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Last updated on Feb 18, 2025
•4 mins read
Last updated on Feb 18, 2025
•4 mins read
In Next.js web development, achieving fast load times, optimized typography, and a consistent visual style is crucial for improving user experience. Google Fonts integration in Next.js is a powerful tool that helps you enhance font optimization and achieve zero layout shift.
This blog will walk you through integrating Google Fonts with Next Font, discuss the importance of custom fonts, and demonstrate how to manage local fonts and variable fonts for greater control over your font system.
Next.js provides native support for Google Fonts, making it easier to self-host web fonts and optimize their delivery automatically. Traditional methods of embedding fonts through external links can slow down your application and cause layout shifts. The next/font package simplifies this by providing a seamless way to manage custom fonts and local font files, reducing dependencies and ensuring faster page loads.
To start integrating Google Fonts using next/font, install the required package. The integration supports both variable fonts and non-variable fonts.
1npm install next@latest
Use the next/font/google module to import Google Fonts.
1// next.config.js 2import { Roboto } from 'next/font/google'; 3 4const roboto = Roboto({ 5 weight: ['400', '700'], 6 subsets: ['latin'], 7 variable: '--font-roboto', 8});
In this example, we define font weight, subsets, and a CSS variable for global styles.
In Next.js, the preferred approach is to apply fonts globally using the app router.
1// app/layout.js 2import './globals.css'; // Your global CSS file 3import { roboto } from './fonts'; 4 5export default function RootLayout({ children }) { 6 return ( 7 <html lang="en"> 8 <body className={roboto.className}> 9 {children} 10 </body> 11 </html> 12 ); 13}
The className property ensures the font family is applied globally, minimizing layout shift.
For custom local fonts, store local font files in the static assets folder and import them.
1import { createGlobalStyle } from 'styled-components'; 2import localFont from 'next/font/local'; 3 4const myFont = localFont({ 5 src: './fonts/MyFont.woff2', 6 variable: '--font-myfont', 7}); 8 9export const GlobalStyle = createGlobalStyle` 10 body { 11 font-family: var(--font-myfont); 12 } 13`;
This method allows you to manage local fonts with full control over font files, ensuring consistency and faster load times.
To add multiple fonts, repeat the import and define CSS variables for each. This ensures that your CSS file remains organized and scalable.
1import { Roboto, Lora } from 'next/font/google'; 2 3const roboto = Roboto({ 4 weight: '400', 5 variable: '--font-roboto', 6}); 7 8const lora = Lora({ 9 weight: '700', 10 variable: '--font-lora', 11});
Use CSS variables in your global styles to switch between font styles dynamically.
• Use variable fonts whenever possible to reduce the number of font files and improve loading speed.
• Apply global css variables for flexible font styles and font weight management.
• Ensure a fallback font is specified to avoid unstyled content.
1:root { 2 --font-primary: 'Roboto', sans-serif; 3} 4 5body { 6 font-family: var(--font-primary), Arial, sans-serif; 7}
Zero layout shift is critical for a smooth user experience. Next.js Google Font integration with next/font/local and local font files ensures underlying css size consistency and eliminates unexpected changes during page load.
Integrating Tailwind CSS with Next.js Google Fonts offers great flexibility in applying font styles consistently across your web application. Tailwind’s utility-based approach combined with global styles makes managing font families straightforward.
1// tailwind.config.js 2module.exports = { 3 theme: { 4 extend: { 5 fontFamily: { 6 sans: ['Roboto', 'sans-serif'], 7 }, 8 }, 9 }, 10};
Incorporating Google Fonts directly in your Tailwind CSS configuration allows you to maintain a clean CSS file while ensuring web fonts are applied consistently.
In some cases, you may want to load different font families for a specific page. Use conditional imports in your JS file to ensure that only the required fonts are loaded.
1if (page === 'about') { 2 import('./aboutFonts.js'); 3}
This strategy minimizes unnecessary requests, improving overall performance.
Integrating Next.js Google Font with the next/font package simplifies the process of adding and managing web fonts in your Next.js project. By using variable fonts, local fonts, and CSS variables, you can achieve consistent typography, faster load times, and a zero layout shift experience. For web development projects that demand precision and speed, this approach ensures scalable, optimized typography that enhances the visual appeal and usability of your web application.
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