Do you know what a Favicon is and why your website should have one?

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Humans are well-equipped to process what they see. In fact, most of the information our brain stores is visual. Offering visual content is an ideal way to make something memorable, such as your brand.

Many of us experience an example of this on a daily basis, when we have to choose one of dozens of simultaneously open tabs in the web browser. What can help us to know what is in each tab are small icons on each one.

What are these icons and why should you have one on your website? We'll talk about that and more below.

What is a favicon?
A favicon, which is short for favorite icon, is the small image you often see in web browsers next to a site's title. The first browser to support it was Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5, released in March 1999.

At that time, the image was also known as a shortcut icon or bookmark icon. When a favorite or bookmark was saved, the icon would accompany the link, hence the name.

Nowadays, you'll see a favicon in multiple places. So as small as this website element may seem, it's actually quite important.

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The purpose of favicons and examples of their use
The purpose of a favicon is to help you identify a website quickly, especially when you have multiple tabs open. Or if you need to locate a specific brand's URL among a long list.

Think of favicons like app icons: visually identifiable graphics that help you find the content you want more quickly.

In addition to placement in the browser, favicons are used in many other places. For example, you'll see them to the left of the website in your bookmarks bar, as well as in lists of bookmarked websites you've saved to revisit later.

When you go to a Google search page, it's not uncommon to see sites you've recently visited appear below the search bar.

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Mobile search results
While Google search results don't have favicons on computers, they are very present on mobile devices. Try doing a Google search on your mobile and you'll see them next to the website URL.

Auto-complete suggestions
Sometimes when you search for something in a search bar or start typing a website URL, you'll be presented with autocomplete recommendations that include website favicons. You're much more likely to recognize a brand or company by its logo or color scheme.

Google News Search Results
There are instances where you will also see favicons within search results. For example, if you go to Google News, they are displayed within the search results so that readers can quickly and easily identify which news source the results are coming from.

Browser history
Browser history is another place you'll see favicons, making it easy to find a site you've recently kazakhstan mobile phone number list visited among what could be a long list.

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Why should you have a favicon on your website?
A globe is the default favicon that Google Chrome sets for websites that don't have a custom favicon. This is a wasted opportunity in user interaction with your brand, and also in personalizing your site.

Favicons not only impact user experience and brand awareness, but they can also make your website look more professional.

If you do a search on your mobile using Google, you are much more likely to visit sites with favicons that are related to what you are searching for, or that are recognizable brands.

Favicons are tools (along with URLs, page titles and meta descriptions) that can influence the decision to visit a site for the first time, and to revisit it when we find it in autocomplete.

A favicon with your logo, especially if it's a simple, distinguishable version in small size, helps reinforce your brand identity and make your site more memorable.