tools-only Components: Favicon
Guides favicon and app icon implementation for brand consistency across browser tabs, bookmarks, mobile home screens, and Google Search results. Favicons help users identify sites; missing or incorrect icons hurt trust.
When invoking: On first use, if helpful, open with 1-2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On subsequent use or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.
Initial Assessment
Check for product marketing context first: If .claude/product-marketing-context.md or .cursor/product-marketing-context.md exists, read it for brand and visual identity.
Identify:
- Tech stack: Next.js, WordPress, static HTML, etc.
- PWA: Is the site a PWA or planning to be?
- Existing assets: Logo, icon files
Required Sizes (Best Practices 2025)
| Size | Use |
|---|---|
| 16x16 | Browser tabs, standard displays |
| 32x32 | Retina/HiDPI browser tabs |
| 180x180 | Apple Touch Icon (iOS home screen); no transparency |
| 192x192 | Android Chrome home screen, PWA launcher |
| 512x512 | PWA splash screens, adaptive icons |
Optional: 48x48, 96x96, 120x120, 152x152, 167x167, 256x256 for broader coverage.
Formats
| Format | Use |
|---|---|
| SVG | Modern browsers; scalable; supports dark mode via media queries; lightweight |
| PNG | High-DPI; explicit sizes; easy to generate; required for Apple Touch Icon |
| ICO | Legacy; bundles multiple sizes; fallback for older browsers |
Recommended: Provide SVG + PNG fallbacks. Never skip Apple Touch Icon (180x180); iOS shows a generic screenshot without it.
Google Search (SERP Display)
Favicons can appear in Google Search results next to your site's listings. Google Search Central requirements:
| Requirement | Guideline |
|---|---|
| Placement | Add <link rel="icon" href="/path/to/favicon.ico"> to homepage header |
| One per hostname | One favicon per hostname; example.com and code.example.com are separate; example.com/sub-site shares the same favicon |
| Crawlability | Googlebot-Image must crawl favicon; Googlebot must crawl homepage; do not block either in robots.txt |
| Shape | Square (1:1 aspect ratio); minimum 8x8px; preferably >48x48px for quality across platforms |
| Stable URL | Do not change favicon URL frequently |
| Appropriate | No inappropriate content (pornography, hate symbols); Google may replace with default icon |
| Timing | Crawling can take days to weeks; use Search Console URL Inspection to request indexing |
Supported rel values: icon, shortcut icon, apple-touch-icon, apple-touch-icon-precomposed. href can be relative (/favicon.ico) or absolute; favicon can be hosted on CDN.
Implementation
HTML Link Tags
<link rel="icon" href="/favicon.ico" sizes="any">
<link rel="icon" href="/icon.svg" type="image/svg+xml">
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/favicon-32.png">
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/apple-touch-icon.png">
Next.js
Place in /app: favicon.ico, icon.png, apple-icon.png. Next.js auto-generates tags.
PWA Manifest
Include icons array in manifest.json with 192x192 and 512x512 for maskable icons.
Best Practices
- Simplicity: At 16x16, complex details are illegible; use simplified logo mark; design for brand recognition in SERPs
- Consistency: Favicon should match logo/brand (components-logo, components-brand-visual)
- Cache: Use long cache; version for updates (e.g.
/favicon.ico?v=2) - Tools: RealFaviconGenerator, favicon.io, or favicons npm package for automation
- Test: Check across browsers, dark mode, and Search Console (favicon may take days to weeks to appear)
Output Format
- Size checklist (16, 32, 180, 192, 512; >48x48 for Google Search)
- Format recommendations (SVG, PNG, ICO)
- Implementation notes per tech stack (homepage header placement)
- Google Search checklist (crawlability, stable URL, appropriate content)
- Manifest (if PWA)
Related Skills
- components-logo: Favicon typically derived from logo; consistent branding
- pages-media-kit: Media kit should include favicon or link to brand assets
- components-brand-visual: Visual identity; favicon aligns with brand colors and mark
- seo-technical-indexing: Favicon requires crawlable homepage; URL Inspection for indexing