What is a favicon checker?

It reads every icon declaration in a page head, then loads each file to confirm it exists and to measure its real pixel size. That covers rel="icon", rel="shortcut icon", apple-touch-icon, mask-icon, manifest icons and the implicit /favicon.ico request browsers make on their own.

Why does Google show a globe instead of my favicon?

Google only displays a favicon that is square and a multiple of 48px, such as 48x48, 96x96 or 192x192. A 16x16 ICO or a 30x40 rectangle is dropped and replaced with a generic globe. Adding one correctly sized square PNG fixes it.

Do I have to paste my page source?

No. Enter the URL and the page is fetched for you on the server, which sidesteps the CORS rule that stops a browser reading another site HTML. Paste mode is still there for markup you have not published yet, and for pages behind a login that no anonymous request can reach.

What size should an apple-touch-icon be?

A single 180x180 PNG covers every current iPhone and iPad. iOS downscales it for older devices. Do not use transparency, because iOS composites the icon onto black, and do not use SVG, because iOS ignores it for home screen icons.

Do I still need a favicon.ico file?

Yes, in practice. Browsers, feed readers, link preview bots and older crawlers request /favicon.ico by name regardless of what you declare. A real file there prevents a steady stream of 404s and covers clients that never read your markup.

Can one SVG replace every favicon size?

Almost. A single SVG at rel="icon" covers Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari on desktop at any density. You still need a PNG apple-touch-icon for iOS, PNG manifest icons for Android, and an ICO at the root for old clients.

Why is my old favicon still showing?

Favicons are cached separately from the page and are held far longer than normal assets, sometimes for weeks. A hard refresh often does not clear them. Renaming the file, for example favicon-v2.png, forces every browser to fetch the new one.

What does the mask-icon declaration do?

It supplies Safari with a monochrome SVG for pinned tabs and the Touch Bar. It needs a color attribute to tint the shape, and the SVG has to be a single flat path with no fills or strokes, otherwise Safari renders it as a solid block.

Does a missing manifest hurt SEO?

Not directly. Rankings do not depend on it. It changes what Android users get: without manifest icons Chrome cannot offer an install prompt and the home screen shortcut falls back to a cropped favicon or a letter tile.

How many icon files should a site have?

Four covers nearly everything: an SVG or 32x32 PNG for rel="icon", a 180x180 PNG apple-touch-icon, 192x192 and 512x512 PNGs in the manifest, plus a favicon.ico at the root. Larger sets exist but add maintenance for very little reach.

Free Favicon Checker

Enter a URL and see every icon the page declares, then whether each file actually comes back and what size it really is. Covers rel="icon", shortcut icon, apple-touch-icon, mask-icon, manifest icons and the root favicon.ico.

Free, no signup Real status codes True pixel sizes

Check a site

Enter the address and the live page is fetched for you, so every declaration and every icon file is checked against a real response.

Site URL

Icons fixed? Check what else the head is missing

Nobody should hand write eight icon tags.

Grigora generates the full icon set, the manifest and the head tags from one square logo, on the same platform that hosts your site, your newsletter and your store. Upload once and the declarations stay correct through every redesign.

Start free See the builder

How to check a favicon

Four steps from address to answer.

Enter your site URL

Type the address of the page you want checked, for example https://example.com.

Run the check

The page is fetched for you, the head is read, and every icon it declares is requested.

Read the real numbers

Each file reports its status code, byte size and true pixel size, next to the size the markup claims.

Fix the errors first

Broken files and a missing apple-touch-icon change what people see. Size warnings change how sharp it looks.

How to check your favicons, step by step

Real screenshots of the tool, taken while checking a site that declares eight icons.

1
Enter your site URL
Every icon the page declares is requested for real, including the implicit /favicon.ico that browsers ask for whether you declare it or not.
2
Check any public page
Icons are normally declared in the head of every page, so the homepage on its own is enough.
3
Confirm each icon actually loads
A declared icon that returns a 404 is the usual reason Google shows a plain globe. Real dimensions are compared against the declared sizes.

When people run this check

Six moments a broken icon shows up.

After a site redesign

Icon paths move with the theme. The old declaration keeps pointing at a file that is gone.

When Google shows a globe

A generic globe in search results usually means the icon is not square or not a multiple of 48px.

Before shipping a new site

The favicon is the last thing anyone remembers and the first thing in a browser tab.

