Favicon Generator
Preview at real size
Every size
Paste this into your <head>
Sixteen pixels is smaller than you think
A favicon in a browser tab is about sixteen pixels across — roughly the size of this full stop scaled up a little. A full logo at that size becomes an indistinct smudge. What survives is one letter, one simple shape, or a single strong symbol lifted out of the logo. The preview above shows the icon at its true size for exactly this reason: it is the only honest way to judge it.
Why each size is generated separately
Scaling one large PNG down in the browser gives a soft, blurry result at small sizes. Producing each size on its own, from the original, keeps edges crisp where it matters most.
What each file is for
- favicon.ico — the site root. Requested automatically by browsers whether you link to it or not.
- 16 and 32 — browser tabs and bookmarks.
- 180 — the Apple touch icon, used when an iPhone adds your site to the home screen.
- 192 and 512 — Android and the web app manifest.
When it will not update
Browsers cache favicons far more aggressively than other assets, and an ordinary reload often will
not clear one. Check in a private window, or add ?v=2 to the link while testing.
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Free to use, no sign-up, works on any phone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, and it is the one file worth keeping. Browsers request /favicon.ico from the site root whether you link to it or not, so putting it there stops a stream of 404s in your logs and covers older browsers that ignore the PNG links.
Different places ask for different ones. A browser tab wants 16 or 32 pixels, an iPhone home screen 180, and Android and the web app manifest 192 and 512. One large PNG scaled down by the browser looks soft in a tab, which is why each size is produced separately.
Something square and very simple. At sixteen pixels there is room for a letter, a simple mark, or one strong shape — nothing more. A detailed logo turns into mush, so most sites use a single initial or a symbol taken from the logo rather than the logo itself.
No. It is scaled and encoded in your browser, and the files download straight from the page. Nothing is sent to a server.
Put favicon.ico in the site root. The PNGs can sit anywhere as long as the paths in the HTML match, though the root is the simplest. Then paste the generated HTML into your head tag.
Browsers cache favicons hard, and a plain reload often will not refresh one. Try a private window, or add a query such as ?v=2 to the link while you check.