How to Easily Remove the WordPress Icon from Your Browser Tab (2 Ways)

Here is a detailed 2000+ word blog post on how to remove the WordPress icon from the browser tab:

The WordPress icon is great when you first create your website, serving as a visual placeholder until you‘re ready to establish your brand. But leaving the generic WordPress favicon in place for too long can make your site seem unprofessional and indistinguishable from others.

Replacing the WordPress favicon with your own custom icon is a quick and easy way to level up your branding. Your unique favicon will help users identify your tabs among the sea of open browser windows.

In this guide, you‘ll learn how to remove the default WordPress icon from the browser tab using two different methods:

Using the built-in WordPress customizer (no plugin required)
Using the Heroic Favicon Generator plugin for advanced features

Let‘s start with the basics of what a favicon is and why it‘s important for your website.

What is a Favicon?

A favicon (short for "favorites icon") is the little icon that appears next to your website‘s name in browser tabs. It also shows up on bookmarks and in the address bar.

The favicon was originally designed to make websites easier to identify when saving as bookmarks. But favicons have grown into a key element of branding and recognition in the digital age.

With so many open browser tabs, your favicon is often the only visual indicator of which website is open. Users will start to memorize and associate your favicon with your brand if it‘s unique and consistent across your site.

Why You Should Remove the WordPress Favicon

While the WordPress icon makes a good temporary placeholder, you should replace it with custom branding as soon as possible. Here are some key reasons to remove the default icon:

Looks generic and unprofessional – The WordPress favicon will make your website look indistinguishable from the millions of other WordPress sites. Visitors won’t take your brand seriously.

No brand recognition – Users have a hard time remembering generic favicons. A unique icon tailored to your brand makes your site much more recognizable and memorable.

Confusing for visitors – Tabs all start to look alike after a while. Your custom favicon enables users to quickly switch between your tabs without confusion.

Free branding opportunity – Take advantage of this free space to reinforce branding. A well-designed favicon can become intrinsically linked to your website.

Now let‘s go over how to upload your own favicon in place of the default WordPress icon.

Method 1: Removing the Favicon in the WordPress Customizer

The easiest way to replace the favicon on your WordPress site is by using the built-in customizer. You don‘t need to install any extra plugins for this.

Here‘s how to upload a favicon using the customizer:

Step 1: Access the Customizer

First, you need access to the WordPress customizer. There are two ways to get there:

Block themes – Go to your WP admin dashboard » Appearance » Editor. Click on the gear icon to access Customize.

Classic themes – Go to your WP dashboard » Appearance » Customize

Step 2: Select the Site Identity Section

Next, scroll down and select the "Site Identity" section in the customizer sidebar:

This is where all your site branding settings are stored.

Step 3: Upload New Favicon Image

Under the Site Icon heading, click the "Select Site Icon" button to pick a new image.

This will bring up the media uploader where you can choose an image from your computer. Your favicon should be a PNG, GIF or ICO file.

Step 4: Crop the Image

If your image is larger than the ideal favicon size, the uploader will allow you to crop it to an exact size.

Crop the image to a square and resize until it‘s 32×32 pixels or smaller. This ensures it displays properly.

Step 5: Publish Customizer Changes

Once you have your new favicon looking the way you want, click "Publish" to save your changes.

The customizer will automatically generate any other favicon sizes needed by the browser.

Refresh your site, and you should now see your new icon in the tab!

And that‘s all there is to replacing the favicon using the built-in WordPress customizer. No plugins required!

Method 2: Using the Heroic Favicon Generator Plugin

While the basic customizer method works great, you can unlock more advanced favicon features with a plugin like Heroic Favicon Generator.

Let‘s go over how this plugin makes it even easier to upload and manage complex favicon setups:

Step 1: Install + Activate the Plugin

First, install and activate the Heroic Favicon Generator plugin from your WordPress dashboard.

Or search for "Heroic Favicon Generator" in the plugin repository to install it directly.

Step 2: Access the Plugin Settings

After activating, click on "Favicon Settings" under the plugin name to access the settings:

Step 3: Upload Favicon Image(s)

In the plugin settings, click "Select Favicon" to upload your image files. This works the same as the customizer.

You can upload multiple favicon images here and preview how they look.

