Ideally, you would have the ability to choose any font for your content without issue. In reality, most devices (e.g., Computers, tablets, or phones), browsers, and email clients come with a pre-installed font selection. This variation can result in vastly different experiences for your readers.
What makes a font web-safe?
A font is considered web safe when it is widely available by default. These fonts are usually pre-installed on most devices. Their "commonality" or "popularity" means that the font would render for most readers without any issues or additional actions required.
Why does my font matter?
Fonts selection can seem like a small detail in your overall content strategy. However, it factors heavily into whether your message is communicated clearly and aligns with your brand. As such, it's essential to be aware of how your fonts appear on the reader's end. Web-safe fonts make that guessing game a bit easier.
What fonts are "safe" to use?
The most popular web-safe fonts are Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, Georgia, Tahoma, Lucida, Trebuchet, and Times New Roman. All of these fonts are available in the Privy email designer by default.
What happens if I choose a font that my reader doesn't have?
The text will still appear in your content, and the reader may never realize the difference. However, a font change can affect the intended presentation or the readability of the content. For example, each email client has a default font if the selected font is unavailable - Gmail uses Arial, Apple Mail uses Helvetica, and Outlook uses Calibri.
What about custom fonts?
Privy currently supports custom fonts for onsite displays. When properly configured, an onsite display loads the file directly, which means it is almost guaranteed to display correctly to all readers regardless of their device or browser.
What about email and text?
Privy does not support custom fonts in emails and texts. More specifically:
- Text: No font type or selection is currently available.
- Email: Many email clients do not support custom fonts, so the Privy email designer provides a selection of more traditional and web-safe fonts instead. It's a best practice to use default web fonts in your emails to ensure the most consistent experience for your recipients. The most popular web-safe fonts are reviewed in the "What fonts are "safe" to use?" section above.