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Gutenberg Changelog #92 – Twenty-Twenty-Four, WordPress 6.4 and Gutenberg 16.9 and 17.0

Birgit Pauli-Haack and Jessica Lyschik discuss the latest default theme, Twenty-Twenty-Four, the latest WordPress release 6.4 and the last two Gutenberg plugin releases. Show Notes / Transcript Show Notes Special Guest: Jessica Lyschik Announcements Community Contributions Discussion: How to handle custom settings screens in block themes WordPress 6.4 Twenty-Twenty-Four: new default theme Gutenberg releases Transcript […]

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Gutenberg Changelog #91 – WordPress 6.4, Gutenberg 16.8 and what’s in the works

Joni Halabi and Birgit Pauli-Haack discuss WordPress 6.4, Gutenberg 16.8 and what’s been worked on outside current releases Show Notes / Transcript Show Notes Joni Halabi, senior developer at Georgetown University What’s released First Dev Notes for WordPress 6.4 WordPress 6.4 Release Candidate 1 Gutenberg 16.8 What’s discussed and worked on Transcript Birgit Pauli-Haack: Hello […]

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Gutenberg Changelog #90 – New Testing Call for the FSE Program, Gutenberg 16.7 and WordPress 6.4

Tammie Lister and Birgit Pauli-Haack discuss the New Testing Call for the FSE Program, Gutenberg 16.7 and WordPress 6.4 Show Notes / Transcript Show Notes Announcements Core Editor Improvement: Commanding the Command Palette FSE Program Testing Call #26: Final touches Training Team Community Contributions Understanding block attributes by Michael Burridge What’s new for developers? (September […]

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Gutenberg Changelog #89 – Gutenberg 16.6, default theme and Font Library

Nadia Maya Ardiani and Birgit Pauli-Haack discuss Gutenberg 16.6, the new default theme Twenty-Twenty-Four, the Font Library and other upcoming features. Show Notes / Transcript Show Notes Nadia Maya Ardiani  contributor on the training team and WordCamp Asia, and content writer in Hostinger. Hostinger Experts series: Community Contributions Gutenberg 16.6 Documentation updates: In the works […]

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Gutenberg Changelog #88 – WordPress 6.4 and Gutenberg 16.4 and 16.5.

Ellen Bauer and Birgit Pauli-Haack discuss WordPress 6.4 and Gutenberg 16.4 and 16.5 and proposed wp-admin changes. Show Notes / Transcript Show Notes Ellen Bauer, co-founder Elma Studio WordPress 6.4 and more Gutenberg Phase 3: Collaboration & Workflow Admin Design Kickoff Transcript Birgit Pauli-Haack: Hello and welcome to our 88th episode of the Gutenberg Changelog […]

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Gutenberg Changelog #87 – Patterns, Gutenberg 16.3 and WordPress 6.3.

Anne McCarthy and Birgit Pauli-Haack chat about patterns, Gutenberg 16.3 and WordPress 6.3. Show Notes / Transcript Show Notes Anne McCarthy WordPress 6.3 Gutenberg 16.3 Transcript Birgit Pauli-Haack: Well, hello and welcome to our 87th episode of the Gutenberg Changelog podcast. In today’s episode, we will talk about Gutenberg 16.3 and WordPress 6.3. I’m your […]

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Gutenberg Changelog #86 – WordPress 6.3, Gutenberg 16.2 and Phase 3 Collaboration

Sarah Norris, JavaScript developer and 6.4 editor tech co-lead joined Birgit Pauli-Haack on the Gutenberg Changelog for the first time. They discussed WordPress 6.3, Gutenberg 16.2 and Phase 3 Collaboration Add a summary/excerpt here Show Notes / Transcript Show Notes Special Guest: Sarah Norris JavaScript Developer 6.4 editor tech co-lead Community Contributions and Announcements WordPress 6.3 […]

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Gutenberg Changelog #85 – Gutenberg 16.1, WordPress 6.3

Tammie Lister and Birgit Pauli-Haack discuss Gutenberg 16.1 and WordPress 6.3 and what’s coming to 6.3 Add a summary/excerpt here Show Notes / Transcript Show Notes Podcast With Tammie Lister: How Gutenberg Evolves and the Future of WordPress with Emma Young at Hostinger Creating Gutenberg – Live Q & A w/ leads Tammie Lister, Joen […]

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Gutenberg Changelog #83 – WordPress 6.2.1, Gutenberg 15.7, 15.8 and experiments

Fabian Kägy and Birgit Pauli-Haack discuss the new enhancements in Gutenberg plugin releases 15.7 and 15.8 as well as the Experiments available in the plugin. Show Notes / Transcript Special Guest: Fabian Kägy Announcements What’s released WordPress 6.2.1 + 6.2.2 Gutenberg 15.7 Gutenberg 15.8 What’s new in Gutenberg 15.8? (May 17) Experiments in Gutenberg Zoomed […]

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Gutenberg Changelog #82 – Gutenberg 15.6 and proposed schedule for WordPress 6.3

Nick Diego and Birgit Pauli-Haack discuss the most recent Gutenberg plugin release 15.6, the proposed schedule for WordPress 6.3 release in August of this year and a few things that are in the works. Show Notes / Transcript Special Guest: Nick Diego Announcements Community Contributions GiveWP: Visual Donation Form Builder in Beta Bring me your […]

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Gutenberg Changelog #81 – WordPress 6.2, Gutenberg 15.4 and 15.5, Phase 3 – Collaboration and a new Interactivity API

