Understanding different types of fonts

To properly use CSS, it is necessary to understand the different types of fonts available. This article is about the use of fonts types with CSS and not the many fonts styles or typefaces out there. If you are unfamiliar with CSS, please read the CSS article. There are four font families that CSS recognizes: Serif, Sans-serif, Script, and Monospace. These are considered generic families because they do not refer to any specific typeface. If you use these category names in your CSS, the browser will choose the typeface that is the default for that category on that computer and each category has many different typefaces that are a part of the family.

Sans-serif fonts should be the basis of your web content. They are easy to read online and there are many that are common to most pc's. Serif fonts are best used in print because they make printouts easy to read. Monospace fonts should be used when the spacing of the content is important - such as with pre-formatted text. Script fonts are best used as signatures or cursive handwriting. Fantasy fonts are best used for headings and artistic text. Remember to select fonts that are common as not every pc will have unique font as there are thousands of fonts out there.

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