Typography is the art and science of using different typefaces to control the way the words appear on your website. If you use a PC-based wordprocessor, like Microsoft Word, you know you have dozens of fontstyles you can use.
However, you will find the Internet imposes severe restrictions on you if you plan to use myriad fonts. There are only a few typefaces supported by most browsers; Times New Roman, Helvetica, Arial and Verdana are common.
A typeface is the design for all the characters, sizes and presentations (bold, italic, etc) of a particular style, like Helvetica, for example. Whereas the font is the specific typeface, such as Times, 12 point, bold.
A typographer also learns about the relationship between letters with kerning and leading. Spaces and ugly gaps between letters are reduced by adjusting the kerning. Improved legibility is the goal of increasing the space between lines and this is called leading.
There are two families of typefaces, Serif and Sans-serif. Serif typefaces, like Times New Roman, have curved ends on each letter and Sans-serif are without (sans is French for without) the flourishes, such as Arial.
That’s the science. And the art of using fonts, is to look good and make reading on-screen easier. Don’t use too many fonts – your page will look cluttered. It’s recommended you choose one serif font for your text, like Verdana, and one Sans-serif for your headings, like Arial.
Fonts or typefaces can impart a style to your writing. Courier is monospaced and appears like a ‘typewriter’ font. Verdana is a broader Serif style, excellent for reading on-screen. Arial is a darker, Sans-serif font, which is good for headings. Kidprint and Mistral fonts are funky and playful.
