Rather than being limited by installed fonts, you??™re restricted by common fonts across various
platforms. If end users don??™t have the same fonts installed as you, they won??™t see your
design like you do, rendering your choices pointless.
Over the next few pages, I??™ll provide an overview of different available fonts for the
Web, but there are some handy online references that you should also bookmark. A page
comparing fonts common to the Mac and Windows is available at www.ampsoft.
net/webdesign-l/WindowsMacFonts.html, and www.codestyle.org/css/font-family/
sampler-Monospace.shtml details available monospace fonts for various systems.
Sans-serif fonts for the Web
Arial is a common font choice, largely because of its dominance on Windows. Its poor
design makes it unreadable at small sizes and a poor choice for body copy, although it can
be of use for headings. Mac users should be wary of choosing Helvetica??”it??™s an excellent
font, but it??™s not generally shipped with Windows. Although you can specify fallback fonts
in CSS, again, there??™s little point in making your first choice something that the majority of
people won??™t see.
Better choices for body copy are Verdana or Trebuchet MS. The former is typically a good
choice, because its spacious nature makes it readable at any size. Its bubbly design renders
it less useful for headings, though. Trebuchet MS is perhaps less readable, but it has plenty
of character, and is sometimes an interesting alternative, simply because it isn??™t used all
that much online.
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