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 project context first: If .claude/project-context.md or .cursor/project-context.md exists, read it for brand and visual identity.

Identify:

1. Tech stack: Next.js, WordPress, static HTML, etc.
2. PWA: Is the site a PWA or planning to be?
3. Existing assets: Logo, icon files

Required Sizes

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)

See serp-features for SERP feature types and optimization.

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 (logo-generator, brand-visual-generator)
• 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

• logo-generator: Favicon typically derived from logo; consistent branding
• media-kit-page-generator: Media kit should include favicon or link to brand assets
• brand-visual-generator: Visual identity; favicon aligns with brand colors and mark
• indexing: Favicon requires crawlable homepage; URL Inspection for indexing