Operating Systems 1 min read

Favicon

Published June 24, 2002 12:00 am

Short for favorite icon, a customized icon that is used by Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) versions 5.0 and later. When a user bookmarks a specific Web page, that Web page loads a customized icon into the user’s browser, typically a tiny version of a company or Web site’s logo. The favicon is displayed next to the Web site’s name in the Favorites list and can also be displayed in the Links toolbar. When a site has not created a favicon, IE will load the IE logo into the browser by default.

When a user bookmarks a page, the browser will request a favicon.ico file from the directory of the Web page. If such a file exists, then the Web page is using a favicon and will return the file to the browser.

A typical favicon is 16 x 16 pixels and uses only 16 colors.

Was this Article helpful? Yes No

Thank you for your feedback. 0% 0%

About the author

Webopedia Staff

Since 1995, more than 100 tech experts and researchers have kept Webopedia’s definitions, articles, and study guides up to date. For more information on current editorial staff, please visit our About page.