I'm curious about the best practices for creating a favicon. Years ago, I came across a tip that said creating a favicon by hand, pixel by pixel, produced the best results, while resizing images often led to artifacts and poor quality. Is this still the case? Do designers still make favicons by hand? I believe that if an image has clean lines, it could be resized effectively for a favicon without losing quality. Am I missing something here?
2 Answers
You're not missing anything! Nowadays, with app icons being high-res, there's definitely more flexibility. Detailed graphics will definitely look bad when scaled down to 16x16 or 32x32 pixels, so it's best to choose a simple icon. You can use tools like [realfavicongenerator.net](https://realfavicongenerator.net) to automatically create all the necessary sizes and versions for different platforms. It's really handy!
Favicons can be higher resolution now, but choosing a simple image or icon is usually the best bet. But hey, does a cleaner favicon really make a difference? Is there evidence that a better-looking favicon converts more? Sometimes it feels like designers focus too much on details, and forget we're ultimately here to make money.
I can relate to that! I do care about details on some projects. It's all about striking a balance.