how many words is a favicon worth?

As we continue to develop the Business Ready website and blog we’re focused on the overall user experience. After all, this venture is all about you. But even though the bigger picture drives most of our decisions, we also know that we can’t forget the important little details. Details like a favicon.

So what is a favicon and what does it say about your business?

Favicon is an abbreviation for favourites icon. You’ll also hear it called a website icon, page icon or urlicon. Wikipedia has a good entry to explain the definition, use and standardization along with some links to generate your own favicon. There are hundreds of favicon generators if you take the time to Google.

As someone who deals with small businesses on a regular basis, I’m often reviewing new websites for clients, friends or colleagues. Strangely, one of the first things people notice is the use or absence of a favicon. Isolated, it brings no value to your site other than to show that you either hired a professional or you care enough about the details.

It’s not until your website appears on a user’s desktop when a favicon becomes really valuable. Take, for example, my desktop on a typical day. I’ll have anywhere from seven to twenty-seven browser windows and tabs open at the same time. Sifting through all those tabs would be tedious if I didn’t have favicons to guide me.

In the screenshot below it’s difficult to know which website belongs to the rather unimaginatively named <index>.

There’s a good chance that particular site will get lost in my browser shuffle and I’ll likely close the tab without remembering whether it was worth bookmarking, referring someone to it, or going back.

In the growing sea of online information there’s no shortage of good resources and websites. So take a moment and make sure your favicon is helping people navigate their way back to you.