What is a Favicon?
A favicon is a small icon in a web browser's address bar, tab, or bookmark list next to the website's name. It is also sometimes displayed in search engine results. Favicons are typically 16x16 pixels but can come in various sizes to accommodate different browsers and devices. The average favicon network request takes 130ms. The median favicon file size is 1.9k bytes. The first browser to support favicons was Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5, released in March 1999.
Favicons were initially intended to be displayed only on bookmarked URLs, but today, they are used in many more places. They are useful for branding and usability. Google displays a page's favicon next to its breadcrumb in search results and in the browser tab.
Where Can You See the Favicon?
Favicons are small visual cues that help users quickly identify and locate your website among a sea of tabs, bookmarks, and search results. Here are some of the common places where favicons appear:
- Web browser tabs: When you have multiple tabs open, favicons help you distinguish between different websites at a glance. Imagine trying to find a specific website among dozens of tabs without favicons – it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack!
