Windows introduced its own icon system for websites pinned to the Start menu, built around a "tile" concept distinct from the standard favicon formats covered elsewhere on this blog — a feature most prominent during the Windows 8 and early Windows 10 era.
What Windows tiles were designed for
When a user pinned a website to their Windows Start menu, the operating system displayed it as a "tile" — a larger, often colored square icon meant to look consistent with the broader Windows tile-based interface style that was prominent at the time this feature was introduced, rather than a simple small favicon-style icon.
The browserconfig.xml file
Windows tile configuration is handled through a separate XML file, typically named browserconfig.xml, referenced in a site's HTML with a specific meta tag:
The browserconfig.xml file itself specifies tile icon image paths at various sizes and a background tile color, in an XML format distinct from the JSON-based web app manifest used for Android (covered in our dedicated guide).
A basic browserconfig.xml example
Is this still relevant today?
The tile-based Start menu interface this feature was designed around has evolved considerably across newer Windows versions, and the practical relevance of Windows-specific tile configuration has diminished compared to its Windows 8/early Windows 10 prominence. Modern Windows versions generally have reasonable fallback behavior using a site's standard favicon or Apple-touch-icon-style assets even without a dedicated browserconfig.xml file present.
Should you still bother setting this up?
For most modern websites, this is a low-priority, legacy-oriented addition rather than an essential part of a favicon setup — the standard PNG/ICO sizes covered in our core sizes guide cover the overwhelming majority of practical, current favicon needs. Setting up Windows tile configuration specifically makes sense mainly for sites with a notably large audience still using older Windows versions where the feature was more prominent and visually significant.
What happens without it
Without a browserconfig.xml file, a site pinned to a Windows Start menu on a supporting version will generally still display some form of icon, typically falling back to the standard favicon or a generated placeholder based on the site's dominant color or initial letter — a reasonable, if less polished, fallback compared to a purpose-built tile configuration.
Focus on the essentials first
Our free Favicon Generator covers the modern, broadly essential favicon sizes and formats; Windows tile configuration is a legacy-oriented addition worth considering only after the core set is properly in place.
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