# Square Town for domain collectors: a $1 favicon square per domain

> Why someone sitting on many domains would put a $1 favicon square per domain on Square Town, how to do it, and why a parked domain with no favicon ends up in the Hall of Clowns.

Source: https://square.pov.town/for/domain-collectors

Square Town (square.pov.town) is a favicon wall where each 1×1 square costs $1 once and shows the favicon of whatever URL you paste. For someone holding many domains, it is the cheapest possible public presence per domain: one square each, side by side, with a click count that tells you which names people actually find interesting. The catch is that a parked domain with no favicon gets a clown emoji and a spot in the Hall of Clowns — so add a favicon first.

> **TL;DR** — $1 per domain, one-time, no account. Paste the URL, click an empty cell, pay by card, save the deed URL. Buy neighbouring cells to line your portfolio up. Domains without a favicon are clowned publicly until you fix it. No SEO or backlink value; no traffic promises; anyone can evict a square for double.

## The problem

Domain portfolios are invisible by design. A parked page earns nothing but a registrar's ad template; a "coming soon" page is a dead end; the good names sit in a spreadsheet waiting for a buyer who has never heard of them. Marketplaces list them next to a million others. There is no cheap way to put a domain in front of curious people without building a site for it.

A favicon square is not a site. It is a 16-pixel icon and a link, on a wall that people scroll, tilt and fight over. For $1 that is a reasonable amount of presence per name.

## What a $1 square gives you

| You get | Detail |
|---|---|
| A permanent favicon on a live wall | The domain's favicon on the shared grid at [square.pov.town](/); no renewal, no expiry |
| A click-through | Visitors click the square, see the domain on the card, and follow the link through a counted redirect |
| Per-domain counts | Views, clicks and kisses on each square's deed page; $5 one-time per square for per-day charts |
| A tower in 3D | Tilt the wall and every favicon is a box whose height equals its click count — a portfolio becomes a skyline, and the interesting names stand out |
| The game | Evictions, the Throne, kissing to keep icons alive, rings unlocking as the wall fills — reasons people keep looking |
| Adjacency | Every square is 1×1; buy a row or block of cells and your domains sit together |

Square Town fetches the icon by domain (`www.` is stripped) but the link keeps the full URL you pasted, so a square can point at a specific landing page while showing the domain's favicon.

## How to do it

1. **Give every domain a favicon before you buy.** Square Town fetches favicons through Google's favicon service. If the domain has none — typical for parked or redirect-only names — the square shows a clown emoji and the domain is listed publicly in the [Hall of Clowns](/glossary/hall-of-clowns). A single static HTML page with a `favicon.ico` or `<link rel="icon">` is enough; see [how to add a favicon](/blog/how-to-add-a-favicon).
2. **Decide what the link should land on.** A square is a link. Point each domain at a page that says something — "for sale", "coming soon with an email field", or a redirect to the marketplace listing.
3. **Open [square.pov.town](/)** and hover the live area. Empty cells highlight. The gold 4×4 in the centre is the Throne; the ring around it is off limits.
4. **Click a cell, paste the first URL, check the preview.** If you see a clown, stop and fix the favicon.
5. **Pay $1 by card** through Stripe. No account is created.
6. **Save the deed URL** the moment you land on it. It is the only proof of ownership; there is no login. "My deeds" remembers deeds bought in that browser, but a spreadsheet column next to each domain is the right place for it.
7. **Repeat on adjacent cells** for the rest of the portfolio. Do it in one sitting if you want them contiguous — someone else can take the cell next to yours in the meantime.
8. **Optionally unlock analytics** ($5 one-time, per square) on the names you are actually trying to sell.

## Tips

- **Pick cells near the Throne** for the names you care about most; the camera starts at the centre and the live area is only 16×16 at launch (it grows by 8 in every direction each time it is 70 % full).
- **Kiss your icons.** An icon not kissed for 90 days fades to grayscale — a grey row of domains reads as abandoned, which is the opposite of what you want. Anyone can kiss any icon free; a monthly pass over your row takes a minute.
- **Don't clown yourself.** The Hall of Clowns is public and there is a live-feed announcement when a domain joins it. Fix favicons *before* buying; if you slip, add one and hit the "I fixed my favicon" recheck button.
- **Use the counts as market research.** Twenty squares, one that gets clicked ten times more than the rest — that is the name to push.
- **Save every deed URL.** Losing one means losing that square's analytics and its recheck button (the square itself stays on the wall).
- **Skip the Throne** unless you enjoy the game: it starts at $100 and doubles at every eviction.

## What it won't do

- **No SEO value.** The wall is a WebGL canvas and clicks are 302 redirects via `/go/:id`. A square does not create a backlink and does not help a domain rank.
- **No traffic promise.** Square Town is a niche wall. Some squares get clicks, many get looked at and passed over. The deed page shows honest numbers.
- **You can be evicted.** Anyone can take a square by paying double what you paid; the eviction is announced in the live feed. For a $1 square that is a $2 risk per name.
- **It doesn't appraise, list or sell domains.** It shows an icon and a link. Your landing page does the rest.

## FAQ

### Can I put a parked domain on Square Town?

Yes, any URL works. But if the domain has no favicon the square shows a clown emoji and the domain is listed in the Hall of Clowns until you add one. Put up a minimal page with a favicon first.

### How much does it cost to put 20 domains on Square Town?

$20 — $1 per square, one-time, by card. Optional per-day analytics is $5 one-time per square if you want it.

### Can my domains sit next to each other?

Yes. Every square is 1×1 and you choose the cell, so buy adjacent cells in one sitting. Nothing reserves a row for you in advance, so don't wait between purchases.

### Does a square give my domain a backlink or SEO benefit?

No. Clicks are 302 redirects from a JavaScript canvas; there is no link equity. The value is visibility on the wall and honest click counts.

### What happens if a domain loses its favicon later?

If Square Town rechecks and finds none, the clown returns and the domain is listed publicly. Add the favicon back and press the recheck button on the square.

### What if I lose a deed URL?

There are no accounts, so there is no recovery. The square stays on the wall, but you lose its deed page (views, clicks, kisses, analytics unlock). Store deed URLs with the domain records.

### Can someone take my square?

Yes — anyone can evict any square by paying double what its owner paid. You can evict them back for double again, or buy another cell for $1.