What is a favicon, and does a small business website need one?
A favicon is the small icon that shows in a browser tab and, on Google, can appear beside a site's name in search results. A small business website should have one: without it, browsers usually show a plain default icon, which can make the site look unfinished. A simple square version of your logo, or your initials in your main color, usually works best, because it has to read when it is tiny.
Where people see it
- In the browser tab, next to the page title.
- Usually in bookmarks, and on a phone's home screen when someone saves the site there.
- In Google Search: Google's guide says that if a site has a favicon, it can be included in Google Search results for that site.
What Google asks of the icon
Google Search Central's page "Define a favicon to show in search results" lists guidelines a favicon must follow to be eligible to appear there, and says a favicon may not appear even when every guideline is met. In plain terms:
- It should be visually representative of your website's brand, so people can quickly identify your site when they scan results.
- It must be square.
- Its web address should stay stable rather than change often.
- Google supports one favicon per site, and pages in folders of the same site share it.
- Google will not show an icon it deems inappropriate, and replaces it with a default icon.
How it relates to your logo
As general advice, a full logo with words rarely reads at tab size. A favicon is usually the logo's symbol alone, a first letter or initials on your main color, kept close enough to the logo that the tab, the search result and the sign on your van look like the same business. If you have no logo yet, the related answer on whether you need a logo before a website suggests the business name in plain text; one letter in your main color can serve as the icon meanwhile.
Check it after a redesign
After a new site or a move to a new platform, open the site on a phone and a computer and look at the tab. Website builders sometimes leave their own default icon in place, and it can go unnoticed for months. Add it to the related answer's list of what to check before a new website goes live.
Google's page says it can take several days to several weeks for it to pick up new information on a home page, so a new icon may not appear there straight away.
Sources
Related answers
- Do you need a logo before you build a website?
- What should you check before a new website goes live?
- What is a brand style guide, and does a small business need one?
Websites, upgraded or built
Most businesses do not need a new website. They need the one they have to load fast, say clearly what they do and ask the visitor to take one step.