Favicon Builder: Create Custom Favicons with Ease

In the world of technology, where the first appearance always attracts people's attention, a favicon can be the reason for increasing the value of your website branding and user experience. This cute little icon shows the identity of your website by appearing in search engine tabs, bookmarks, and search results.

In this guide, we will discuss some facts and figures about favicons, like what a favicon is, why we need it, and how to generate one with the help of a favicon builder. We will also see some of the best favicon tools and a step-by-step guide to converting PNG to ICO. Finally, we will talk about the best practices for successfully designing a favicon.

Table of Contents

What Is a Favicon?

Favicon stands for "favorite icon." It is a little graphical picture like a logo that is shown in your program tabs with the site name in bookmarks, and it is likewise noticeable on cell phones and tablets. For the most part, It's a 16X16 and 32X32 pixel picture that can be saved exclusively in ICO and PNG formats depending on the device or browser type. Regardless of size, it also facilitates a visual identifier and strengthens a website's brand recognition and trustworthiness.

Why Are Favicons Essential?

  • Branding: A favicon helps to build a strong identity for your website that makes the site effortlessly recognizable.
  • User Experience: It improves the navigation of your website by enabling users to spot your website quickly among other open tabs of the browser.
  • Professionalism: A favicon can make your website look super smooth, professional, and trustworthy as compared to those who don't contain one.

How to Create a Favicon for a Website

Creating a favicon is not rocket science. You can easily make a professional favicon by just following the simple steps listed below:

  1. Start with a Clear Image: Select a simple graphic that visualizes your brand. Make sure to pick a simple design that stands out well in square dimensions and matches your website's color scheme. A complex design can ruin the originality and make it messy.
  2. Select a Favicon Builder Tool: Users can use free or paid versions of favicon builder tools to generate a professional favicon; even newbies can easily use free tools because of their simplicity, such as IMG2IMG, Canva, GIMP, etc.
  3. Convert to ICO Format: ICO is the ideal format for most search engines. If your logo is not in that specific format, you can easily convert it into ICO by using PNG to ICO or Image to ICO converter tools like IMGTOIMG, favicon.io, or RealFaviconGenerator and IMG2IMG.
  4. Add to Your Website: Place the favicon in your site's root directory and reference it in the HTML header: 
    <link rel="icon" type="image/x-icon" href="/favicon.ico">

Free Tools to Design Custom Favicons

  • IMG2IMG: The IMG2IMG image tools provide a dynamic solution for performing picture conversion tasks, like converting images to favicon file types such as ICO or PNG, convert images to and from JPG, HEIC, WebP, PNG, and others, as well as images into PDF files. Using the IMG2IMG tool you can rapidly and efficiently convert your picture document into outstanding quality, compress PDF files while keeping each detail up to mark.
  • Favicon.io: It is an easy-to-use favicon generator that allows you to create favicons by using text, emojis, or pictures. It, by default, saves your design in the ICO format.
  • RealFaviconGenerator: This tool makes sure that your generated icon works fine on other platforms as well, such as Android, browsers, iOS, and Windows.
  • Canva: Typically, Canva is a graphic and animation-generating platform; it is also amazing at designing favicons, but it won't convert your favicon file into the ICO format automatically.
  • X-Icon Editor: It's a web-based favicon maker that allows you to create amazingly pixel-perfect favicons in the ICO format.
  • Convertico.com: It's a Speedy and well-organized favicon maker that converts PNG to ICO according to browser requirements.

Best Practices for Favicon Design

A convenient design favicon can maintain the professionalism and usefulness of your website. Check out the following steps to create an effective favicon.

  • Keep it Simple: Favicons are tiny in size, so make sure to add bold text, identical shapes, or symbols and avoid complex details. Keep it easy and catchy.
  • Use Contrasting Colors: Select high contrast that is actively visible in the tiny logo.
  • Stick to Your Brand: Keep your favicon attached to your website branding, choose an identical part of your logo, and use it in branding your website.
  • Optimize File Size: Your Favicons should be under 1KB, and an increase in size can affect the icon's loading time.
  • Check on Multiple Devices: Test the appearance of your favicon in different search engines, tabs, and operating systems to ensure evenness and quality.

How to Convert PNG to ICO Favicon

  1. Prepare Your PNG: Check if the shape of your picture is square; it should include 16x16, 32x32, or 64x64 pixels so it can be enhanced for small sizes.
  2. Use a Converter Tool: Upload your prepared PNG file using a convertor tool like IMG2IMG, ConvertICO, or Favicon.io.
  3. Download the ICO: The converter tool will create an ICO format file that will be ready to be recognized on your website.

Favicon File Formats for Websites

  • ICO: ICO stands for "Windows Icon"; it is the only format that supports various resolutions in a single file. It is the standard format for search engines to recognize the file as a favicon.
  • PNG: PNG stands for “Portable Network Graphics" and these image file types are commonly used in modern websites because of PNGs have excellent quality and clarity.
  • SVG: SVG stands for "Scalable Vector Graphics" and is ideal for high-resolution displays, but it may not be supported by all browsers.
  • GIF: GIF stands for "Graphics Interchange Format." It is not widely supported but can be used to create animated favicons.

Why Custom Favicons Enhance Branding and UX

A well-designed favicon is a tiny yet effective approach to boosting your website's professionalism. A favicon is the identity of a website; it indicates the diversity and authenticness of your brand. An eye catching favicon can impact your branding as well as user experience remarkably.

Additionally, a favicon makes sure to maintain a unique recognition that can be easily spotted in overfilled tabs and browsers. A well designed favicon contributes to finer navigation and complete user satisfaction.

Conclusion

In this guide, we discussed how creating a favicon is no longer a headache; with the help of free favicon builder tools like IMG2IMG, favicon.io, and so on we can easily create and design professional icons. Modern favicon maker platforms such as IMG2IMG and X-icon editor can automatically convert files into commonly used ICO formats.