Reader Question: How to add special fonts?
How do i embed the style of my text on my web page. How do i change the font of my webpage... Even though i write in in my html code. what should be the procedure of uploading the font to the server.. is it possible?
My Thoughts
It sounds like aniketh wants to set up special fonts that aren't commonly found on computers. There are a couple of ways to do this.
The easiest is to use dynamic fonts. Dynamic fonts are a way to embed exactly the font family you want to use in the Web page. The problem is that dynamic fonts can increase download times for pages to make them nearly unusable. And what's worse, dynamic fonts aren't well supported in Web browsers.
The other way to do this is to create images of the text you want in specific fonts. This will guarantee that your Web page text will look exactly as you want them to look, no matter what browser or operating system your customers are using. The problem with using graphics is that your text is not accessible, it can't be resized for people with vision problems, and if you use a lot of text graphics, it can make your pages slow to download.
The best way to put special fonts on your Web pages is with CSS. You can specify a series of font families in your order of preference. Then, customers who have your favorite font will see the site exactly as you would like, and you can indicate alternatives if they don't have it. This helps your pages load quickly, lets people resize the fonts with their browsers, and ensures the pages are accessible. Plus, CSS doesn't require special technology or browser support.
Help with Fonts
- But I Want That Font - Standard Fonts on Windows and Macintosh
- Common Font Families on Windows - Fonts Common to Most Versions of Windows
- Common Font Families on Macintosh - Fonts Common to Most Versions of Macintosh OS
- Comparison of Macintosh Common Fonts to Windows Common Fonts
- Syntax of the Font Property
- Modify Fonts with CSS
Do you use special fonts?
Fonts and typography are a vital part of good Web design, but it can be very frustrating. So, some Web developers just use very basic fonts like Arial and don't worry about it too much. How do you handle fonts and typography? Do you use graphics, CSS, or dynamic fonts? Let us know by posting in the comments or answering aniketh's's post.
Comments
What about sIFR? I’ve never tried it, but it sounds great - what do you think?
sIFR, for those who don’t know, stands for “Scalable Inman Flash Replacement”. It is a form of CSS Image Replacement that replaces CSS styled text with images where possible. I have links to it and several other CSS image replacement techniques on my site here: http://webdesign.about.com/od/imagereplacement/CSS_Image_Replacement.htm
Good tips on how to style text on a web page especially for newbies. I myself go for CSS for the same reasons mentioned above…nice post.
As a developer I have accepted the fact that I am design-challenged.
However, I have found that most designers I work with use clean standard fonts - primarily Verdana and Tahoma, occasionally Arial - and Times New Roman or Courier for special effects.
When using really unusual fonts, we use images.
I “hand roll” almost every web page I do with PHP, CSS and an occasional javascript and I use HTML Kit for my editor. It beats using Notepad by several light years.
I am leery of using visual type editors, like Dreamweaver or Front Page, as you are not really doing web page design with them. And if you don’t understand HTML you are at their mercy. But for really simple projects, like putting up a newsletter without too many bells & whistles, Front Page is Ok.