Wingdings vs Webdings: Character Maps and Key Differences
Wingdings and Webdings both replace familiar keyboard characters with pictograms, but they are not interchangeable versions of the same font. They were created at different times, for different design needs, and each uses its own character map. That distinction matters whenever you create, copy, or decode symbol text.
Wingdings vs Webdings: The Short Answer
Wingdings is a Microsoft family of three symbol fonts built from icon, arrow, and ornament designs created by Kris Holmes and Charles Bigelow. It is well suited to document symbols, hands, office objects, geometric marks, and arrows.
Webdings is a separate Microsoft typeface developed later for early websites. Its collection leans toward navigation, communication, media controls, buildings, transport, and other interface-style pictograms.
The same keyboard key does not represent the same image in both sets. If a message was created with one font, decoding it with the other font's map will return incorrect text.
Wingdings vs Webdings Comparison
| Feature | Wingdings | Webdings |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft release | 1992 | 1997 |
| Structure | A family containing Wingdings 1, 2, and 3 | One separate symbol typeface |
| Original focus | Documents, computer systems, pointing, decoration, and arrows | Web graphics, navigation, and user-interface imagery |
| Typical symbol groups | Hands, office objects, check marks, shapes, stars, clocks, and arrows | Buildings, vehicles, media controls, communication, weather, and interface icons |
| Keyboard mapping | Unique to each member of the family | Uses its own unrelated mapping |
| Useful when | Classic dingbat styling, document marks, and arrow-heavy designs | Icon-like output for places, transport, media, and digital interfaces |
Where Wingdings Came From
According to Microsoft's typography documentation, Kris Holmes and Charles Bigelow designed the source fonts in 1990 and 1991 under the names Lucida Icons, Lucida Arrows, and Lucida Stars. Microsoft renamed and reorganized them before releasing Wingdings in 1992.
The collection reflects the desktop-computing world of that period. It includes devices, folders, documents, mail, writing tools, hands, check boxes, weather signs, astrological and religious symbols, geometric shapes, and many arrow styles. Wingdings 2 extends the decorative and document-oriented range, while Wingdings 3 is especially recognizable for its dense selection of directional arrows.
Why Webdings Was Created
Microsoft describes Webdings as a response to the needs of web designers who wanted a fast way to place graphics on early pages. The font was created in 1997 by Vincent Connare, Sue Lightfoot, Ian Patterson, and Geraldine Wade.
At a time when downloading many small image files could noticeably slow a page, a locally installed symbol font offered scalable artwork that rendered quickly. That origin explains the set's emphasis on interface controls, web navigation, communication devices, places, transportation, and screen-friendly pictograms.
Different Fonts Mean Different Character Maps
Neither font translates the meaning of an English sentence. Instead, the selected typeface changes the glyph displayed for each underlying character code. The letter remains the source character in a font-styled document even though the screen shows an icon.
This is why changing the font back to a normal typeface in Microsoft Word can reveal the original letters. It is also why copying styled text into an app that does not preserve the font may produce ordinary letters rather than icons.
The mappings are independent. A decoder must know whether the source used Wingdings 1, Wingdings 2, Wingdings 3, or Webdings. Visual similarity alone is not enough; choosing the wrong set can turn an otherwise recoverable message into gibberish.
Original Font Glyphs vs Unicode Symbols
Legacy symbol fonts and Unicode text solve different problems. A legacy font supplies a custom picture for an existing character position. Unicode assigns a standardized code point to a character so it can be exchanged as plain text without relying on one proprietary font file.
The Unicode and ISO status document covers Webdings, Wingdings, Wingdings 2, and Wingdings 3. It records which symbols could be unified with existing characters and which required separate encoding work. A Unicode character is therefore not guaranteed to look pixel-for-pixel identical to the source font glyph.
Modern systems can render the same code point with monochrome artwork, a color emoji, or a platform-specific design. Some legacy drawings also have no perfect one-character equivalent. A web translator therefore needs to distinguish between original font rendering and portable Unicode approximations.
Can You Convert Between Wingdings and Webdings?
Changing a document from Wingdings to Webdings does not preserve the same pictures. It preserves the underlying keyboard characters and asks the new font to draw a different set of glyphs. This is a font change, not a visual symbol conversion.
If you need to recover a message, decode it with the source font's character map first. If you need a similar icon that can travel as plain text, find an appropriate Unicode character and verify its appearance in the destination app.
Which Font Should You Choose?
- Choose Wingdings 1 for the classic symbol-font look, pointing hands, office imagery, ornaments, and mixed pictograms.
- Choose Wingdings 2 for additional hands, document marks, clocks, enclosed numbers, and decorative symbols.
- Choose Wingdings 3 when arrows, directions, routes, and navigation shapes are the main requirement.
- Choose Webdings for buildings, vehicles, media controls, communication, weather, and early-web-style interface icons.
If your priority is copying symbols into chats or modern documents, use portable Unicode output and verify the appearance in the destination app. If exact historical artwork matters, preserve the original font in a document or export the result as an image.
How to Identify an Unknown Symbol Message
- Check whether the source document still reports a font name.
- Look at the dominant symbol category: hands and ornaments suggest Wingdings, dense arrows suggest Wingdings 3, and buildings or media controls suggest Webdings.
- Try the suspected mapping in a decoder and preserve uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and punctuation.
- If the result is unreadable, test the other family members rather than guessing individual symbols.
- Confirm uncertain characters against a searchable chart before treating the result as exact.
Compare the Symbol Sets Yourself
Use the Wingdings translator or the dedicated Webdings converter, then compare uncertain characters in the cross-font symbol library before you copy.
Open the Webdings Translator →Frequently Asked Questions
Are Wingdings and Webdings the same font?
No. They are separate Microsoft symbol fonts with different histories, glyph collections, and keyboard mappings. Applying one font's map to text created with the other produces the wrong result.
Which came first, Wingdings or Webdings?
Wingdings came first. Microsoft released it in 1992, while Webdings was designed for web graphics and released in 1997.
Is Webdings part of the Wingdings family?
No. Wingdings, Wingdings 2, and Wingdings 3 form one family. Webdings is a separate typeface, although all four are legacy dingbat fonts that replace ordinary-looking letters with pictograms.
Can a Webdings translator decode Wingdings?
Not reliably. The same source character can display a different glyph in each font, so you must select the mapping that matches the original document.
Can Wingdings and Webdings symbols be copied and pasted?
Font-styled legacy text only keeps its appearance when the destination preserves the font. Unicode equivalents are easier to share as plain text, but their design can vary by device and some are only approximations.
Which font is better for arrows and interface icons?
Wingdings 3 is the strongest choice for a large arrow-focused set. Webdings is usually better for website-style navigation, media, transport, building, and interface pictograms.
Conclusion
The key Wingdings vs Webdings difference is the character map, not just the visual style. Wingdings is a three-font family rooted in desktop documents, computer icons, ornaments, and arrows; Webdings is a later standalone typeface built around early web graphics and interface imagery. Their keyboard maps do not match, and their original glyphs should not be confused with portable Unicode equivalents.
Choose the font that matches the source or the symbol category you need, then use the correct translator or character chart. That one decision prevents most decoding errors.