The Best Way to Add Custom Icons to Your Elementor Website

Preface

Custom icons can significantly enhance your Elementor website, adding a unique touch and improving the overall user experience. Instead of relying solely on generic icon libraries, incorporating custom icons can help your brand stand out and better represent your content. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the best methods to add custom icons to your Elementor website, ensuring a professional and visually appealing design. Let’s dive in and explore how you can elevate your website with personalized icons!

Why Use Custom Icons?

Before we delve into the how-to, let’s understand why custom icons are a valuable addition to your website.

• Brand Identity: Custom icons allow you to align your website’s visuals with your brand’s unique style. By using icons that reflect your brand’s personality, you create a more cohesive and memorable experience for your visitors.
• Improved User Experience: Well-designed custom icons can make your website more intuitive and easier to navigate. Clear and relevant icons help users quickly understand the content and find what they’re looking for.
• Visual Appeal: Custom icons can enhance the aesthetic appeal of your site, making it more engaging and visually pleasing. This can lead to increased dwell time and lower bounce rates.
• Differentiation: In a sea of websites using the same generic icons, custom icons help you stand out from the competition, making your site more unique and professional.

Methods for Adding Custom Icons to Elementor

There are several ways to add custom icons to your Elementor website. Here are some of the most effective methods:

1. Using Icon Font Generators

Icon font generators are a popular and efficient way to use custom icons. These tools convert SVG files into icon fonts, which can then be easily implemented on your website.

Steps to Use an Icon Font Generator:

1. Create Your Icons in SVG Format: Design your icons using vector graphics software like Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape, or Sketch. Ensure that each icon is exported as an SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) file.

Hint: Make sure the file is properly saved.

2. Choose an Icon Font Generator: There are several excellent icon font generators available online. Some popular options include:

   • IcoMoon (https://icomoon.io/app/#/select): IcoMoon offers a comprehensive platform to create, import, and manage icon fonts.
   • Fontello (http://fontello.com/): Fontello is another great tool that allows you to combine custom icons with existing icon sets.
   • Glyphter (https://glyphter.com/): Glyphter is a free, easy to use tool that is also recommended from elementor.

3. Upload Your SVG Icons: In your chosen icon font generator, upload your SVG files. The generator will convert these into an icon font.

4. Generate and Download the Font: Once your icons are uploaded, generate the font files (usually a ZIP file containing CSS, fonts, and a demo HTML file). Download this file to your computer.

5. Upload the Font Files to Your WordPress Theme: Upload the font files to your WordPress theme’s directory. You can do this via FTP or through the WordPress file manager (if your hosting provider offers one). A common location is in a subfolder named ‘fonts’ within your theme’s directory.

   /wp-content/themes/your-theme/fonts/

6. Add the CSS to Your Theme: Include the CSS file provided in the generated font package into your theme. You can do this by adding the following code to your theme’s style.css file or using a custom CSS plugin.

   @font-face {
   font-family: 'YourIconFontName';
   src: url('fonts/YourIconFontName.eot');
   src: url('fonts/YourIconFontName.eot?#iefix') format('embedded-opentype'),
        url('fonts/YourIconFontName.woff2') format('woff2'),
        url('fonts/YourIconFontName.woff') format('woff'),
        url('fonts/YourIconFontName.ttf') format('truetype'),
        url('fonts/YourIconFontName.svg#YourIconFontName') format('svg');
   font-weight: normal;
   font-style: normal;

}

.your-custom-icon {
font-family: ‘YourIconFontName’;
font-size: 24px; /* Adjust the size as needed */
}

7. Use the Icons in Elementor: In Elementor, use the ‘HTML’ widget to add the custom icons to your page. Use the following HTML code, replacing icon-class-name with the appropriate class name provided by the icon font generator.

<pre class='EnlighterJSRAW' data-enlighter-language='html'><i class='your-custom-icon icon-class-name'></i></pre>

2. Using SVG Icons Directly

Another way to add custom icons to Elementor is by directly using SVG files. While this method might require a bit more technical knowledge, it offers more flexibility and control over the icon’s appearance.

Steps to Use SVG Icons Directly:

1. Optimize Your SVG Icons: Ensure that your SVG files are optimized for web use. This includes removing unnecessary metadata and compressing the file size. You can use tools like SVGOMG (https://jakearchibald.github.io/svgomg/) to optimize your SVGs.

2. Upload the SVG Files to Your Media Library: Upload your optimized SVG files to your WordPress media library.Note that WordPress does not support uploading SVG files by default for security reasons. You can allow this using a plugin like Safe SVG (https://wordpress.org/plugins/safe-svg/).

3. Get the SVG URL: Once uploaded, get the URL of your SVG file from the media library.

4. Add the SVG to Elementor: In Elementor, use the ‘HTML’ widget to add the SVG icon to your page. Use the following HTML code, replacing YOUR_SVG_URL with the URL of your SVG file.

