Chapter 4: Font Awesome 5 Introduction
Font Awesome 5 Introduction. I’ll explain it like your friendly neighborhood web teacher from Hyderabad, speaking simple English, with lots of examples, comparisons, and real code you can copy-paste right now. No jargon overload — promise! 😊
Imagine you’re building a website in 2017–2018, and you want cool icons (heart ❤️, house 🏠, shopping cart 🛒, Facebook logo, etc.) without drawing them yourself. That’s where Font Awesome comes in — it’s the most popular free/paid icon library ever made for websites and apps.
Font Awesome 5 (often just called FA5) was the big, exciting upgrade that changed everything. It launched officially on December 7, 2017 after a super-successful Kickstarter campaign (raised over $1 million from 35,000+ backers — huge deal back then!).
Why Was Font Awesome 5 Such a Big Introduction / Revolution?
Before FA5 (that is, Font Awesome 4 and older), icons were simple:
- Only one main style (mostly filled/bold)
- Only one prefix: fa
- Around 600–675 icons in free version
- Felt a bit old-school by 2017
Then Font Awesome 5 arrived and said: “Let’s make this modern!”
Main things introduced in FA5 (the “introduction” highlights):
-
Multiple Icon Styles (biggest new feature!)
- Solid (filled, bold look) → class prefix: fas (the “s” means solid)
- Regular (outline, thinner look) → class prefix: far
- Light (even thinner outline) → fal (only in Pro version)
- Duotone (two-tone colors, fancy!) → fad (only Pro)
- Brands (social logos like Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube) → fab
This was huge! Now you could choose if you wanted a bold heart or a light outline heart.
-
Many More Icons
- Free version: Started with ~1,278 icons at launch, grew to ~1,588 by later patches (like 5.15.4 in 2021)
- Pro version: Up to ~7,842 icons (tons more categories like medical, food, arrows, etc.)
-
New Ways to Use Icons (Better Technology)
- Classic web fonts (CSS file + @font-face)
- Brand-new SVG + JS method (sharper on retina screens, easier to color/change with CSS, smaller file if you only use few icons)
- Official support for React, Angular, Vue (components)
- Even desktop fonts with ligatures (type :heart: and it becomes ❤️ — cool for designers!)
-
Better Naming & Consistency
- Many icons got cleaner, more logical names
- Example: Old fa-envelope-o became far fa-envelope (regular outline style)
-
Free vs Pro Split
- Free — Solid + Brands + limited Regular (good enough for most people)
- Pro — Everything unlocked (paid yearly/subscription)
In short: FA5 introduced a whole new era — more styles, more icons, modern tech (SVG), and it looked way sharper on phones & high-res screens.
How to Actually Start Using Font Awesome 5 (Real Introduction Steps)
The easiest way (CDN — no download needed):
Paste this one line inside <head> of your HTML file:
|
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |
<!-- Font Awesome 5 Free (latest stable patch: 5.15.4) --> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/5.15.4/css/all.min.css" integrity="sha512-1ycn6IcaQQ40/MKBW2W4Rhis/DbILU74C1vSrLJxCq57o941Ym01SwNsOMqvEBFlcgUa6xLiPY/NS5R+E6ztJQ==" crossorigin="anonymous" referrerpolicy="no-referrer" /> |
Now you can add icons like magic!
Basic Examples – Feel the New Styles
|
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 |
<!-- Solid style (filled, bold) – most common in FA5 free --> <i class="fas fa-heart" style="color: red; font-size: 3rem;"></i> <!-- Big red filled heart --> <!-- Regular style (outline) – lighter, elegant --> <i class="far fa-heart" style="color: pink; font-size: 3rem;"></i> <!-- Outline heart --> <!-- Brand icon example --> <i class="fab fa-instagram" style="color: #E1306C; font-size: 2.5rem;"></i> Instagram <!-- Home icon in different styles --> <i class="fas fa-home"></i> Solid Home (default bold) <i class="far fa-home"></i> Regular Home (outline) |
Super Common Real-World Example (Navbar – 2018–2022 style)
|
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 |
<nav class="navbar"> <a href="/" class="active"> <i class="fas fa-home"></i> Home </a> <a href="/profile"> <i class="fas fa-user"></i> Profile </a> <a href="/cart"> <i class="fas fa-shopping-cart"></i> Cart </a> <a href="/notifications"> <i class="fas fa-bell"></i> Notifications <span style="background:red; color:white; border-radius:50%; padding:2px 8px;">5</span> </a> </nav> |
Quick Comparison Table – FA4 vs FA5 Introduction Differences
| Feature | Font Awesome 4 (old) | Font Awesome 5 (new introduction) |
|---|---|---|
| Icon Styles (free) | Only 1 (mostly filled) | Solid + Brands + some Regular |
| Prefix | Just fa | fas, far, fab (and more in Pro) |
| Free Icons at launch | ~675 | ~1,278 (grew to ~1,588) |
| SVG Support | No (only font) | Yes — sharper, modern |
| Naming | Simpler but inconsistent | More consistent, some renamed |
| Release Year | Around 2014–2017 updates | December 2017 (major rewrite) |
Where Are We in 2026?
- FA5 is now “legacy” but still works perfectly (last update 5.15.4 in 2021)
- Current latest is Font Awesome 7 (2025–2026) with even more icons, Thin style, better performance
- But tons of old tutorials, WordPress themes, Bootstrap 4/5 sites, admin panels still use FA5
- If you see fas, far, fab in code — that’s FA5 signature!
Teacher Summary
Font Awesome 5 Introduction = The 2017 big bang that turned a simple icon set into a professional icon system with:
- Multiple styles (solid/regular/brands)
- Thousands more icons
- SVG power
- Free + Pro options
It was the version that made icons “grow up” and became the standard for modern web design until FA6/7 came along.
Understood, beta? Want me to show:
- Full small HTML page demo with FA5?
- How FA5 icons look different from FA6/7?
- Migration tips if you have old FA4 code?
- Or why some people still love FA5 in 2026?
Just tell teacher — I’m ready! 🏠❤️🚀
