CSS Web Fonts allow developers to use custom fonts in their web projects, expanding typographic possibilities beyond system fonts. This feature enhances design flexibility and brand consistency across different devices and platforms.

Understanding @font-face

The @font-face rule is the cornerstone of web fonts. It defines custom font families and specifies the source files for each font style.

@font-face {
  font-family: 'CustomFont';
  src: url('path/to/font.woff2') format('woff2'),
       url('path/to/font.woff') format('woff');
  font-weight: normal;
  font-style: normal;
}

Font Formats

Several font formats are available for web use. The most common and recommended formats are:

WOFF2: Web Open Font Format 2.0 (best compression and performance)
WOFF: Web Open Font Format (good compression, widely supported)
TTF/OTF: TrueType/OpenType (for older browsers)

Implementing Web Fonts

After defining the @font-face rule, you can use the custom font in your CSS declarations:

body {
  font-family: 'CustomFont', sans-serif;
}

Web Font Services

Popular web font services like Google Fonts simplify the process of adding custom fonts to your website. They host the font files and provide easy-to-use CSS links or <link> tags for implementation.

Performance Considerations

Use font subsetting to reduce file size
Implement font loading strategies to improve perceived performance
Consider using font-display property to control font rendering behavior

Browser Support

Web fonts are widely supported across modern browsers. However, it's crucial to provide fallback fonts for older browsers or in case the custom font fails to load.

Related Concepts

To further enhance your typography skills, explore these related CSS topics:

By mastering CSS Web Fonts, you'll have the tools to create visually appealing and unique typographic designs for your web projects.