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Fountain – an e-commerce foundation for your type foundry website

The shop platform for type foundries. Sell on your own terms.

About Fountain

Sell fonts on your own terms. Fountain is a complete, self-hosted shop platform built on Kirby CMS. Pay once and own every part of it.

Features

Pay once, own it

No subscriptions. No recurring fees. A year of free updates and a 10% upgrade on future versions. You’re controlling your distribution. Build relationships with your customers and control your brand.

Font used in animation is Azimut by Benjamin Blaess, Julien Priez, and Mathieu Reguer.

Upload and go

Drop your font files. Fountain generates web and trial fonts automatically, and spins up single-weight products while it's at it.

Fonts used in video is Job Clarendon from David Jonathan Ross.

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License on your terms

Go the traditional route with desktop installations. Or explore licensing based on company size. Or sell in tiers. You decide. And make add-ons where they fit.

Font used in illustration is Aventa by Ellen Luff.

Tax and invoicing, handled

Paddle acts as merchant of record: invoices, VAT, local taxes — all covered. You stay focused on fonts. More payment vendors coming.

Font used in illustration is IvyStyle Typewriter by Jan Maack.

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Sell in any language

Full multilingual support, slugs included. /warenkorb, /boutique, or /tienda, your shop speaks your customers’ language, URLs and all.

Kirby CMS already supports multilingual websites, and Fountains extends that capability.

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Customizable end to end

Every step of the customer journey is yours to shape — page structure, zip filenames, copy, flow. Design every step in any way you prefer, right up until Paddle kicks in.

Font used in animation is Monoflow by Hans Heitmann and Johannes Ammon.

FAQ

Do I need a Kirby CMS license?

Yes, you need a Kirby CMS license and a Fountain license. The nice part is that you can test Kirby CMS before investing any money. If you like working with Kirby, you’ll love working with Fountain.

Do I need to know how to code?

Fountain is built on Kirby CMS, so basic familiarity with HTML and CSS helps — especially if you want to customize the design. You don't need to be a developer, but it's not a drag-and-drop builder either. It's for designers who aren't afraid of a text editor.

What are the hosting requirements?

Fountain can't run on "regular" shared PHP-hosting. Because it processes font files server-side, it needs an environment where you can install Python and FontTools. We recommend a VPS or a platform that supports custom runtimes.

The easiest starting point is Railway, which has a ready-made Fountain setup — deploy in a few clicks without touching a terminal. Any other service with Docker support works just as well.

Providers Uberspace give you full control and are well-suited for a Kirby + FontTools stack. Managed hosting through Fountain is also available, reach out at €25/month if you'd rather skip the setup entirely.

What does Paddle handle, and what does Fountain handle?

Paddle acts as merchant of record — it handles payments, VAT, local taxes, and invoices. Fountain handles everything else: font delivery, license management, customer accounts, and your shop's design and structure.

I’d prefer to use Stripe (or other service) instead of Paddle

Support for additional merchant‑of‑record services is on its way. The next provider we’ll add is Polar, followed by Stripe Managed Payments. New implementations require a few extra steps and thorough testing. At Fountain, we’re all about simplifying the process.

What customer data does Fountain store?

Just an email address. Payment details, billing information, and transaction history all live with Paddle. Fountain is designed with a minimal data footprint — less to store, less to worry about.

Can I sell in multiple languages?

Yes. Fountain has full multilingual support, including URL slugs. /cart, /warenkorb, /boutique — your shop speaks your customers' language throughout.

What happens after my year of free updates?

Your license doesn't expire. You keep the version you have, it keeps working. When a new major version releases, you get a 10% discount on the upgrade. No pressure, no subscriptions.

Do I need to host it myself?

Fountain is self-hosted by default — you run it on your own server. If you'd rather not deal with that, managed hosting is available at €25/month.

Can I sell variable fonts and bundles?

Yes. You can sell variable fonts as standalone products, combine individual weights into bundles, and set custom pricing on both.

How do customers access their purchases?

Through a passwordless account. They enter their email, receive a one-time login code, and get access to all their purchases and invoices. No account setup, no passwords to reset.

What font formats does Fountain support?

Upload your source files and Fountain automatically generates web fonts and trial fonts. Single-weight products are created at the same time.

Is this only for large foundries?

No — it's built for independent type designers and small foundries. Solo license is €350, team license is €700. Whether you have two retail fonts or two hundred, the platform scales to what you need.


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