Written by David Kim — Frontend Developer & WordPress consultant. More about me →
I onboard about 5-8 new client websites per month. Every single one needs a favicon. Over the years I've tried every method — Photoshop exports, Figma plugins, CLI tools, and a dozen online generators. Here's what actually works, ranked by how often I use each.
| Method | Speed | Privacy | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browser generator (GenFavicon) | Instant | ✅ No upload | Most people — drag, adjust, download |
| Figma plugin | Slow | ✅ Local | Designers already in Figma |
| Photoshop export | Manual | ✅ Local | Designers with Creative Cloud |
| favicon.io | Fast | ⚠️ Uploads file | Quick one-offs with non-sensitive images |
| realfavicongenerator.net | Medium | ⚠️ Uploads file | Full platform coverage (iOS/Android/Windows) |
| CLI (ImageMagick) | Scriptable | ✅ Local | Developers with terminal access |
For client logos (which I'm not allowed to upload to third-party servers), I use GenFavicon — drag in the SVG, set a white background, round the corners by 20%, and download all six sizes at once. For my own projects, same workflow. I haven't opened Photoshop just to resize an image in about two years.
The privacy angle matters more than most developers realize. A favicon is often derived from a company's logo — their primary brand asset. Uploading that to a random converter site is, strictly speaking, a trademark license violation. Browser-local tools avoid this entirely.
According to CanIUse data, SVG favicons are now supported by 91% of browsers. For the remaining 9%, a PNG fallback covers everything back to IE11. I generate both.
Written by David Kim — Frontend Developer & WordPress consultant. More about me →