Why isn't my favicon working?

Question

Now I know there are a lot of similar questions around SO but I think I've covered all the basics. Here's what I know:

My favicon is accessible through /favicon.ico (full link)

The HTML is (page URL):

<link rel="icon" href="http://www.bandcmotors.co.uk/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://www.bandcmotors.co.uk/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />

I've tried relative and absolute versions too. No love.

The HTTP response headers:

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:07:34 GMT
Server: Cherokee
Etag: 494bc264=57e
Last-Modified: Fri, 19 Dec 2008 15:48:52 GMT
Content-Type: image/x-icon
Content-Length: 1406

200 OK

The icon loads fine in a browser and I've cleared my cache but I still can't see the icon in the address bar or tab. On either Firefox or IE.

What on earth am I doing wrong?

Edit 1. I used a validator and it rather helpfully told me that it could not download it. Rather odd considering I can download it fine... If anybody could explain that, it might help fix the problem.

Edit 2. I just drop-kicked my computer, restarted and it all worked. I hate caches that refuse to clear themselves properly **grumbles** >=(

Answer 1

I see it on Firefox :-)

Answer 2

It works fine in my safari browser, even in windows... ;)

Answer 3

Have you tried using a gif or png? The W3C documentation cites the following:

However, the format for the image you have chosen must be 16x16 pixels or 32x32 pixels, using either 8-bit or 24-bit colors. The format of the image must be one of PNG (a W3C standard), GIF, or ICO

Does your image conform? Have you tried using other favicons?

Answer 4

Have you tried using the relative path to the icon, not the full "http://...." address? For example:

<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />

Another suggestion would be removing the type attribute:

<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" />

I can see it in Firefox and Opera too, as is.

Answer 5

it works fine, your browser is probably caching it for some reason.

Btw., ETags are not recommended in such situations, better just use an "Expires: " header ...

Answer 6

It may be an issue with your hosting provider (if applicable). GoDaddy & other popular hosting providers cache certain details & refresh your "virtual server" about once per hour.