How to use Google Fonts in Flutter

Key takeaways:

  • Adding Google Fonts to a Flutter project is straightforward, requiring the addition of the google_fonts package in pubspec.yaml, importing the package, and applying the desired font styles to widgets.

  • Google Fonts supports various styles, weights, and features, such as dynamic font loading, text scaling for accessibility, and applying custom fonts to AppBar, buttons, and form fields.

  • Define a global text theme using Google Fonts to ensure consistent typography across the entire application, reducing repetitive styling in individual widgets.

  • Fonts are cached locally upon first download, improving load times for subsequent uses. To mitigate dynamic loading delays, preload frequently used fonts and use fallback fonts for seamless user experience.

Google Fonts is a free and open-source font library that can enhance the typography and design of our Flutter applications. Using Google Fonts, we can easily access a wide range of font styles and weights, making our app visually appealing and unique. In this Answer, we'll walk through the steps to integrate Google Fonts into our Flutter project.

Steps to integrate Google Fonts into a Flutter project

To add Google Fonts to our Flutter project, we need to follow the following steps:

  1. Adding dependency

  2. Adding import package statement

  3. Using Google Fonts in the Text widget

Step 1: Adding dependency

To begin using Google Fonts, we must install the necessary package. For this purpose, we will open the pubspec.yaml in our dart project and add the following line under the "dependencies" section:

dependencies
  google_fonts:

Leaving the version number empty will automatically install the latest version of the package.

After making the changes, we can install the package in two ways:

  • Right-click the pubspec.yaml file and click "get packages."

  • Write the following command in the terminal.

flutter pub get

We can skip all the above steps and just run the following command, which will automatically install the latest version of google_fonts package.

flutter pub add google_fonts

Step 2: Adding import package statement

Now we can import the package into the Dart file by adding the following line of code in the Dart file where we want to implement the google_fonts function:

import 'package:google_fonts/google_fonts.dart';

We can use Google Fonts in our project, but there are multiple methods. We will explore them one by one.

Step 3: Using Google Fonts in the Text widget

We can add Lobster font as the style for our Text widget using the following lines of code:

Text(
  'Welcome to Educative.io',
  style: GoogleFonts.Lobster(),
),

Or, if we want to load the font dynamically:

Text(
  'Welcome to Educative.io',
  style: GoogleFonts.getFont('Lobster'),
),

The above font will look like this, we will see the complete output later.

Text with "Lobster" Google font
Text with "Lobster" Google font

Exploring additional font customizations

You can further customize your fonts with different weights, styles, and more:

Font weights and styles: Google fonts supports various font weights and styles. Here’s how to use bold and italic styles with the Roboto font:

Text(
  'Hello, Flutter!',
  style: GoogleFonts.roboto(
    fontWeight: FontWeight.w700, // Bold
    fontStyle: FontStyle.italic, // Italic
  ),
);

Text scale factor: To make fonts responsive to user settings (important for accessibility), you can set the textScaleFactor property in your Text widget. This scales text proportionally across different devices.

Applying Google Fonts to different widgets

You’re not limited to using Google Fonts only in Text widgets; you can apply them to various other text-based widgets:

AppBar: Add a Google font to your app’s title for a customized look:

AppBar(
  title: Text(
    'My App',
    style: GoogleFonts.lobster(),
  ),
);

Buttons and form fields: Apply Google Fonts to buttons or form fields to create a consistent design:

ElevatedButton(
  onPressed: () {},
  child: Text(
    'Click Me',
    style: GoogleFonts.lobster(),
  ),
);

Using Google Fonts at App level

We can use an entire text theme for our project to use a specific Google font using the following lines of code.

