Blog Talk Thursday | Favicons

Last week’s Blog Talk focused on setting alt text for Pinterest captions. I hope it helped some of you out there. This week’s topic is something else I often notice is missing when reading other blogs – favicons. As silly as it may seem, I love seeing them on my tabs and love how creative people get with them.

I’m going to share a quick video tutorial below about setting up favicons, in Genesis specifically, but first I have a very special treat for you all. My ah-mazing friend Anna (who you may remember writes the equally amazing blog, In the Next 30 Days) is here to share some tips about favicons from the perspective of a pro. I’m so, so excited that she agreed to do this for me, on a complete whim, and love what she came up with. So without further ado . . .

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5 Favicon Tips from a Graphic Designer

A good favicon makes a blog look polished, complete, and helps to further the branding. And when a blog is well branded, it’s more likely to be remembered and recognized in busy places, like in a crowded Pinterest Feed.

As a graphic designer, I can appreciate a well done favicon, sometimes it’s even my favorite part of a site. So here are my 5 Tips to Make your Favicon stand out in a crowd.

1. Make it branded. Your favicon should match your blog’s colors, shapes, and overall feel. If you have a logo or symbol that is used repeatedly on your site (like Chaos & Love’s ampersand with the heart), then using it as your favicon just makes sense.
2. Make it colorful. Bright bold colors will make your favicon noticed in a browser tab or in your rich pins on Pinterest.
3. Make it simple. You only get 16 pixels square. You don’t have room to use your entire blog header. Think about initials in a font that matches or a simple shape. Don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be.
4. Make it visual. Think in pictures and symbols, not words. Duct Tape Marketing‘s favicon is a roll of duck tape. It tells you exactly what to expect from the site in a millisecond. When it comes to favicons, words are too slow.
5. Make it consistent. Once you set a favicon, leave it alone. If you change the colors regularly or keep swapping out your symbol, then it’s loses it’s consistency and recognizability. Brands earn their reputation on their constant approach, your favicon might be tiny, but it is an essential part of your brand.

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That’s good stuff, y’all. I mean, look around this blog – it’s all Anna. Pretty, right? She knows what she’s doing.

By the way, make sure you’re keeping up with Anna all over social media. She’s always doing something awesome.

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Now on with the tutorial. These steps will probably work with any theme, but I’m talking Genesis specifically because I’ve noticed that if you don’t do it exactly right, your favicon gets bumped by the Genesis default which is especially a bummer when you have rich pins set up in Pinterest and want YOUR favicon to be front and center in pins from your site.

Follow these quick and easy steps and you’ll be all set.