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Opened 7 weeks ago

#7969 new enhancement

[Proposal] Enhance CJK Typography Consistency on WordPress.org Rosetta Sites with Noto Sans/Serif Variable Fonts

Reported by: kimjiwoon's profile kimjiwoon Owned by:
Milestone: Priority: normal
Component: International Sites (Rosetta) Keywords:
Cc:

Description

​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

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### 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).
  1. 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.
  1. 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).
  1. 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.

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### 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.

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### 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.

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### References

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### 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.

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Submitted by:
Jiwoon Kim (김지운)
Busan, Republic of Korea
​https://github.com/WordPress/wporg-main-2022/issues/558

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