Add a shortcut icon to your web site

We all know how useful it is to have little icons next to our bookmarks so that we can quickly and easily see what the web sites are without having to read the bookmark text. But did you know how easy it is to add a favicon to your own web site? In fact all you need is a small .GIF image and an extra line in your html header. Yes, that’s right, it doesn’t have to be an .ICO or anything special, it doesn’t even have to be a specific size. You can even use an animated GIF, although that isn’t guaranteed to work with every browser.

Just find (or create) a simple but recognisable image (preferably no bigger than 32×32 pixels in size), rename it favicon.gif, upload it into the root of your web space, and add the following line into the header of your html:

  1. <link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.gif">

Now your logo will appear in the address bar of the browser, and also in the browser’s bookmark menu if someone bookmarks your site. Not only is this a cool addition to your site, but can also help you to get more traffic and popularity, as the site is seen as more professional and authoritative.

Matthew