FormatDrop
How-To Guide

How to Convert PNG to ICO (Create a Favicon from Any Image)

Every website needs a favicon — the tiny icon that appears in browser tabs, bookmarks, and mobile home screens. ICO is the traditional favicon format, containing multiple image sizes (16×16, 32×32, 48×48, 256×256) inside a single file so browsers can pick the right size for different uses. This guide shows you how to turn any PNG logo or icon into a properly formatted ICO file, so your website looks polished in every browser and device.

Open PNG to ICO Converter

Step-by-step instructions

  1. 1

    Prepare your source PNG

    Start with a PNG image that works as a square icon. Ideal dimensions: 256×256 or larger (the converter will resize down as needed). A clean, high-contrast design is critical — favicons are displayed at 16×16 pixels in browser tabs, so complex logos with fine detail become unreadable. If your logo has text, consider using a simplified icon version or just the first letter/symbol at this size.

    Go to converter
  2. 2

    Open the FormatDrop PNG to ICO converter

    Navigate to formatdrop.com/png-to-ico in your browser. The converter generates a proper multi-size ICO file that includes 16×16, 32×32, and 48×48 pixel versions — the three sizes browsers most commonly request for tabs, taskbar icons, and desktop shortcuts.

  3. 3

    Upload your PNG

    Drop your PNG onto the converter or click to browse. Transparent backgrounds are preserved — if your logo has a transparent background (no white square behind it), the ICO will maintain transparency, which looks correct on all browser tab backgrounds and Windows taskbar themes.

  4. 4

    Convert and download the ICO file

    Click Convert. The output is a single ICO file containing all the size variants. Download it and name it favicon.ico.

  5. 5

    Add the favicon to your website

    Place favicon.ico in the root of your website (e.g., yoursite.com/favicon.ico). Most browsers will find it automatically. For best cross-browser support, also add this to your HTML <head>: <link rel='icon' type='image/x-icon' href='/favicon.ico'>. For modern browsers and mobile home screen icons, also add a PNG favicon at 192×192 and 512×512 alongside the ICO.

Why convert PNG to ICO?

ICO is the only image format designed to contain multiple sizes inside a single file. This is intentional: different operating systems and browsers request favicons at different sizes. Windows Explorer shows folder/shortcut icons at 256×256; the Chrome browser tab shows favicons at 16×16; Windows taskbar icons appear at 32×32. An ICO file with all three sizes lets each system pick the appropriate version, rather than scaling a single size up or down (which results in blurriness). Modern web development uses PNG and SVG favicons alongside ICO for better quality at larger sizes, but ICO remains necessary for maximum compatibility — particularly for Internet Explorer (yes, still used in enterprise environments), Windows shortcuts, and older Android browsers. The favicon.ico file at the root of a site is also fetched automatically by many bots, crawlers, and link-preview services, so having it present is important beyond just browser display.

Your files never leave your device

FormatDrop runs the conversion engine entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly. No file upload. No server. Nothing stored. You can verify this by opening DevTools → Network tab and watching: zero upload requests.

Frequently asked questions

What size should a favicon PNG be?
For source material: 256×256 pixels is ideal. The converter will generate 16×16, 32×32, and 48×48 variants from it. If you're creating a modern icon set, also prepare a 192×192 PNG (for Android home screens) and a 512×512 PNG (for high-DPI displays and Google's web manifest). Your favicon.ico is generated from the square source, so the original image should already be square — if it's not, crop it square first.
Should I use ICO or PNG for my website favicon?
Both — and ideally SVG for modern browsers. The recommended 2024 approach: place favicon.ico in your site root for broad compatibility, and reference both a 32×32 PNG (icon.png) and an SVG in your HTML head. The ICO handles Internet Explorer and old browsers; the PNG handles modern Chrome/Firefox/Safari; the SVG is scalable for any future use. This triple approach covers 100% of browsers.
Why is my favicon not showing up after I upload it?
Browser favicon caching is aggressive. After uploading your favicon.ico, hard-refresh the page (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R) and wait up to 24 hours for the favicon to propagate in all tabs and browser sessions. You can verify the favicon is being served correctly by visiting yoursite.com/favicon.ico directly — you should see the icon image. Also confirm the file is named exactly 'favicon.ico' (lowercase) in the root of your domain.
Can I use a JPG image for a favicon?
You can use JPG as source material — convert the JPG to PNG first (or directly to ICO). However, JPG doesn't support transparency, so if your logo has a transparent background, start from PNG. Browsers technically can use ICO files generated from JPG source material, but the lack of alpha channel means a colored background instead of transparent, which looks bad on browser tabs with dark themes.
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