Hello @pautgn
With the Web Fonts Optimization, we are changing the default way to load Google fonts in order to save HTTP requests. When you enable it, we add the so-called “preconnect” link to fonts.gstatic.com so we will do the DNS lookup, TLS negotiation, and the TCP handshake. The Elementor plugin offers similar functionalities and you can decide which ones to deactivate in order to prevent duplicates. Even though those should not cause any issues related to speed degradation.
By enabling the Web Fonts Optimization option, the plugin automatically opens a buffer, takes all link tags that point to google fonts, and starts optimizing them. After that, it loads that content inline in the head by serving the generated CSS saved in uploads/siteground-optimizer-assets/google-fonts.
If you see preconnect using fonts.googleapis.com it is likely that the template in use has those fonts. You should check further with your developer. In case you encounter some issues and you are a SiteGround client, you can open Helpdesk request and our colleagues will investigate further.
Best regards,
Georgi Ganchev
SiteGround.com