How to use it
- Tick the sizes to include: 16, 32 and 48 for a favicon.
- Drop in the JPG.
- Download the .ico file.
Square first
Icons are square. A rectangular JPG is centred with transparent space above and below, which can make the icon look small. For a better result, crop the JPG to a square around the important part with the crop tool, or pad it to a square with a matching background colour using the square tool, then convert.
The white box problem
JPGs have no transparency. A logo on a white background stays on a white square, which looks fine in light browser tabs and like a white tile in dark ones. If you want a transparent icon, remove the background first with the transparent background tool, then use PNG to ICO.
Photos as icons
At 16 pixels a photo is a blur of colour. Faces and scenes rarely read at that size. A single bold letter or a simple shape is far more recognisable.
JPG and ICO compared
| JPG | ICO | |
|---|---|---|
| First released | 1992 | 1985 |
| Compression | Lossy | Holds PNG or BMP images |
| Transparency | No | Yes |
| Animation or pages | No | Several sizes in one file |
| Best for | Photos for sharing, email and print | Favicons and Windows icons |
| Support | Universal | Browsers and Windows |
Questions people ask
Can a JPG icon have a transparent background?
No. Remove the background and save as PNG first, then convert the PNG.
What sizes should I include?
16, 32 and 48 px for favicons; add 256 px for Windows desktop icons.
Will a rectangular JPG be stretched?
No. It is centred on a square without distortion.