strong/bold does not work on 2025 theme (Win Firefox only)

Hi,
Is it possible that there is an HTML error on your page that Firefox isn’t resolving, but other browsers are?

Because when I just copy your post or the text into the block editor, I can see the bold.
While when I view your live site, it looks more like all the text is bold. As if the closing </strong> is not correct.
I am using Firefox 134.0.2 on Windows 11.

I did not find any reports on the Gutenberg repository about the Richtext bold not working in Firefox.

Usually, when the RichText bold is not visible, it is because the selected text already has a heavier font weight.

Well, first, if there are HTML errors, then I didn’t do it ?? I just validated the page using HTML and CSS validators — and see some errors, but nothing that would affect this particular issue.

I created everything using WP and the block editor. BTW, I tried removing the bold using the rich text editor (RTE) and reinserting it. Also, I used the RTE to highlight the text, and that renders fine on Firefox.

I was thinking that perhaps Firefox had something funny with regard to caching. But I tried viewing it on different PCs with the same result — bold doesn’t render on Firefox Win but it renders fine on all the rest.

At first I decided if it was Firefox’s issue, then I could live with it. But I realize that I would be reusing this section as a pattern for other web pages, so I need to fix this issue. (I already see the same thing on different pages I created based on this same pattern). Using block editor I will try to reconstruct this same page from scratch and try to figure out when and how the problem arises. Will report back.

As much as I like using the block editor, I admit having a lot of difficulty figuring out where font CSS is controlled from within the interface. For example, I notice that when I reveal more typography properties using the right panel, changing the value on some properties s don’t actually cause any changes. Although I am using DEFAULT for APPEARANCE, often when I try to change to something else (like MEDIUM or EXTRA LIGHT, etc), no changes are actually made. I assume that has to do with the Google font loaded with the theme (which in this case is Merope). I’m guessing that the theme developers have to associate a value with each APPEARANCE property for this to actually work. Ideally I would like to see the dropdown limited to values that actually are controllable.

Like I said, I will try to recreate this page from scrratch using the block editor. But I still don’t understand what is going on here.

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by rjnagle.

Some updated info:

First, I created a simple static HTML page with the STRONG tag inside a P tag. On Win Firefox it renders the strong/bold correctly. I am also using Firefox 134.0.2 on Windows 11.

I created a test page using the default page template in 2025. The bolds still do not work on Win Firefox with the 2025 theme. https://personvillepress.com/this-is-a-test/

I see the same thing when I create a new post using the default 2025 post template. https://personvillepress.com/2025/01/25/this-is-a-test/

I see the same thing when I use a new template for post minus my custom heading.

https://personvillepress.com/2025/01/25/hello-this-is-a-test/

I have presented three clean test cases using the 2025 theme. IN all 3 cases the 2025 theme on WordPress has failed to render the STRONG tag on a paragraph block on the Firefox browser on Windows.

It should be easy for any WordPress user to replicate this bug on any installation using the latest WordPress and 2025 theme (WordPress Version: 6.7.1). The only thing I have customized is to add some code snippets to the header (google, etc). I have installed no other plugins.

This seems to support the idea that the latest 2025 theme is producing buggy code. I have shown that on my browser that a static HTML page renders STRONG on Win Firefox and that when I use another block type (h3) in WP’s block editor’, bold is rendered fine on Win Firefox. ‘,

I would love to be proved wrong. But perhaps somebody needs to test this — or try to replicate on their own instance?

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by rjnagle.
• This reply was modified 1 month ago by rjnagle.

. I’m guessing that the theme developers have to associate a value with each APPEARANCE property for this to actually work

This feature has not been built in to WordPress yet.
Hopefully when someone is available to work on it, it will be calculated and adjusted for us, so that the user and theme developer does not have to.

I went ahead and filed a ticket about this issue https://core.trac.www.ads-software.com/ticket/62868

BTW, I created a wordpress/2025 instance from scratch on wordpress.com and see the same issue https://robertistest.wordpress.com/

The strong tag does work in Firefox with Windows 11, but not in the same way as it does in Chrome and other browsers:

• Chrome’s default for strong tags is bold.
• Firefox uses bolder, which is relative to the parent element’s weight.

In Twenty Twenty-Five’s styles, the body weight is 300 (Light), and the headings are 400 (Regular). Chrome has a bold weight of 700 whether the strong text is in a paragraph or heading. Firefox also has 700 for strong text in the headings, but it only increases the 300 to 400 inside a paragraph for a very slight difference.

If you like how other browsers show it, the simplest change might be to add Additional CSS:

1. Open the Editor, under Appearance in the side menu.
2. Open Styles.
3. Find “Additional CSS” at the bottom of the style settings, and paste
   strong { font-weight: bold; }
4. Click the “Review 1 change…”button and then Save.

Stephen, wow, that completely fixed it.

For other readers, Additional CSS can be somewhat tricky to find. After you open Styles (that is Step #2) , click the edit icon (i.e., the pencil) next to the word “Styles” on the left panel. That will reveal the “Additional CSS” option on the right panel.

I see that I was somewhat mistaken in my original description. I realize that I could see that the words I had bolded had a very slight bold in Win Firefox. (but I had to really be looking for it).

I should mention that on a similar page on another website using the 2023 theme, I don’t have this problem on Firefox at all. So it’s just worth deciding whether the 2025 theme should apply a more unambiguous bold on the strong tag in the p block.

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by rjnagle.