Svg Favicon Not Working

Browser compatibility caveats

Not all browsers treat SVG favicons the same way and you need to cater for their specific requirements:

Work with all major browsers

Brighten up the tabs in Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Opera by specifying the MIME type and setting the size to "any":

<link rel="icon" href="yourfavicon.svg" type="image/svg+xml" sizes="any">
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Safari special case

Safari prior to v16.x does not support SVG favicons, but one does not simply ignore Safari users. Provide fallback favicons in .ico or .png formats:

<link rel="icon" href="fallback.ico" type="image/x-icon"> <!-- 🍏 Safari, Y U NO SVG? -->
<link rel="icon" href="fallback.png" type="image/png" sizes="16x16">
<link rel="icon" href="favicon.svg" type="image/svg+xml" sizes="any"> <!-- Everyone else :)
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Default sizes matter

Even though most browsers ignore the sizes attribute for SVGs when "any" is specified, it's worth stating for device compatibility.

Dynamic favicons - they live!

SVG favicons can be more than static icons – they can be animated and styled!

Add life with CSS and JavaScript

Apply CSS styles or JavaScript animations to your SVG favicons for some extra flair:

<style>
  @keyframes spin {
    from { transform: rotate(0deg); }
    to { transform: rotate(360deg); }  /* Going for a spin */
  }
  #myfavicon {
    animation: spin 2s linear infinite; /* Spin me around! */
  }
</style>
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Predicting and preventing problems

Optimize and cross-check your XML syntax to prevent common issues like Chrome not displaying your SVG.

Debugging SVG favicons

Hit a snag with your SVG favicon? Don't fret, we've got you covered.

Cache might be a culprit

A hard refresh or clearing your browser cache can often resolve SVG favicon issues. Be sure to check this as it could be serving an old version of your icon.

Validate your SVG

Errors in your SVG file could be the root cause of your problems. Tools like SVGOMG can optimize and validate your SVG, making sure it's ready for prime time.

When all else fails, convert

If your browser doesn't support SVG favicons (looking at you, Internet Explorer), convert your SVG to a conventional format (.ico or .png) for those troublesome case.

Performance and accessibility pointers

Amp up your search results

Match favicons with your branding and enhance your site’s presence in search results and browser UI by customising the theme colour.

Size does matter

Optimize your SVG file size to create a hustle-free page load experience. Modern SVG compression techniques can squeeze files down to just kilobytes or even bytes, giving your site the performance edge.