---
title: rel="shortcut icon": What It Means
description: "shortcut icon" is a legacy rel value for favicons. Why the "shortcut" keyword is redundant, whether you still need it, and what to write instead.
canonical: https://favicontools.com/glossary/shortcut-icon
---

# rel="shortcut icon": What It Means

rel="shortcut icon" is an old way of declaring a favicon that dates back to Internet Explorer. The "shortcut" keyword is non-standard and ignored by browsers (only "icon" is actually honoured), so a plain rel="icon" does exactly the same job. Existing tags still work, but there is no reason to write "shortcut icon" in new markup.

## Where it came from

Early Internet Explorer would only recognise a favicon if the link said rel="shortcut icon". Other browsers never needed the "shortcut" part. The HTML specification defines the "icon" keyword, not "shortcut icon".

Browsers treat the rel value as a space-separated list of keywords and match the ones they know. In "shortcut icon" they find "icon" and use it, and quietly ignore "shortcut". So the tag works, but the extra word does nothing.

## Legacy versus modern

```html
<!-- legacy, still works but redundant -->
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" />

<!-- modern equivalent -->
<link rel="icon" href="/favicon.ico" sizes="any" />
```

> **Harmless to keep, no reason to add:** You don't need to hunt down and rewrite old rel="shortcut icon" tags. They behave identically to rel="icon". Just don't write the "shortcut" keyword into new markup.

## "shortcut icon" FAQ

### Is shortcut icon deprecated?

The "shortcut" keyword was never part of the standard, so there's nothing formal to deprecate, but it's obsolete in practice. Modern guidance is to use rel="icon" alone.

### Does rel="shortcut icon" still work?

Yes. Browsers match the "icon" keyword inside it and use the file, ignoring "shortcut". The favicon loads exactly as it would with a plain rel="icon".

### What's the difference between "shortcut icon" and "icon"?

None in effect. "icon" is the standard keyword; "shortcut icon" is that same keyword with a redundant legacy word in front of it.