...
  return MaterialApp(
    theme: _buildTheme(Brightness.dark),
  );
}
ThemeData _buildTheme(brightness) {
  var baseTheme = ThemeData(brightness: brightness);
  return baseTheme.copyWith(
    textTheme: GoogleFonts.latoTextTheme(baseTheme.textTheme),
  );
}

After defining the font theme at the app level, we can simply define Text widgets as:

Text(
  'Welcome to Educative.io',
),

Creating a custom text theme

To apply a specific Google font as the main typography style for the entire app, you can set up a custom TextTheme:

MaterialApp(
  theme: ThemeData(
    textTheme: GoogleFonts.poppinsTextTheme(),
  ),
  home: MyHomePage(),
);

With this setup, all text elements in the app will automatically use the Poppins font, unless specified otherwise, ensuring consistency across your app.

Code example

In the code below, we have declared Google Fonts at app level using the code we have explained above. We have used a Column to display two Text widgets whose font style we haven't declared as it is already declared on the app level.

name: flutter_simple_web_app
description: A simple web app with Flutter

version: 1.0.0+1

environment:
  sdk: ">=2.12.0 <3.0.0"  # Upgraded to the latest Flutter SDK version

dependencies:
  flutter:
    sdk: flutter

  cupertino_icons: ^0.1.2
  google_fonts: ^3.0.0

dev_dependencies:
  flutter_test:
    sdk: flutter

flutter:

  uses-material-design: true
Complete code

After running the above code, we will be able to see the following output:

Using Google fonts in appBar and in text
Using Google fonts in appBar and in text

You can also explore multiple other font styles by visiting Google Fonts!

Performance considerations and font caching

Google Fonts optimizes load times by caching fonts locally once they are downloaded, which helps improve performance and ensures a smoother user experience. When a font is first loaded, it is stored in the device's cache, allowing it to be reused without additional network requests, thus reducing load times for returning users.

However, if you choose to dynamically load fonts (e.g., switching fonts based on user preferences or conditions within the app), there may be a slight delay, especially if the device has a slow or intermittent network connection. This is because dynamically loaded fonts require a fresh download if they are not already cached on the device.

To minimize potential delays:

  • Preload frequently used fonts at app launch if possible. This can help ensure that fonts are ready when needed.

  • Use a fallback font as a temporary placeholder, allowing users to see content while the Google Font loads in the background.

  • Optimize for offline scenarios by selecting a primary font that can be cached locally, ensuring your app remains functional and visually consistent even without network access.

By considering these strategies, you can maintain a responsive and visually appealing app experience with minimal loading disruptions.

Conclusion

Integrating Google Fonts in our Flutter project offers a world of possibilities for enhancing our application's visual appeal and design. With its vast collection of fonts and easy-to-use package, we can effortlessly boost the typography in our app, making it stand out with unique and captivating text elements.

Further learning

  • Learn how to implement other selection widgets like checkboxes and switches, which provide alternative ways for users to select options in a form or UI.

  • Explore creating custom widgets in Flutter to design reusable, more complex UI components that can be tailored specifically to your app’s requirements.

  • Study how to work with forms, including input fields and validation logic, ensuring user data is correctly formatted and validated before submission.

Frequently asked questions

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What are the benefits of using Google fonts in Flutter applications?

Using Google Fonts enhances your app’s visual appeal by offering a vast selection of free, open-source fonts that can match your brand and design preferences. It allows for easy customization of typography, improving user experience and making your app stand out. Additionally, Google Fonts are optimized for performance with built-in caching, which can lead to faster load times and a smoother overall experience for users.

Can I apply Google Fonts across all text in my Flutter app?

Yes, you can apply a Google font globally by creating a custom TextTheme and setting it in your app’s theme. In your MaterialApp, define the theme with the desired Google font:

MaterialApp(
  theme: ThemeData(
    textTheme: GoogleFonts.poppinsTextTheme(),
  ),
  home: MyHomePage(),
);

This approach ensures that all text widgets in your app use the specified font by default, providing a consistent look and feel.

How does Google Fonts handle caching in Flutter?

Google Fonts is optimized for performance and handles caching automatically. Once a font is downloaded, it’s stored locally, reducing the need for repeated network requests and improving load times. However, if fonts are loaded dynamically and are not yet cached, a slow network may cause a slight delay. To optimize, preload commonly used fonts at app launch or use a fallback font as a placeholder.

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