Add or change a favicon in Squarespace

A favicon is the small icon that appears in browser tabs, bookmarks and some search results next to your site's name. In Squarespace, you add or replace it by uploading an image file in the site's favicon setting, which some versions and help pages call the browser icon. The same setting handles both a first-time upload and a replacement. Upload a new file and it takes the place of the old one.

The short answer

Open your site in the Squarespace editor and find the favicon or browser icon setting. Depending on your Squarespace version and interface update, it sits in the design or website tools area. Upload your icon file, save, and then check the result in a browser. The exact menu path has changed over time and differs between Squarespace versions, so this article does not give a step-by-step click path. Use Squarespace's current help documentation for the precise location in your editor.

General workflow

• Prepare a square icon derived from your logo, simplified so it reads clearly at very small sizes.
• In the Squarespace editor, open the favicon or browser icon setting.
• Upload the file, or replace the existing one.
• Save your changes.
• View the live site in a private or incognito window, or after clearing the browser cache. Browsers often cache favicons, so the old icon can linger for a while after you change it.

Where your vector logo fits in

A favicon is displayed far smaller than a logo usually appears anywhere else on a site. That makes the vector master file the right starting point. Scalable artwork lets you simplify shapes, adjust spacing and export a clean square image without the blurring you get from shrinking a large raster logo. Full wordmarks rarely survive at favicon size. A single letter, monogram or symbol taken from the logo usually works better.

Check which file formats the Squarespace uploader currently accepts before you export. If it does not accept SVG, export a raster version from your vector artwork, such as a PNG with a transparent or solid background. Keep the vector original for future edits and other sizes. The supplied evidence does not confirm Squarespace's current accepted formats or recommended pixel dimensions, so verify both in Squarespace's own guidance.

Vector file versus vector artwork

An SVG, AI, EPS or PDF extension does not guarantee editable vector paths. Some of these files only wrap an embedded raster image, and some are just previews. If the logo inside is a pixel image, simplifying or rescaling it for a favicon has the same quality limits as working from a PNG. Open the file in a vector editor and confirm that the shapes are made of editable paths before relying on it as your master artwork.

Rights to the artwork

Being able to download a logo file does not give you permission to modify it or use it as a favicon. If the logo, its fonts or the trademark belong to someone else, such as a client, a parent brand or a third party, confirm you are authorized to adapt and display it. Simplifying a mark into a favicon still counts as a modification of the artwork.

What this article cannot confirm

No verified specifications were available for this topic. That includes the current menu location for your Squarespace version, accepted file types, recommended dimensions, file size limits and how long cached favicons take to update. Treat Squarespace's official help pages as the authority on those details.