Create a favicon from a jpg or gif
Create a favicon from your jpg, gif or png. It is recommended that you use a transparent gif or png to create your favicon, unless the entire image is supposed to be a 16 X 16 pixel square.
When you use a jpg to create a favicon, it will show a white square in the gray tab area, if you use a png or gif with a transparent background, you will not have this problem.
What is a "favicon"?
A Favicon is the little icon you see in the browser address window and on the 'favorites' menu. The favicon for this site is: .
A favicon is a small image 16 pixels by 16 pixels that you can create from a jpg by using a favicon generator. You can see the famous Google favicon as it appears in the address bar and the tab below. 
Where to create a favicon?
Favicon Generators:
- Dynamic Drive Favicon Generator - Upload your jpg, gif or png file and instantly generate a favicon!
- Favicon.CC - Lets you draw a favicon in pixels and save it.
- Animated Favicon Generator - Generate animated favicons with scrolling text.
- Favicon Generator.org - Generate scrolling text animated favicons.
- Favicon 2 Dots - Cool effect for your favicon from Japan.
- Favicon Generator - This one allows you to generate various sizes.
What do I do with my favicon once I have created it?
- First, you need to upload it to your server. Put it in the root directory. Name it "favicon.ico". Check to see if it is there by typing your site address: http://www.mysite.com/favicon.ico
- Then you need to add that link path to it in the head of your HTML document.
<link rel=”shortcut icon” href=”/favicon.ico” /> - That’s it!
Your favicon may not appear immediately after you’ve completed the above two steps - it sometimes can take 24 hours to appear. In IE, sometimes the favicon will disappear from time to time due to a browser bug.
MS Paint Cannot Do What I Need...
When your needs become more advanced, it is time to upgrade your graphic manipulation program. The best step up from MS Paint is the FREE application, "The Gimp".
Why Convert BMP to JPG?
Bitmaps (.bmp files) are huge files and thus are very cumbersome to work with whether on a website or in emails. When you convert these images to a JPG or GIF, they are much smaller and when you use a robust program such as the GIMP, you can tweak the size and quality very easily.