Testing the iOS home screen

Confirm an apple-touch-icon exists before someone adds your site and gets a screenshot instead.

Auditing a client site

Read every declaration in one pass rather than opening devtools and checking paths by hand.

Setting up a PWA

Check the manifest actually lists a 192x192 and a 512x512 that both resolve.

Where favicons are set, by platform

Find the setting, then verify what actually shipped.

WordPress

Open Appearance, then Customize, then Site Identity.
Upload a square PNG of at least 512x512.
View source and paste the head here to confirm what shipped.

Shopify

Open Online Store, then Themes, then Customize.
Set the favicon under Theme settings.
Add an apple-touch-icon in theme.liquid, Shopify does not add one.

Next.js

Drop icon.png and apple-icon.png into the app directory.
Next generates the link tags at build time.
Check the built page, not the source file.

Grigora

Upload one square logo in site settings.
Every icon size and the manifest are generated for you.
Run this check afterwards to see what was emitted.

Grigora vs. other favicon checkers

Side by side.

Capability	Grigora	Online checkers	Browser devtools	Manual view source
Checks the file actually loads	Yes, reads the bytes	Status code only	No	No
Reports real pixel size	Yes, read from the file header	No	Declared size only	No
Reads manifest icons	Yes	Sometimes	No	No
Works from a URL alone	Yes, the page is fetched for you	Yes	Manual	Manual
Accepts unpublished markup	Yes, paste mode	No	No	Not applicable
Explains why each rule exists	Yes	No	No	No

Common errors and how to fix them

Eight favicon problems and what causes each one.

Declared icon returns 404

Cause: The path changed during a redesign or deploy.

Fix: Update the href, or restore the file at the old path. Browsers stop looking once a declaration exists.

Google shows a grey globe

Cause: The favicon is not square or not a multiple of 48px.

Fix: Serve one 96x96 or 192x192 square PNG and declare it with rel="icon".

iOS home screen shows a screenshot

Cause: No apple-touch-icon is declared.

Fix: Add a 180x180 PNG at rel="apple-touch-icon" with a solid background.

Icon looks blurry on retina

Cause: Only a 16x16 ICO is served.

Fix: Add a 32x32 and a 192x192 PNG, or a single SVG icon that scales cleanly.

sizes attribute lies

Cause: The markup says 32x32 but the file is 16x16.

Fix: Correct the attribute. Browsers choose which file to download from the declared value.

Android install prompt missing

Cause: No manifest, or the manifest has no icons.

Fix: Link a manifest and list at least a 192x192 and a 512x512 PNG.

Safari pinned tab is grey

Cause: mask-icon has no color attribute, or is not a flat SVG.

Fix: Supply a single path monochrome SVG plus color="#000000" or your brand hex.

Old icon still showing

Cause: Browsers cache favicons aggressively and separately from the page.

Fix: Change the filename rather than the file. A new path forces a fresh fetch.

Numbers worth remembering

The constraints behind most favicon problems.

Pixel multiple Google Search requires for a favicon to be shown at all

180

Square PNG size iOS asks for on current iPhone and iPad home screens

Icon files that cover browsers, iOS, Android and legacy clients

Icon files a single check will request before it stops

Frequently asked questions

Ten answers about site icons.

Related free tools

Other utilities that pair with the Favicon Checker.

Build a site that gets the details right

Site, newsletter and store in one place, with the icon set and head tags handled for you.

Start building free

Free Favicon Checker

Check a site

Nobody should hand write eight icon tags.

How to check a favicon

Enter your site URL

Run the check

Read the real numbers

Fix the errors first

How to check your favicons, step by step

Enter your site URL

Check any public page

Confirm each icon actually loads

When people run this check

After a site redesign

When Google shows a globe

Before shipping a new site

Testing the iOS home screen

Auditing a client site

Setting up a PWA

Where favicons are set, by platform

WordPress

Shopify

Next.js

Grigora

Grigora vs. other favicon checkers

Common errors and how to fix them

Declared icon returns 404

Google shows a grey globe

iOS home screen shows a screenshot

Icon looks blurry on retina

sizes attribute lies

Android install prompt missing

Safari pinned tab is grey

Old icon still showing

Numbers worth remembering

Frequently asked questions

Related free tools

Favicon Size Generator

Website Icon Generator

Broken Image Checker

Custom OG Image Maker

Image to WebP Converter

Website Launch Checklist

Build a site that gets the details right