Web Font Loading Strategies

Performance considerations for web fonts

speed Loading Strategies

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font-display: swap

Shows fallback text immediately, then swaps in custom font once loaded

thumb_up Pros
check No content invisible
check Better perceived performance
thumb_down Cons
close Flash of unstyled text
block
font-display: block

Briefly shows invisible text, then either custom font or fallback

thumb_up Pros
check No layout shift
check Consistent appearance
thumb_down Cons
close Flash of invisible text
backup
font-display: fallback

Similar to swap but with very short invisible period

thumb_up Pros
check Balanced approach
check Good for body text
thumb_down Cons
close Still some layout shift
priority_high
font-display: optional

Gives font extremely short time to load, then uses fallback

thumb_up Pros
check Fastest rendering
check No layout shift
thumb_down Cons
close Custom font may never show
@font-face {
  font-family: 'MyFont';
  src: url('myfont.woff2') format('woff2');
  font-display: swap;
}

tips_and_updates Performance Tips

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Use WOFF2 format for best compression

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Subset fonts to only include characters you need

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Use preconnect for font delivery services

check_circle

Consider self-hosting for better control

check_circle

Implement font loading API for critical fonts

Web font loading performance