The purpose of your site is to be read — and what you’re saying matters just as much as how you’re saying it. In 2018, text in web design continues to thrive under the helm of content-first design enthusiasts. We’ve rounded up the typography trends we’re seeing this year, many of which place text front and center — or, all over the page.

In 2006, Oliver Reichenstein published “Web Design is 95% Typography”, the second-most controversial artifact of that year — runner up to Borat. Reichenstein says, “Web design is not about picking great typefaces, it is how we use them.”

Let's take a look at how we are using them.

1. Behold the bold hero

Big, bold, condensed, and unmistakably dramatic text is perhaps the most obvious use of text as a primary web design element. This year, we’re seeing hero images replaced by bold headlines that anchor homepages with brand names or messages.

The effect? A site’s typography becomes the site’s design. CreativeDoc, for example, masterfully creates a loud design out of six bold, white letters on a strong black background.

Souffl, a European design and innovation company, employs condensed, bold, white text on a black background, then adds character with pops of animated color.

‍Font used: Custom (Souffl Web)

2. Put your best foot forward

Serifs continue their footed rise to the top of the font kingdom since we first nodded to this trend earlier this year.

Elegant titles and sophisticated headlines outfitted in popular serif fonts like Calluna and Minion are warding off serif naysayers. So, what are designers doing with their newfound love for … feet?

The designers behind Cobble Hill and Gin Lane are using them to infuse otherwise minimalist sites with a serif-induced elegance:

3. Captivate with plain ole text

The visual revolution that dominates journalism, among other industries, has yet to tarnish the importance and prominence of text in web design.

Justin Jackson’s site Words has been around for ages and it demonstrates how text alone can speak volumes on the web:

Font used: browser default. Very economical, Justin.

Now, in 2018, we’re seeing designers embrace words —what Jackson names the “most powerful tool on the web” — in their designs. It is no small feat to design a web page exclusively with text. But done well, we don’t even notice the lack of images.

B14, a Copenhagen-based design agency, fills the real estate of its homepage with — gasp — words to show who they are and what they do:

Images may speak louder than words, but they don’t offer nearly as much control over what we hear.

Joe Coleman, a freelance copywriter, hops on board the text-only train with a twist. The design features an interactive element that tells a story, and more importantly, captivates an audience in a way that visuals alone cannot:

‍Fonts used: Work Sans

Max Kaplun’s portfolio confirms that not all heroes wear capes … some wear words. While text is the anchor of Max’s homepage, he supplements his words with symbols, variations in text size and weight, and a colorful cursor. Oh, and of course, a hover-activated headshot.