WHY.md

Why Place Favicons in the Root Directory?

When using astro-favicons, it’s recommended to place all favicon-related files in the root directory of your website. While you may prefer organizing them in a subdirectory (e.g., http://example.com/assets/favicons/), doing so comes with several limitations::

1. Internet Explorer Compatibility: Internet Explorer expects favicon.ico to be located in the root directory. While you aren’t required to explicitly declare favicon.ico, placing it at the root ensures compatibility.

2. iOS Device Behavior: iOS devices look for files like apple-touch-icon-144x144.png in the root directory, following Apple’s guidelines. While this can be addressed by declaring these icons in your HTML (necessary for Android), adhering to Apple’s conventions is generally the best approach.

3. Browserconfig.xml: for IE11: By default, Internet Explorer 11 searches for browserconfig.xml in the root directory.

4. Service Compatibility: Certain services, such as Yandex, specifically look for favicon.ico in the root directory.

To ensure smooth compatibility across platforms and services, placing favicon files in the root directory is the simplest and most reliable solution.