Do you cherry pick non-web-safe fonts when you’re looking for some visual variation? Take note: The web design process is smoother if you don’t. For front-end website developers, designs with custom fonts that are unusable online have to be merged into a single image, which is not beneficial for site optimization.

When front-end developers opt to use images with the text overlay included in the graphic, it saves a lot of time and effort because the developer does not have to create the additional styles to ensure that the text remains in the correct position and displays a consistent font. However, this shortcut does not do the website or user any favors in the long run.

Solution: To increase site optimization, use web-safe fonts in the design process and CSS to overlay text on images instead of as a single graphic. Not only does this make the text readable by search engines, but it also creates a more fluid experience for those accessing the site from a mobile device.

Text links add bigger SE benefits than image links alone