Not all browsers support all the fonts.
So, giving multiple font families select the font that is supported by the browser, starting from the first font. If first font is supported then it is used, otherwise it checks if next font is supported and so on. The leftmost font that is supported is used.
font-family: "Lato", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
In this case, Lato
is not supported by all browsers. So, next font Helvetica Neue
is checked.
You'll also notice that the last fonts are common, that are supported by all browsers Arial
and sans-serif
in this case.
FROM MDN
The font-family CSS property lets you specify a prioritized list of font family names and/or generic family names for the selected element. Values are separated by a comma to indicate that they are alternatives. The browser will select the first font on the list that is installed on the computer or that can be downloaded using a @font-face at-rule.
Web authors should always add at least one generic family in a font-family list, since there's no guarantee that a specific font is installed on the computer or can be downloaded using a @font-face at-rule. The generic family lets the browser select an acceptable fallback font when needed.