What are custom web fonts?

What are custom web fonts?

There are web safe fonts and web fonts but what’s the difference? Web safe fonts are what you’re likely to be using in your emails right now. This includes fonts such as: Arial, Verdana, Georgia, Times New Roman, and Courier. These are the default fonts found on most operating systems and devices.

Web fonts, on the other hand, are fonts that are typically not found on multiple operating systems and devices. They are offer a great way to demonstrate your company's overall intent as they allow designers more creativity and flexibility.

Why is font important?

The right font not only makes your emails easy on the eyes, but it also can convey a range of emotions and using fonts correctly is essential to an effective email marketing campaign. When it comes to email marketing, it’s best practice to use web fonts wherever you can. However, it’s important to keep in mind that not all email clients offer universal support for web fonts.

Generally, the following email clients have support for web fonts:
– iOS Mail
– Apple Mail
– Android (default mail client, not Gmail app)
– Outlook 2000
– Outlook.com app
– Thunderbird

However, web font support depends on the email client and how the web font is embedded in the email.  When web fonts are not supported, it is imperative to use a fallback font instead. Each email client also has a preferred or default font which users would see instead of your chosen web font. The three most popular desktop email clients have the following defaults:

Apple Mail = San Francisco
Gmail = Sans-Serif
Microsoft Outlook = Calibri