Does Google Chrome Have Font Smoothing Issues, and How Can They Be Fixed?

Does Google Chrome Offer Font Smoothing?

Google Chrome has long struggled with font rendering, particularly for small font sizes. While the issue persists, there have been significant developments and potential solutions to alleviate the problem.

Status Update (December 2013)

As of June 2014, Chrome version 37 will include a fix for the font rendering issue. Current Chrome versions (as of May 2013) lack a proper solution when loading fonts through various methods like @import or Google's webfont.js.

Workaround Using CSS Tricks

While a definitive fix is not yet available, CSS tricks can partially mitigate the issue by "smoothing" the rendered font. One workaround involves adding a thin stroke to text using the -webkit-text-stroke property:

Alternatively, you can use RGBA syntax for a more subtle effect:

Another workaround is to apply a fake shadow to the text:

Real Solution (Self-hosted Fonts)

For fonts that are self-hosted, there is a potential solution involving loading web fonts in a specific order. As for TTF/OTF font files, they now have broader browser support and may provide better results.

Active Development by Google

The Google Chrome development team is actively working on the font rendering issue. Updates on the resolution timeline are available in the official bug report.

Example Comparisons

Positive:

• Left: Firefox 23, Right: Chrome 29
• Top: Firefox 23, Bottom: Chrome 29

Negative:

• Chrome 30
• Chrome 29

Using the Stroke Workaround:

• First row: Default
• Second row: -webkit-text-stroke: 0.3px;
• Third row: -webkit-text-stroke: 0.6px;

Blog Post Reference

For more detailed information and updates on the status of the issue, refer to the blog post: How to Fix the Ugly Font Rendering in Google Chrome.

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