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When designing buttons for websites or apps, developers often face a choice: Should we use a PNG/SVG image or a font-based icon?

While both options have their uses, font icon libraries like Font Awesome, Material Icons, and Bootstrap Icons offer several advantages over traditional image icons.

In this article, we’ll explore:

Why font icons are better for scalability and performance

How they simplify styling and maintenance

When you might still need image icons

Best-practices for implementing font icons in buttons

Advantages of Font Icon Libraries

1. Scalable without losing quality

Font icons are vector-based, meaning they scale smoothly at any size—unlike raster images (PNG, JPG), which become pixelated when enlarged.

This makes them perfect for responsive designs where icons must adapt to different screen sizes.

2. Styled Easily with CSS

Changing the color, size, or effects on an image icon requires editing the file itself. With font icons, you can change them directly in CSS:

Code Example

--HTML--

<button class="icon-button">🔍 Search</button>

--CSS--

    .icon-button {
      color: #3498db; /* Change color */
      font-size: 24px; /* Resize */
      text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); /* Add shadow */
      background: none;
      border: none;
      cursor: pointer;
    }

Code Explanation

<button class="icon-button">🔍 Search</button>

As you can see, the icon is already placed inside the HTML button element. Add this code to the HTML section of your favorite code editor like JSFiddle or similar.

    .icon-button {
      color: #3498db; /* Change color */
      font-size: 24px; /* Resize */
      text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); /* Add shadow */
      background: none;
      border: none;
      cursor: pointer;
    }

Now add the CSS style to make it look super cool. Make sure that the button class name matches your CSS name "icon-button".

This flexibility is especially useful for hover effects, transitions, and dynamic state changes (e.g., active, disabled).

3. Faster Loading (Fewer HTTP Requests)

Using multiple image icons means multiple server requests, slowing down page load times. Font icon libraries bundle all icons into a single file, reducing HTTP requests and improving performance.

4. Easy to Update (Just change the class name)

Swapping an icon is as simple as updating a class.

No need to re-export or re-upload image files.

Downsides of Image Icons

While image icons (SVG/PNG) are sometimes necessary, they come with drawbacks.

1. Harder to Manage in Responsive Designs

• Raster images (PNG/JPG) lose quality when scaled.
• SVGs are better, but may require extra CSS for proper sizing.

2. Require ALT-Text or aria labels.

For accessibility, image icons need alt text or ARIA attributes.

3. Less Flexible for Dynamic Effects

Changing an image’s color or adding hover effects often requires multiple image files or complex CSS filters.

Best-Practice Summary

Use font icons for buttons, menus, and UI elements, where scalability, performance, and styling flexibility matter.

Use image icons only for complex illustrations or when custom designs are required.

Let’s make it happen! Learn to add Font Awesome, Material icons, and Bootstrap icons in your project now: How to Add Font Libraries in your Buttons

Conclusion

Choosing between font icons and image icons ultimately depends on your project’s needs. For most UI elements, especially buttons, navigation menus, and interactive components - Font icons are the superior choice because of their:

Scalability - Crisp rendering at any size, perfect for responsive design.

Performance - Faster load times with fewer HTTP requests.

Styling Flexibility - Easy customization via CSS (colors, shadows, animations).

Maintenance Efficiency - Quick updates by changing a class name instead of replacing image files.

However, image icons (especially SVGs) still have their place when:

• You need highly customized, intricate designs that font libraries don’t provide.
• You’re working with legacy systems that don’t support modern icon fonts.
• Accessibility requirements demand precise alt-text descriptions.