Favicon storage – which folder should be used?

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This question is not technical but rather “ideological” – where in WP should favicon be stored (in “correct” way)? Should it be in the root (where wp-config.php) is stored OR should it be in current theme’s folder? Or should 2 copies be kept (which I don’t want to do)?
I know, either way will work and will result in no errors but I’d like to know better/correct/more semantical, etc. way.

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4 comments

  1. I would only store it in the theme folder if I expected the favicon to change when I change the theme. Which I don’t.

    A favicon is part of the total site identity, not a function of the CMS. What if you use non-WP software to run different parts of the site — e.g., a photo gallery, forum, or wiki (or all of the above)?

    Put the favicon in the website root, and all software packages will have access to it, usually automatically (though you may have to remove hardcoded LINKs from individual themes).

    (Edit) To clarify: If no LINK is specified, all modern web browsers (except Seamonkey, though an option exists to enable it) automatically look for a favicon at the root directory, i.e., example.com/favicon.ico. So there is no reason to add a LINK element, and good reason not to.

    Furthermore, if the LINK element is malformed (has a typo, say) or the file located there is corrupt or in a format the browser doesn’t understand, the browser will go looking for /favicon.ico anyway, so not having a file there will result in 404 errors in your logs.

    There is one case where a LINK is appropriate, and that is if you want different favicons for different pages of your site.

  2. It should always be in the root folder then it’ll work whether you explicitly link to it or not.

    You can also use this as a function in your theme’s functions.php to explicitly link to it:

    function my_favicon() {
    echo '<link rel="shortcut icon" href="' . get_bloginfo('wpurl') . '/favicon.ico" />';    
}
add_action('wp_head', 'my_favicon');

  3. Even though there are quality answers here, I thought I’d throw in two cents from a different perspective. I manage many blogs and sites in a WordPress MultiSite environment, where the root directory is not an option. In these cases, it’s best to put favicons in the theme directory as the WordPress Codex recommends.

  4. The Favicon isn’t dynamic and doesn’t “conflict” with anything else, with that in mind, I hard code it in the header.php and am then done with it.