Leonardus Nugraha and Birgit Pauli-Haack discuss WordPress  6.2, Gutenberg Releases 15.4 and 15.5, Phase 3 of the Gutenberg Project and a new Proposal on Interactivity API. Show Notes / Transcript Leonardus Nugraha 20-Year WordPress Anniversary Community Contribution Block Visibility 3.0.0: A New Chapter Begins What’s released WordPress 6.2 Gutenberg 15.4 & 15.5 What’s in active […]

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Gutenberg Changelog #80 – WordPress 6.2 Preview, Gutenberg 15.2 and 15.3

Rich Tabor and Birgit Pauli-Haack chat about WordPress 6.2 Preview, Dev Notes and Fieldguide, Gutenberg 15.2 and 15.3. Show Notes / Transcript WordPress Developer Blog Summary: Community Themes Project Kickoff Rebuilding my website using a block theme by Felix Arntz WordPress 6.2 Dev Notes What’s new in Gutenberg 15.2? (22 February) Transcript Birgit Pauli-Haack: Hello […]

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Gutenberg Changelog #79 – WordPress 6.2, Gutenberg plugin versions 15.0 and 15.1

Birgit Pauli-Haack and Nick Diego discuss the high-priority items for WordPress 6.2, and the releases of the latest Gutenberg plugin versions 15.0 and 15.1. Show Notes / Transcript Nick Diego developer advocate at WP Engine, plugin developer and themes builder. He is also a core contributor. Running Triage sessions in the core editor channel and […]

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How to add typographic fonts to WordPress block themes

TL;DR: Use the Create Block Theme plugin to bundle fonts in your theme with just a few clicks.

WordPress block themes allow you to add fonts to a theme by adding the font file assets to the theme folder and referencing them in the theme.json. Editing a JSON file manually does not deliver the best user experience. The good news is you can use the plugin to make this task much simpler without technical trade-offs.

Disclaimer: The plugin is for development only and is not intended for live production websites because it modifies the currently active theme. It was conceived as a tool to create new production-ready themes.

Step by Step

  1. Install the Create Block Theme plugin.
  2. Activate the theme you want to manage.
  3. Go to Appearance -> Manage Theme Fonts.
  4. Add/Remove the font faces you want.

FAQS

How are the fonts bundled in my theme?

The plugin stores the font assets in a sub-folder of your theme ( <your-current-theme>/assets/fonts/ ) and adds font family definitions to your theme.json file. This is the case no matter if you upload a local font asset or use the Add Google Font option.

The plugin removes both the theme.json definition and the font assets if you remove a font face.

How are the fonts enqueued?

WordPress takes the font faces you added using the plugin, which are listed in your theme.json, and automatically converts them to CSS font face definitions which are included in the HTML page downloaded by the user browser.

Will adding many fonts make my theme too heavy?

Yes and no, or not necessarily. That can be counter-intuitive so let’s explore it in more detail. 

WordPress references all the font files needed in your site CSS to let the browser know what font assets may need to download.

Even though WordPress references many fonts, modern browsers are optimized to only download the fonts that are used in the page being loaded. It is important to note that browsers calculate this considering just the current page loaded and not on a site-wide basis.

For example, if you include an ultra-thin variant of the Inter font family, but there is not a single element (ex: paragraphs, links, etc.) using Inter ultra-thin variant, the browser will not download this font asset. In this case, the performance penalty for including this font is nearly zero.

Should I add a massive quantity of font faces to my theme “just in case”?

No, both from a performance and design perspective, having a good font pair is always advisable over a proliferation of too many different fonts. Also, if the font is not in use, what’s the point of including it?

There is no magical number of font faces you can or should include. But usually, less is more. Sticking to the minimal quantity required to implement the aesthetics you are looking for is always a good idea.

Can I include variable fonts in my theme?

As with any other font file, you can add variable font assets using the “Add Local Font” option. The plugin will add the font definition and asset just like any other type of font. You can use it just like that or adjust more options related to variable fonts by editing the theme.json file.

Is this solution GDPR compliant?

Yes, because the plugin bundles the font files in your theme, and your WordPress instance will serve them. No third-party servers or tracking technologies are involved in serving the fonts to your users. You don’t need to request extra permissions from your users to include the fonts.

More info

Do you need a more detailed step-by-step guide? No worries! Check out this great video tutorial about how to use the plugin.

Follow up

Have any questions about fonts and themes? Ask in the comments!

Gutenberg Changelog #76 – The new developer blog’s public beta, Gutenberg 14.5 and 14.6, and what’s coming up in 6.2. 

Ryan Welcher and Birgit Pauli-Haack discuss the new developer blog’s public beta, Gutenberg 14.5 and 14.6, and what’s in the works for the block editor. Show Notes / Transcript Show Notes Connect with Ryan Welcher Announcements WordPress Developer Blog What’s released Gutenberg Plugin Documentation What’s in active development or discussed Transcript Birgit Pauli-Haack: Hello and […]

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Gutenberg Changelog #74 – Gutenberg 14.2, 14.3, WordPress 6.1, Style Variations in Theme Directory, Course on Gutenberg Data Layer

Birgit Pauli-Haack and Dave Smith discuss Gutenberg 14.2, 14.3, WordPress 6.1, Style Variations in Theme Directory and a Developer Course on Gutenberg Data Layer Show Notes / Transcript Show Notes Special Guest: Dave Smith WordPress 6.1 Community Contributions Gutenberg Plugin 14.2 Gutenberg Plugin 14.3 Release lead: Aaron Robertshaw What’s in the Works? Transcript Birgit Pauli-Haack: […]

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