Fonts

<font face="Helvetica, Arial ">
The newest browsers support the font face tag but specifying a typeface on the web is still an inexact science.
</font>:

<font face="Times, Times New Roman">
This is because present methods rely on the specified fonts being installed in the user's system. If they are not, default choices are used instead.
</font>:

To insure that your page looks like you want it to on the largest number of browsers and platforms, specify a series of fonts being sure to include common fonts for both Macintosh and Windows platforms.

Some examples:

font face="Verdana, Geneva, sans serif"

font face="Georgia, New York, serif"

font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans serif"

In each of these examples, the font face specified is a common Windows font, followed by a Macintosh equivalent, followed by a generic face preference which the browser will use if none of the specified fonts are installed on the viewer's computer.

Also, keep in mind that some fonts are designed to be viewed on a computer screen and others in printed documents. Screen fonts, such as Verdana, Georgia, Geneva and New York, are more readable on web pages than are print fonts such as Times, Times Roman, Helvetica, Arial, etc.

Font Face Samples

(Remember that, in order to see all of these font examples, the specific fonts have to be installed on your computer. There is a very good chance that not all of them are.)

Verdana. Also, keep in mind that some fonts are designed to be viewed on a computer screen and others in printed documents. Screen fonts, such as Verdana, Georgia, Geneva and New York, are more readable on web pages than are print fonts such as Times, Times Roman, Helvetica, Arial, etc.

Helvetica. Also, keep in mind that some fonts are designed to be viewed on a computer screen and others in printed documents. Screen fonts, such as Verdana, Georgia, Geneva and New York, are more readable on web pages than are print fonts such as Times, Times Roman, Helvetica, Arial, etc.

Arial. Also, keep in mind that some fonts are designed to be viewed on a computer screen and others in printed documents. Screen fonts, such as Verdana, Georgia, Geneva and New York, are more readable on web pages than are print fonts such as Times, Times Roman, Helvetica, Arial, etc.

New York. Also, keep in mind that some fonts are designed to be viewed on a computer screen and others in printed documents. Screen fonts, such as Verdana, Georgia, Geneva and New York, are more readable on web pages than are print fonts such as Times, Times Roman, Helvetica, Arial, etc.

Times. Also, keep in mind that some fonts are designed to be viewed on a computer screen and others in printed documents. Screen fonts, such as Verdana, Georgia, Geneva and New York, are more readable on web pages than are print fonts such as Times, Times Roman, Helvetica, Arial, etc.

Times New Roman. Also, keep in mind that some fonts are designed to be viewed on a computer screen and others in printed documents. Screen fonts, such as Verdana, Georgia, Geneva and New York, are more readable on web pages than are print fonts such as Times, Times Roman, Helvetica, Arial, etc.

Georgia. Also, keep in mind that some fonts are designed to be viewed on a computer screen and others in printed documents. Screen fonts, such as Verdana, Georgia, Geneva and New York, are more readable on web pages than are print fonts such as Times, Times Roman, Helvetica, Arial, etc.

Geneva. Also, keep in mind that some fonts are designed to be viewed on a computer screen and others in printed documents. Screen fonts, such as Verdana, Georgia, Geneva and New York, are more readable on web pages than are print fonts such as Times, Times Roman, Helvetica, Arial, etc.

sans serif. Also, keep in mind that some fonts are designed to be viewed on a computer screen and others in printed documents. Screen fonts, such as Verdana, Georgia, Geneva and New York, are more readable on web pages than are print fonts such as Times, Times Roman, Helvetica, Arial, etc.

serif. Also, keep in mind that some fonts are designed to be viewed on a computer screen and others in printed documents. Screen fonts, such as Verdana, Georgia, Geneva and New York, are more readable on web pages than are print fonts such as Times, Times Roman, Helvetica, Arial, etc.

Fonts, Browsers and Platforms

One of the most perplexing aspects of web work for experienced designers is the considerable variation in display between Netscape and Internet Explorer and between Macintosh and Windows computers.

It's tempting for Mac designers to think, "Well if people want to see my pages the way they're intended, let them buy Macs!" Unfortunately that thinking means that 90% of your audience is not going to see what you want them to. It's equally tempting for Windows designers to think, "Macs? Who cares about the three or four people who use Macs?" Both forms of compucentrism are equally foolish and completely counter to the idea of the web which is intended to be a totally cross-platform medium.

It is okay to prefer Macs or Windows PCs. It is not okay to make web pages that do.

Depending on your source, Windows users constitute somewhere between 80 and 95% of the web audience. About 80% of that audience (regardless of platform) uses Microsoft Internet Explorer.

One of the most problematic inconsistencies between the platforms is the display of type - Macs display type at a much smaller size than do Windows machines. Inconsistencies between browsers are too numerous to list here but type size display is on that list also.

With Internet Explorer 5 for Macintosh, Microsoft addressed one of the big inconsistencies: type in Mac IE5 is displayed the same size (ok, close to the same size) as it is displayed in both Windows IE and Windows Netscape. This makes life much easier for the many Macintosh web developers: if you develop on a Mac, use Internet Explorer rather than Netscape as your development tool and you will be much closer to seeing your work the way the vast majority of viewers will.

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