What The Font does and why you might need it
What The Font is a Chrome extension that identifies typefaces displayed on web pages. When you see text on a website and want to know what font it uses, you hover over it, click the extension icon, and the tool tells you the font name, size, weight, and color. It saves you from guessing or manually inspecting code.
You need this if you design websites, create graphics, or straightforward want to recreate a look you see online. Designers use it to study how other sites handle typography. Writers and content creators use it to match fonts across projects. The extension works on most websites, though some with heavy image-based text or custom fonts may not return results.
The extension is free and made by the same company behind the WhatTheFont website, which has been identifying fonts since the early 2000s. It integrates directly into your browser, so you do not have to leave the page you are viewing or upload screenshots.
Key Takeaways
- Install What The Font from the Chrome Web Store, then click the extension icon and hover over any text on a webpage to see its font name, size, weight, and color.
- The tool works best on text rendered as actual fonts; it cannot identify fonts in images, screenshots, or heavily stylized graphics.
- Results show the font family name and technical details, but you may still need to purchase or read the font separately to use it yourself.
- If the extension does not recognize a font, the website may be using a custom or obscure typeface, or the text may be rendered as an image.
Installing What The Font in Chrome
Open Chrome and go to the Chrome Web Store. Search for "What The Font" in the search box at the top left. The official extension appears first, made by Monotype (the company behind the WhatTheFont website). Click the blue "Add to Chrome" button.
Chrome will ask you to confirm that you want to add the extension. Click "Add extension" in the popup. The extension icon — a small "W" in a box — will appear in your toolbar at the top right of the browser. You do not need to restart Chrome or reload any pages.
If you do not see the icon in your toolbar, click the puzzle-piece icon at the top right, find What The Font in the list, and click the pin icon next to it to keep it visible. This takes about one minute total.
How to use the extension to identify a font
Navigate to any website with text you want to identify. Click the What The Font icon in your toolbar. Your cursor will change to a crosshair. Move your cursor over the text you want to identify and click on it.
The extension will open a panel showing the font name, size in pixels, weight (bold, regular, light), and color code. If the website uses a common font like Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia, you will see the exact name. If it uses a custom or less common font, the extension may show the closest match or tell you it could not identify it.
You can click on the font name in the results to see more information, including where to read or purchase it. Some fonts are free; others require a license. The extension does not read the font for you — it only tells you what it is.
When the extension cannot identify a font
What The Font cannot identify fonts that are embedded as images, SVG graphics, or canvas elements. If a website designer converted text to a picture to prevent copying, the extension will not work. Similarly, if text is part of a logo or heavily stylized graphic, the tool may fail to recognize it.
Some websites use very new, very obscure, or custom-designed fonts that are not in the extension's database. In these cases, the extension may show no result or a partial match. You can try right-clicking the text, selecting "Inspect" to open the browser's developer tools, and looking at the CSS code — the font name is usually listed there, though it may be a file name rather than a human-readable font name.
If you need to identify a font from an image or screenshot, use the WhatTheFont website instead of the extension. Go to whatthefont.com, upload your image, and the site's image-recognition system will attempt to match it against its database.
Understanding the information the extension shows
When What The Font identifies a font, it displays several pieces of information. The font family is the name of the typeface — for example, "Open Sans" or "Playfair Display". The font size is measured in pixels (px) and tells you how large the text is on screen. The font weight describes thickness: 400 is regular, 700 is bold, 300 is light, and 900 is extra bold.
The color appears as a hex code (like #333333 for dark gray) or RGB value. You can copy this code and use it in your own designs. Some results also show the line height, which is the space between lines of text, and letter spacing, which is the gap between individual letters.
Not every website exposes all this information to the extension. Some sites deliberately hide font details in their code, so you may see only the font name and size. This is normal and does not mean the extension is broken.
Finding and downloading fonts you identify
Once you know a font's name, you have several options. If it is a common system font like Times New Roman or Arial, it is already installed on your computer. If it is a web font, the website is loading it from a service like Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts, or Typekit.
Click the font name in the What The Font results to open a page with read links and information. Many fonts are free through Google Fonts or similar services. Others are commercial and require a purchase or subscription. Read the license terms before downloading — some fonts are free for personal use but require a license for commercial projects.
If you design in Adobe Creative Cloud, you can search for the font in Adobe Fonts and set up it directly in your subscription. If you use free tools like Canva or Figma, search their font libraries for the name. Not every font is available everywhere, so you may need to purchase a license from the foundry that created it.
Troubleshooting common problems
If the extension does not appear in your toolbar after installation, click the puzzle-piece icon at the top right of Chrome, find What The Font, and pin it. If it still does not work, uninstall it and reinstall it from the Chrome Web Store.
If you click the extension and nothing happens, the website may block the extension from running. This is rare but happens on some corporate or heavily secured sites. Try the extension on a different website to confirm it works. If it does, the first site is blocking it and there is no workaround.
If the extension shows a result but the font name does not match what you expected, the website may be using a font fallback — a backup font that displays if the primary font fails to load. This is normal. The extension shows what is actually rendering on your screen, which may not be what the designer intended.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does What The Font work on all websites?
No. It works on text rendered as actual fonts, but not on text inside images, PDFs, or heavily stylized graphics. Some websites also block extensions from inspecting their code. If the extension does not work on a specific site, try it on another site to confirm the extension itself is working.
Can I use a font I identify without buying it?
It depends on the font's license. Many fonts identified by the extension are free and open-source, available through Google Fonts or similar services. Others are commercial and require a purchase or subscription. Always check the license before using a font in your own work, especially for commercial projects.
What is the difference between the extension and the WhatTheFont website?
The extension works on live websites by hovering over text. The website at whatthefont.com lets you upload images or screenshots and uses image recognition to identify fonts in pictures. Use the extension for text on webpages and the website for fonts in images or graphics.
Will the extension slow down my browser?
No. What The Font is lightweight and only runs when you click the icon. It does not load in the background or track your browsing. You will not notice any performance impact.
Can I identify fonts on mobile devices?
The What The Font extension only works in Chrome on desktop and laptop computers. Mobile Chrome does not support extensions. If you need to identify fonts on mobile, use the WhatTheFont website or take a screenshot and upload it to whatthefont.com from your phone.