How to Create Your Own Favicon.Ico for Your Website

Favicons are the icons that set your website apart from others. Favicons are the icon that is shown in any browsers address window. It's also a great tool for bookmarking, as it will be easier to find with a matching logo. They can appear as anything you can imagine. Alphabet letters, a logo that matches the website, or simply a colored shape. There are animated Favicons too, but only Internet Explorer can see these style of Favicons.

You can create your own Favicon from any image you desire. The problem being they have to be 16 pixels by 16 pixels. This is extremely small, and if your logo or icon that you which to be created into a Favicon blurs or you are unable to make out what it is, you will have to go with another image.

Favicons are saved as .ico files, .ico files are icon files. These icons are the same style icons that you could replace your Recycle Bin with or My Computer icon.

If you can't decide on any images you may want as your Favicon, check out http://www.iconbazaar.com/ for some ideas. After you have decided on several images you may want as your Favicon.ico go to http://www.html-kit.com/e/favicon.cgi This is a free Favicon creator. You simply find the file on your computer selecting the "Browse" button, then click "Generate Favicon.ico". Shortly thereafter the page will refresh and display what your Favicon will look like in a browser window. If you like it, click "Download Favicon". A zipped file when then wish to download. Download the file and open it to discover your Favicon.ico file complete with directions.

The problem with using this free Favicon.ico generator is sometimes it blurs even the clearest of images. If you don't wish to use online free Favicon.ico generators, you can always create your own another way or download a free one from the net. Here's a gallery of already made free Favicons http://www.favicon.co.uk/gallery.php

To create your own from an image size it down in any photo program to 16 by 16 then save as a .ico file. It will compress it to the quality needed in order to save it as an icon file. If you don't have a photo program to edit with, you can download and use Gimp for free at http://www.gimp.org/ Gimp is easy to use and better then Photoshop.

After you have created your Favicon.ico file, you will need to upload it to your website. Place the Favicon.ico into the root directory of your domain. Be sure that it is named favicon.ico, so browsers can pick it up. Some websites will by default pick up the new Favicon, but to be sure your Favicon is viewable by all, add this to the head section your web pages.

[link rel="Shortcut Icon" href="favicon.ico"]

Be sure to replace [ with < and ] with >.

Now when visitors bookmark your website, it will appear with your Favicon, thus increasing its prominence in your visitor's bookmarking display and setting your site apart from others.