Favicon? What is that? How to make one?

What is a “favicon”?  it’s the little icon on a web browser tab, or next to a bookmark entry.

I believe a website isn’t really finished until it has a favicon.  Take a look at the first image below.  Most of the “Favorites Bar” links do not have favicons, and therefore they do not stand out, differentiate themselves, nor present their brand identity well.

Below are some examples of favicons:

favicon examples

favicon examples 2

A great place to make a favicon for your website is here.

There are more complicated ways to make favicons.  For example, you can download a free plugin for Photoshop and turn a photo into a favicon.  The important part is that the favicon is saved as a “.ico” file, and named “favicon.ico”.  When this file is uploaded to your website’s root folder (directory), web browsers will look for the “favicon.ico” file and display it on tabs and bookmarks.

Comment if you would like more info on how to create and host favicons (be specific).