Icons are everywhere. They are considered a universal language that can guide us in physical places like airports and hospitals and virtual places like websites and applications. Most professional websites use icons to help their visitors find what they need and create a distinctive look for their website. Did you know you can add icons to your website without being a designer? In this article, the editor reviews the types of icons and their use and introduces you to the best free icon download sites for the website.
What is an Icon, and what is its use on the website?
Since the invention of personal computers more than 40 years ago, the use of icons in design has increased. A practical and desirable icon translates a concept to the audience in the simplest possible way.
In general, an icon is a miniature graphic representation of a program or a file that helps users to navigate their computer system and find what they want more quickly. For example, an icon similar to a sheet of paper probably represents a text document. All icons you see on Windows, mobile or other digital devices are considered icons. Images used for installed programs in Windows or the menu of mobile phones, or icons such as airplane mode, being silent, and receiving a file from the Internet, which inform a specific function or status, are all types of icons.
But in the field of digital marketing, how is the website icon defined and what is its use?
A website icon is an image or symbol that you can use on your website. Website icons can act like a button or link or just be decorative.
What Types of Icons are there?
Today, icons come in numerous packs and sets for all possible backgrounds and styles. Icons are constantly growing and developing to provide new solutions to users and at the same time be attractive to them. Icons can be classified into different application or design style groups.
In terms of Application
Clarifying icons
The purpose of these icons is to explain things. They are visual markers that describe certain features or categorize content.
Interactive icons
These icons directly play a role in the interaction process of users with the device and are the main elements in device navigation. They are clickable or touchable and respond to user requests. Their main purpose is to inform users about the functions or features of interactive elements (such as buttons).
Decorative and fun icons (Decorative)
These icons bring charm and beauty more than they are practical. The importance of beauty is as significant as practicality. It should be considered because the appearance that is designed according to the taste and expectations of the audience creates a higher desirability for them. As a result, it not only attracts users but also retains them and provides them with a better user experience. Decorative icons are often used to present seasonal features and special offers.
App icons
These icons are trademarks (brands) that introduce an app on different platforms while maintaining its original identity. In most cases, these icons contain the application logo, Although they can also include other things like corporate colors.
Favorite icons (Favicon)
Favicon stands for Favorite Icon, also known as tab icon, URL icon, website icon, or bookmark icon. These icons are special symbols representing the product or brand in the browser address bar, browser tabs, and bookmarks bar. Since such icons create a kind of mental preparation and recognition of the brand for users when browsing the web, they are very important and help to recognize the visual identity of websites.
In terms of Design style
Icons can be divided into four general categories in terms of design style, each of which will include several models and styles:
Glyph icons
Often, glyphs are also called monochrome styles. These icons focus on simple shapes and gentle curves for quick and easy recognition of objects. Google uses glyph icons as the basis of its material design, which is used in several of its products, including the Android operating system. (Material Design is a design language that was created by Google in 2014.)
Flat and Semi-flat icons
Flat icons are counterparts or rather duplicates of glyph icons. They can use color combinations to present slightly more complex images. These icons are known for their skillful and subtle use of highlights and shadows. The two-dimensionality and lack of difference between dark and light pixels (contrast) have been the reason for naming these icons.
Skeuomorphic icons
It can be said that the design of these icons is the opposite of flat icons because 3D design is very close to the natural appearance of physical objects. Years ago, these icons were very popular, but they gradually gave way to simpler, flat icons. The simplicity of flat icons makes them more flexible and, therefore, more suitable for digital user interfaces. However, Skeuomorphic icons are still widely used in game icon design.
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) icons
These types of icons are responsive icons built on two-dimensional vector images based on XML. They are designed according to a standard set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and supported by all major browsers.
In terms of the metaphor of images
From the point of view of this type of classification, icons can be divided into three main categories based on the type of metaphor they reflect, or rather, based on the meaning and concept they create in the minds of users:
Resemblance icons
Some icons directly describe objects to the user. For example, a magnifying glass describes a search, an email envelope, and a shopping cart describes a shopping cart.
Reference icons
Some icons describe things to the user based on referring to something else and comparing their concepts with each other. For example, the image of an industrial clamp describes a file compressor due to the compression of objects placed between it.
Arbitrary icons
Some icons are not directly related to the objects in question and their recognition is only based on convention and habit. As a clear example of this type of icons, we can refer to floppy disks that describe the act of storage.
What are the Advantages and Importance of Using icons on the website?
Icons help attract users and can add fun, style, and appeal to your website. If used correctly, they can have many benefits for you. Because website visitors usually have a brief overview of the desired page and then decide to read the content or close that page. Icons are one of several factors you can use to attract your users’ attention.
For several reasons, you should consider using various icons in your website design.
1. Icons are an effective means of connecting users with your website
Understanding the icons is easy. They break language barriers, enhance website content, and are much more memorable than dry and empty text. In addition to adding freshness to your website, icons are also suitable tools for depicting and describing content. An icon can help to quickly summarize the content and express well the topic and theme of a part of the text.
