diff --git a/entry_types/scrolled/app/helpers/pageflow_scrolled/themes_helper.rb b/entry_types/scrolled/app/helpers/pageflow_scrolled/themes_helper.rb
index 01bb6eea36..f6ba9897b0 100644
--- a/entry_types/scrolled/app/helpers/pageflow_scrolled/themes_helper.rb
+++ b/entry_types/scrolled/app/helpers/pageflow_scrolled/themes_helper.rb
@@ -43,9 +43,20 @@ def scrolled_theme_properties_style_tag(theme)
     end
 
     def scrolled_theme_font_face_rules(theme)
-      theme.options.fetch(:font_faces, []).filter_map { |face|
-        FontFaceRule.new(face, theme:) { |path| scrolled_theme_asset_path(theme, path) }.generate
-      }.join("\n")
+      scrolled_theme_font_faces(theme).filter_map(&:generate).join("\n")
+    end
+
+    def scrolled_theme_font_preload_link_tags(theme)
+      safe_join(
+        scrolled_theme_font_faces(theme).filter_map(&:preload_source).map do |source|
+          tag.link(rel: 'preload',
+                   as: 'font',
+                   type: source[:type],
+                   href: source[:url],
+                   crossorigin: 'anonymous',
+                   data: {theme: ''})
+        end
+      )
     end
 
     def scrolled_theme_typography_rules(theme)
@@ -59,6 +70,12 @@ def scrolled_theme_properties_rules(theme)
 
     private
 
+    def scrolled_theme_font_faces(theme)
+      theme.options.fetch(:font_faces, []).map do |face|
+        FontFaceRule.new(face, theme:) { |path| scrolled_theme_asset_path(theme, path) }
+      end
+    end
+
     # @api private
     class FontFaceRule
       FORMATS = {
@@ -68,6 +85,13 @@ class FontFaceRule
         '.otf' => 'opentype'
       }.freeze
 
+      MIME_TYPES = {
+        'woff2' => 'font/woff2',
+        'woff' => 'font/woff',
+        'truetype' => 'font/ttf',
+        'opentype' => 'font/otf'
+      }.freeze
+
       WEIGHT_PATTERN = /\A(normal|bold|\d{1,4}( \d{1,4})?)\z/
       STYLE_PATTERN = /\A(normal|italic)\z/
       FORMAT_PATTERN = /\A(woff2?|truetype|opentype|embedded-opentype|svg)(-variations)?\z/
@@ -88,7 +112,7 @@ def initialize(face, theme:, &resolve_path)
       end
 
       def generate
-        return if family.blank? || source_values.empty?
+        return unless valid?
 
         <<~CSS
           @font-face {
@@ -97,10 +121,24 @@ def generate
         CSS
       end
 
+      # Only the first source is preloaded since the browser downloads
+      # exactly one of the alternative formats.
+      def preload_source
+        return unless valid? && face[:preload]
+
+        source = sources_with_safe_urls.first
+
+        {url: source[:url], type: mime_type(source)}
+      end
+
       private
 
       attr_reader :face, :theme
 
+      def valid?
+        family.present? && sources_with_safe_urls.any?
+      end
+
       def declarations
         [
           %(font-family: "#{family}";),
@@ -115,10 +153,11 @@ def family
       end
 
       def source_values
-        @source_values ||=
-          sources
-          .reject { |source| source[:url].match?(UNSAFE_IN_URL) }
-          .map { |source| source_value(source[:url], source[:format]) }
+        sources_with_safe_urls.map { |source| source_value(source) }
+      end
+
+      def sources_with_safe_urls
+        @sources_with_safe_urls ||= sources.reject { |source| source[:url].match?(UNSAFE_IN_URL) }
       end
 
       def sources
@@ -151,14 +190,22 @@ def resolve_url(url)
         @resolve_path.call(url).to_s
       end
 
-      def source_value(url, format)
-        format = [format, FORMATS[extension(url)]].find do |candidate|
-          candidate.to_s.match?(FORMAT_PATTERN)
-        end
+      def source_value(source)
+        format = source_format(source)
 
-        return %(url("#{url}")) unless format
+        return %(url("#{source[:url]}")) unless format
 
