Fonts

[Magikarp]

So.. I am trying to think of a free font to use for web site development.

Fonts like Verdana, Arial, etc. can you legally use these fonts for the web? I know some fonts like Segoe UI Light you cannot and must require a license, however Verdana and Arial are so common. I cannot find anything about the licenses for these fonts either. So can you use them or not? Are they free?

Also, besides Google web fonts, where else can you find good fonts? (I hate that the page will flash, taking time to load the font. I would much rather install them and import them using CSS)

[dfogge]

here’s a handy guide to websafe font stacks: http://cssfontstack.com/

ive personally had too many issues with webfonts working correctly cross browser/device so have given up using them, and have gone back to image replacement for now.

[chrisburton]

Verdana and Arial are extremely safe to use. They should be pre-installed on your computer. But like I mentioned in your other thread, there are many services for web fonts that work cross-browser and are more than safe to use. If you have more specific questions regarding fonts or typefaces, I’d be more than willing to help you (same goes for you @dfogge).

Sometimes where your scripts are placed will cause the page flash. I’ve also encountered older versions of jQuery causing the issue.

When it comes to Google web fonts, I would advise not using their library. Google is in the business of making money and not at all about the quality of their web fonts. At the very least, I would go with Typekit which I’ve mentioned in your other post.

[Magikarp]

By websafe, does that mean it is legal.

I shall look at that foggy.

[mhetherington]

@misterrpg, its legal because the css font stack will only reference and display fonts installed on the user’s display/device (rather than using them as webfonts).

You only need be concerned with the legality of font usage where you’re hosting and using the font files themselves as a webfont. And in that instance, you’ll need to verify the legality of using the fonts with the originating font foundry/designer.

Hope that clarifies!

[Magikarp]

Yes, it does help a lot!

So can I put things like. .Helvetica Neue inside my font-family?

Also, a random question..

Is it safe to take out -webkit-, -ms-, -moz-, etc. in properties that are now supported in the newest version of each browser?

[mhetherington]

@misterrpg, I’d keep prefixes in for the time being if you want to maintain functionality in most browsers. Though if you’re wanting to drop the prefix, consider checking out http://leaverou.github.com/prefixfree/.

[chrisburton]

@misterrpg To my knowledge, Helvetica Neue is only installed on Mac unless a PC user has purchased the font. Anyway, why are you against using web font services?

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