---
title: "When to preload fonts?"
description: "Find the cases in which you would find the need to preload the fonts on your website."
source: "https://www.launchfa.st/blog/when-to-preload-fonts"
author: "Rishi Raj Jain"
created_at: 2024-03-20T00:00:00.000Z
---
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Recently, I received a great question of when to preload fonts with the package, [astro-font](https://github.com/rishi-raj-jain/astro-font).
Well, the answer is not specific to the usage of **astro-font** but rather it's a technical tradeoff you would want to think about.
In the following answer, it's assumed that you're using a library (like **astro-font**) that generates the fallback font for your specific font.
- Using preload is not affected by the origin of the font, whether local or over CDN.
- Using preload is specific to the nature of your website font loads and their priority:
- Case 1: If I have say a designer website with fonts of a very specific kind and I'm okay with users seeing a fallback font (generated to match the font of your choice) I do not need to use preload. Having a fallback font allows me to get rid of layout shifts.
- Case 2: If I have say a designer website with fonts of a very specific kind BUT I'm NOT okay with users seeing a fallback font, I do need to use preload to make sure that the fonts receive higher priority on the network waterfall.
- Case 3: If I do not have a designer website but still I want the font of my choice to be visible to users as soon as they open up the page, I'd need to use preload.
- Case 4: If I do not have a designer website and I'm okay with users seeing a fallback font I do not need to use preload. Having a fallback font allows me to get rid of layout shifts.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/direct_messages/create/rishi_raj_jain_).