That way, you can control what shows up (no matter what) across all devices. They give designers (and website owners) the ability to specify which fonts to fall back to if needed. They’re the small collection of fonts that overlap from Windows to Mac to Google (even Unix or Linux ones too). The ‘Web safe’ ones, appear across all operating systems. You, as the visitor, wouldn’t necessarily know that this is what has happened, though. If you don’t have that font already installed and it’s not pulling from a web-friendly place, the font you see would default back to some basic variation like Times New Roman.

Meaning: Let’s say the designer picked some obscure, paid font family for this site’s design. The font you see may not be the one original one intended. Google’s own Android system uses its own as well. Windows-based devices might have one group. The problem is that every system differs a bit. Why Does ‘Web Safe’ Matter?Įach device comes with its own pre-installed font selection. The selection is based largely on its operating system. Not if you create a fallback with a web safe alternative! Here’s how it works. That beautiful font you just chose is going to show up as something random for your visitors. Not everyone will have access to that same font.

And you’re all set to reference it in CSS. Generate the code and paste in your document’s. Font embedding services (like Google Web Fonts or Adobe Fonts) sprung up as an alternative, giving your designs something new, fresh, and unexpected.Ĭhoose any font like Open Sans or Droid Serif or Lato.

Arial font family css