CSS web-safe fonts are common fonts pre-installed by multiple operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. They can be used on almost all browsers and devices. CSS web-safe fonts play a key role in conveying brand personality, mood, and tone.
The font you use on your website can significantly impact how customers perceive your brand. They are crucial in determining your website’s readability, performance, SEO, and accessibility.
Therefore, choosing the right font is vital to creating a memorable and consistent brand identity on your website, and across other marketing platforms. The best part is that these web-safe fonts are readily available.
If you are looking for one and not sure where to start, read through this article. We’ll discuss some of the best CSS web-safe fonts worth considering.
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Best CSS Web Safe Fonts
1. Arial (Sans-Serif)
The Arial font is common. It is widely used online and in print media. Google Docs made Arial its default font as it is easy to read. The font was designed by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders in 1982 for monotype typography.
Arial is a more sans-serif font than most older fonts. While it might have similar attributes to fonts like Helvetica, most of Arial’s letters do not have a tail. The font is all over the place. You have interacted with it in most publications or on Google and Twitter.
Arial is worth considering on a web with a large text group because it is simple with lower dots per inch (DPI). You should use this font to convey a friendly and approachable vibe.
It is also a great choice if you wish your readers to perceive you as young and casual. It is best for your startup or tech company as it portrays relatability and a cutting-edge style.
Arial has more humanistic characteristics than most fonts. It is a versatile typeface that can also be used for setting text in presentations, reports, and magazines.
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2. Verdana (Sans-Serif)
If you are looking for a font that you can easily read even in its smaller sizes, I highly recommend Verdana. Mathew Carter designed the sans-serif font in 1996 for Microsoft for computer screens.
Verdana is also an excellent choice for mobile screens, thanks to its generous width and spacing of its characters.
Most web developers love Verdana for its large x-height and wide spacing between letters that significantly improve readability. It is also a popular and safe web font, primarily used for body text, as it looks good on screens.
Verdana also looks good in titles and headlines. But be cautious not to use too many font sizes, as your website may look overwhelming.
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3. Tahoma (Sans-Serif)
Tahoma is another web-safe font under the humanistic classification that is part of the Microsoft new sans-serif typeface family. The font was launched in 1994 by a renowned typeface designer Mathew Carter.
Tahoma is made of two typefaces, regular and bold, designed to address the challenges of on-screen display, especially with small sizes in menus and dialogue boxes.
The best part about the Tahoma font is that, as a TrueType font, it can be scaled to any size. Tahoma is wider than Arial, making it an excellent choice for a website that endeavors to make its content easy to read.
Fonts have their personalities. They have a unique tone and are known to be used in certain situations. Tahoma works best on headlines and within blocks of text in small sizes, as it easily adapts to different screen sizes while looking crisp on mobile and PC.
It is a safe font, as almost all modern operating systems support Tahoma. Many designers compare Tahoma to Verdana, probably because Mattew Carter designed both. However, Tahoma has a thinner body than Verdana, and it’s closely spaced.
Tahoma has a formal feel to it. No wonder it is commonly used in technical publications. Therefore, it is perfect for your website’s eBook versions of magazines, journals, and technical and scientific books.
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4. Times New Roman
If you have been typing for a while, chances are high that you have interacted with the popular Times New Roman font.
Times New Roman is loved for its professional look. It is commonly used in newspapers. Therefore, it can be an excellent choice for your upcoming news website.
The font was named after a British Newspaper, Times of London. The font was created by Stanley Morison, a renowned typographer, in 1929. With Victor Lardent’s (artist) help, Morison officially put Times New Roman to print in 1932.
Since the font was created initially for newspapers, it is narrower than most web-safe fonts. Even its bold style is relatively narrow.
Times New Roman is considered an older-style serif font. It has often been compared to older fonts, including Baskerville, thanks to its beautiful variations of thick and thin strokes, which produce contrast and definition.
Times New Roman is a versatile and warm font. Most readers can instinctively recognize the font; as they have interacted with it in magazines, newspapers, books, or online for years.
While critics may say that Times New Roman is overused, it is still acceptable in many circles. Besides, if the font works well with your project, why throw it away?
The best part is that the font works across industries, but it’s obviously a top choice for reports, business papers, and signage.
Times New Roman can impact various aspects of your brand, including conversations and overall brand image. It provides a familiar and trustworthy look for almost all industries.
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5. Garamond
Garamond is an old-style serif font that has been around for centuries. The font is based on typefaces first created by Claude Garamond, a famed French Printer. Robert Slimbach created Garamond, which was released by Adobe in 1989.
Although not a modern font, Garamond has undergone a series of adaptations over the years to make it viable for modern-day websites and other uses. The font can transform its look depending on whether you choose its regular, italics, or semibold versions.
Garamond is a great choice, especially if you wish to achieve a regal appearance or an image of old-world appeal. You must have interacted with the Garamond font in print publishing, but it is worth using on your website as it’s timeless and immensely readable.
Before settling on Garamond for your website, study your audience; the font can be a bit more formal than Arial. It is an excellent font to incorporate into your logo design, as the font appears exactly as it does on your design screen.
