Favicon checker

Check the home page favicon declarations

Enter a domain or any URL on the site. The checker uses the hostname's home page because Google supports one favicon per hostname. It reads icon link elements, checks the usual /favicon.ico fallback, and follows one declared web app manifest.

Each icon result keeps the declared relationship, size, type, and purpose next to the fetched file's HTTP response, byte size, format, and detected dimensions. That makes a stale declaration or wrong image response easier to spot.

Google Search favicon requirements

Google asks for a supported icon link on the home page, a stable icon URL, and a square image of at least 8 by 8 pixels. Google recommends an icon larger than 48 by 48 pixels for clearer rendering across its surfaces. The home page and icon must also be crawlable by Googlebot and Googlebot-Image.

This check can confirm the declaration, response, format, and dimensions it observes. It does not run as Googlebot or decide whether the image is visually representative of the site. Meeting the checked requirements does not guarantee that Google will show the icon. Read the current Google Search favicon documentation before changing a production site.

Browser, iOS, and web app icons are separate

Browsers can use a declared icon or the conventional /favicon.ico file. Apple touch icons are intended for iOS home screens. Manifest icons are used when a web app is installed and can declare purposes such as maskable. One file may cover several surfaces, but the declarations are still different.

The web app manifest icon reference explains how manifest sizes, types, and purposes guide browsers and operating systems.

What the checker covers

The checker reads the home page declarations, the usual favicon.ico fallback, Apple touch icons, and icons from the web app manifest. Each result shows a preview, response status, file type, dimensions, and the places where the icon can be used.

Use the findings to catch missing files, broken declarations, incorrect sizes, and gaps between browser, search, iOS, and installed app icons.

Favicon sizes to provide

Why your favicon is not showing in Google

• Google has not crawled it yet. A new or changed favicon can take days or weeks to appear.
• The icon is not square, or is smaller than 8 by 8 pixels.
• It is blocked. robots.txt stops Googlebot or Googlebot-Image from fetching the home page or the icon.
• The declaration is on the wrong page. Google reads the home page of each hostname, not inner pages.
• The URL changes. A cache-busting query that changes on every deploy gives Google a new icon to fetch each time.

The favicon sits next to your site name on every result, on phone and desktop, so a blurry or missing one makes a result easier to skip. The title and meta description checker shows how your title and description sit next to it.

Fix your icons with your AI agent

SEO Skill has no favicon command, so this page is the check. When it finds a problem, your agent can make the missing sizes and fix the link tags and manifest in your codebase. Run the check again after you deploy. Ask your agent:

Make favicon files at 16, 32, 48 and 180 pixels and a 512 pixel manifest icon from logo.svg, and add the right link tags to the site layout

Add the hosted MCP server to your agent and sign in with Google:

Favicon questions