Fonts are everywhere online, but with so many different font formats – TTF, OTF, WOFF, EOT and SVG – it’s easy to feel lost when choosing the right one.
Each font format has unique qualities that affect compatibility, load speed and even how text appears on-screen.
In this guide, we’ll break down the most common font file types, explain their strengths and weaknesses and help you make the best choice for your next web project.
Whether you’re a web developer, graphic designer or just looking to understand fonts better, read on to discover which font format is right for you and your next project.
Let’s dive into different font file formats explained!
What Are Font File Types?
Font file types determine how text is rendered across different platforms, applications and web browsers.
Just like image files come in various formats (JPEG or PNG), fonts have different file types – each optimised for different uses and compatibility.
In web design, using the correct font format matters because it directly affects how well a font displays across devices, how quickly it loads on a web page and if it’s supported by all major browsers.
Check out Why Typography Is Important In Web Design for more information.
For example, a font file format like WOFF is designed for the web, while others like TTF and OTF are commonly used in both digital and print projects.
By understanding different font formats, web designers and developers can ensure their chosen fonts appear exactly as intended, without compromising on quality or performance.
TrueType Fonts (TTF)
TrueType Fonts is one of the oldest and most widely recognised font formats, developed by Apple in the late 1980s.
The TrueType font format became popular for its balance between high display quality and manageable file size, making it a favourite for desktop publishing and digital design.
Key Features of TrueType Fonts
- Broad Compatibility: TTF is universally supported across all major operating systems, including Windows, macOS and many Linux distributions. This compatibility has made it a go-to choice for designers looking for reliability across different platforms.
- Good Quality for Print & Digital: The format supports both screen and print use, making it versatile enough for digital design and high-quality printing needs.
- Single File Structure: TTFs come in a single file, making them easier to manage and install.
Downsides of TrueType Fonts
- Larger File Size: TTF font files can be bulkier than other formats optimised for the web, which may affect page load speeds.
- Limited Web Optimisation: TTF is less efficient in rendering and loading on web pages compared to newer, web-optimised formats like WOFF.
TrueType file formats continue to be popular because of their accessibility and quality, though they are often combined with other formats (like WOFF) for websites where performance is crucial.
OpenType Fonts (OTF)
OpenType Fonts were developed as an evolution of TrueType font, created by Microsoft and Adobe to meet the needs of high-quality, professional-grade typography.
OpenType format fonts are known for their advanced features and versatility, making them ideal for both desktop publishing and digital design projects that require intricate typographic detail.
Key Features of OpenType Fonts
- Extended Glyph Set: OTF font files can contain a large variety of unique and special characters allowing for more creative and customised text presentation.
- Cross-Platform Compatibility: OpenType fonts are compatible across both macOS and Windows, as well as most modern browsers, ensuring consistency in display.
- Scalability and Print Quality: OTFs maintain excellent clarity at various sizes, making them ideal for both digital and print applications.
Downsides of OpenType Fonts
- Larger File Size: Due to the added typographic features, OTF font files can be a bit larger than TTF, impacting load time on the web.
- Not Optimised for Web Use: For straightforward web applications, these additional features may be unnecessary.
The OpenType Font is particularly useful for designers aiming to produce high-quality typography with advanced features.
They’re also widely supported, making them a dependable choice for projects where detailed text styling is essential.
Web Open Font Format (WOFF & WOFF2)
The Web Open Font Format was created specifically for use on websites, making it one of the most popular choices for web typography.
Developed with input from major organisations like Mozilla and standardised by the W3C, WOFF essentially acts as a compressed wrapper for TrueType and OpenType fonts.
This compression results in smaller file sizes, which speeds up web page load times while maintaining high-quality font display.
Key Features of WOFF & WOFF2
- Optimised for Web: WOFF compresses font data, reducing file size by over 40% compared to standard TTF font files. WOFF2, the newer version, uses even more efficient Brotli compression, offering faster load times.
- Improved Load Speed: The compressed format optimises website load times, crucial for user experience and SEO.
- Cross-Browser Support: WOFF and WOFF2 are compatible with all major browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge, making them ideal for ensuring a consistent user experience.
- Metadata and Licensing: WOFF font files can include metadata, allowing font designers and vendors to embed licensing information within the font file itself.
Downsides of WOFF & WOFF2
- Limited Advanced Features: Compared to OTF, WOFF doesn’t support as many advanced typography features that allow for detailed typographic control.
- Limited Outside Websites: WOFF is specifically designed for web, so it isn’t as functional for desktop or print with most operating systems not natively supporting WOFF.
With its efficient compression and web-specific features, Web Open Font Format has become the standard for web fonts.
Using WOFF or WOFF2 ensures a balance of quality, speed and compatibility on modern websites, making it a solid choice for web designers looking to optimise both performance and typography.
Embedded OpenType Fonts (EOT)
Embedded OpenType is a legacy font format developed by Microsoft specifically for web use, particularly for compatibility with older versions of Internet Explorer.
EOT is essentially a compressed version of TrueType or OpenType fonts, designed to reduce font file sizes for faster loading on early web pages.
Key Features of Embedded OpenType Fonts
- Legacy Compatibility: EOT was supported exclusively on Internet Explorer (IE) from version 4 through 11, meaning it’s still useful for projects targeting older systems that rely on IE.
