angular / angular/angular-cli

Built-In Font Optimization: Improve Angular Performance & Core Web Vitals

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#27,038 9 comments 21 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
angular/build:application area: @angular/build feature feature: insufficient votes
Dominant language
TypeScript
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Description

### Which @angular/* package(s) are relevant/related to the feature request?

@angular/core and @angular/cli

### Problems :

- Using custom fonts from **Google Fonts** can significantly impact FCP, LCP and initial load performance in Angular applications.

- Downloading fonts from Google servers adds **extra HTTP requests** and **latency**, slowing down initial paint times.

- The **font swapping** has the potential to cause layout shifts and so impact Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).

### Proposed Solution :

- Introduce a **built-in** **mechanism** in Angular to **automatically downloads fonts** specified by their Google Fonts names (or similar identifiers) during the build process and **self-host fonts** within the application, eliminating the need for external font services like Google Fonts.

- Utilize **preconnect**, **preload**, and **size-adjust** for optimal performance and seamless font rendering.

### Benefits :

- **Improved Performance:** Reduces reliance on external requests, minimizes layout shifts (thanks to the underlying CSS size-adjust) , and enables efficient caching.

- **Improved FCP and LCP:** Optimized fonts and proactive loading strategies contribute to significantly faster loading times and smoother user experiences.

- **Enhanced SEO:** Better Core Web Vitals can lead to higher search engine ranking and increased website traffic.

- **Enhanced Security:** Minimizes exposure to external vulnerabilities and provides more control over font sources.

- **Developer Experience:** Built-in font optimization in Angular improves developer experience.

### Alternatives considered

Anyone interested is welcome to comment on what the proposed syntax and feature set will be.

Inspired by next.js automatic font self-hosting library ( [next/font](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/components/font) )

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by reviewing the @angular/core and @angular/cli areas involved in build-time font handling, and compare the proposed behavior with Next.js next/font. Define the supported font identifiers, build-time download and self-hosting flow, and the preconnect, preload, and size-adjust behavior before implementation. Done means the feature works for Google Fonts and improves the stated loading and layout-shift goals.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
angular, typescript
Domain
cli, frontend, performance
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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