Favicons: A small but necessary part of any site

The favicon — the often overlooked but unmistakably integral part of any site—is to websites as a masthead is to newspapers or a bug/chyron is to TV. The tiny icon appears in the address bar of any standard browser, in tabs and in the bookmarks/favorites folder. The favicon is a necessary visual reminder of the Web site’s brand identity. The 10,000 Words favicon, for example, is the small orange circle with the number 10.

Memorable favicons include those for the Orange County Register and Bravo TV, as well as those featured in the collage below (source).

Creating and installing a favicon is as simple as creating a perfectly square image and uploading it to sites like Favicon Generator. The .ico file is then placed in the main folder of your website. If you don’t have access to this folder, consult with your site administrator before pursuing it any further.

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