WordPress.org Strongly Urges Theme Authors to Switch to Locally Hosted Webfonts – WP Tavern

In gentle of a latest German court docket case, which fined a website owner for violating the GDPR by using Google-hosted webfonts, WordPress.org’s themes workforce is updating its suggestions for internet hosting webfonts. Most theme authors have been enqueuing Google Fonts from the Google CDN for higher efficiency, however this technique exposes guests’ IP addresses.

“The themes workforce strongly encourages the theme authors to replace their themes,” Themes Workforce consultant @benachi mentioned in a latest announcement. “We advocate updating by switching to regionally hosted webfonts. Fortunately Google Fonts could be downloaded and bundled in a theme. Bundled font information enable customers to host webfonts regionally and adjust to GDPR.”

The Themes Workforce can be contemplating banning remotely hosted fonts transferring ahead and can focus on on the subsequent assembly.

Core contributors at the moment are engaged on updating all the default themes from Twenty Twelve by means of Twenty Seventeen to make use of regionally hosted webfonts. The duty had beforehand been mentioned however was renewed by a recent topic in the German support forums. A person created a small web site utilizing the Twenty Seventeen theme and mentioned he has been threatened by a website customer who cited the German court docket ruling. The ruling threatens a effective of €250,000.00 for every case of infringement or, alternatively, six months imprisonment, if the location proprietor doesn’t comply and continues to supply Google with IP addresses by means of their use of Google Fonts.

“Whereas within the newer default themes fonts acquired added as an asset, the older default themes remained untouched,” WordPress contributor Jessica Lyschik mentioned. “This will trigger points with customers not being conscious of each the authorized stuff and the truth that Google Fonts are straight utilized in default themes.

“We predict whereas it’s nonetheless broadly amongst plugins and different themes to make use of Google Fonts straight, the default themes of WordPress ought to be capable of used risk-free and compliant with the GDPR.”

The Themes Workforce recommends authors discuss with the Twenty Twenty-Two theme to learn to bundle regionally hosted webfont information utilizing theme.json. Another choice, for these utilizing capabilities.php, is to observe the Implementing a Webfonts API in WordPress Core tutorial.

Many theme authors could not replace their themes till compelled to by a ban from WordPress.org. Within the meantime, customers may think about including a plugin to host webfonts regionally. WordPress developer Xaver Birsak has created a small single-purpose plugin referred to as Local Google Fonts that routinely detects Google font sources and provides customers the choice to obtain them and use them regionally.

This plugin checks for fonts embedded by way of wp_enqueue_style. Customers who’re embedding Google fonts by way of @import might want to change that earlier than utilizing the plugin. It at present auto downloads new font variations if out there. Birsak has created it as a set-it-and-forget it sort of plugin. This can be a superb possibility for non-technical customers who’ve a theme that hasn’t but been up to date by the writer. Local Google Fonts is out there without cost on WordPress.org.