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A font stack is a list of fonts defined in order of preference, used to control how text appears when the preferred font isn't available. In HTML emails, getting the font stack right is essential—many email clients don't support web fonts, so fallback options ensure your message stays readable and on-brand across all devices and platforms.
The NSW Government uses Public Sans as the primary typeface for all digital communications, including email templates. This open-source, sans-serif font is designed for clarity and accessibility across various devices and screen sizes.
Where email clients support web fonts—such as Apple Mail on iOS—Public Sans will load. For clients that don't support web fonts, like Microsoft Outlook for Windows, fallback fonts are used to maintain a readable and professional appearance.
In the compiled HTML, use this fallback font stack:
"Public Sans", system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"This order prioritises readability across platforms:
sans-serifOutlook for Windows does not load web fonts. To avoid the fallback defaulting to Times New Roman, we add an MSO–only style that forces a safe Windows font–"Segoe UI", sans–serif–to avoid Times New Roman fallbacks.
<!--[if mso]>
<style>
td,th,div,p,a,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; }
</style>
<![endif]-->This ensures consistent rendering for users with Microsoft Outlook on Windows.
In the compiled HTML examples, text blocks use a fallback chain so copy stays readable when web fonts aren't loaded:
<td style='font-family:"Public Sans", system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol";'>
…
</td>This inline declaration also ensures that even if the client strips <head> styles, text remains legible and on–brand.