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Let's talk about fonts

Fonts are lots of fun to play with. Where you can get into trouble with them, however, is when you use a non-standard font on your website. Why? Because if you use a font that is not SUPER common, it's quite likely there will be people who look at your site that don't have that font on their computer. What happens then? It defaults to times new roman if you haven't chosen any other fonts to default to. Why is that a problem? For me it's a problem because I like to have a pretty good idea how my sites are going to look for most people .

It is very possible that is because I am a control freak perfectionist and I am not a fan of Times New Roman.

It is helpful to choose a list of fonts so that if your first one is unavailable the page defaults to the second, then the third, etc. Try to choose at least one common (arial, veranda, geneva, etc.) font so that your page will get to that one if nothing else works.

If you are creating your own html, you can use coding similar to this: <FONT FACE="Arial, Helvetica, Geneva" >. (This means if arial isn't available, helvetica will be used, if helvetica is not available it will be geneva, if geneva is unavailable it will default to times new roman).

If you are using a designer, they will probably already do this for you, but it won't hurt to send them a list of fonts that you like to work with.

When I use a "fancy" font (one many people may not have), I tend to use it for titles or emphasis only, and usually create a photo of the title rather than adding it as text . This allows me to control what the page looks like and still use my chosen font. Otherwise, the result can be this:

Take care!

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Posted by Chris Fisher of StagersLISTWebsites.com on 05/27/2009 01:17 PM

Comments (26)

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Originally posted at: Random Bits of Information: Let's talk about fonts

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26 Comments on Let's talk about fonts

MAY

Like you, Chris, I am NOT a fan of Times Roman either. My husband is in school right now and he wants to write his papers in Times Roman. I usually type his papers for him, so I make sure it is in Arial, which is my go-to font. I only use the fancy-schmancy fonts for emphasis (like titles) because they can get hard to read over and over again in the text on a website.

Chris - Hi, My Name is Mike and I am a Times New Roman'aholic. It is my default font. But I sure do appreciate your information here on back up fonts. Thanks.

Heather - Maybe it's a VA thing? If you do the typing, you choose the font, I'm with you on that one.

Hi Mike! : ) You enjoy your times new roman, as far as I know it's perfectly safe.

You live and learn! I never knew this about fonts. Smarty pants!! Thanks!

That's interesting. I know I've been sent publisher files before that contain a font that I can't open. It asks me if it is okay to substitute another in it's place.

Well, Chris, I learned something today! I never even think about fonts although I guess I should....it would change the look and feel of a website.

MAY

Susan - You made me laugh, thank you.

Ann - Yes, that is the same reason, the person who made the file used a font you don't have.

Carole - It's helpful to look at your website on several different computers so you get a better idea how it looks with different computer settings.

Hi Chris very good tips! I like the Verdana font myself!

Veranda is a good one. I usually default to Arial, but I use Veranda for a change.

MAY

Hi, Chris! I love playing with fonts - thanks for the info on having backups for my more unusual choices. Would the fonts include with Word be likely to create problems, or are most of them common enough to be safe (since Microsoft practically owns the world...)?

MAY

I like Times New Roman. I find it very easy to read, especially on a computer screen, possibly since it was specifically designed for computer screens as I understand it.

MAY

Hi Laurie - This is strange, I know I answered you & the response isn't here. Who knows! Anyway, I think Microsoft does own the world, so word would be safe but you'd have to think about what year of Microsoft Office is on someone else's computer. I'm sure they add fonts as they upgrade. : )

Jim - I guess I got tired of seeing it everywhere or something! I love using different fonts, but on the internet I am limited.

JUN

Chris: Yikes, goble-de-gook to me. I just know I gave up trying to fancy up my blog posts because it never worked.

Jane - As long as you can add pictures to your blog posts, you're doing fine!

JUN

Chris, great post on Fonts. There are so many fonts out there to be used and they are very fun to play with. I am going to repost this one!

Thanks Marey! Miss you, I'll be back in the office by Thursday. We had a great expo!

JUN

My webmaster has been telling me for years, I love different fonts. I guess, I'll just have to use them in emails.

Garamond is my favorite for an elegant look

Cindy - I know how your webmaster feels. : ) You can use them in emails and in flyers.

Hi Janice - Garamond is a nice font, I agree.

Great information, Chris! I like the fancy fonts, but tend to use the more common ones.

JUN

Hi Chris......just dropping in to say hello. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that has been too busy to post new stuff.

Have a great weekend!

Hi Nancy - I like the fancy ones too, but I tend to use them sparingly because it involves the extra step of creating a .jpg. : )

Hi Ann - Busy is right! We had a great time in Houston for the StagersLIST Expo, though. Met some really great people, and met some AR friends in person for the first time.

JUN

Hi Chris...I know exactly what you mean; I have this problem. I use BrushScript for my signature but if the recipient doesn't have it, the signature comes out plain AND huge. Not pretty as all.

Gail - Yes, that is exactly what happens. I thought Brush Script was fairly common, too, but turns out I was wrong!

JUN

Great information Chris! Great to hear that I am doing OK if I can upload my pictures (per one of your comments). I have been trying to master NVU but cannot seem to get anything saved once written.

Great information about what fonts we should be using in our websites. Who knew it would be important!

JUN

Terrie - You are doing great with your blogging! : ) Pictures are very important to grab people's attention. I love playing with fonts, but it's not good when your site doesn't look the way you want it to so we have to stick to the main ones for the most part.

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