This translation has not been editorially reviewed yet. The German version is authoritative. Deutsche Fassung →
Embedding web fonts locally: the easiest finding to fix
If fonts are loaded from a third-party server, a connection to it is established on every page visit — with the visitor's IP address. The check establishes whether fonts are embedded externally, and names the provider.
- This is the finding with the best ratio of effort to effect: download the font files, put them on your own server, reference them in the stylesheet. After that, the connection is gone, and the page usually loads faster too.
- Be careful with website builders and templates: they often embed fonts in several places — in the template head, in a module, in a stylesheet loaded afterwards. Replacing just one of them isn't enough.
- The side effect on load time is measurable and shows up in the Core Web Vitals audit area — an external font costs connection setup time and blocks text rendering.
FAQ
Does the appearance change when embedding locally?
No, they're the same files. You just need to make sure you take along all the weights and character sets you need — otherwise a bold weight or a special character ends up missing later.
Is an external font with no cookie harmless?
No. Even with no cookie, the IP address gets transmitted. That's exactly what this finding is about.