Keep text readable while fonts load
Open OptiWave → Fonts. Swap Font Display and Optimize Font Fallbacks are on by default. Swap shows fallback text while the web font downloads; fallback adjustments help reduce movement when it arrives.
Check headings, body text, and icon fonts on a cold load. These settings can reduce font-related shifts, but other page content can still move.
Choose a Google Fonts mode
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Disabled | Leaves Google Fonts handling to your theme and existing setup. |
| Combine (default) | Combines detected Google Fonts requests to reduce separate requests. Fonts still come from Google. |
| Self-Host | Downloads detected font files to your own server and rewrites their delivery URLs. |
Self-hosted files are stored under wp-content/cache/optiwave/fonts/. Check each language and weight your site uses. Self-hosting changes font delivery; review other third-party requests separately.
Preload only fonts needed immediately
Preload Fonts accepts a direct font-file URL per line. Start with the font used by your first visible heading or body text. Do not paste a Google Fonts stylesheet URL into this field.
Preload Critical Fonts (Cloud) is off by default. It uses prepared cloud data to identify fonts needed in the first view. Avoid adding a long manual list alongside automatic preloading: extra font downloads can compete with your main image.
Check fonts after saving
- Load a page in a private window and confirm text is readable before the custom font finishes.
- Check bold, italic, non-Latin text, and any icon fonts.
- For Self-Host, inspect font requests in the browser Network panel and confirm their delivery URL is local.
- If the wrong font appears, disable the latest font change, refresh the cache, and confirm the theme's original font works.
See the fonts screen
