You might ignore its importance, but creating a favicon for your website is one of the most important aspects of web design. A favicon could make a bigger impression than you think. You’ve come to the right place if you’re new to building a website and are wondering how to design it. To help you understand everything there is to know about favicons, we will explain what they are and give you information on their history and construction in this article.
Let’s start right away and clear the question marks off of your head. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you will understand everything and easily make one for your website.
What Is a Favicon Image?
A favicon image is a tiny 16×16 pixel icon created to make it simpler for users to find your website when you have numerous tabs open. They can be found on your website under any heading. This may include tabs, toolbar apps, bookmarks, history results, and search bars.
Favicon History
The favicon was also made available in 1999 with the release of Internet Explorer 5. The “favorites” feature was a simple addition made by Microsoft as a result of the same kind of research that led to favicons. This feature has similarities to Netscape’s “bookmarks” feature and was created to help users browse websites.
A Microsoft programmer, Bharat Shyam, put a 16×16 image to the website to make it stand out and help users tell one website from another. He gave this special name: a favicon by fusing the words “favorite” and “icon.”
Favicon Standardization
The suggestion to use favicon.ico marked the start of the standardization of favicons as “ico” is the format that Windows uses for icons. W3C generated this recommendation to help developers understand how to define and find one.
The look of them the ico format is explained here:
<link rel=”icon” href=”/path/to/icon.png”>
Over time, favicons have gotten different image sizes and formats. Microsoft quickly began utilizing them in locations other than bookmarks, such as next to URLs in the address bar and other places.
Favicon on a Web Browser
You will notice that each tab has an icon on the left side when you are visiting websites and opening a new tab each time you check a website. These little images serve as favicon icons. You can identify which website you opened by looking at the favicon icon in your computer browser, which will also aid in website memorization.
Favicon on the Bookmark Bar
A webpage may be added to your favorites so that you can visit it later or remember it. The little icons will be the first thing you notice about the website when you return to your bookmarks later. Favicon icons are another name for these images.
Why Favicons Matter
These icons work similarly to the ID of your website. Because of this, having them makes your website easier for users to find, which aids in increasing brand recognition. They help people remember your website when they scroll through several tabs.
You ought to be aware that favicons increase credibility. If your website’s favicon is absent and an empty icon is used in its place, you risk losing credibility. For this reason, they should be used on your website.
Favicons and SEO
There are some indirect benefits to using favicons, even though there are no direct connections between them and SEO.
The most well-known benefit of them for SEO is that they increase the usability of the website. When your website’s title appears with a favicon in browser tabs, bookmarks, and history archives, users can access it quickly and easily. As a result, usability is enhanced, which influences SEO.
How to Make a Favicon
A professional designer might create it for you while taking your company’s objectives, brand identity, and values into account.
There are a few things to think about when creating one. The size is the first consideration while creating a favicon. The size of a favicon for a web browser should be 16×16. You can use 96zx96 for a desktop shortcut icon and 32×32 for a taskbar shortcut icon.
The type of the favicon is something else to consider while developing one. Even though “ico” was the original file type, designers now prefer PNG, JPG, or SVG formats for favicons because of their quality and simplicity. You may also be interested in how to use website color schemes in web design.
Tips for Designing a Favicon
Let’s take a look at the tips you should know before designing your favicon.
- Your design should be simple.
- A favicon should reflect your brand identity.
- It should avoid including text. If there is going to be a text, it shouldn’t be longer than two or three characters.
- It should be tested before it’s utilized.
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After considering these tips carefully, you will be able to create the perfect one!
How to Add a Favicon in HTML
You might be wondering if there is a method to add a favicon to your website using HTML if you are constructing one. Save the image you want to use before adding it to your website. The HTML favicon should therefore be your main focus.
Make sure to add the <link> element to your index.html file right below the <title> element. The code could look like this:
<title> example website </title>
<link rel=”icon” type=”image/x-icon” href=” /images/favicon.ico”/>
Reload the index.html file in your web browser after saving it. Your favicon image should now appear to the left of the page title in your browser tab. Congratulations, you successfully completed the steps!
Conclusion
In conclusion, we answered the question of what is a favicon and explained how they work and what they are used when creating a website. We hope this article helped you understand the significance of using them. Don’t forget to check our blog to learn all about web designing and little tricks. See you in another article about web design!
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