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Troubleshooting Common Font Issues in Twenty Twenty-Five

29 threads Sep 16, 2025 Theme → Twenty twenty-five

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Many users of the Twenty Twenty-Five theme encounter issues with font management, a core part of the block theme experience. This guide compiles the most common font-related problems and their solutions, based on community reports and troubleshooting.

Common Font Problems and Their Solutions

1. Font Library or "Manage Fonts" Option Not Visible

Some users report that the documented path to the Font Library (Appearance > Editor > Styles icon > Typography > Manage fonts) does not work as expected.

Solution: The interface may have evolved. Try navigating to a specific font within a Typeset and clicking on it, or look for an adjustment icon (often a slider) next to the "Fonts" label to access the library. If changes made here don't save, it could indicate a temporary bug; ensure your WordPress and theme versions are up to date.

2. Custom CSS for Third-Party Elements Not Applying

When adding custom CSS (e.g., for a shopping cart icon from a plugin) via the Advanced tab in a block, the styles might not take effect, even if the same CSS works in other themes.

Solution: This is often due to CSS specificity. The Twenty Twenty-Five theme's stylesheet may have more specific selectors that override your custom CSS. Use your browser's developer tools to inspect the element and identify the exact selector being applied by the theme. Then, craft your custom CSS to be more specific, or use the !important declaration as a last resort. Add this CSS to the Additional CSS section in the Customizer (Appearance > Customize) for a more global application.

3. Font Display Property Not Changing from "fallback"

When defining a custom font in a child theme's theme.json with "fontDisplay": "swap", the output in the page source may still show the default font-display: fallback.

Solution: This appears to be a limitation or bug in how the theme processes the fontDisplay property in theme.json. A more reliable workaround is to use the wp_theme_json_data_default filter in your child theme's functions.php file to modify the theme data and explicitly set the fontDisplay property for your font faces programmatically.

4. Font Appearance Differs Between Editor and Front End

After uploading and selecting a font (e.g., Source Sans Pro), its appearance in the editor might look incorrect (like Times New Roman), but it displays correctly on the front end, or vice versa.

Solution: This is typically a font loading issue in the editor environment. Clear your browser cache and any server-side caching. If the problem persists, try deleting the font from the Font Library and re-uploading it. Ensure the font file itself is not corrupt.

5. Cannot Reinstall Previously Removed Fonts

After removing font variations, attempting to reinstall them results in an error: "A font face matching those settings already exists," even though they are not visible.

Solution: This indicates a potential bug where the font data is not fully purged from the database. A common fix is to use a database management tool (like phpMyAdmin) to carefully search for and delete any lingering font records in the wp_posts table where the post type is wp_font_family or wp_font_face. Always create a full database backup before performing any manual database operations.

6. CORS Errors on Bundled Fonts After Migration

After migrating a site to a new host, browser console errors may appear regarding CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) policies blocking the loading of font files (WOFF/WOFF2) that are bundled with the theme.

Solution: CORS errors are server configuration issues. Contact your new hosting provider and ask them to ensure that the server is configured to send the correct CORS headers for font files (.woff, .woff2). As a temporary workaround, you can re-download the theme files by reinstalling the Twenty Twenty-Five theme. Download the theme ZIP from the official directory and upload it manually via the Appearance > Themes > Add New > Upload Theme screen.

General Best Practices

  • Use a Child Theme: Always use a child theme for any customizations, including font changes via theme.json or custom functions. This prevents your modifications from being overwritten during theme updates.
  • Clear Caches: After making font changes, clear all caching layers—browser, plugin, and server—to see the changes immediately.
  • Check for Updates: Ensure WordPress and the Twenty Twenty-Five theme are updated to the latest versions, as many font-related bugs are actively being fixed.

If these solutions do not resolve your specific font issue, describing your problem in detail on independent support forums can help the community provide further assistance.

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