What properties control text and fonts?

Question

Accepted Answer

Typography is controlled by a family of `font-*` and `text-*` properties. Getting them right is most of what makes a page look polished and readable.

```css
.text {
  font-family: "Inter", system-ui, sans-serif; /* with fallbacks */
  font-size: 1rem;       /* size (use rem for accessibility) */
  font-weight: 600;      /* 100–900; 400 normal, 700 bold */
  font-style: italic;    /* normal | italic */
  line-height: 1.5;      /* spacing between lines — unitless is best */
  letter-spacing: 0.02em;/* tracking between characters */
}
```

## font-family fallback stacks

```css
font-family: "Inter", system-ui, -apple-system, sans-serif;
```

The browser tries each in order until one is available. Always end with a **generic family** (`sans-serif`, `serif`, `monospace`) so text renders even if custom fonts fail. `system-ui` uses the OS's native font (fast, no download).

## Text layout properties

```css
.text {
  text-align: center;        /* left | right | center | justify */
  text-decoration: underline;/* underline | line-through | none */
  text-transform: uppercase; /* UPPERCASE | lowercase | Capitalize */
  white-space: nowrap;       /* prevent wrapping */
  word-break: break-word;    /* break long words/URLs */
}
```

## line-height: use unitless values

```css
line-height: 1.5;    /* ✅ 1.5 × the element's font-size — scales correctly */
line-height: 24px;   /* ⚠️ fixed — doesn't adapt if font-size changes */
```

A **unitless** `line-height` multiplies each element's own font-size, so it stays proportional when nested elements have different sizes — the recommended approach.

## Truncating text (a common need)

```css
.truncate {
  white-space: nowrap;
  overflow: hidden;
  text-overflow: ellipsis; /* shows "..." when text is cut off */
}
```

## Why it matters

Text properties drive readability and visual hierarchy — `font-size`/`weight` for emphasis, `line-height` (~1.5) for comfortable reading, fallback stacks for reliability, and `text-overflow` for clean truncation.

Good typography is the bulk of good-looking UI.