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A search on Google for 'favicon' will return many posts and websites advising and showing you how to create a favicon. The question is, do you have one? If not why not? Our tutorial for creating a favicon says:
All ‘blogspot.com’ blogs default to the Blogger
icon. WordPress
also brands its sites hosted on their free blogging platform. It gets boring real soon! You can change the default and proudly show your own brand.
The favicon is one of three easy ways to brand your blog and make yours stand out in the crowd. It's the symbol, miniature logo, that appears next to your blog url/name in some pretty important places. You can get some free exposure when people add your site to their favorites. Here are some areas where you image should be recognizable:
- browser address bar for open tabs
- browser quick links bar
- bookmark lists, favorites folders
- feed readers, social bookmark sites, blogrolls
Inspiration
If our own favicon doesn't inspire you, then take a look at this excerpt from a list at Smashing Magazine (published a few years along but beautiful nonetheless):
Tools and Resources
There are countless sites to create and or host a favicon.
IconJ
I found this one recently. It that has a gallery of animated icons for free download. If you register you can specify a set of icons (theirs or your own uploads) that IconJ will use to automatically change your favicon to fit your mood: (are you there CreativeJunkie?)
- Display favicon by the day of the week
- Display favicon by the month of the year
- Display favicon by four seasons
Other tools to create your image include these which we've used, but feel free to find your own: Favicon.cc Paint Photoshop IrfanView Favicon Maker
Conclusion
I admit it's a pet peeve --- seeing beautiful blogs with the tired orange Blogger or blank icons in the browser bar. I was almost tempted to use a FireFox add-on that lets me add my own favicons to bookmarked sites. But that would be obsessive! 
A favicon is a very simple yet effective part of your promotion and branding strategy. There is no excuse for not having one. But, I'm always open to enlightenment, so let's hear your "reasons."
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice post, I actually did a post last month on favicons using favicon.cc. I also listed a few other sites that offer the same kind of service.
I don’t understand why you would want to automatically change your favicon according to your mood, that sounds a bit stupid to me. It’s like saying you want to change your underwear depending on your mood, I’m still shaking my head.
I just found it interesting and creative to market such a feature. I’m sure a lot of people will find it unique — not to say they would use it! I mentioned CreativeJunkie since she like other bloggers have been known to change headers according to the season or when they need a fresh coat of paint. The favicon is an extension of personalizing your blog. Long live individuality.
Is ignorance an excuse here? I knew enough to create a favicon for my independent blog and get rid of the blank icon, but didn’t know I had the choice with my blogspot and wordpress.com blogs. Does one of your links cure my ignorance?
Yes, take the first link and call me in the morning! Warning, it only temporarily cures the chronic ignorance syndrome, specifically for favicons. Let’s followup in a few days and check out your progress.
Did ya know that on wp.com you can upload the pic of your choice and it will automatically convert it to the favicon for you? Otherwise I would have been begging for help! HA!
Just thought I’d let you know in case you didn’t.
Sounds magical. thanks for pointing this out. I think you mean the blavatar which fills role of favicon and gravatar. If not please let us know which feature does this.
I wrote a tutorial on favicons. Most people forget to use them as a resource. As an illustrator I always take note of sites that have some blank page icon in my browser tabs. Terrible. It’s the small details that grab people’s attention, especially if you’re in the design business.