subject: Favicon –What's that and How Do You Create One? [print this page] Favicon What's that and How Do You Create One?
Favicons are a short for favorite icon. They are the tiny images that show up in the address bar beside the URL of the website that you are visiting. They are also seen in the tab which lies next to the website name. They add a more polished look to the site and lend a professional touch to it. When a site is bookmarked, the favicon is also seen in the bookmark bar. Thus favicon is essential in creating a brand presence of your company and to stand out in the crowd. Favicons can also be used in blogs for making a presence in the blogging world.
Creating a favicon
A favicon is easy to create if you have knowledge of web designing or image processing, but even if you don't, there are lots of free sites available over the Internet which generates favicons for free. A small Google search for free favicon generators' and you will get numerous sites to help you out. Choose the site you like and get going.
While creating favicons through Internet, basic steps to be followed are:
Go to a site which creates a favicon online.
Upload the image which needs to be made into a favicon.
Download the favicon thus created. The favicon image has an .ico extension.
Place the favicon.ico file into the root or main directory of your site.
Favicons are generally of the size 16 x 16 pixels. While creating an image for favicon, you have to keep in mind the lack of space and using a logo would be the best option. Using the initials of your company instead of the full name can also be another option. The background can have any color or can also be kept transparent.
Many online favicon generators use two types of ways to create a favicon
Part of the image can be used for favicon
Many sites have the option which lets you upload an image where you can preview it and resize the image accordingly.
2. The favicon can be generated from the full image
There are other sites which will generate a favicon for you from the image which you upload to the site.
Some sites not only create a favicon for you, but they also host in their servers for free.
Once the favicon is ready, it's time to add the favicon to your site. The following HTML line is to be added in the header section
Where your URL' is the path to the newly created ico file and x-icon is the name you want to use for your icon.
One thing to be kept in mind while choosing the favicon is that, it should be recognizable and should be related to your brand, website or blog for getting the best recognition.
