Favicon is present and properly configured
Why it matters
The favicon appears in browser tabs, bookmark bars, history menus, the Android home screen when a user adds the site, iOS home screen when the user adds to home screen, and — increasingly — in Google search results next to the domain name. A missing favicon displays a generic globe icon or a blank square, which signals "unfinished" to every visitor and reduces the likelihood that a user recognizes your tab among ten others. It is a five-minute fix that contributes to every single session's brand recall.
Severity rationale
Low because the site still functions without a favicon — only brand recognition and tab/bookmark UX are degraded.
Remediation
In Next.js App Router, drop named files directly into the app/ directory — the framework auto-generates the correct <link> tags. For broader device coverage, supply multiple sizes including an Apple touch icon.
app/
favicon.ico (32x32, for legacy browsers)
icon.png (32x32 PNG, modern browsers)
apple-icon.png (180x180, iOS home screen)
For other frameworks, place the files in public/ and add <link rel="icon" href="/favicon.ico"> plus <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/apple-touch-icon.png"> to your root template.
Detection
-
ID:
favicon-present -
Severity:
low -
What to look for: Check for favicon files in the
public/directory orapp/directory (Next.js App Router supportsfavicon.icoinapp/). Look for<link rel="icon">tags in the document head. Check for multiple icon sizes (icon.png, apple-touch-icon.png). -
Pass criteria: Count all favicon/icon files and
<link rel="icon">declarations. At minimum 1 favicon file (favicon.ico,icon.png,icon.svg, orapple-touch-icon.png) must exist in a served location, or at least 1<link rel="icon">tag must be present in the document head. Enumerate all icon files found. -
Fail criteria: No favicon file found (0 icon files in
public/orapp/) and no<link rel="icon">tag in the head (0 icon link tags). -
Skip (N/A) when: Never — every web project should have a favicon.
-
Detail on fail:
"No favicon.ico found in public/ or app/ directory, and no <link rel='icon'> tag in document head" -
Remediation: The favicon appears in browser tabs, bookmarks, and search results. Place a
favicon.icofile in yourpublic/directory (orapp/for Next.js App Router). For better device support, also add:public/ favicon.ico (32x32) icon.png (32x32 PNG) apple-touch-icon.png (180x180 for iOS)Next.js App Router automatically serves files named
favicon.ico,icon.png, orapple-icon.pngfrom theapp/directory.
Taxons
History
- 2026-04-18·v1.0.0·Initial import from seo-fundamentals·automated