Fav It!

Fav It!

What Is a Favicon?
Creating a Favicon
Adding Your Favicon to Your Site

Fav It! is a WebFTP module. For more information about WebFTP, click here.

Fav It! allows you to upload a favicon.ico image file to your site. SBI! does the rest. When you have successfully uploaded the image file, SBI! will re-build your site and automatically code it so that your visitors will see the favicon in their browsers when they visit and bookmark any page on your site.

A favicon shows, in a small but strong way, that your site is a professional one. And your site stands out a bit more in a list of bookmarks and in RSS readers (for your blog). People trust you easier... and all with the help of your tiny little favicon.

For more information on Fav it!, or if you have questions/comments/feedback, click here for the thread that announced its launch.

What Is a Favicon?

A favicon (short for "favorites icon," from the Internet Explorer name for bookmarks) is a small image (an icon) associated with a Web site, or a particular subdomain or page of a site. You'll see them in three locations...

In the address bar, where you enter the URL for a Web page, or where the address appears after you click on a link or bookmark/favorite (see the screenshot below).
In the list of bookmarks/favorites in your browser (see the screenshot below).
Next to the page title in any tabs you may have open (see the screenshot below). This feature is not available in Safari.

Creating a Favicon

There are many free services on the Web to create your own favicon.ico file from scratch or by using an existing image.

Most of these services create your icon with "favicon.ico" as the name. If you are allowed to name it yourself, it must have the name "favicon.ico" (without the quotes).

Important Note

The file size must by 16x16 pixels, or 32x32. And it must be 32-bit color, 16-bit color, 8-bit color, or black and white. It cannot be 24-bit color. If you receive a "could not read from disk" error message when trying to upload your favicon, 24-bit color was used. You'll need to change it to 32-bit, which will render your colors the same, or 16- or 8-bit color.

Creating a favicon.ico file from scratch...

If you have an image creation application, make your own favicon. Follow this helpful Photoshop tutorial.
No image creation program (ex., Photoshop)? Use DeGraeve's Favicon Editor to make a favicon.ico file. This online application uses a 16x16 grid, to which you add color to each square to create the icon.

Creating a favicon.ico file from an existing image...

FavIcon from Pics is an easy to use option...

1) Browse to the image you want to convert to your favicon.
2) Click on the Generate Favicon.ico button.
3) Download the image to your computer.

You'll receive a folder with a long name. This folder contains the .ico file, plus .gif and .png files. You can use these files elsewhere (ex., upload to your blog host so that all your blog posts display the favicon).
If you don't need .png and .gif versions, Dynamic Drive's FavIcon Generator is also very simple to use, with the same browse, upload, create, download process.

Adding Your Favicon to Your Site

Directions for Use

Click on Browse (Choose File if using Safari) and select your favicon.ico file.
Click on Upload Favicon.

Once you have your favicon image, correctly sized at 16x16 pixels or 32x32 pixels, and in the correct format -- favicon.ico -- you're ready to upload the image to your site.

Tips

To change your favicon, simply upload a different one.
Do you want to delete your favicon without replacing it? Click on Delete My Current Favicon.

Additional Tips for Viewing Your Own Favicon

If you use Internet Explorer, your favicon may not appear in your address bar, even after clearing your cache and quitting your browser. You can force it to appear by clicking on the "generic" favicon there. Keep your finger on the mouse and drag it a little to the right. The page should reload and show your favicon.

If it doesn't appear immediately, repeat the above process.

If that does not resolve the problem, try adding your page to your favorites. Your favicon should appear there, and should appear in the address bar when you click on the bookmarked link.
If you use Firefox, Safari (or any other browser), you also may not be able to see your favicon right away. The problem almost always involves your browser's cache. Clear the cache and quit your browser. Try adding your site as a bookmark. Sometimes, it just takes time before the browser "figures it out." But don't worry... others can see it.