having more than one font for any of those, but try to keep your font stack
reasonably short (six to ten fonts is a pretty good maximum number).
Third, make sure you pay attention to the scale of the fonts in your stack.
One common thing I see in font stacks is the inclusion of Verdana and Arial
or Helvetica in the same stack.
Verdana is a very wide font; Arial is relatively narrow. In effect, this can make
your site՚s typography appear very differently to different visitors. The same
goes for Times New Roman (narrow) and Georgia (wide).
Considering both Arial/Helvetica and Verdana are considered web-safe
(same goes for Times/Times New Roman and Georgia), it doesn՚t make
much sense to include both.
Common Font Stacks
A lot of designers out there have taken a crack at creating ideal font stacks.
While I have yet to see an “ultimate” font stack, there are plenty of really
great ones out there to choose from if you don՚t want to take the time to
create your own custom stacks.
Better CSS Font Stacks
Unit Interactive published an article last summer with a collection of
“better” CSS font stacks. The list is extensive, with font stacks that should
satisfy just about anyone.
Fonts are listed out according to whether they՚re appropriate for headlines
or body content.
Here are some listed for body text: