Font Selection is Important
Choosing the right font has a huge impact on how the readers experience a website.
The right font can create a strong identity for your brand.
Choosing a font that is easy to read is important. It is also important to choose a good color and size for your font.
The CSS font-family Property
The CSS font-family property specifies the font for an element.
Tip
The font-family property should hold several font names as a "fallback" system. If the browser does not support the first font, it tries the next font. The font names should be separated with a comma.
Always start with the font you want, and always end with a generic family, to let the browser pick a similar font in the generic family, if no other fonts are available.
Note : If the font name is more than one word, it must be in quotation marks, like: "Times New Roman".
Tip
Read more about fallback fonts in CSS Web Safe Fonts .
Example
.p1 {
font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif;
} .p2 {
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
} .p3 {
font-family: "Lucida Console", "Courier New", monospace;
}Live preview
CSS Generic Font Families
In CSS, there are five generic font families:
- Serif fonts - have a small stroke at the edges of each letter. They create a sense of formality and elegance.
- Sans-serif fonts - have clean lines (no small strokes attached). They create a modern and minimalistic look.
- Monospace fonts - here all the letters have the same fixed width. They create a mechanical look.
- Cursive fonts - imitate human handwriting.
- Fantasy fonts - are decorative/playful fonts.
All the different font names belong to one of the generic font families.
Difference Between Serif and Sans-serif Fonts
Note
On computer screens, sans-serif fonts are considered easier to read than serif fonts.