaged. It also plays a crucial role in SEO, as readable content is favored by search engines.

Why Typography Matters

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and appealing when displayed. It encompasses everything from font choice to text size, line height, letter spacing, and more. When done well, typography seamlessly guides the reader through your content, making it easy to understand and visually appealing.

Here’s why typography matters for your website:

• Readability: Good typography makes your content easy to read, reducing eye strain and encouraging visitors to spend more time on your site.
• Visual Hierarchy: Effective typography helps create a visual hierarchy, guiding the reader’s eye to the most important information.
• Brand Identity: Fonts and typography styles can reinforce your brand identity, creating a consistent look and feel across your website and marketing materials.
• Professionalism: Clean and professional typography lends credibility to your website, signaling that you care about the details and are committed to quality.
• SEO: Readable and well-structured content is favored by search engines. Good typography ensures that your content is easily scannable and understandable, which can improve your search engine rankings. Learn how to optimize your website for SEO.

Getting Started with Elementor and WP Astra

Before diving into the specifics of typography, let’s ensure you have the necessary tools installed and configured.

Installing WP Astra

WP Astra is a lightweight, customizable theme that integrates seamlessly with Elementor. To install it:

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Navigate to Appearance > Themes.
3. Click Add New and search for “Astra”.
4. Click Install and then Activate.

Hint: Follow our detailed guide on how to install Astra Starter Templates to quickly set up a pre-designed website.

Installing Elementor

Elementor is a powerful drag-and-drop page builder that allows you to create custom website layouts with ease. To install it:

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Navigate to Plugins > Add New.
3. Search for “Elementor”.
4. Click Install and then Activate.

Info: Check out our complete guide on getting started with Elementor for a step-by-step walkthrough.

Configuring Global Typography Settings

Both WP Astra and Elementor offer global typography settings that allow you to define default fonts, sizes, and styles for your entire website. This ensures consistency and saves you time by not having to set typography options for each element individually.

WP Astra Global Typography

To configure global typography settings in WP Astra:

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Navigate to Appearance > Customize.
3. Click on Global > Typography.

Here, you can set the base font, heading fonts, body text size, line height, and more. Astra’s typography options are straightforward, making it easy to establish a consistent look and feel across your website. You can also check out how to create a sticky header for Astra Starter Templates.

Elementor Global Typography

Elementor also provides global typography settings through its Site Settings. To access them:

1. Edit any page with Elementor.
2. Click the Hamburger Menu in the top-left corner.
3. Select Site Settings.
4. Click on Global Fonts.

In the Global Fonts section, you can define primary, secondary, text, and accent fonts. These fonts can then be applied throughout your website, ensuring a consistent typographic style. These Styles can be implement with CSS. You may learn more about that here: WordPress Style CSS: What It Is and Where to Find It

Choosing the Right Fonts

Selecting the right fonts is crucial for achieving clean and professional typography. Here are some tips to guide you:

• Limit Your Font Choices: Stick to a maximum of two or three fonts for your entire website. Using too many fonts can make your site look cluttered and inconsistent.
• Consider Readability: Choose fonts that are easy to read, especially for body text. Popular choices include Open Sans, Roboto, and Lato.
• Match Fonts to Your Brand: Select fonts that align with your brand’s personality and values. For example, a clean, sans-serif font might be suitable for a modern tech company, while a classic serif font might be better for a traditional business.
• Use Font Pairings: Pair a heading font with a body font that complements it. Google Fonts offers numerous font pairings that work well together. Use Google Fonts, because they are free: Google Fonts .

Hint: Learn how to choose the right fonts for your website and discover the top 10 free Google Fonts for your website.

Fine-Tuning Typography with Elementor

Elementor provides granular control over typography, allowing you to fine-tune the appearance of individual elements on your pages. Here’s how to do it:

Text Elements

When adding text elements to your Elementor page, you can customize the font, size, weight, line height, letter spacing, and color. To do this:

1. Drag and drop a Text Editor widget onto your page.
2. Click the Style tab.
3. Under Typography, adjust the settings to your liking.

Heading Elements

Headings are crucial for creating a visual hierarchy on your page. Elementor allows you to customize heading fonts, sizes, colors, and more.

1. Drag and drop a Heading widget onto your page.
2. Click the Style tab.
3. Under Typography, customize the settings.

Button Elements

Buttons are an essential part of any website, guiding visitors to take specific actions. You can customize the typography of your buttons in Elementor to make them visually appealing and easy to read.

1. Drag and drop a Button widget onto your page.
2. Click the Style tab.
3. Under Typography, adjust the font, size, weight, and other settings.

Code Example for Typography

For those comfortable with CSS, you can add custom CSS to further refine your typography. Here’s an example of how to change the font family and color of a heading element:

h1 {
 font-family: 'Roboto', sans-serif;
 color: #333;
}

Best Practices for Clean Typography

To ensure your typography is clean, professional, and effective, follow these best practices:

• Use Sufficient Contrast: Ensure there is enough contrast between your text and background colors to make your text easy to read.
• Adjust Line Height and Letter Spacing: Adjust the line height (leading) and letter spacing (tracking) to improve readability. A line height of 1.5 to 2 times the font size is generally recommended.
• Optimize for Mobile: Ensure your typography looks good on all devices, including smartphones and tablets. Use responsive typography settings to adjust font sizes and line heights for different screen sizes.
• Avoid Overusing Bold and Italics: Use bold and italics sparingly to emphasize key points, but avoid overusing them as they can make your text look cluttered.
• Test Your Typography: Test your typography on different devices and browsers to ensure it looks consistent across all platforms. Did you know that you can quickly make high-resolution screenshots in base 64?

Common Typography Mistakes to Avoid

Even with the best intentions, it’s easy to make common typography mistakes. Here are some to avoid:

• Using Too Many Fonts: As mentioned earlier, stick to a maximum of two or three fonts to avoid a cluttered look.
• Ignoring Hierarchy: Failing to create a clear visual hierarchy can make your content difficult to navigate. Use headings, subheadings, and different font sizes to guide the reader’s eye.
• Poor Contrast: Insufficient contrast between text and background colors can make your text difficult to read. Always test your color combinations to ensure they are legible.
• Ignoring Mobile Responsiveness: Failing to optimize your typography for mobile devices can result in a poor user experience. Use responsive typography settings to ensure your text looks good on all devices.

Conclusion

Achieving clean and professional typography with Elementor and WP Astra is within reach, even if you’re not a design expert. By understanding the principles of typography, choosing the right fonts, and fine-tuning your settings, you can create a website that is both visually appealing and easy to read. Embrace the tips and best practices outlined in this guide to elevate your website’s design and provide an exceptional user experience. Remember, great typography is not just about aesthetics; it’s about making your content accessible, engaging, and effective. Start experimenting with these tools and techniques today to unlock the full potential of your website’s typography.