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Introducing Web FontFonts

For nearly 15 years, web designers had two frustrating choices when it came to type on the web: use one of the few “web safe” fonts preinstalled on major operating systems, or substitute text with images and Flash/JavaScript® hacks. Not anymore. Recent developments in web standards (using the @font-face CSS declaration) and font formats make it possible to render HTML text in typefaces other than the same old default fonts. Today, FSI FontShop® International is leading the charge to offer fonts designed specifically for web use. More than 30 of the most successful FontFont families are now available as Web FontFonts®, including FF DIN®, FF Meta®, FF Dax®, and FF Kievit®.

Web Fonts Features

This long-awaited step enables a more seamless and effective transition from print design to the web. An organization whose identity uses FF DIN, for example, can now deliver that experience on the web, using true HTML text.

Web Fonts Features

Any web developer will tell you that HTML text is far more flexible and easier to update than an image. Using Web FontFonts gives you type that is both customized and dynamic.

Web Fonts Features

Search engines don’t like images nearly as much as text. Now all the branded typography on a page can be found and indexed. Text is also more accessible to users with disabilities.

Web Fonts Features

Because HTML text can be resized, copied, and edited by website visitors, you can create stylized interfaces, forms, and applications without relying on Flash or other hacks.

Why Web FontFonts?

  • They look great. Great care was taken to optimize Web FontFonts for display on nearly any screen, whether that screen is connected to a Mac or driven by Windows with ClearType switched on.
  • They are easy to buy. Buying a Web FontFont is as easy as licensing a conventional desktop font. There is no subscription to sign up for and you pay only for the font you need. Pricing is determined not by domain or bandwidth, but by the average monthly pageviews for all websites in the licensed organization.
  • They work on most major browsers. Web FontFonts are delivered in EOT Lite and WOFF, the two formats supported by the most commonly used browsers: Internet Explorer® and Firefox®, covering more than 90% of all web visitors. We expect other browsers to join in implementing WOFF soon. A free Typekit hosting option extends compatibility to Safari® and Chrome® users.
  • No DRM. Because webfonts are essentially shared with everyone who visits a webpage that uses them, some font makers may want to use some sort of DRM to prevent unauthorized use. Not us. Web FontFonts come in formats that work only on websites (not in any desktop app), and do so without crippleware or user interruptions.
  • They speak more languages. The FontFont library has always offered top class language support, extending many of the most popular families to include character sets like Central European, Cyrillic, and Greek. Web FontFonts are no exception. The Pro versions contain the same language support as their desktop companions.

Learn more.

Get all the details about Web FontFonts and how they work »
Download the Web FontFont User Guide (PDF) »

Update: Now that the fonts have been available for a few weeks and designers have had a chance to integrate them in their websites, we’ve collected a few of the best real-world examples of Web FontFonts in use.

 

Feedback:

  1. Evan Walsh 25.02.2010

    I’m sorry, but this begs to be asked: who approved the name WebFontFonts?

  2. Ivan Bettger 25.02.2010

    @Evan Walsh: The FontFont Library has been around for 20 years, and I think that its typefaces have always been referred to as “FontFonts” (as opposed to, say, “FontFont fonts”). Tacking on the Web prefix seemed like the most logical choice, though you’re welcome to refer to them as FontFont Web Fonts!

  3. Graham 26.02.2010

    Are there plans for other foundries from FontShop to go “Web”?

  4. Len 26.02.2010

    Are there any webpages online which use these Web FontFonts? So we can see and check with different browsers and platforms. Would be great. Thanks!

  5. Ivan Bettger 26.02.2010

    @Graham: We don’t have any definitive news on the plans of other foundries just yet, but stay tuned—I’m sure other announcements will follow in the coming months.

    @Len: We’ve begun tagging relevant Web FontFont pages, including any sites already using them. The only sites we know of so far to fully implement both WOFF and EOT are: Uproot, who are using FF DIN Web for most of their headers and navigation; and Candoco Dance Company, who are using FF DIN Web Condensed for their headers and nav. Looking good!

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