Why a Favicon Sometimes Does Not Show
Enter a URL and this tool reads the page's real <head>, finds every favicon-related link tag — icon, shortcut icon, apple-touch-icon and mask-icon — and requests each declared file to confirm it resolves and to report the content type it is actually served with. It also checks the default /favicon.ico location and whether a web app manifest is linked.
That combination catches the problems you cannot see by looking at a browser tab. Browsers cache favicons aggressively, so the icon you see may be months old, while the file your HTML points at returns a 404.
How to Use This Tool
Enter the page URL
Usually the homepage, since that is where browsers and Google look first.
Review the declared icons
Each link tag is listed with its rel value, sizes and the result of actually requesting the file.
Check /favicon.ico
Browsers request it even when no tag declares it, so a missing file produces 404s in your server logs.
Fix and re-check
After uploading or correcting files, run the check again — then hard-refresh your browser to see the new icon.
What the Checker Looks For
- Link tags with rel="icon" or rel="shortcut icon" — the standard favicon declarations.
- apple-touch-icon — the icon iOS uses when someone adds your site to their home screen.
- mask-icon — the single-colour SVG Safari used for pinned tabs.
- The file behind every declared URL — whether it returns 200 and an image content type.
- /favicon.ico at the site root — the location browsers try by default.
- A linked web app manifest — where Android and installed web apps get their icons.
Common Reasons a Favicon Fails to Show
- The declared path is wrong or the file was never uploaded — the request here shows a 404.
- The file is served with the wrong content type, such as text/html from a broken path that returns an error page instead of an image.
- A relative path that works on the homepage but breaks on deeper pages. Use a root-relative path such as /favicon.ico.
- The browser is still showing a cached icon. After a fix, most browsers need a hard refresh, a cleared cache, or even a restart before the new icon appears.
- No link tag and no /favicon.ico — nothing for the browser to find.
- The icon file is blocked by robots.txt or a login wall, which stops Google from fetching it.
Why Your Favicon Is Not Showing in Google Search
Google shows a favicon next to results on both mobile and desktop, and it picks it up from the link tag on your homepage. It uses one favicon per hostname, so a subdomain needs its own.
For Google to use it, the icon should be square and comfortably large — Google recommends larger than 48×48 pixels — and both the homepage and the icon file must be crawlable. It should also represent your brand; Google replaces icons it considers inappropriate with a generic globe.
Changes are not instant. Google recrawls favicons on its own schedule, so a new icon can take days or weeks to appear in results. Requesting indexing of the homepage in Search Console can speed that up, but there is no way to force it.
Which Favicon Formats You Need
A single favicon.ico still works everywhere, and an SVG icon gives modern browsers a sharp version at any size. Add a 180×180 PNG apple-touch-icon for iOS home screens, and list 192×192 and 512×512 PNGs in a manifest if your site can be installed as an app.
Not every browser supports SVG favicons, which is why the ICO or PNG fallback still matters. The Favicon HTML Generator writes the full set of tags in the right order.
Forcing Browsers to Show a New Favicon
If the checker says everything resolves but you still see the old icon, it is cached. Hard-refresh the page (Ctrl+Shift+R, or Cmd+Shift+R on a Mac), or open the icon file's URL directly and refresh it there. For visitors, changing the file name or adding a version query such as /favicon.ico?v=2 forces a fresh download.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a link tag if I have /favicon.ico?
Most browsers check /favicon.ico automatically even with no tag, but an explicit tag is more reliable and is required for PNG sizes, SVG icons, Apple touch icons and manifests.
Why does my favicon show in one browser but not another?
Browsers support different formats and read different tags. SVG favicons are not supported everywhere yet, for example, which is why an ICO or PNG fallback still matters. Caching also differs between browsers.
How long does Google take to show a new favicon?
Anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on when Google recrawls your homepage and the icon. Make sure both are crawlable, then request indexing of the homepage in Search Console.
What size should a favicon be?
Provide a multi-size favicon.ico or an SVG for browser tabs, a 180×180 PNG for Apple devices, and 192×192 and 512×512 PNGs for installable web apps. For Google Search, use a square icon larger than 48×48 pixels.
What if the content type shown is not an image?
Then the server returned something that is not an image — usually an HTML error page served with a 200 status, or a misconfigured server sending ICO files as text. Browsers and Google both reject it.