Have you ever tried to find just the right font for your project? How have you done it? Most people type out the word in Microsoft Word and then scroll through the font list with the word highlighted. That sort of works. But it’s hard to compare fonts. And sometimes, the font drop-down box get in the way of the word you want to see.
The Internet to the rescue! Here are some free online tools that can help pick the perfect font for your project.
How to pick your perfect font
Type Tester
At www.typetester.org, you can preview, evaluate and compare more than 2200 available typefaces for use in your web projects. If you are creating a large document and you want to find the perfect look for your paragraphs, this is a great site for you. You can try a dozen variations, including size, weight, and style, with any of the fonts. The downside is that the paragraph is pre-set, so you can’t see what your own words look like. And if you just want to try out a sentence, a phrase or a word, you’ll have to use your imagination.
Type Zebra
At typezebra.com, you can evaluate the text of your choice using your local computer fonts, Google fonts or Adobe’s Edge fonts. I love this site because you get to choose from whatever you already have on your computer, the large, free collection from Google or the professional collection from Adobe, which are not free. Unfortunately, the only variation that you get is the font size. And, you don’t get a side-by-side comparison.
Dafont
If you go to www.dafont.com, you can choose a font that you like from their collection and test out a few words with their custom preview. The unique thing that dafont brings to the table is that individuals contribute fonts to the site, so there are hundreds of fonts you may not find in other places. Again, the downside is, that you can compare fonts side by side.
Wordmark
Wordmark.it is my personal favorite, It’s no muss, no fuss. You type in your word or phrase, and you get to see it side by side in all of the fonts that are on your computer. You can look at it in the positive or negative, and you can change the font size. There are no other variations, but 95 percent of the time, it suits my needs exactly. That’s how I pick the perfect font.