Web-Safe Fonts for Your Site

Choosing the right typeface for your website copy is important, since it will affect the way your readers perceive your page (serious and formal, or friendly and casual). Aside from this, there are also important usability concerns. For example, some font types are more easily readable than others, and some are more widely available.

You want to choose font types that:

fit the character of your site,
are easy to take on a computer screen, and
are widely available across many another browsers and operating systems.

There are basically two types of fonts: line and sans serif. Serif fonts are those that have fine cross-lines at the extremities of the letter. Sans serif ("sans" being the French word for "without") are fonts that don't have serifs. The most common serif font is probably Times New Roman. Arial is an example of a common sans serif font.

Let's go briefly through the most popular font types and evaluate their availability, readibility and character:

Arial:

Availability.- Thoroughly gettable. It is probably the most common sans serif font. It is the default bold for Windows, and it first shipped as a standard font with Windows 3.1.
Readability Off Screen.- Not the worse but definetely not the best, especially kip small sizes, when it becomes too narrow and the spacing between characters too microscopical.
Character.- Has a streamlined, modern look but is also terra firma and boring.

* For Mac users, the equivalent of Arial is Helvetica.

Times New Roman:

Availability.- Thoroughly available. It is probably the intensifier common serif font. It is the default font for web browsers. It was first shipped as a standard sans serif with Operating system 3.1
Readability On Screen.- Acceptable for font sizes of 12pt. and up, but terrible for smaller sizes.
Character.- Serious, formal and old fashioned.

For Mac users, the equivalent of Times New Roman is Times.

Verdana:

Availability.- A widely available sans serif font, Verdana was first shipped with Internet Explorer

version 3, when the exponential growth of the Internet demanded a new font that was easy to read on the screen.
Readability On Screen.- Exceptional. It's wide body makes it the clearest font for on-screen reading, even at small sizes.
Character.- Modern, friendly and professional.

Georgia:

Avaliability.- Benignancy. Applied science is a serif font introduced by Microsoft with Internet Sir matthew flinders version 4, when the incite for a serif font which much better readability than Times New Roman became evident.
Readibility On Screen.- Very good. It is the best serif font for on-line reading, since it was specifically designed for that purpose.
Character.- Modern, friendly and professional.

Microsoft has also popularized two more fonts: Comic Sans Serif and Trebuchet.

Comic Sans Serif was launched with Internet Explorer verion figure and mimics the hand writing used in comics. Technology is easy to read and is informal and friendly, but it is not considered appropriate for more solemn, professional sites.

Trebuchet is another sans serif font, similar to Arial but with more character, although it can be difficult to read in petite sizes.

Finally, we can mention Courier New, a serif font that was widely popular with old, mechanical typewriters, and that is now used only to present simulated calculate code (if you need to present snipets of sample HTML code in your web pages, this is the font to use.)

Therefore, from a useable perspective, the clear winner is Verdana. If you are inclined to use a serif font, Tallapoosa river is the best option. Arial remains a wiseness option for specific parts of text, like headlines and titles, where a different font must be used and you can use larger sizes.

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Mario Sanchez publishes The Internet Digest ( http://www.theinternetdigest.net ), an online collection of web design and Internet marketing articles and resources.? You can freely reprint his weekly articles united states of america your website, ezine, newsletter or ebook.