-        %(url("#{url}") format("#{format}"))
+        %(url("#{source[:url]}") format("#{format}"))
+      end
+
+      def mime_type(source)
+        MIME_TYPES[source_format(source).to_s.delete_suffix('-variations')]
+      end
+
+      def source_format(source)
+        [source[:format], FORMATS[extension(source[:url])]].find do |candidate|
+          candidate.to_s.match?(FORMAT_PATTERN)
+        end
       end
 
       def extension(url)
diff --git a/entry_types/scrolled/app/views/pageflow_scrolled/entries/show.html.erb b/entry_types/scrolled/app/views/pageflow_scrolled/entries/show.html.erb
index e24b432827..95803242eb 100644
--- a/entry_types/scrolled/app/views/pageflow_scrolled/entries/show.html.erb
+++ b/entry_types/scrolled/app/views/pageflow_scrolled/entries/show.html.erb
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
       <%= scrolled_sprockets_asset_tags(entry, entry_mode: entry_mode) %>
       <%= scrolled_frontend_stylesheet_packs_tag(entry, entry_mode: entry_mode, seed_options: seed_options) %>
 
+      <%= scrolled_theme_font_preload_link_tags(entry.theme) %>
       <%= scrolled_theme_properties_style_tag(entry.theme) %>
       <%= scrolled_theme_stylesheet_pack_tags(entry.theme) %>
 
diff --git a/entry_types/scrolled/doc/creating_themes/custom_typography.md b/entry_types/scrolled/doc/creating_themes/custom_typography.md
index c62ac86643..0e3eac61e8 100644
--- a/entry_types/scrolled/doc/creating_themes/custom_typography.md
+++ b/entry_types/scrolled/doc/creating_themes/custom_typography.md
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ The following keys are supported:
 | `style` | Either `normal` or `italic`. |
 | `unicode_range` | Code points provided by the font file. See below. |
 | `file_role` | Role of an uploaded theme customization file to use instead of `src`. |
+| `preload` | Pass `true` to let the browser start downloading the font file right away. See below. |
 
