May 31, 2023
For those of you who need to comply with the European GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and are desperate because that means not being able to use free Google Fonts on their website… fear not, because there is a way to use them anyways – completely GDPR compliant! 🙂
The general issue with Google Fonts is that if you choose them under DESIGN SETTING in Showit they are pulled directly from the Google servers which are outside of the European Union, which makes them not GDPR compliant. So, don’t do that! 😉
What you can do instead is to download them and then upload them under the CUSTOM FONTS section. What that does is basically cut off that connection to the Google servers because you downloaded them instead of having Showit use them directly from Google. How that is done is shown in the guide below.
DISCLAIMER: I am no legal expert. This is no legal advice. Please do your own additional research on this topic before implementing it on your website.
Step 1: Download your Google Fonts
First, go to fonts.google.com and download your font:
After the download you will find a ZIP file with the fonts. Unzip and open it:
Step 2: Convert .ttf files into .woff files
As you can see, all of the files are .ttf files. Those don’t work in Showit. You must convert them into .woff files to be able to use them on your website.
To do so, log into your Showit account and go to DESIGN SETTING > FONTS and open the Font Squirrel link:
Click on UPLOAD FONTS and choose the fonts that you just downloaded from Google Fonts. You can upload several fonts at a time.
Then tick the Agreement box (because Google Fonts are legally eligible for web embedding) and finally click DOWNLOAD YOUR KIT:
Again, you will get a ZIP file that you need to unzip and which will include the following:
Step 3: Upload the .woff files to Showit
Return to Showit and open the Media Library. I recommend creating a new Fonts folder where you can upload all of your fonts.
Simply upload your .woff (not the .woff2) files that you just downloaded from Font Squirrel to the Fonts folder.
Return to DESIGN SETTINGS. In LIBRARY WOFF choose the font you just uploaded, name it, and tick the licence box. Then click on ADD CUSTOM FONT:
Your font will then show up in the ACTIVE FONTS list on the right hand side and you will be able to use it on your website, totally free and GDPR compliant!
Have fun experimenting with your fonts,
Miriam
