You make your Logo. Then we'll make everything match.
Highlight Your Brand with a Favicon
By John Williams, president of LogoYes.com
Copyright 2007, John Williams
By now, you're probably familiar with the term "sticky website." The phrase
refers to a site that compels visitors to "stick around." In order to entice
visitors to stick around, however, your site must first project the image
that you are a credible (i.e., large) company. If potential customers don’t
have this comfort factor, they are likely to bounce before they even see
what you offer. There are many aspects to developing a credible, "sticky"
website, but one easy and valuable way is to create a "favicon."
A "favicon" (short for "favorites icon") is the 16x16 pixel image that
appears next to a site name in the navigation bar of many browsers and in
browser bookmarks or favorites lists (see MSN and Yahoo! below):
Until recently, only a few sites had favicons. Suddenly they are
commonplace, appearing on bookmarks, tabs, URLs and more. In fact, favicons
are fast becoming an important aspect of brand identity online. A favicon
serves as a visual shortcut to your URL, a "mini-logo" that helps users
remember and return to your site. Visitors can quickly identify it in
browser tabs without having to read the URL address. And if someone
bookmarks your site, your unique favicon will help your site stand out on
their favorites list. So the question becomes: how can you distill your
brand down to a simple image?
First, look to your logo. Your logo should capture your brand visually, so
it works as the perfect foundation for favicon development. Can you
translate your logo symbol into a 16x16 format? You will probably need to
edit the symbol to make it work. Because of its size, a favicon does not
allow for much detail, so it's not the time to be fancy. If your logo design
is already too complex, you’ll have difficulty reducing it to a favicon.
That's why it's important to keep this new branding space in mind if you
have not yet created your logo.
If you can't work with your logo, try using the initial letter from your
company name. Use a distinct font and add a small graphic element if you
can. The arrow in Amazon.com's favicon is a good example of this. Whatever
your approach, remember that your favicon is your brand presence reduced to
256 pixels. It appears on valuable (if tiny) real estate online.
It's fairly easy to add a favicon to your website. Save a 16x16 gif or jpg
of your image as a favicon.ico and upload it to your root directory. Then
simply add:
<LINK REL="SHORTCUT ICON" HREF="http://www.mysite.com/myicon.ico">
Obviously, "mysite.com" is used here as an example in place of your URL.
Nowadays, not having a favicon can reduce credibility. Remember, your
favicon is often your visitors' first impression of your brand online. Make
it a great one!
John Williams is president and founder of LogoYes.com, the world's first
and largest DIY logo website. In his 25 years in advertising, he has created
brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous
international awards for his design work.
