You’ve seen favicons; you know, those little logos that appear before the site name or URL in your browser window. These little icons (they’re 16×16 pixels) may seem irrelevant, but they can have a tremendous impact on your website.
Consider your own navigating habits. If you’re anything like me, you probably have a handful of tabs (or more!) open in your browser at any given time. I use a Firefox add-on that shifts my tabs vertically to the left-side of my browser window. So, many times, all I see is the little favicon.
When I go to jump to a new tab, if a site is missing a custom favicon, I have no idea what the site is without clicking or mousing over the tab. It may not seem like much of an inconvenience, but it’s a major fail, in my opinion. Not to mention if you don’t have a favicon for your site, you’re missing out on a quick and easy way to add to your brand.
Here’s a simplified look at the process of creating a favicon:
- Use an existing logo file or create a graphic from scratch using a generator
- Reduce the file down to 16×16 pixels
- Export as a .ICO file (favicon.ico) with your software
- Upload to the root directory of your website
Ready to create your own? Here are some more in-depth tutorials to give you some guidance:
- Favicon Basics, Mark8t
- Tutorial: How To Create Your Own FavIcon, Essential Keystrokes
- Video: How to Create an Install Favicons, Butterscotch.com
Written by Alyssa Gregory
EMAIL Alyssa.
Owner of avertua, LLC, author of VA Secrets Revealed, founder of the Virtual Assistant Hub, blogger at the Small Business Idea Generator, and a whole bunch of other stuff!
Popularity: 1% [?]