 `font-display: swap` is always included so that text remains visible
 while font files are loading. Faces with invalid values are skipped.
@@ -82,6 +83,31 @@ specify formats per source:
        'fonts/open-sans-400-normal.woff']}
 ```
 
+### Preloading Fonts
+
+Browsers only download a font file once they lay out text that uses
+the font face. Mark the few faces that are needed for the first
+screenful to have the file requested as early as possible:
+
+``` ruby
+{family: 'Open Sans',
+ weight: '400',
+ src: 'fonts/open-sans-400-normal.woff2',
+ preload: true}
+```
+
+Published entries then contain a link tag in the head:
+
+``` html
+<link rel="preload" as="font" type="font/woff2"
+      href="/assets/fonts/open-sans-400-normal.woff2" crossorigin="anonymous">
+```
+
+Only the first source of the face is preloaded since the browser
+downloads exactly one of the alternative formats. Preloading more
+fonts than the entry displays right away delays other resources - only
+mark faces that are used above the fold.
+
 ### Reducing Font File Size
 
 Fonts that support many scripts can be split into subsets. Declare one
diff --git a/entry_types/scrolled/spec/helpers/pageflow_scrolled/themes_helper_spec.rb b/entry_types/scrolled/spec/helpers/pageflow_scrolled/themes_helper_spec.rb
index ada62bb3b4..74301e6bee 100644
--- a/entry_types/scrolled/spec/helpers/pageflow_scrolled/themes_helper_spec.rb
+++ b/entry_types/scrolled/spec/helpers/pageflow_scrolled/themes_helper_spec.rb
@@ -452,6 +452,138 @@ def upload_font(entry, file_name)
       end
     end
 
+    describe '#scrolled_theme_font_preload_link_tags' do
+      before do
+        allow(helper).to receive(:asset_pack_path) { |path| "/packs/#{path}" }
+      end
+
+      it 'renders link tag for face marked for preloading' do
+        theme = Pageflow::Theme.new(:test,
+                                    font_faces: [
+                                      {family: 'Avenir', src: '/fonts/a.woff2', preload: true}
+                                    ])
+
+        html = helper.scrolled_theme_font_preload_link_tags(theme)
+
+        expect(html).to have_css('link[data-theme][rel="preload"][as="font"]' \
+                                 '[href="/fonts/a.woff2"][type="font/woff2"]' \
+                                 '[crossorigin="anonymous"]',
+                                 visible: false)
+      end
+
+      it 'skips faces not marked for preloading' do
+        theme = Pageflow::Theme.new(:test,
+                                    font_faces: [
+                                      {family: 'Avenir', src: '/fonts/a.woff2'},
+                                      {family: 'Oswald', src: '/fonts/b.woff2', preload: false}
+                                    ])
+
+        html = helper.scrolled_theme_font_preload_link_tags(theme)
+
+        expect(html).to be_blank
+      end
+
+      it 'only preloads first source of face' do
+        theme = Pageflow::Theme.new(:test,
+                                    font_faces: [
+                                      {family: 'Avenir',
+                                       src: ['/fonts/a.woff2', '/fonts/a.woff'],
+                                       preload: true}
+                                    ])
+
+        html = helper.scrolled_theme_font_preload_link_tags(theme)
+
+        expect(html).to have_css('link[href="/fonts/a.woff2"]', visible: false)
+        expect(html).not_to have_css('link[href="/fonts/a.woff"]', visible: false)
+      end
+
+      it 'resolves relative src in theme directory' do
+        theme = Pageflow::CustomizedTheme.find(
+          entry: create(:entry),
+          theme: Pageflow::Theme.new(:test,
+                                     font_faces: [
+                                       {family: 'Avenir', src: 'fonts/a.woff2', preload: true}
+                                     ])
+        )
+
+        html = helper.scrolled_theme_font_preload_link_tags(theme)
+
+        expect(html).to have_css(
+          'link[href="/packs/static/pageflow-scrolled/themes/test/fonts/a.woff2"]',
+          visible: false
+        )
+      end
+
+      it 'derives type from format of source' do
+        theme = Pageflow::Theme.new(:test,
+                                    font_faces: [
+                                      {family: 'Avenir',
+                                       src: '/fonts/a.woff2',
+                                       format: 'woff2-variations',
+                                       preload: true}
+                                    ])
+
+        html = helper.scrolled_theme_font_preload_link_tags(theme)
+
+        expect(html).to have_css('link[type="font/woff2"]', visible: false)
+      end
+
+      it 'omits type for unknown format' do
+        theme = Pageflow::Theme.new(:test,
+                                    font_faces: [
+                                      {family: 'Avenir', src: '/fonts/a.bin', preload: true}
+                                    ])
+
+        html = helper.scrolled_theme_font_preload_link_tags(theme)
+
+        expect(html).to have_css('link[href="/fonts/a.bin"]:not([type])', visible: false)
+      end
+
+      it 'skips faces that do not result in a font face rule' do
+        theme = Pageflow::Theme.new(:test,
+                                    font_faces: [
+                                      {src: '/fonts/a.woff2', preload: true},
+                                      {family: 'Oswald', preload: true},
+                                      {family: 'Karla', src: '/fonts/a".woff2', preload: true}
+                                    ])
+
+        html = helper.scrolled_theme_font_preload_link_tags(theme)
+
+        expect(html).to be_blank
+      end
+
+      it 'resolves file role of uploaded theme customization file' do
+        entry = create(:published_entry, type_name: 'scrolled')
+        file = Pageflow.theme_customizations.upload_file(
+          site: entry.site,
+          entry_type_name: 'scrolled',
+          type_name: :font,
+          attachment: fixture_file_upload('font.woff2')
+        )
+        Pageflow.theme_customizations.update(
+          site: entry.site,
+          entry_type_name: 'scrolled',
+          overrides: {
+            font_faces: [{family: 'font1', file_role: 'font_font1_400_normal', preload: true}]
+          },
+          file_ids: {font_font1_400_normal: file.id}
+        )
+
+        html = helper.scrolled_theme_font_preload_link_tags(entry.theme)
+
+        expect(html).to have_css('link[type="font/woff2"][href*="original/font.woff2"]',
+                                 visible: false)
+      end
+
+      it 'handles missing theme option' do
+        theme = Pageflow::Theme.new(:test)
+
+        html = helper.scrolled_theme_font_preload_link_tags(theme)
+
+        expect(html).to be_blank
+      end
+    end
+
     describe '#scrolled_theme_typography_rules' do
       it 'returns rules for theme' do
         theme = Pageflow::Theme.new(:test,