Web Fonts

Tack, Top Nerd in Residence (a term I use with much due respect and deference) here at Traction, let the team in on a really interesting update on the current state of fonts on the web.

I'd like to take the opportunity to go into the current state of fonts on the web. There actually has been a mechanism in CSS for using any font you want, even if it isn't on the user's computer, for a long time. It's called @font-face. The thing is that this is another case where everybody at the party is wearing tuxes and evening gowns, except internet explorer which is wearing a leisure suit and swim flippers. Because fonts are copyrighted, browser vendors have taken 2 approaches to linking to them. All the sane browsers assume we're all adults, will purchase the fonts like we do with stock images and allow you to throw any truetype font you want on your web server and link to it in your code. Microsoft wants to have central repositories of fonts and DRM in cahoots with font vendors. So they've got another completely different font format they are pushing and don't support truetype. Well... your font may not exist in both formats so we end up in the same verdana et al situation. If we want uniform typography across browsers we can only use fonts that are everywhere.

If we ever get a web project where we don't care about IE, go nuts with fonts.

Thanks to Tack for all this blog post fodder. You are the wind beneath these wings.

Have a content strategy

I was just quote in an article in AirTran Magazine (don't ask me how I got quoted in an article in AirTran Magazine). I was asked to comment on how small businesses can improve their websites. I think my answer applies to plenty of not-so-small businesses too. You can read it when you fly from Atlanta to Albuquerque or you can read it here:

HAVE A CONTENT STRATEGY

If you want your site to support your business well, focus on your objectives early. “What are you trying to accomplish with your site? Getting leads to the sales force, online sales and marketing are all common goals,” says Adam Kleinberg, CEO of Traction, a branding agency in San Francisco whose clients have included Adobe, Wal-Mart and CamelBak...

“Start with your objective—let’s say driving sales—and ask yourself, ‘What can I do to make that happen?’” Kleinberg says. “If by driving sales you mean ‘enabling e-commerce,’ you could have a special offer featured prominently on your home page. On the other hand, if to you driving sales means ‘generating leads for sales guys,’ then perhaps a link to a free webinar with an opt-in email registration is better content. Th e content on your site should map back to your goals, and a clear ‘call-to-action’ should direct users toward the next step in their interaction with your site.”