What Is a Favicon?

A favicon (short for "favorite icon") is the small icon displayed in browser tabs, bookmarks, and address bars next to your website's name. It helps users quickly identify your site among multiple open tabs and reinforces your brand identity.

Modern websites need favicons in multiple sizes and formats to ensure compatibility across different browsers, devices, and platforms — from desktop browsers to iOS home screens and Android app launchers.

Professional tip: A well-designed favicon improves brand recognition and helps users navigate between multiple browser tabs more efficiently.

Why You Need Multiple Favicon Sizes

Desktop Browsers

16×16 & 32×32 — Standard browser tab icons
48×48 — Windows taskbar and site shortcuts

Mobile & PWA

180×180 — Apple Touch Icon for iOS home screen
192×192 & 512×512 — Android and Progressive Web App icons

This tool generates all these sizes from a single image, saving you the effort of manually resizing and converting each one.

How to Use the Favicon Generator

Upload Your Image

Click the upload area or drag and drop an image file. Supported formats include PNG, JPG, SVG, WebP, and GIF. For best results, use a square image with a minimum size of 512×512 pixels.

Best practice: Use high-resolution square images (512×512 or larger) to ensure crisp output at all sizes.

Customize Settings

Shape — Choose between Square (standard favicon), Rounded corners (modern look), or Circle (app-style icon)
Background — Keep it transparent or set a solid color behind your icon
Padding — Adjust the spacing around your icon (0% to 40%) to give it breathing room

Preview

See how your favicon looks at all standard sizes in the preview grid. The browser tab mockup shows exactly how it will appear in a real browser tab.

Download

ICO — Download favicon.ico containing 16×16, 32×32, and 48×48 sizes
PNG — Download a single 32×32 PNG file
Apple Touch — Download apple-touch-icon.png at 180×180
Download All — Get a ZIP file with all sizes (ICO + 8 PNGs), ready-to-use HTML code, and a site.webmanifest file

Features

Multiple Output Formats

Generate favicons in ICO format (the traditional multi-size icon file used by browsers) and individual PNG files at every standard size.

ICO file with 16×16, 32×32, and 48×48 embedded
Individual PNG files for all sizes
Maximum browser compatibility

Shape Customization

Choose from three shape options to match your brand style.

Square — Classic favicon look
Rounded — Modern softness with proportional corners
Circle — Clean app-style icon for PWA

Background & Padding Control

Set a custom background color for logos with transparency, or keep it transparent for a clean look.

Custom background colors
Transparent background support
Adjustable padding (0% to 40%)

Live Browser Tab Preview

See exactly how your favicon will appear in a real browser tab before downloading.

Real-time preview updates
Accurate browser tab mockup
Fine-tune with confidence

Complete Favicon Package

The "Download All" option gives you everything you need in one ZIP file.

favicon.ico + all 8 PNG sizes
Ready-to-use HTML link tags
site.webmanifest for PWA support

Your Data Stays Private

All processing happens in your browser:

No uploads — Images never leave your device
No tracking — We don't collect usage data
100% client-side processing

Frequently Asked Questions

What image size should I use for the best results?

Use a square image of at least 512×512 pixels. This ensures the largest output size (512×512 for PWA) remains sharp. Non-square images are automatically fitted and centered within the favicon bounds while preserving their aspect ratio.

Recommended: For professional results, use vector graphics (SVG) or high-resolution PNG files at 1024×1024 or larger.

What is the difference between ICO and PNG favicons?

ICO Format

Traditional Multi-Size File

Contains multiple sizes in one file
Supported by all browsers natively
Single file for 16×16, 32×32, 48×48
Best for legacy browser support

PNG Format

Modern Individual Files

Individual image files per size
Specified using HTML link tags
Better quality and transparency
Preferred by modern browsers

For maximum compatibility, use both: an ICO file as fallback and PNG files for modern browsers.

Do I need all the favicon sizes?

Minimum requirements:

favicon.ico (16/32/48) for desktop browsers
apple-touch-icon.png (180×180) for iOS

Full coverage (recommended):

All minimum sizes above
192×192 and 512×512 for Android and PWA
site.webmanifest file for Progressive Web Apps

Quick solution: The "Download All" option includes everything you need for complete platform coverage.

How do I add favicons to my website?

Upload Files

Place the favicon files in your website's root directory (where your index.html is located).

Add HTML Code

Copy the HTML link tags from the included favicon-usage.html file and paste them into your page's <head> section.

Test

Clear your browser cache and reload your website to see the new favicon.

Included: The "Download All" ZIP includes ready-to-use HTML code with all necessary link tags.

Which shape should I choose?

Square

Standard choice for traditional websites and professional brands.

Most Common

Rounded

Works well for modern, friendly brands with a softer aesthetic.

Modern

Circle

Ideal for app-style icons, especially for PWA or mobile home screens.

App-Style

Preview each option to see what looks best with your logo.

Can I use a transparent background?

Yes, transparent backgrounds are supported and selected by default. This works well for logos placed over varied website backgrounds.

Important note: Some platforms (like iOS) display a white or black background behind transparent icons, so consider using a solid background color for Apple Touch Icons.

Best practices:

Use transparent backgrounds for desktop favicons
Consider solid backgrounds for mobile home screen icons
Test your favicon on both light and dark browser themes