What is a favicon?

The small icon next to the website address is so familiar that we hardly ever consciously think about it. It is simply there and is perceived as part of the browser, not as an element of the website itself. But if it disappears, it immediately catches the eye. The tab looks empty, the website gets lost among others, including in search results, and the website interface seems unfinished. At this point, it becomes clear that even such a tiny element plays a significant role in perception.

We are, of course, talking about the favicon. It is one of the smallest visual components of a website, but at the same time, we see it constantly, even if we don't pay attention to it. The user sees it every time they open a tab, scroll through their history, work with bookmarks, or switch between dozens of open pages. It is the favicon that helps the brain instantly recognize a familiar website without reading the text.

At first glance, a favicon seems like a minor detail, a decorative element that is easy to overlook during development. However, in practice, it affects the ease of navigation, the perception of the project's neatness, and even the level of trust. It is a small element of the interface that works quietly and unobtrusively, but performs a much more important function than it seems at first glance.

 

 

 

What is a favicon and where did it come from?

So, a favicon is a miniature website icon that is displayed in the browser, namely in tabs, bookmarks, browsing history, and sometimes in search results. The name comes from the English “favorite icon,” which means “selected icon.” Initially, favicons were only used for bookmarks in older versions of Internet Explorer, but over time, their role has expanded significantly.

Today, favicons are an essential and mandatory element of a website's visual identity and an important part of the user interface. They can be compared to a house number, because formally you can do without them, but when they are there, it becomes much easier to navigate, especially if there are many similar pages open in the browser window.

Let's summarize. A favicon performs several functions at once:

• it helps you quickly find the right tab in your browser;
• it makes your website recognizable among others;
• it improves the convenience of working with bookmarks and history;
• it enhances the feeling of neatness and completeness of the project;
• it indirectly affects clickability and user returns.

 

 

 

 

Where and how favicons are used

Modern browsers use favicons in several scenarios. The most obvious is, of course, browser tabs. When ten to fifteen websites are open, it is the icon that allows you to quickly find the one you need, even if the tab titles are truncated.

The second important place is bookmarks. A website without a favicon in bookmarks looks impersonal, but with an icon, it becomes easily recognizable and easier to return to.

Favicons are also used in some other places, such as:

• in browser history;
• in mobile browsers;
• on the home screen of a smartphone when adding a site;
• in some search engines;
• in PWA applications and web wrappers.

 

Display location	Purpose
Browser tabs	Quick navigation between open websites
Bookmarks	Improved return visits and brand recognition
Browser history	Easier repeat visits
Mobile home screen	Visual similarity to a native application
PWA	Part of the user interface

For commercial websites, favicons are an important element of trust. A neat icon is subconsciously perceived as a sign of a lively and supported project.

 

 

 

 

Favicons and brand perception

If a website logo can be perceived as a sign on a facade, then a favicon can be compared to a keyring. It must be recognizable even at a size of 16×16 pixels. This is where developers often make their first mistake: they take a full-fledged logo and simply reduce its size. The result is not an icon, but an illegible set of colored spots.

A good favicon should not be just a reduced logo, but should reflect the essence of your project, whether it is a single letter, a simple symbol, or some contrasting shape. That is why many large projects use minimalist symbols such as letters, simple geometric elements, or simple emblems.

Let's remember what works well:

• a single letter or symbol;
• high contrast;
• a simple shape without small details.

 

And what doesn't work well:

• small text;
• thin lines;
• complex gradients;
• attempting to fit the entire logo.

 

This is especially important for SaaS platforms and technical services, as users may be working with the server control panel, documentation, billing, and email at the same time. A favicon helps users navigate this “zoo” faster than any text on a tab.

 

 

 

 

The technical side of the issue

From an implementation standpoint, a favicon is nothing more than an image file that is linked to a website via HTML. However, there are more nuances here than meets the eye.

Favicon files have the classic extension .ico. It is supported by all browsers and can contain multiple icon sizes within a single file. PNG is also often used, while the WebP format is rarely used due to limited support. Recently, SVG files have been recommended for widespread use, as they are easily scalable due to their vector nature.

Modern websites usually connect several favicon options at once:

• standard for browsers;
• icon for mobile devices;
• icon for adding to the home screen;
• options for light and dark themes.

 

Example of connecting a favicon in HTML

<link rel="icon" href="/favicon.ico" sizes="any">

<link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="/favicon-32x32.png" sizes="32x32">

<link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="/favicon-16x16.png" sizes="16x16">

<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/apple-touch-icon.png">

 

This approach covers most browsers and devices and is considered the basic standard.

 

 

 

 

Browser sizes and requirements

Historically, the standard size was 16×16 pixels. But over time, 32×32, 48×48, and larger options were added. Today, the more correct sizes you provide, the more stable the favicon will be displayed.

Recommended favicon sizes

Size	Purpose
16×16	Browser tabs
32×32	Bookmarks and browser UI panels
48×48	Legacy browsers
180×180	iOS, Apple Touch Icon
192×192	Android, PWA

The browser can scale the icon itself, but it doesn't always do it accurately. Therefore, it is better to prepare several sizes in advance.

SVG favicons look attractive because of their scalability, but they have support limitations. In production projects, classic formats are more often chosen- they are predictable and reliable on all platforms, without exception.

