[wp-meta] [Making WordPress.org] #7969: [Proposal] Enhance CJK Typography Consistency on WordPress.org Rosetta Sites with Noto Sans/Serif Variable Fonts
Making WordPress.org
noreply at wordpress.org
Sat May 3 15:48:05 UTC 2025
#7969: [Proposal] Enhance CJK Typography Consistency on WordPress.org Rosetta
Sites with Noto Sans/Serif Variable Fonts
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Reporter: kimjiwoon | Owner: (none)
Type: enhancement | Status: new
Priority: normal | Milestone:
Component: International Sites (Rosetta) | Keywords:
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https://github.com/WordPress/wporg-main-2022/issues/558
### **Background**
Currently, [WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org) officially uses **EB
Garamond** for serif and **Inter** for sans-serif as its global font
stack. While these fonts provide excellent readability and aesthetics for
Latin scripts, they do not offer comprehensive support or optimal
rendering for CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) and other East Asian
languages. As a result, Rosetta sites for Korea, China, Japan, Hong Kong,
Singapore, and Taiwan often fall back to system default fonts, resulting
in inconsistent typography and user experience across regions.
- **EB Garamond**: Excellent for Latin, but lacks CJK glyphs.
- **Inter**: Designed for Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic; not suitable for
CJK.
- **Roboto**: Used on Android, but falls back to Noto for CJK languages.
#### **Relevant Issues & References**
- [Japanese version font adjustment #432](https://github.com/WordPress
/wporg-main-2022/issues/432)
- [Add CJK subset font support #149](https://github.com/WordPress/wporg-
parent-2021/issues/149#issue-2451679889)
- [Noto Fonts Overview](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noto_fonts)
- [Google Fonts Noto CJK](https://fonts.google.com/noto)
- [Variable Fonts on the
Web](https://fonts.google.com/knowledge/using_variable_fonts_on_the_web)
---
### **Proposal**
**Adopt [Noto Sans/Serif CJK variable
fonts](https://fonts.google.com/noto) as the default font family for all
East Asian WordPress.org Rosetta sites (Korean, Japanese,
Simplified/Traditional Chinese, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan).**
#### **Key Points:**
1. **Consistency & Readability**
- Noto Sans/Serif CJK fonts are co-developed by Google and Adobe (also
known as Source Han), designed to harmonize with Latin, Hangul, Hanzi, and
Kana scripts.
- Provides a unified visual identity and professional appearance across
all CJK Rosetta sites.
- Supports multiple regional variants (e.g., Noto Sans JP, KR, SC, TC,
HK).
2. **Comprehensive Language Coverage**
- Noto CJK covers not only standard Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, but
also regional scripts (Ainu, Okinawan, Cantonese, etc.).
- Ensures all CJK glyphs are rendered consistently, avoiding fallback
issues.
3. **Performance Optimization**
- Use **variable font** versions of Noto Sans/Serif to minimize file
size and improve loading times.
- Implement font subsetting (e.g., only load JP, KR, SC, TC, or HK as
needed per locale).
4. **Modern Web Standards**
- Noto CJK variable fonts are fully supported in modern browsers and
can be self-hosted or served via Google Fonts CDN.
- Aligns with Material Design and international best practices for
multilingual web typography.
---
### **Implementation Suggestions**
- Update the WordPress.org global stylesheet for CJK Rosetta sites to:
```css
/* Example for Korean */
font-family: 'Noto Sans KR', 'Noto Sans', 'Apple SD Gothic Neo', 'Malgun
Gothic', sans-serif;
/* Example for Japanese */
font-family: 'Noto Sans JP', 'Noto Sans', 'Hiragino Sans', 'Meiryo',
sans-serif;
/* Example for Traditional Chinese */
font-family: 'Noto Sans TC', 'Noto Sans', 'PingFang TC', 'Microsoft
JhengHei', sans-serif;
```
- Use the [variable
font](https://fonts.google.com/knowledge/using_variable_fonts_on_the_web)
format for optimal performance.
- Provide both Sans and Serif variants for headings and body text as
appropriate.
---
### **Benefits**
- **Unified and professional CJK typography** across all WordPress.org
East Asian sites.
- **Improved accessibility and readability** for millions of users in
Korea, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan.
- **Performance gains** via variable font technology and subsetting.
- **Future-proof**: Noto fonts are actively maintained and widely adopted.
---
### **References**
- [Noto Sans JP](https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Sans+JP)
- [Noto Serif JP](https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Serif+JP)
- [Noto Sans KR](https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Sans+KR)
- [Noto Serif KR](https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Serif+KR)
- [Noto Sans TC](https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Sans+TC)
- [Noto Serif TC](https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Serif+TC)
- [Noto Sans SC](https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Sans+SC)
- [Noto Serif SC](https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Serif+SC)
- [Noto Sans HK](https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Sans+HK)
- [Noto Serif HK](https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Serif+HK)
---
### **Conclusion**
By adopting Noto Sans/Serif CJK variable fonts as the default for East
Asian Rosetta sites, WordPress.org can deliver a consistent, accessible,
and modern user experience for all CJK users. This change will align
WordPress.org with global best practices and ensure the platform remains
welcoming and visually coherent for the entire East Asian community.
---
**Submitted by:**
Jiwoon Kim (김지운)
Busan, Republic of Korea
https://github.com/WordPress/wporg-main-2022/issues/558
--
Ticket URL: <https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/7969>
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