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6. Georgia (Serif)
Like most serif fonts, Georgia displays formalness. It is readable in different sizes, making it an excellent choice for mobile responsive designs. Georgia is a classic serif font specifically created for use on the web.
Georgia is another outstanding creation of Mathew Carter, inspired by the need to provide clarity at low-screen resolutions following the rapid growth of the internet in the early 1990s.
Georgia creates an exciting and legible typeface that suits headlines and body text, thanks to the addition of serifs. The font has thin and thick strokes that work interchangeably to create a continuous look throughout the text.
From afar, Georgia looks italic, though it’s not quite slanted. The font is likely to be familiar if you study calligraphy, as its letters bend from one to the next. The font is slightly formal because of its varied stroke weights.
The font is not pixelated and offers outstanding clarity in digital and print. It is therefore suited for use on multiple mediums and is a good choice for candidates who wish to submit crisp and clean-looking resumes.
It is a versatile font that seamlessly pairs with calligraphy, serif, and sans-serif fonts. You can use Georgia if you wish your website to portray a friendly and intimate personality.
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7. Helvetica (Sans-Serif)
Helvetica is a simple and neutral sans-serif font that you can use in different scenarios and designs. Max Miedinger originally designed the Helvetica font in 1957 as part of the Swiss Haas Type Foundry.
It is a sans-serif typeface in its realistic design, standard among Swiss designers in the 1950s and 1960s. Miedinger designed the Helvetica font with the intention of not creating any particular impression.
However, other Helvetica variations, such as Helvetica Bold Oblique, can be helpful to designers who want to make more impressions. Helvetica Bold Oblique can help you create a more formal look by slightly slanting to the right, though less than italicized fonts.
Helvetica is commonly used in branding, online applications, and signage. The font is widely associated with renowned brands such as BMW, Motorola, and Microsoft, which use the font on their logo.
Additionally, the US government uses the Helvetica font on its tax forms. Helvetica is highly versatile and seamlessly translates with Windows and Mac. Helvetica can help you reach a wider audience and brand products across multiple devices.
But what I like the most about this font is its elegant and clean look. Helvetica is also easy to read, neutral, and minimalistic.
Explore the best alternatives to Helvetica & Helvetica Neue here.
8. Calibri
Another web-safe font worth using is Calibri. It is another sans-serif font similar to Arial and Helvetica, which has been used as a default for Microsoft Office for years. De Groot created Calibri in 2004 as part of a font collection for improved screen reading.
While Calibri is an old font, it is still an excellent pick for modern eCommerce sites and business websites. Calibri’s tight layout fosters flexibility with various text sizes while maintaining its resolution.
Calibri has a warm and soft feel to it. It is one of the most flexible fonts you can use casually and formally. It appeals to web users of all ages. Its scalable typeface makes it a good candidate for headlines and body texts.
Calibri could be a popular font, but it is used on a few websites. Some popular websites that use the font include Aetna, The University of Phoenix, and TechRepublic.
The font is equally scalable so that you can use it anywhere, including titles and body texts. The font stands out against most sans-serif fonts, while its rounded elements give it a modern feel.
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9. Cambria
Cambria is another excellent web-safe font designed for on-screen reading, even when displayed in small sizes. Jelle Bosma, a Dutch typeface designer, created the Cambria font in collaboration with Robin Nicholas and Steve Matteson in 2004.
Microsoft introduced Cambria to replace Calibri, which the company had felt could infringe the monotype imaging rights.
You will notice that Cambria has a similar feel to Calibri, just that it includes ligatures, and kerning, among other elements that make it useful for other print purposes.
Cambria is highly legible, thanks to its horizontal serifs that significantly affect the endings of every stroke. The font is equally versatile, allowing you to combine multiple font styles and use them for headers, titles, or body texts.
As a seasoned designer, you’ll agree that Cambria has distinctive aesthetic attributes that make it blend with different uses.
Cambria can be an excellent addition to your web pages since it has superior rendering power on browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer.
The font is widely used on signages and most visual elements in print media. It has various font line variations, including Cambria Regular, Cambria Oblique, and Slab Serif. Cambria Regular is often seen on store signage.
Cambria Oblique and Slab Seriff are commonly used for titles and any other place you may substitute with traditional serif fonts.
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Final Thoughts
All of the above fonts are excellent options for creating a lasting impression on your clients. Whether you are interested in a unique font family, fonts with traditional elements, or just want to achieve an old-school or retro effect, there is a web-safe font for you.
The best part about these fonts is that the font files are pre-installed on users’ devices, meaning no money or time is needed for font downloads.
You don’t have to use a thousand fonts to make your website outstanding, but you must ensure that the font you use is visible to everyone who visits.
Tom loves to write on technology, e-commerce & internet marketing. I started my first e-commerce company in college, designing and selling t-shirts for my campus bar crawl using print-on-demand. Having successfully established multiple 6 & 7-figure e-commerce businesses (in women’s fashion and hiking gear), I think I can share a tip or 2 to help you succeed.