Fix Website Icons

Seeing a generic globe, a broken image, or a white icon for one of your websites? Here's how to fix it.

Generic globe icon shown when a website favicon cannot be found

Does your icon look like this?

When a website doesn't provide a logo, or your browser blocks it from loading, you'll see a generic globe icon instead. This is normal and easy to fix — you can replace it with a custom icon in just a few clicks.

Set a Custom Icon

The easiest fix for any missing or broken icon is to choose a custom one. This works for every browser and every website.

  1. 1 Right-click on the website, select Edit Site -> Appearance
  2. 3 Browse and select an icon you like that matches the website.
  3. 4 You can also change the background color as well.
  4. Click Save and your new icon will appear immediately. No refresh needed!

Why Does This Happen?

There are a few common reasons a website icon might not load correctly.

Some websites simply don't have a favicon (the small logo image) that can be detected automatically. This is especially common with smaller sites, blogs, or subdomains. When this happens, a generic globe icon is shown as a placeholder. The fix is to set a custom icon using the steps above.

If you use Safari on a Mac with an iCloud+ account, there's a privacy setting that can prevent icons from loading. Safari's "Hide IP address from trackers and websites" routes all web traffic through Apple's Private Relay, which can block favicon requests.

To fix this:

  1. Open Safari → Settings → Privacy
  2. Under "Hide IP address," change it from "from Trackers and Websites" to "from Trackers Only"
  3. Reload your homepage

This setting is only available if you have an iCloud+ account. If you don't see it, this isn't the cause of your issue.

Chrome and Edge have a "Memory Saver" feature that unloads inactive tabs to save memory. When you return to your homepage after being away, icons may briefly appear white while the page reloads. To prevent this, add Best Homepage Ever to your browser's "always keep active" list:

Google Chrome:

Go to chrome://settings/performance and add besthomepageever.com to the "Always keep these sites active" list.

Microsoft Edge:

Go to edge://settings/system and add besthomepageever.com to the "Never put these sites to sleep" list.

Still Having Issues?

If these steps didn't resolve the issue, please reach out and I'll help you troubleshoot.

Contact Support