Choosing the right typeface for your website copy is important, since it will affect the way your readers perceive your page (serious and formal, or friendly and casual). Aside from this, there are also important usability concerns. For example, some font types are more easily readable than others, and some are more widely available.

选择合适的网站字体是网站设计的一项重要内容，因为这会影响读者对网页产生什么印象（严肃、正式还是亲切、随意）。除此之外，字体还会影响网站可用性，比如说，有些字体更便于用户阅读，有些字体应用更广泛。

You want to choose font types that:

网站字体应该符合以下要求

1. fit the character of your site,

1. 符合网站特点，

2. are easy to read on a computer screen, and

2. 易于用户阅读，

3. are widely available across many browsers and operating systems.

3. 多种浏览器与操作系统的兼容性。

There are basically two types of fonts: serif and sans serif. Serif fonts are those that have fine cross-lines at the extremities of the letter. Sans serif ("sans" being the French word for "without") are fonts that don't have serifs. The most common serif font is probably Times New Roman. Arial is an example of a common sans serif font.

字体类型基本可以分两种：serif与sans serif，serif字体是指在字母末端有横线的字体，而sans serif字体是指没有衬线的字体。我们经常使用的serif字体是Times New Roman，而Arial是我们经常使用的sans serif字体。

Let's go briefly through the most popular font types and evaluate their availability, readibility and character:

我们简单分析一下常用字体的可用性、易读性以及它们各自的特征。

Arial*:
Arial字体：

Availability: Thoroughly available. It is probably the most common sans serif font. It is the default font for Windows, and it first shipped as a standard font with Windows 3.1.

可用性：完全可以利用。它可能是最常用的sans serif字体，是Windows的默认字体，在Windows3.1中是标准字体。

Readability On Screen: Not the worse but definetely not the best, especially at small sizes, when it becomes too narrow and the spacing between characters too small.

易读性：不是效果最差的，但也绝对不是效果最好的，尤其当字号很小时。字体太窄，字符的间距会很小。

Character: Has a streamlined, modern look but is also plain and boring.

特征：外观现代、流行，但也很普通、有时令人厌烦。

*For Mac users, the equivalent of Arial is Helvetica.

苹果电脑中，Helvetica等同于Arial。

Times New Roman:
Times New Roman字体：

Availability: Thoroughly available. It is probably the most common serif font. It is the default font for web browsers. It was first shipped as a standard font with Windows 3.1

可用性：完全可以利用。它可能是最常用的serif字体，是网站浏览器默认的字体，在Window3.1种是标准字体。

Readability On Screen: Acceptable for font sizes of 12pt. and up, but terrible for smaller sizes.

易读性：12pt以上的字体容易阅读，但小字号的字体易读性差。

Character: Serious, formal and old fashioned.

特征：严肃、正式、陈旧。

* For Mac users, the equivalent of Times New Roman is Times.

在苹果电脑中，Times等同于Times New Roman。

Verdana:
Verdana字体：

Availability: A widely available sans serif font, Verdana was first shipped with Internet Explorer version 3, when the exponential growth of the Internet demanded a new font that was easy to read on the screen.

可用性：这种字体被广泛运用。它首先出现在IE3种，以后逐渐成为一种易于阅读的新字体。

Readability On Screen: Exceptional. It's wide body makes it the clearest font for on-screen reading, even at small sizes.
易读性：非常易于阅读。宽度大使其成为显示器中最清晰的字体，即使字号很小，也很容易阅读。

Character: Modern, friendly and professional.

特征：现代、亲切、专业。

Georgia:
Georgia字体：

Avaliability: Good. It is a serif font introduced by Microsoft with Internet Explorer version 4, when the need for a serif font which much better readability than Times New Roman became evident.

可用性：可用性好。这种字体首次出现在Microsoft公司的IE4中，是一种serif字体。这种字体的可读性比Times New Roman强。

Readibility On Screen: Very good. It is the best serif font for on-line reading, since it was specifically designed for that purpose.

易读性：非常好。它是网站设计中，浏览效果最好的serif字体，因为它是专为网上阅读设计的。

Character: Modern, friendly and professional.
特征：现代、亲切、专业。

Microsoft has also popularized two more fonts: Comic Sans Serif and Trebuchet.

Microsoft还曾经流行过其它两种字体：Comic Sans Serif与Trebuchet。

Comic Sans Serif was launched with Internet Explorer version 3 and mimics the hand writing used in comics. It is easy to read and is informal and friendly, but it is not considered appropriate for more serious, professional sites.

Comic Sans Serif首次出现在IE3种，它模仿喜剧中的书写方式，可读性好。这种字体的特征是：随意、亲切，不适合出现在严肃、专业的网站中。

Trebuchet is another sans serif font, similar to Arial but with more character, although it can be difficult to read in small sizes.

Trebuchet是另外一中sans serif 字体，与Arial相似，但具有更多特点。如果是小字号，阅读起来会很困难。

Finally, we can mention Courier New, a serif font that was widely popular with old, mechanical typewriters, and that is now used only to present simulated computer code (if you need to present snipets of sample HTML code in your web pages, this is the font to use.

最后，我们介绍一种老式打印机广泛使用的字体Courier New。现在我们呈现复制的计算机编码时，还会用到这种字体，比如说，我们需要在网站中呈现HTML编码样本，就会利用这种字体。

Therefore, from a usability perspective, the clear winner is Verdana. If you are inclined to use a serif font, Georgia is the best option. Arial remains a good option for specific parts of text, like headlines and titles, where a different font must be used and you can use larger sizes.

综上所述，Verdana是可用性最强的字体；Georgia是可用性最好的Serif字体。在诸如标题、题目等特殊文本内容中，你可以使用Arial字体。在利用其它字体时，字号一定要大。

The way you specify your desired font in HTML is by using the <font face> attribute. The best practice is to specify several fonts instead of just one, putting the easiest to read first.

在HTML中设定字体时，我们需要利用<font face>属性。最好的方法是把几种字体放在一起，而不是只出现一种字体，然后把易读性最强的放在第一位。

For example, if you want to use serif fonts, your HTML code will look like this: <font face=Georgia, Times New Roman, Serif> . That way, your visitor's browser will try to load Georgia first, but if it doesn't have it installed it will try the next one on the list, in this case Times New Roman; if it doesn't have it either, which is highly unlikely, the browser will choose the third option, which we have specified as any other serif font.

例如，如果运用serif字体，HTML编码可以写成：< font face=Georgia, Times New Roman, Serif >。这样访问者的浏览器会首先下载Georgia字体，但如果计算机中没有安装此字体，就会下载第二种字体，也就是Times New Roman，如果这种字体也没有安装，就下载第三种字体，也就是指定的其它serif字体。但这样的情况不太可能出现。

For sans serif fonts, the code will look like this: <font face=Verdana, Arial, Sans>.

如果使用sans serif字体，编码就是：<font face=Verdana, Arial, Sans>。

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