Svg Favicon Not Working
To quickly fix your SVG favicon, ensure it's linked correctly in your HTML <head>
section:
Ensure that favicon.svg
is square (32x32 pixels is a good size), the href
path is correct, and the SVG itself has no errors.
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":
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:
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:
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.
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