Using the default font in WordPress can improve your website’s performance, reduce page size, and improve user experience, along with tips for using an appropriate font size and fallback.
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) in the world, and for good reason. It’s easy to use, customizable, and has a massive community of developers creating themes and plugins to extend its functionality. However, a lot of users overlook the importance of optimizing their WordPress website for speed and performance.
One aspect of website optimization that is often overlooked is the use of fonts. Did you know that WordPress has a default font included that can be used for a minimalist website or blog? This can reduce the size of your website by a few KBs if you don’t use any other font.
The default font in WordPress is called “Open Sans” and it was designed by Steve Matteson. It’s a popular font that is used on many websites, and it’s included in the core WordPress installation. You can find it in the WordPress editor under the font dropdown list.
Using the default font can have a positive impact on your website’s performance because it doesn’t require an external or internal font to be loaded. External fonts are loaded from a remote server, which can slow down your website’s loading time, especially if the server is slow or far away from your visitors. Internal fonts are embedded in your website’s code, which can increase the page size and slow down the loading time.
By using the default font, you can reduce the number of HTTP requests made by your website, which can speed up the loading time. HTTP requests are made every time a web page is loaded and each request can add a few milliseconds to the loading time. The fewer requests your website makes, the faster it will load.
Using the default font can help to improve the user experience of your website. The font is easy to read and looks great on both desktop and mobile devices. It’s a versatile font that can be used for both headings and body text.
If you do decide to use the default font in WordPress, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Firstly, it’s important to use a font size that is appropriate for your website. The default font size in WordPress is 16px, which is a good size for body text. However, you may want to increase the font size for headings to make them stand out.
Also, you should consider using a font fallback. A font fallback is a backup font that is used in case the default font isn’t available on a visitor’s device. This ensures that your website remains readable and accessible even if the default font isn’t available.
To set a font fallback in WordPress, you can use CSS code. For example, the following code sets “Open Sans” as the default font and “Helvetica Neue” as the fallback font:
body {
font-family: ‘Open Sans’, sans-serif;
font-size: 16px;
}
h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 {
font-family: ‘Open Sans’, sans-serif;
font-weight: 700;
}
/* Font fallback for devices that don’t have Open Sans installed */
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Open Sans’;
font-style: normal;
font-weight: 400;
src: local(‘Helvetica Neue’), local(‘HelveticaNeue’), sans-serif;
}
Using the default font in WordPress can be a great way to optimize your website for speed and performance. It’s a versatile font that looks great on both desktop and mobile devices, and it doesn’t require an external or internal font to be loaded. By reducing the number of HTTP requests made by your website, you can speed up the loading time and improve the user experience. Just remember to use an appropriate font size and consider using a font fallback to ensure that your website remains accessible to all visitors.