Selecting HTML font
styles isn't always as easy as it sounds...
especially when we consider just how many styles
are available. If you're new to website design,
however, you might not realize how important it is
to select font styles that go with your web page
theme AND that are compatible with all
browsers/systems available today. Let's take a look
in this web
design course lesson
at the most popular web fonts and how you might use
them to create a great page.
HTML Tags for
Fonts
The basic HTML tag for
creating font style is:
<font face="arial">This
text is written in the font style called
Arial.</font>
The basic font tag is
<font></font>; attributes may be
included within the opening and closing tags to let
the browser know which font style should appear on
the page. You can also add other attributes to
customize your text, such as size and color. The
video lesson will show a bit more of what you can
do with creating HTML fonts.
Your main written content
should have a plain type of font that's easy to see
and read, even by those with poor eyesight. If your
readers have to strain their eyes to read your web
page, then you might lose them as a visitor and/or
customer. This can cause you to lose sales! So
choose a font that's very easy to read for all your
main content, such as Times New Roman, Arial,
Courier New/Courier, or Georgia. Avoid using
cursive or handwriting fonts... as these can be
very difficult to read for some web users.
Other "safe" fonts for
most systems are: Arial Black, Comic Sans MS,
Verdana, Impact and Trebuchet MS.
HTML Font Style and
Headings
If you have a certain site
theme that can be emphasized with a unique font,
then try to limit using the special font to
headings or subheads. And the reason for doing
this? If it happens to be a font that's difficult
to read for some or that doesn't appear correctly
on certain types of screens, then those users will
only miss reading the heading, but will still be
able to read the rest of your content. You might
even want to always put the main headline in a
common, easy-to-read font on sales pages since this
is usually the most powerful attention-grabber on
the page.
Fonts and
Graphics
If you must use a unique font
that might not be a common HTML font style with all
computer or mobile systems, then consider placing
the wording in a graphic (.jpg, .gif or .png).
Unlike fonts, images will appear the same across
the board, no matter which font style is being
used. You can even make images that look like plain
text by leaving off the borders and fancy graphical
drawings. Experiment with this on pages where you
need to get a point across while keeping the
content in a text-looking format.
Practical or Fancy
Fonts?
If having a fancy looking
page is the only reason you wish to use a special
type of font, then avoid the urge. Unlike newspaper
ads, magazines, etc., using fancy fonts on the web
can cause readers to click out of your site without
ever reading a word. Don't assume that your website
will look the same on every operating system or in
every browser. The HTML font styles you choose
might look one way in Firefox and totally different
in Internet Explorer or Google Chrome. If you have
to choose between practical and fancy... then
always choose practical so you can convert your
site's visitors to buyers!
Don't waste space with fancy
HTML font styles that your users will never read.
While the look and feel of a web page is
important... it's even more crucial that your
site's visitors be attracted to and able to read
your content. Choosing the right styles will serve
all purposes and help you keep your readers' focus
while they are browsing your website. Keep studying
the other HTML
for beginners to
become more adept at creating HTML fonts that work
for your website.
