Google Fonts still loading?
How to find the source
The font is hosted locally, and the shop still calls fonts.googleapis.com. Usually a plugin, a page builder or an embedded element brings a second copy.
Where Google Fonts come from
The address is always the same, the way there is not. The right column says how to recognise the source.
| What | EU reference |
|---|---|
| Theme setting Many themes load the chosen font straight from Google. An option to load fonts locally, or a system font, ends that. | Theme options, typography |
| Page builder Page builders load fonts per element and usually have their own switch to load them locally or turn them off. | The builder's wp-content/plugins/ folder |
| Another plugin Sliders, forms, review or chat widgets bring their own fonts. The Initiator shows the plugin folder. | wp-content/plugins/…/ |
| Embedded element The font comes with the embedded content. The only fix: load the element after a click. | iframe, e.g. YouTube or Google Maps |
| CSS with @import An @import line with fonts.googleapis.com in the CSS loads the font even when the HTML shows nothing. | style.css, custom CSS |
Step by step
Find the call
Open the page in a private window, developer tools (F12), Network tab, type “fonts.g” into the filter and reload. Every row is a call to Google.
Read the initiator
Click the fonts.googleapis.com row, Initiator tab. A path under wp-content/plugins/ names the plugin, wp-content/themes/ the theme. If it only shows the page itself, a theme or plugin writes the link into the page head; search the source (Ctrl+U) for it.
Switch off or self-host
In the plugin or theme you found, switch the Google Fonts option off or to local. If that is not possible: download the font (for example with google-webfonts-helper), load it with @font-face from your own server and remove the Google address. In WordPress the OMGF plugin does this, for example.
Measure again
Reload with the filter, also on the product page and checkout. Only when no row appears does the font come from your own server everywhere.
Questions
I host the font locally. Why does it still load?
Usually there is a second source: a plugin or page builder loads the same or another font from Google. The Initiator in the Network tab shows which.
What is fonts.gstatic.com?
It holds the font files; the CSS file from fonts.googleapis.com points to it. Both disappear once the source is switched off.
Does this apply to Shopify too?
Shopify serves the theme editor's fonts from its own servers. If Google Fonts still load, the link usually sits in an app or in the theme code (theme.liquid).
What a scan shows
It opens the home page, a product page and the checkout and records for every third-party service which file loaded it. For Google Fonts the report names the plugin or theme with its folder where it can be seen. Look yourself: Check your cookie banner.
As of 11 October 2026. We name the reference so you can read it yourself; this is not legal advice.
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