What is a favicon? Meaning, uses and examples
A favicon is the small icon that represents a website. You see it in browser tabs, in your bookmarks and history, on phone home screens and next to your site’s name in Google Search results.
What does favicon mean?
The word is short for favourite icon. Internet Explorer introduced it in 1999 to show an icon next to sites saved in the "Favorites" menu. The name stuck, even though favicons are now used almost everywhere a website appears.
Where favicons appear
- Browser tabs, where people use them to find your site among many open tabs
- Bookmarks and history
- Google Search results, next to your site name on mobile and desktop
- Phone home screens when someone adds your site (the Apple touch icon and Android icons)
- Link previews in some chat apps, feed readers and tools
Why a favicon matters
A site without a favicon shows a blank page or globe icon. That looks unfinished, and it makes your tab harder to find. In search results, a clear favicon helps people recognise your site before they click.
What a good favicon looks like
A favicon is shown as small as 16×16 pixels, so the best ones are simple:
- one bold shape or one to three letters
- strong contrast between the icon and its background
- the same colours as your brand
Detailed logos, thin lines and long words disappear at that size.
What files make up a favicon
Today a complete favicon set is usually favicon.ico, two small PNGs, a 180×180 Apple touch icon and two Android icons. See which favicon sizes you actually need.
You can make all of them at once with the favicon generator, or build one from a letter or emoji with the text favicon generator.