Step 4: Set Configuration Options

The Heroic Favicon Generator plugin allows you to configure additional advanced settings like:

Uploading favicon images for different platforms like iOS and Android
Automatically generating extra favicon sizes as needed
Integrating with various APIs to populate other favicon fields
Favicon transparency and shape options
Browser tab color
iOS startup image
and more…

Explore all the available settings to optimize your favicons for every situation.

Step 5: Save Your Favicon Settings

When you have your favicon configuration looking how you want, click "Save Changes" at the bottom to make them live.

Refresh your site and verify the new favicon(s) are showing properly on all devices.

The Heroic Favicon Generator plugin makes it easy to go beyond just the basic browser favicon. You can define the perfect icon setup for every platform.

Favicon Design Best Practices

Now that you know how to upload favicons in WordPress, let’s go over some best practices for designing eye-catching and effective favicons:

Keep it simple

The tiny 16×16 pixel favicon leaves little room for complex designs. Keep the icon simple with clean lines and few colors. Google‘s 4-color "G" logo is a great example.

Use brand colors

Stick to one or two brand colors so the favicon ties in with your website’s look and feel.

Pick unique shapes

Simple geometric shapes like circles, squares and triangles work well. Avoid really intricate shapes that may lose detail.

Make it recognizable

Incorporate brand elements people already associate with your website into the icon design. Make sure it’s not similar to competitors.

Design for both light + dark modes

Pick colors that look good on both light and dark backgrounds. Test your favicon on different device themes.

Use PNG for lossless quality

PNG format provides lossless transparency for the sharpest image quality. Other formats like ICO work too.

With attention to these favicon design principles, you can have an instantly recognizable icon that becomes a core part of your brand identity.

Testing Your New Favicon

Before calling your new favicon finished, it’s important to test that it looks as intended across different devices and browsers.

Here are some key areas to check:

Desktop browsers – Verify all major browsers display the favicon properly next to page titles.
Mobile – Load your site on iOS and Android devices to check mobile appearance.
Incognito/private mode – Private browsing doesn’t load cached favicons, so test it looks good here.
Bookmark – Add your homepage to bookmarks and preview the favicon.
External sites – Check how your favicon displays when shared on social media, search engines, etc.

Fix any issues with sizing, quality and branding on third-party sites by tweaking your favicon setup.

Properly testing your favicon will ensure maximum brand exposure whenever your site appears in the wild.

Troubleshooting Common Favicon Issues

If your shiny new favicon isn’t showing up properly everywhere, here are some common issues to check:

Browser cache – Old favicon is cached, so refresh/clear cache to see new one.

Incorrect file type – Double check file is a PNG, ICO or GIF instead of JPEG.

Exceeds size limits – Large or high-resolution favicons may fail to load. Keep it tiny.

Transparency problems – Favicon background color may show instead of being transparent. Use PNG.

Doesn’t match website – Re-download favicon file and re-upload to WordPress if it appears corrupted.

Doesn’t load at all – Try a different image format like ICO if PNG isn’t working for some reason.

Only shows on homepage – Make sure favicon is defined in site HTML rather than page HTML.

Paying attention to these common problems will help you isolate and fix any favicon failures.

Favicon Implementation Tips

Here are a few final tips to make sure your new favicon is implemented consistently across your website:

Upload favicon images to media library rather than hotlinking to external images.
Use a plugin like RealFaviconGenerator to automatically insert favicon code in all pages.
Manually place <link rel="icon" href="favicon.png"> in your header if icon isn‘t showing everywhere.
Check for old favicon references in your theme files and replace them.
Use a caching plugin like WP Fastest Cache and clear caches after making favicon changes.
Verify your favicon displays properly on your login and admin screens too!

Taking the time to correctly implement your favicon across your site will maximize the branding impact.

Final Thoughts

Adding a custom favicon is one of the easiest ways to establish branding and polish the look of your website. Ditching the generic WordPress icon for a unique favicon that represents your brand only takes a few minutes.

But put thought into coming up with a visually distinctive icon that users will come to recognize and associate with your website. A properly designed favicon can do wonders for improving site recognition.

Your favicon also plays an important role in users identifying your website in the sea of open browser tabs. So leverage this free branding opportunity on every new WordPress site you create!

We hope this guide has equipped you with everything you need to know to remove the WordPress favicon and replace it with your own custom icon. What will you design for your next website?