How To Use Your Very Own Logo To Create A Favicon For Your Website
While having that just right logo for your brand is all well and good. But the question arises, are you really using your logo to brand yourself in the single most effective way possible?
Well, one opportunity that unfortunately, many business enterprises miss is that of both creating and subsequently using a proper favicon for their websites. But then most people don’t even know that a well-made favicon can substantially increase their overall brand recognition as well as successfully help them to grow their business.
What Exactly Is A Favicon Anyway?
Let us first start by discussing what exactly a favicon is all about. The term “favicon” is actually an amalgam of two entirely different words, that is, favorite and icon. In other words, it is a very small icon or symbol that will show up in the navigation bar of anyone’s web browser whenever he or she visits your website.
It is sometimes referred to as a bookmark icon because it also appears next to your site name when a user makes your site one of their favorites.
Favicons were initially supported as far back as the 1990s when Windows 5 was released for the very first time. Originally, they had a tendency to appear only when a web browser or visitor bookmarked a particular website. There was a fringe benefit for the webmaster as well. Ergo the site owners would then tell how many different visitors to the site had bookmarked them. They could do this easily enough by simply viewing the total number of favicon requests, overall.
These days, all favicons will load automatically by themselves. This is why there is no specific way to figure out the total number of visitors and users who make it a point to bookmark your website. Albeit having said that favicons can and most certainly do increase overall brand recognition and in this way help you to present a more consistent image online as well.
How To Go About Creating A Full-Fledged Favicon
The process of creating a favicon for your website is pretty simple actually. Here is how you can go about doing so:
You Have To Choose The Right Size First
This is the most basic first step here. I.e. knowing exactly what size that you prefer for your favicon file. The answer to this question depends upon n knowing exactly where you will be able to use it, per se. As a general rule, the usual standard size is approximately 16 pixels or so. This means that it is so tiny you will easily be able to use it almost all the commonly used web browsers. As well as your users’ favorite bars too. But there are a few alternatives as well here.
For example, you can use 57 pixels. Why? Well, it is after all the size of the popular iPod Touch icon. This was the size used in the first-gen OS systems. However, the newer systems currently require 114 pixels, as well as 96 pixels. The latter being the overall standard size for Google’s TV.
There is a question here. Do you really need all of these sizes as such? The simple answer here is that you don’t. This is why experts typically recommend two sizes only.
- The standard 16 pixels and
- The standard 128 pixels size
The former can be used just about anywhere, while the latter is ideal for the Google Chrome Store as well as just about any other place where you just might need a really large icon. If you have any ideas on marketing an app to (for instance) iPhone users, then the odds are that you will almost certainly need to create the perfect (read most appropriate) favicon for your web marketing activities.
You Have To Choose The Right Format
The file format that you choose for your desired favicon will be the next thing that you will have to take into consideration. Because no single standard format has been developed as yet, you will probably have to create at least two as a bare minimum.
Creating The Image Itself
Once you are done with the previous steps, it is time to create an image. Look at the little logo and see which ones the most important elements are here.
Since the favicon is already so small, it is not possible to include text at all. If you want it to be really effective, you simply must make a single, striking image to increase its efficacy.
You can also simplify the image from your own website as well. For example, if you are a car retailer, then you might use a car icon to serve as your own personal favicon.
Conclusion: Implement Your Favicon
Once you are done with the design, you have to implement it. That is export it and add it to your site. Now your site is perfectly ready, and you can make use of your little favicon and use it to augment your online marketing efforts.
Final Words:
We hope you really enjoyed this article on creating favicons. Having a great design of a website creates a strong appeal to its visitors. And creating a great favicon adds a lot of value to a website too.
We would appreciate if you will share this article with people who want to know more about favicons and graphics designs. Thanks a lot.
