What are Web safe fonts?
Web-safe fonts, also known as system fonts or standard fonts, are a set of fonts that most operating systems and web browsers support. These fonts are deemed “safe” because users will probably have them installed on their devices. This guarantees that text on additional websites looks the same and can be relied on.
Best Web Safe Fonts for HTML and CSS
Even though web fonts have made the idea of “web-safe fonts” less important, it can still be helpful to choose widely available fonts to make sure they look the same on all devices and computers. Here are some fonts that are often used on the web and are safe to use in HTML and CSS projects:
- Arial is an easygoing sans-serif font that is simple to locate and is usually used for body text.
- Courier New is a font that is usually used to show code or additional text that must look like it has a fixed width.
- Georgia is a serif font that is suitable for reading online, particularly with long blocks of text.
- Helvetica is a well-known, primary sans-serif font that can be utilized on multiple operating systems.
- Impact is a bold, eye-catching font that functions well for titles and headlines.
- Lucida Sans is an uncluttered sans-serif font that can be utilized on multiple systems.
- Palatino is a traditional serif font usually utilized in specific designs for headers or body text. It is regarded as attractive and easy to read.
- Times New Roman is a serif font often used for traditional or standard designs. It is often used in written papers for the main text.
- Verdana is a famous sans-serif font that is easy to read, especially when it is smaller.
Why Do We Still Need a Web-safe Font Stack?
Even though the idea of web-safe fonts is less important now that there are so many web fonts available, there are still a few reasons why you might want to use a web-safe font stack:
1. Consistency in Design
Users usually think of web-safe fonts as neutral and familiar, which makes them good for creating designs that look the same on different devices. A web-safe font stack lets you keep a consistent look even if a user’s device can’t load custom web fonts.
2. Alternative Options
Having a web-safe font stack as a backup ensures that your text can still be read if the web font doesn’t load or there are problems with the connection. It keeps material from becoming hard to read because fonts are missing.
3. Efficiency
Web fonts may make a website more labor-intensive since they need to be downloaded before being displayed. You can cut down on the number of font file downloads by utilizing web-safe fonts, which are often present on customers’ devices already. This will shorten the time it takes for a page to load.
