A favicon icon is a small but very important part of graphic design that gives a website its uniqueness. If you want your website to be as professional as possible and easily recognizable, be sure to use the favicon icon. In this article, we will take a closer look at what the favicon icon is and other aspects related to this icon.

What is a favicon icon?

A favicon icon, also known as a browser or website icon, is derived from the word favorite icon. It is a small picture, symbol, or combination of letters that is visible next to the website address in the dedicated bar. It is also found in the search engine results next to the website name. This icon is probably the smallest graphic design element, its size is usually 16×16 pixels.

Sometimes the browser icon can be a company logo or a part of it because the limited space does not always fit the entire logo. It is usually in .ico format, but .png or .gif formats can be used. By the way, it is visible even when browsing on mobile phones.

History and usage of the favicon

The favicon icon was first used by Microsoft in Internet Explorer 5. It was used to distinguish websites in the browser’s tabs and favorites menus. Later, around the early 2000s, it became a generally accepted standard, and the favicon icon began to be used more and more as a part of visual communication. Over the years, its purpose began to include the creation of brand identity.

Today, favicon icons are used by many websites, including the world’s top websites. It is important to mention that the development of favicon icons continues to this day, for example, dynamic and animated favicon icons have appeared in the past decades, and their use and visibility have expanded to mobile devices.

Importance and benefits of favicon icon

A favicon icon is not necessary to create a functional website, but it can be important to users. In addition, it has many advantages that can contribute to the success of the website:

• Website identity development. A favicon icon is like the face of a website – it allows users to immediately recognize what website is this. A well-designed favicon icon can even represent your business. And, although very small and unnecessary, the browser icon can even contribute to the professional image of the website;
• Improving user experience. User experience is an important factor that contributes to the success of a website. The favicon icon improves the user experience – for example, if the user has many browser tabs open at the same time, the favicon icon can help to quickly find the right tab;
• SEO supplement. Using a favicon icon doesn’t directly affect your website’s SEO, but it’s a great addition. A favicon icon helps search engines like Google identify your website as they look for the favicon file. Also, it can drive clicks to your website.

How to create a favicon icon?

A favicon icon adds professionalism and credibility to your website, as users tend to trust websites with favicon icons. Their files are small and load quickly, so they do not burden the website – it will load quickly even if the user has a poor Internet connection.

How to create a favicon icon? You can do this using programs like Canva or Photoshop and generators available online. While favicon (website icon) creation isn’t difficult, it does require some attention and graphic design knowledge – you might want to contact the professionals.