Given the number of different sizes and use cases that one can imagine, the actual configuration of a favicon on a serious website might look something like this:

<!-- Basic favicon.ico -->

<link rel="icon" href="/favicon/favicon.ico" sizes="any">

<!-- PNG favicons for browsers -->

<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="/favicon/favicon-16x16.png">

<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/favicon/favicon-32x32.png">

<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="48x48" href="/favicon/favicon-48x48.png">

<!-- SVG favicon (modern browsers) -->

<link rel="icon" type="image/svg+xml" href="/favicon/favicon.svg">

<!-- Apple Touch Icons (iOS, iPadOS, Safari) -->

<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="152x152" href="/favicon/apple-touch-icon-152x152.png">

<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="167x167" href="/favicon/apple-touch-icon-167x167.png">

<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/favicon/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png">

<!-- Android / PWA -->

<link rel="manifest" href="/favicon/site.webmanifest">

<!-- Safari pinned tab -->

<link rel="mask-icon" href="/favicon/safari-pinned-tab.svg" color="#1f2b22">

<!-- Colors for browsers -->

<meta name="theme-color" content="#1f2b22">

<meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#1f2b22">

 

 

 

 

Favicons and SEO

Formally, favicons are not a ranking factor, and search engines do not increase a site's position based on the presence or quality of an icon. Favicons themselves cannot influence a page's position in search results. From an algorithmic point of view, it is an auxiliary interface element, not a signal of content quality or domain authority.

However, in practice, favicons do have an indirect impact on SEO, and this impact cannot be ignored, especially for content and commercial projects.

First, favicons increase the clickability of search results. In results where the user is offered several similar pages with similar titles and descriptions, visual elements begin to play a key role, along with the presence of snippets. A familiar or simply neat icon next to the result attracts attention faster and helps stand out from competitors. This is especially noticeable in repeat searches, when the user has already encountered the site before and subconsciously looks for a familiar visual marker.

Second, favicons have a positive effect on behavioral factors. It is easier for a user to return to a site via bookmarks or browser history if it is easily recognizable by its icon. This increases the number of repeat visits, reduces the time spent searching for the desired page, and reduces the likelihood that the user will confuse the site with another. For search engines, such signals are an indirect indicator of the convenience and usefulness of a resource.

In addition, favicons affect the perception of a site's quality. The absence of an icon or its sloppy appearance is often associated with an unfinished or temporary project. On the contrary, a correctly configured favicon enhances trust, which is especially important for sites that work with money, personal accounts, technical services, and corporate products.

Thus, a favicon is not a direct SEO optimization tool, but it works at the user experience level. And in modern search engines, it is precisely details such as convenience, recognizability, and repeat interactions that are increasingly decisive in the long run.

 

 

 

 

Common mistakes when working with favicons

Despite their apparent simplicity, the same mistakes are regularly made when working with favicons. Moreover, they are found not only on small websites, but also on commercial and technical projects.

The most basic and still the most common mistake is the complete absence of a favicon. In this case, the browser displays a standard icon or an empty space, causing the website to get lost visually among other tabs. This creates a feeling of incompleteness and is often perceived by users as a sign of a temporary or secondary page.

The second typical mistake is overly complex design. Often, a reduced copy of the logo is used as a favicon without any adaptation. The logo may look great in large size, but when reduced to 16×16 or 32×32 pixels, thin lines, small elements, and text become illegible. As a result, the favicon loses its main function, which is quick visual recognition.

The third problem is related to incorrect connection or technical nuances. A favicon may be created correctly but not displayed due to an error in the file path, lack of the required dimensions, incorrect MIME type, or aggressive caching by the browser. The user does not see the icon and does not understand the reason, and as a result, the site simply remains faceless to them.

It is also worth mentioning less obvious errors, such as using the same icon size for all devices, not having a version for mobile platforms, ignoring the browser's dark theme, and not having fallback formats for older clients.

Below is a simple checklist for checking the favicon on your website.

 

Favicon checklist

Before publishing or updating your website, it makes sense to go through a simple but practical checklist:

• the favicon file is accessible via a direct URL and does not return any errors;
• several icon sizes are connected, rather than one universal file;
• there are no 404 errors when loading favicons;
• the icon remains readable and recognizable at a size of 16×16 pixels;
• display in major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari) has been checked;
• behavior on mobile devices has been tested;
• light and dark interface themes have been taken into account.

Such basic checks allow you to avoid most problems and ensure that the favicon will work correctly in all major usage scenarios.

Online services that check the correctness of the favicon on your website and provide recommendations for improvement can also help you control your favicon. We will not give specific examples - there are plenty of them in the search.

 

 

 

 

Conclusions

A favicon is a small interface element that is almost invisible when it works correctly, but immediately catches the eye when it is missing. It does not directly affect search engine rankings, speed up page loading, or replace quality content or well-designed site architecture, but its contribution to the overall perception of the project is much greater than it might seem at first glance.

A well-designed and correctly connected favicon works on several levels at once, namely, it increases brand recognition, simplifies navigation between tabs, improves bookmarking and history, and indirectly influences behavioral factors and clickability. Together, this makes interacting with the site more convenient and predictable for the user.

If we consider a website as a complex system, then a favicon is one of its basic elements of identification. Formally, you can do without it, but in practice, it greatly simplifies orientation, increases trust, and makes the project visually complete. It is precisely these seemingly insignificant details that create the impression of a professional and reliable web product.