Dana is an SEO freelancer working with a client who is redesigning their website. The client’s designer has come up with a design that uses four custom fonts, but Dana voices their concern that this could have a negative impact on the site’s performance. How can Dana explain this issue to their client, and what solution can they propose?
- Using custom fonts is looked up unfavorably by Google, as they prefer designers to use exclusively Google fonts to promote their brand. The designer should use Google fonts in order to comply with these guidelines.
- Using more than two fonts of any kind can confuse users, provide a poor user experience, and increase the page’s LCP. Instead, the designer should use just a single Google font across the entire site.
- Using more than two custom fonts can cause fonts to flicker on loading, showing a flash of unstyled text. This is a poor user experience and increases the CLS score. Instead, the designer should try to find comparable Google fonts to use.
Explanation: The correct answer is Using more than two custom fonts can cause fonts to flicker on loading, showing a flash of unstyled text. This is a poor user experience and increases the CLS score. Instead, the designer should try to find comparable Google fonts to use. Dana can explain to their client that incorporating multiple custom fonts can lead to a phenomenon known as ‘flash of unstyled text’ (FOUT), where text briefly appears in a default font before being replaced by the custom font, causing a jarring visual experience for users. This issue not only detracts from the website’s aesthetic appeal but also contributes to a poor Core Web Vitals metric, specifically the Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) score, which measures visual stability. Dana can propose using comparable Google fonts as an alternative, as Google fonts are widely supported, load quickly, and are less likely to cause FOUT. By adhering to this approach, the client can maintain a visually appealing design while optimizing performance and user experience, aligning with best practices for web development and SEO.