- Compression and Subsetting: EOT allows partial font embedding, meaning only the necessary characters can be included to reduce file size further. EOT files can also contain licensing information, ensuring font use compliance.
Downsides of Embedded OpenType Fonts
- Limited Browser Support: EOT is largely outdated and unsupported in modern browsers, making it a poor choice for current web projects.
- Poor Quality and Features: Compared to newer formats like WOFF and WOFF2, EOT lacks advanced typographic features and broader compatibility.
Though EOT served a purpose in the early days of web typography, it’s now mostly obsolete.
Modern websites generally favour formats like WOFF/WOFF2, which support all major browsers and provide better compression and display quality.
Scalable Vector Graphics Fonts (SVG)
Scalable Vector Graphics fonts are an XML-based vector format, making them quite different from traditional font file type formats like TTF or OTF.
Originally developed by the W3C, a scalable vector graphics font is unique in that they render text as scalable vector images, allowing for graphics that maintain high quality across different resolutions.
Although SVG fonts are no longer widely used for web text, they remain valuable for certain design applications.
Key Features of SVG Fonts
- Scalability: SVG fonts scale smoothly without loss of quality, which makes them ideal for icons, logos and high-resolution graphics that need to look sharp on screens of all sizes.
- Customisable Vector Graphics: SVG fonts are stored as vector shapes, allowing developers and designers to adjust individual character shapes with SVG-compatible software which is ideal for icons, logos and other graphic elements.
- Limited Browser Support: SVG fonts are not as widely supported by modern browsers for text rendering. They are still compatible with many graphic design applications, making them a good fit for logos or custom graphics that need a unique, intricate look.
Downsides of SVG Fonts
- Limited Use for Web Text: SVG fonts are not widely supported for standard text on web pages and newer web font formats, like WOFF, are generally preferable for text.
- Poor for Large Text Blocks: SVG fonts can become unwieldy and less efficient for large text blocks compared to formats like TTF or OTF.
In summary, SVG fonts offer a distinct advantage for scalable icons and custom graphic work but have limited applications in standard web text due to browser support constraints.
Choosing the Right Font Format for Your Project
Selecting the appropriate font format depends on several factors: browser compatibility, performance, design flexibility and specific use case.
Here’s a quick guide on choosing the right format based on your needs.
For Websites: WOFF/WOFF2
The WOFF and its successor, WOFF2, are explicitly designed for web use. They offer optimal compression, which reduces load times and improves site performance.
Both formats are supported across all major modern browsers, making them ideal for maintaining consistency on websites.
Use WOFF2 whenever possible for even greater compression; fallback to WOFF for browsers that don’t support WOFF2.
For Digital & Print Projects: TTF or OTF
TrueType and OpenType formats are versatile and offer high-quality rendering in both digital and print formats.
OTF is especially beneficial for projects requiring advanced typographic features, such as alternative characters, ligatures and glyphs.
Use TTF for general-purpose desktop publishing; opt for OTF if your project needs extensive customisation or is being prepared for high-quality print.
For Legacy Browser Compatibility: EOT
EOT was specifically developed by Microsoft for use with older Internet Explorer browsers (version 8 and below).
Although it is largely obsolete, it’s useful in rare cases where you need compatibility with legacy systems.
Include EOT only if your project specifically targets older versions of IE; otherwise, WOFF/WOFF2 will cover all major, modern browsers.
For Scalable Icons & Custom Graphics: SVG
SVG fonts are vector-based, making them ideal for logos, icons and high-resolution graphics that need to scale seamlessly without losing quality.
However, they are not ideal for body text due to limited browser support and lack of web-optimised performance. Use SVG fonts for unique graphic elements rather than body text on a website.
Final Thoughts
Understanding the different font file formats can elevate the impact of your design project by improving both visual appeal and performance.
With TTF and OTF, you have versatile options that offer quality across print and digital.
When it comes to websites, WOFF and WOFF2 are optimised to reduce file sizes and load times, making them ideal for modern browsers.
SVG fonts work best for scalable graphics and icons, while EOT serves legacy compatibility needs on older versions of Internet Explorer.
By learning how different font file types work when you’re focusing on web design or print, you can achieve the perfect balance of quality, speed and compatibility for any project.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common font formats?
The most widely used font formats are TTF and OTF for general use, WOFF/WOFF2 for web pages, SVG for scalable vector graphics and EOT for legacy Internet Explorer compatibility.
Which font format is best for websites?
WOFF or WOFF2 are best for websites due to their compression and broad browser compatibility, making them ideal for fast load times and consistent display across modern browsers.
What is the difference between TTF and OTF?
TTF is an older format offering basic compatibility across systems, while OTF builds on TTF with advanced typographic features like alternate glyphs and ligatures, making it ideal for detailed typography in print and digital.
Why is SVG used for fonts?
SVG fonts are vector-based, meaning they scale smoothly without losing quality, making them perfect for icons or logos on websites. However, they’re not as practical for standard web text due to limited browser support.
Is EOT still used today?
The EOT font is mostly obsolete, as it only works on older Internet Explorer versions. Today, it’s rarely used except in projects specifically targeting outdated systems.
Can I use multiple font formats on one website?
Yes, using multiple formats in a CSS @font-face rule is common practice to ensure cross-browser compatibility. Many designers include WOFF/WOFF2 for modern browsers and EOT for older versions of Internet Explorer.
To your success,
Jackson
