Have you ever tried to design your web site with a beautifully selected font, only to realize that most folks don't have it installed on their computer?
Have you ever tried to design your web site with a beautifully selected font, only to realize that most folks don't have it installed on their computer?
This means your web page won't look great to the majority of your viewers. They will only see the font they have on their own computers.
The Problem
Most computers come with only a certain number of fonts. An older computer will contain different fonts from newer ones. ie if you include a font from your Windows XP operating system for your web site design, it may not show up for folks that use the Windows 98 operating system.
The font on your web page will default to what is on the person's computer, creating a distorted looking font.
The Solution
Create an image of the font.
1. Locate the fancy font you want to use for your web site design. Do a search for "free downloadable fonts" or go to http://www.fontfile.com to select the font you want.
2. Download the font to a folder on your computer - you will receive the font as a zip file. Extract it to a new folder on your desktop (you can use the free utility at WinZip.com if you don't already have it installed).
3. Install the font on your computer - go to your Start button - Settings/Control Panel.
With the control panel window opened, scroll down to the Fonts icon.
Click on the Fonts icon to open it. This contains all the fonts on your computer.
Copy the font (right click on mouse) from the folder on your desktop and paste (left click on mouse) it into the font's folder.
4. Create the image for your font - open your graphic's software (ie Fireworks, Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro).
Make the canvas size a little larger than the size of your font.
Choose the same background color as your web page so your canvas will blend in perfectly with it.
Write the words on the canvas using the new font you installed (it should now appear in your choice of fonts).
Optimize your font image so it has a small file size (make sure it has a resolution of 72dpi and save it as a gif file). This means it won't significantly affect the download time of your web page.
5. Insert the image of the new fancy font on your web page.
Now you don't have to stick with the plain looking fonts that come with your computer. This will help make your web site stand out from your competitors and enhance your design capabilities.
About the Author
Herman Drost is the author of the new ebook "101 Highly Effective Strategies to Promote Your Web Site" a powerful guide for attracting 1000s of visitors to your web site. http://www.isitebuild.com/web-site-promotion Subscribe to his "Marketing Tips" newsletter for more original articles. mailto:subscribe@isitebuild.com. You can read more of his in-depth articles at: http://www.isitebuild.com/articles