5. Style the SVG: You can style the SVG using CSS to control its size, color, and other properties. Add the following CSS code to your theme’s style.css file or a custom CSS plugin.

   img[src*='.svg'] {
   width: 24px; /* Adjust the size as needed */
   height: auto;

}

3. Using Elementor’s Custom Icon Library

Elementor Pro offers a custom icon library feature, making it easy to upload and manage your custom icons directly within the Elementor interface. To take full advantage of Elementor, consider using /go/elementor-pro.

Steps to Use Elementor’s Custom Icon Library:

1. Prepare Your Icons: Ensure your icons are in SVG format.

2. Enable Custom Icon Library (Elementor Pro):

   • Go to Elementor > Custom Icons in your WordPress dashboard.
   • Click ‘Create New Icon Set’.
   • Give your icon set a name.

3. Upload Your Icons:

   • Click on your newly created icon set.
   • Upload your SVG icons one by one.
   • Assign a name to each icon for easy identification.

4. Use the Icons in Elementor:

   • In Elementor, use the ‘Icon’ widget.
   • Click on ‘Icon Library’.
   • Select your custom icon set.
   • Choose the icon you want to use.

   Info: This method provides a seamless integration and management of your custom icons within Elementor.

4. Using Custom CSS Classes

For advanced users, custom CSS classes offer another way to add and manage custom icons. This method involves creating CSS classes that define the appearance of your icons and then applying these classes to your Elementor elements.

Steps to Use Custom CSS Classes:

1. Prepare Your Icons: Ensure your icons are in SVG format.

2. Upload the SVG Files to Your Media Library: Follow the same steps as in Method 2 to upload your SVG files to your media library and get their URLs.

3. Define Custom CSS Classes: Add the following CSS code to your theme’s style.css file or a custom CSS plugin. Replace YOUR_ICON_URL with the URL of your SVG file and adjust the size and other properties as needed.

   .custom-icon::before {
   content: '';
   display: inline-block;
   width: 24px; /* Adjust the size as needed */
   height: 24px; /* Adjust the size as needed */
   background-image: url('YOUR_ICON_URL');
   background-size: cover;
   background-repeat: no-repeat;
   vertical-align: middle;
   margin-right: 5px; /* Adjust the spacing as needed */

}

4. Add the Custom Class to Elementor Elements: In Elementor, add a ‘HTML’ widget or edit an existing element. Add the class custom-icon to the element.

    Your Text

5. Customize as Needed: You can create multiple CSS classes with different icon URLs and properties to use various custom icons throughout your website.

Best Practices for Using Custom Icons

To ensure your custom icons look great and perform well, consider these best practices:

• Optimize Your Icons: Always optimize your SVG files to reduce file size and improve loading times. Use tools like SVGOMG to remove unnecessary data and compress your icons.
• Maintain Consistency: Use a consistent style and size for all your custom icons to create a cohesive visual experience.
• Ensure Accessibility: Provide descriptive alt text for your icons to make them accessible to users with disabilities. This is especially important for SVG icons used directly in HTML.
• Test on Different Devices: Always test your website on different devices and browsers to ensure your custom icons display correctly.
• Use a CDN: Consider using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to serve your icon fonts or SVG files. A CDN can improve your website’s loading times by delivering your icons from servers located closer to your users.

Looking to optimize your website for SEO? Check out this quickstart guide for WordPress: How to Optimize Your Website for SEO: A Quickstart Guide for WordPress.

Hint: For more information on WordPress you can visit this page: [wordpress-functions-php-what-it-is-and-where-to-find-it](https://www.startmakingwebsites.com/wordpress-functions-php-what-it-is-and-where-to-find-it/)

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Even with the best preparation, you might encounter some issues when adding custom icons to your Elementor website. Here are some common problems and their solutions:

• Icons Not Displaying:
  • Check Font Paths: Ensure the font paths in your CSS file are correct. Double-check that the font files are in the specified directory.
  • Browser Caching: Clear your browser cache to ensure you’re seeing the latest version of your website.
  • Cross-Origin Issues: If you’re using a CDN, ensure it’s properly configured to allow cross-origin requests for your font files.
• Icons Displaying Incorrectly:
  • CSS Conflicts: Check for CSS conflicts that might be affecting the appearance of your icons. Use your browser’s developer tools to inspect the elements and identify any conflicting styles.
  • Font Weight and Style: Ensure the font weight and style are correctly set in your CSS. Incorrect settings can cause icons to appear distorted.
• SVG Icons Not Loading:
  • SVG Support: Ensure your WordPress setup allows SVG uploads. Use the Safe SVG plugin or a similar solution to enable SVG support.
  • File Permissions: Check the file permissions of your SVG files to ensure they are accessible to the web server.

Conclusion

Adding custom icons to your Elementor website is a powerful way to enhance your brand identity, improve user experience, and make your site stand out. Whether you choose to use icon font generators, SVG files directly, Elementor’s custom icon library, or custom CSS classes, the key is to follow best practices and ensure your icons are optimized for performance and accessibility. By implementing these techniques, you can create a visually stunning and professional website that delights your visitors and reinforces your brand. So go ahead, start creating your own custom icons and bring a unique flair to your Elementor website! And for inspiration, check out these inspirational showcase of beautiful websites built with elementor 1!