How to Load a Lost Type Font into a WordPress Website

Sometimes, the typeface you’ve been using for years just unexpectedly dies, and you’re left with a few precious letters on your hard drive. You’ve probably seen the memes on social media showing a frustrated designer scrolling through their typefaces in search of the perfect one, only to discover that one of their favorites has been lost forever.

If this sounds like you, then fret not. You can bring that perfect typeface back to life with the right software and some bit of know-how. In this article, we’ll explore how to load a lost typeface into a WordPress website, step by step.

Step one: Find the Perfect Font

When a typeface is ‘lost’, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s completely unusable. It often means that it has been optimized for a certain look and feel and doesn’t perform well in certain situations. For instance, Garamond is an old-school serif typeface that was originally designed for larger text sizes. If you try to use it on a small screen or in a narrow column, it will become blurry and difficult to read. On the other hand, Comic Sans is widely considered to be one of the most difficult typefaces to read and design for. It was originally designed for use in comic books, and the bold, round characters make it highly adaptable for use in all sorts of situations. When you find a typeface that performs well in a variety of situations but is not used very often, it’s a sign that it may be perfect for your needs. In this case, Garamond is the perfect choice because it’s been around since the 1800s and has been used in both small and large sizes, across a range of industries. It also scores highly on the A List of Most Popular Fonts online tool, which measures the frequency that a font is used in web design. The more points a typeface scores, the more popular it is. Helvetica scores the highest, with Arial following closely behind. Both Helvetica and Arial are widely used, adaptable fonts that you’ll find on just about any website. As you might imagine, given their popularity, they also score extremely high on the readability test mentioned above.

Step two: Obtain the Licensed Typeface Use Certificate

Before you start using the font you’ve found, you’ll need to get legal approval to do so, as well as ensure that you have the correct licensing for the font. You can do this by obtaining a Typeface Use Certificate from your font’s manufacturer. All fonts, including the ones mentioned above, come with a license that grants you the right to use the font in a business or personal project. The typeface use certificate is an officially-issued license that gives you the right to use the font in a particular way, as noted in the software’s documentation. It is a legal document that you’ll need to show to any third parties that might question your use of the font. You can download a scanned copy of the typeface use certificate from the font’s manufacturer here.

The certificate will also help you to determine the correct licensing fees for using the font in a commercial venture. For example, if you wanted to use the font on a t-shirt design, you would need to purchase the proper licensing from the manufacturer to do so. You cannot use the font for free, as it would be inappropriate to do so. The price for a standard commercial license for Arial is $450. The cost for a standard license for Garamond is $600. You can find the complete price list here.

Step three: Install the Typeface into WordPress

Once you have your typeface use certificate, it’s time to install the font into your WordPress website. You can do this by following the instructions here. Be sure to test the font by including it in a few articles on your site. The more you use it, the easier it will be to read. You can use the font on most websites, but you may need to obtain web-font loading permission from the website’s owner. In some cases, you may need to register with the web host you’re using to ensure that your site’s fonts are loaded properly. Once you’ve installed the font, you can verify its installation by inspecting the source code of any pages on your site that use it. You should see references to the font in the source code, in the form of @font-face, which will then point you to the font’s directory on your computer. If this is the case, then your font has been successfully installed and you can move on to the next step.

Step four: Use the Font

Now that you have your typeface installed, it’s time to put it to good use. You can do this by including the font in your designs using the steps outlined here. Ensure that you follow the instructions carefully, as you may need to adjust some of the settings (such as reducing the font size or changing the encoding) to get the best results. Designing for the web is different from designing for printed matter, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the differences. Most importantly, be sure to design and test your work before you start displaying it to the public. If you’re new to typography, then start small and build up your repertoire of typefaces over time. Even experienced designers find it difficult to master more than a couple of fonts. If you’re having trouble, then consider using a typeface design tool that will help you find the right font for the job.