For any business that is serious about branding itself, favicons must be part of its marketing strategy. Even though they are not the essential aspect of a business website, they are part of the small details that matter- ones that potential customers will remember when they visit your platform.
Most internet users open multiple tabs when going about their businesses. With that, they might want to revisit a website for one reason or another- a well-designed favicon should be able to lead them accordingly.
This guide will highlight what a favicon is and how you can make one and stand out from your competitors.
A favicon is a small, usually 16 x 16-pixel icon that brands your website. Its primary role is to help visitors navigate the pages quickly, especially when opening multiple tabs. Most favicons are displayed before the URL in the browser's address bar, next to the site's name in the user's bookmarks list, and in the browsing tabs.
Favicon is the short version of "favorite icon" and was first featured within the Internet Explorer browser back in 1999. Apart from distinguishing your webpage from a set of congested bookmarks tabs, a favicon can:
The effectiveness of your favicon depends on how unique it is. Today, there are plenty of favicon makers that can help you create favicons that will serve you perfectly. To come up with one, consider the following tips:
Editors such as Corel PHOTO-PAINT can help you design the perfect favicon images. For brand identity consistency, you can choose to use your company logo. Starting with a 64 x 64 square image, then scaling it down to 16 x 16 pixels, which is the ideal favicon size, is the easiest way to start your editing process, after which you can save the file in an ideal format such as gif, .bmp, .tif, jpg, or png.
Regardless of the format you choose to save your file (in step one above), you need to convert it into favicon.ico, which is supported by almost all the browsers available. Converting your image into favicon.ico format requires that you use a trusted third-party editor, or any other preferred option that you may have.
Once you have converted your image to a .ico file, the next step is to upload it to the root directory of your website, after which it should be visible when you visit your website. You can add an HTML code to help other users to find your favicon image easily. However, most modern browsers should be able to find your favicon even without adding an HTML code.
Boost your chances of coming up with an excellent favicon by using space wisely, adopting simplicity, remaining true to your brand identity, and using proper abbreviations where necessary.
Short version for "favorite icon," a favicon is a tiny pixel icon that identifies your brand amid other tabs in a user's bookmarks page. A favicon is important because it distinguishes your business from your competitors, improves your online branding activities, and turns one-time users into regular visitors.
To create a favicon, start designing an image by editing its size, converting it into a .ico format, uploading it, and including an HTML code. Pro tips include using space wisely, keeping your favicon simple, incorporating your brand identity, and proper use of abbreviations.
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