The Double-Edged Sword of Variable Fonts: Performance Trade-Offs Revealed
When it comes to web design, variable fonts have been hailed as a game-changer. They offer infinite typographical possibilities and promise to revolutionize website performance. But do they really deliver? In this article, we’ll dive into the world of variable fonts, exploring their benefits and drawbacks, and examining the performance trade-offs that come with using them.
What are Variable Fonts?
Variable fonts are a new breed of OpenType fonts that don’t come with preset font styles like bold, italic, or thin. Instead, they consist of one or more design axes that allow us to generate unique values for attributes like width, weight, slant, and many others. These design axes are chosen by the creator of the font and can differ from variable font to variable font.
The Performance Impact of Variable Fonts
So, how do variable fonts impact website performance? The answer is complex. On the one hand, variable fonts can improve performance because you only need to use one font file, reducing the number of HTTP requests. On the other hand, variable font files are huge, containing all possible variations, which can increase page load times.
The Challenge of Testing Variable Fonts
Testing variable fonts can be tricky because most variable fonts don’t have a static version, and vice versa. To overcome this challenge, we’ll compare the performance of Roboto Static Font with its variable counterpart, Roboto Variable Font.
The Test Cases
We’ll run three test cases to analyze the performance trade-off of variable fonts:
- Roboto Static Font with all its 12 variations: We’ll pull Roboto Static from Google’s CDN and add index.html and style.css locally.
- Roboto Static Font with all its 12 variations (self-hosted): We’ll add the @font-face rules manually and host the font files locally.
- Roboto Variable Font with 12 variations generated from a single variable font file: We’ll load the Roboto Variable Font locally and generate the 12 variations using the design axes.
The Results
The results are fascinating. In the first test case, we saw a total page size of 197kB and 15 HTTP requests. In the second test case, the total page size decreased to 196kB, but the number of HTTP requests remained the same. In the third test case, the number of HTTP requests dropped drastically to four, but the total page size increased to 1.41MB.
The Verdict
So, is using a variable font worth it? The answer depends on how the decrease in HTTP requests and the increase in total page size balance each other out. If you want to use several variations of the same typeface, using variable fonts is definitely a good option. However, if you want to use a font in an ordinary way, you may want to stick with the static version.
The Future of Variable Fonts
As variable fonts continue to evolve, the performance trade-off will become less of an issue. Design flexibility will become the primary consideration, allowing us to create website designs that were previously impossible.
Conclusion
In conclusion, variable fonts are a double-edged sword. While they offer incredible design possibilities, they come with significant performance trade-offs. By understanding these trade-offs, we can make informed decisions about when to use variable fonts and when to stick with traditional static fonts.