| Have you ever wondered why that beautifully | | | | Who is Your Target Audience? |
| designed site you created looks fabulous on your PC, | | | | If your target audience is rural Illinois, then download |
| but not on others - aside from differences in | | | | speed is critically important, as much of the rural |
| browsers? Why does that bold font that screams | | | | Midwest is still locked into dial-up. On the other hand, |
| BUY ME on my PC display as Times Roman on my | | | | if your target audience is urban America, broadband |
| wife's computer? | | | | will help. |
| The answer is that fonts are operating system | | | | Which Font to Use? |
| resources, meaning you can see that font only when | | | | I recently did a query for free fonts which returned |
| it's installed on the specific PC that is viewing your | | | | nearly 12 million results. The possibilities are virtually |
| site. Default fonts rarely resemble the font you | | | | endless. So, first you find the font you want and use |
| intended. | | | | it on your site, then create an embedded font file |
| Is that font a must have? | | | | and finally, attach that font to your style sheet. |
| If you absolutely need that font on your website, it | | | | The Designer's Dilemma |
| is possible to set up your site so that others can | | | | As a designer, you can't control an individual |
| view it as you do on your computer, but that comes | | | | browser's display, but by embedding that font in the |
| at a price, not in money, but... | | | | site's Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), you can cause |
| Embedded Fonts | | | | your font to download with the website page. A |
| It is possible to embed fonts on your website, so | | | | word of caution - not all designers allow their fonts |
| when your wife or another visitor views your site, | | | | to be embedded. Hmm.. An alternative solution could |
| that beautiful font will embed itself on their | | | | be to use a commercial package, such as TypeKit, a |
| computer, enabling them to see what you see at | | | | subscription-based service for linking to high-quality |
| your PC. The downside is that this adds another layer | | | | Open Type fonts from some of the worlds best |
| to your site. That layer is download time, sometimes | | | | type foundries. |
| as much as 20 to 25k per font. | | | | |