How to get high resolution website logo (favicon) for a given URL

Question

I\'m developing a web browser on Android and want to show the URL logo for the most visited sites like in Chrome (4 X 2). But the problem is that most favicons (eg: http://w

Answer 1

You can code it yourself or use an existing solution.

Do-it-yourself algorithm

1. Look for Apple touch icon declarations in the code, such as . Theses pictures range from 57x57 to 152x152. See Apple specs for full reference.
2. Even if you find no Apple touch icon declaration, try to load them anyway, based on Apple naming convention. For example, you might find something at /apple-touch-icon.png. Again, see Apple specs for reference.
3. Look for high definition PNG favicon in the code, such as . In this example, you have a 196x196 picture.
4. Look for Windows 8 / IE10 and Windows 8.1 / IE11 tile pictures, such as . These pictures range from 70x70 to 310x310, or even more. See these Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 references.
5. Look for /browserconfig.xml, dedicated to Windows 8.1 / IE11. This is the other place where you can find tile pictures. See Microsoft specs.
6. Look for the og:image declaration such as . This is how a web site indicates to FB/Pinterest/whatever the preferred picture to represent it. See Open Graph Protocol for reference.
7. At this point, you found no suitable logo... damned! You can still load all pictures in the page and make a guess to pick the best one.

Note: Steps 1, 2 and 3 are basically what Chrome does to get suitable icons for bookmark and home screen links. Coast by Opera even use the MS tile pictures to get the job done. Read this list to figure out which browser uses which picture (full disclosure: I am the author of this page).

APIs and open source projects

RealFaviconGenerator: You can get any web site favicon or related icon (such as the Touch Icon) with this favicon retrieval API. Full disclosure: I'm the author of this service.

BestIcon: Although less comprehensive, Besticon offers a good alternative, especially if you want to host the code yourself. There is also a hosted version you can use right away.