Use This Checklist Before Every Launch
Font problems discovered after launch cost more to fix — and may already have exposed you to infringement during soft launch and QA traffic.
Print this list or add it to your project management tool as a required gate.
Design Phase
- Brand guidelines specify web-licensed fonts (not just desktop)
- Every typeface has a documented vendor and license type
- Adobe Fonts selections confirmed against active subscription
- Open-source fonts verified (OFL / Apache — not "free download" sites)
- Fallback font stack defined for all custom fonts
Development Phase
- No fonts copied from designer machines without web license
-
@font-facefiles traceable to licensed source - Only required weights loaded (not entire family "just in case")
- No Adobe Fonts
.wofffiles self-hosted - Third-party widgets and embeds checked for font imports
- PDFs and downloadable assets checked for embedded fonts
Pre-Launch QA
- Full-domain font scan completed on staging environment
- Every detected commercial font has matching license documentation
- Per-page report reviewed — not just homepage
- 404, checkout, and legal pages included in crawl
- Mobile and desktop templates both covered
- Remediation completed for all flagged fonts
Infrastructure
- Font files served with correct cache headers
- WOFF2 format used for modern browsers
-
font-display: swapset for performance - CDN paths for fonts included in deployment pipeline
- Font assets versioned (cache bust on replacement)
Handoff Documentation
- Font inventory delivered to client/stakeholder
- License PDFs stored in shared project folder
- Renewal dates noted for subscription fonts (Adobe, etc.)
- Approved open-source alternatives documented for future redesigns
- Scan report archived as proof of pre-launch audit
Post-Launch
- Re-scan production URL after DNS cutover
- Calendar reminder for quarterly font audit
- Process defined for adding new fonts (approval + license check)
- Agency contract includes font warranty language (if applicable)
Quick Reference: Font Status Actions
| Scan result | Action before launch |
|---|---|
| ✅ Open-source (OFL) | Proceed — keep attribution if required |
| ⚠️ Unknown self-hosted | Verify EULA — do not launch until confirmed |
| 🔴 Known commercial font | License or replace — no exceptions |
| 🔵 Adobe Fonts CDN | Confirm active subscription covers this project |
| 🟣 Icon font (e.g. FA Pro) | Verify icon license separate from web font |
Automate the Hard Part
Manual checklist items matter — but crawling every page for every font file does not scale manually. Run FontScanner on staging before sign-off to catch what humans miss.
Conclusion
Font compliance is a launch requirement, not a nice-to-have. Ten minutes with this checklist and an automated scan can save months of legal headache.