How2: Create a Favicon icon for your Web Site or Blog

As you continue to tweak and modify the content of your web site or blog, eventually you’ll want to customize your sites favicon. For instructions on how to change your favicon for WordPress 2.5.1 click here. For instructions on how to create your own favicon, continue reading below.

What is a favicon? A favicon is the tiny 16 x 16 image that’s associated with your web page. If installed properly it will show up to the left of your web address as well as in other places like the tabs of a tabbed browser like Firefox.

You have 2 options when it comes to creating your new favicon. You can download one (typically for free), or you can create your own using favicon creation software. The software I used for my favicon was a free online tool called Favicon Editor by www.degraeve.com. This tool is nice because it gives you a large space to work with (see the screen shot at the beginning of the post) and it will allow you to upload an image if you’re not up to “painting” your own favicon.

It only took me a few minutes to create the favicon for TYsTIPs.com and, although still a bit plain, I think it looks a lot better than the generic page-with-a-folded-corner icon that Firefox used to display. Once you’ve created (or downloaded) your icon, remember to visit this post for instructions on how to upload your new favicon to your WordPress.org blog. Have fun with your new favicon!