...and there's your problem. Helvetica and Helvetica Neue both tend to look lousy on the web unless they're used in a graphic (where you get to control kerning

...and there's your problem. Helvetica and Helvetica Neue both tend to look lousy on the web unless they're used in a graphic (where you get to control kerning and antialiasing) or at a relatively small size (10-14pt equivalent), and then only in Safari for the most part. There are fonts that are just a little less elegant than the real Helveticas, fonts you wouldn't likely use in a print application, that render a whole lot better in browsers because they were designed for the screen and play with pixels better. Arial isn't one of my favorites, but it is a proven web font, and whatever else it may be it is certainly a Helvetica rip-off. Use Geneva then a Helvetica as fall-backs. Verdana makes great sans-serif body copy at small sizes, but it's a bit, um, portly for headings or body copy at large sizes. Some folks seem to like Tahoma, but I find it makes some weird word-shapes that slow my reading. It's worth a try. Other popular and widely-distributed fonts like Trebuchet, Calibri and Candara work well, but not in a design as sparse as yours (they're too, well, organic to work in a clinical setting). If you can find it in your heart to go serif (and you should whenever the text gets long), then georgia, garamond, palatino, "palatino linotype", serif; is what you want in almost every case. (Constantia is also pretty and readable, but less likely to be installed than Georgia, and damn Georgia sets well on the web.)