2. They give identity and personality to your website
The icons you choose for your website say a lot about your brand. Fun and fun, colorful and impressive, modern and contemporary or professional and specialized?
Icons have a very high number and variety. Therefore, it is imperative to choose a style that matches the essence of your brand and can present it the way you want it to.
3. They increase the attractiveness of your website
Icons bring visual appeal and can turn long text on your pages into easy-to-understand sections to draw users in to your content and website. Without images and icons, websites become very boring places.
4. They help users a lot in navigating your website
Icons guide your users. When you use them correctly, they can help your users navigate and move around your website intuitively (without the need for prior knowledge); Without having to rely on words alone. But if you don’t use them properly, they may confuse users. It’s important to make sure that icons are used as signposts to help navigate the pages of your site.
Important points in choosing types of icons for the website
In order to use icons more effectively in website design, there are several important points:
- Icons should improve the user experience of your website, not complicate it. In addition to being creative, they should also be practical.
- Icons must be fully understood. An icon being able to convey its message within a few seconds depends on the user understanding it quickly. If you think it is possible to create confusion and misunderstanding for users, it is better to use text next to that icon.
- Icons should be compatible with the website design. If you intend to use several types of icons, you should use them in such a way that in addition to being consistent with the website’s design, they are compatible with each other.
- Pay attention to the type and purpose of your website. Icons with a traditional design (such as an envelope that represents email) can be used for any type of website. But when a website is organized for a specific audience or operates in a specialized field, icons with a more creative design inspired by the imagination and related to the topic will be more noticed by the audience.
- For example, using a wrench on a plumbing site or using coffee beans for a specialty coffee site.
Key features of effective icons
In order for icons to be effective and useful, they must have a series of key and essential features that we will discuss in this section.
- Being clear and meaningful: the icon is accessible to users and has an understandable meaning and concept.
- Recognizability: The symbol used in the icon should be presented in a way that is recognizable to users.
- Simplicity: the icon is not filled with unnecessary graphic elements so that it can be understood quickly without any special effort.
- Scalability and flexibility: the icon should maintain its integrity and readability in any size and resolution.
- Attractiveness: The icon should meet aesthetic expectations and create visual appeal by being in harmony with other elements.
- Non-offensiveness: the icon should not have hidden meanings and should not be misinterpreted so that it is not considered offensive and rude to any of the audience groups.
- Compatibility: The icon should be designed according to the overall style of the site.
Top 5 Best Websites To Download Icons
Regarding website design, you need resources for all kinds of icons with different designs. Suppose that every time you want to create a new design and style, you have to repeatedly design and create new icons, which looks pretty time-consuming. This has led to many websites for free download of all kinds of icons in recent years.
Instead of using the same design elements every time to make your website icons, you can download them for free and customize them to your taste.
1. Iconfinder
Searching for icons on Iconfinder is easy. Iconfinder is an icon search engine. The remarkable thing about this site is that it allows you to download the icon you like from a collection individually. On this site, you have access to more than half a million types of free and premium icons, and icons can be downloaded in various sizes and formats. Of course, Iconfinder will list all free and paid icons for you, which you can use the site’s “Free” filter to see only free icons.
2. Icons8
One of the areas where Icons8 excels is the variety of icon styles. For example, you can hover over a laptop icon to choose from over 30 different styles for that icon. In addition, you can customize each of these icons to your taste. Change the color of the icon you want, add an overlay on it, add text or use several effects to make it closer to what you have in mind. Of course, to download all kinds of icons for free, you must first register on the site using your email address.
3. Freeicons
On this site, each pack contains up to 100 icons, most of which have an excellent design. Freeicons has dedicated its site to providing the most outstanding variety of icon packs. Although the general theme of most parts of the site seems to be oriented towards icons related to technology, you can also find icons about medical, travel, food, marketing, etc. On this site, you can download all kinds of icons for free from different styles, such as 3D, cartoon, hand-drawn, and many others.
4. Graphicburger
One of the best free icon download sites is Graphicburger, which is a great resource for many designers. All kinds of items including UI kits, mockups, wallpapers, icons, etc. are available for free on this site. Graphicburger has a collection of incredibly beautiful and unique icons available in several styles. By clicking on each collection, you can see the corresponding details. Details such as available formats, file size, and icon dimensions will be displayed under each set, and you will not need to register on the site to download them.
5. Iconstore
Iconstore is a little different from the others on this list. Because this site focuses on original and unique icon packs and sets designed by prominent and well-known companies. You can find the icons you want among more than 230 icon packs and based on filters such as color, glyph or outline. Iconstore has many free packs to download. Also, for some of its paid packages, this site offers several examples of the icons of that package for free download so that people can purchase the package in full if they want to have the entire collection.
Conclusion
Just like any other element that you observe and use to improve the user experience on your website, icons also have a huge impact on a website. They can have a positive or negative effect on your audience without you even realizing it. Although icons are small and often overlooked elements, they have the potential to do great things for your website. The only key to your success in using them is to choose the right icons according to the purpose of using them.
Follow the things mentioned in this article correctly. The use of icons can help the exchange of information, give personality to your website and make your audience more enthusiastic about the content of your pages.