Normally, I use 'Helvetica Neue' for the fonts in some websites although looking at other sites, I've seen some with 'HelveticaNeue-Light', 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue'.

Is there any reason to reference Helvetica Neue in this way? Or should I stick with the normal that I use?

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3 Answers

Index of /fonts. Parent Directory HelveticaNeue-Bold.eot HelveticaNeue-Bold.svg HelveticaNeue-Bold.ttf HelveticaNeue-Bold.woff HelveticaNeue-Light.eot.

They are taking a 'shotgun' approach to referencing the font. The browser will attempt to match each font name with any installed fonts on the user's machine (in the order they have been listed).

In your example 'HelveticaNeue-Light' will be tried first, if this font variant is unavailable the browser will try 'Helvetica Neue Light' and finally 'Helvetica Neue'.

As far as I'm aware 'Helvetica Neue' isn't considered a 'web safe font', which means you won't be able to rely on it being installed for your entire user base. It is quite common to define 'serif' or 'sans-serif' as a final default position.

In order to use fonts which aren't 'web safe' you'll need to use a technique known as font embedding. Embedded fonts do not need to be installed on a user's computer, instead they are downloaded as part of the page. Be aware this increases the overall payload (just like an image does) and can have an impact on page load times.

A great resource for free fonts with open-source licenses is Google Fonts. (You should still check individual licenses before using them.) Each font has a download link with instructions on how to embed them in your website.

I'd recommend this article on CSS Tricks by Chris Coyier entitled Better Helvetica:

He basically recommends the following declaration for covering all the bases:

Assuming you have referenced and correctly integrated your font to your site (presumably using an @font-face kit) it should be alright to just reference yours the way you do. Presumably it is like this so they have fall backs incase some browsers do not render the fonts correctly

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged htmlcssfonts or ask your own question.

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Your free download is a pirated copy of an Adobe font. It's also only only the Roman (Normal) weight, there's no bold, italic or bold italic.

For a legal source for all weights, MyFonts is pretty good.

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It's not a fake, it's a real Adobe font, but Adobe only gives away fonts with a software purchase. So this has been posted illegally.

In a text editor like NotePad++, you can open any font and read the foundry information. This font reads Copyright (c) 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Helvetica is a trademark of Linotype AG and/or its subsidiaries.

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