Though it may appear that websites are developed with unlimited fonts and graphics, this is actually an illusion. There are only a handful of website-friendly fonts used by the online community, and for good reason: a unique font has a possibility of not being visible when viewed on certain computers.
Every computer has a file containing a variety of fonts for programs to reference and pull from. These fonts are accumulated through different programs, like Microsoft Word or and Adobe program, or come standard with your operating system. As different people use different systems and programs, their libraries of fonts will differ. So if a website tells a computer “show these words in the Papyrus font” and the font library does not contain the Papyrus font, the computer will be unable to show the page as originally intended.
Thankfully, there are a few fonts that have become standard for all computers, including the following font types:
• Arial
• Comic Sans
• Courier New
• Georgia
• Impact
• Lucida
• Times New Roman
• Trebuchet
• Verdana
So, when creating your website, it is important to keep the text fonts within these text families. Otherwise, your message may not be visible to your audience.
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