Not only that, it also pretty ugly in some cases (imo) and unclear. It also limits your control.
Describe a solution
Use a library such as the excellent font-awesome. It provides way more, more consistent and nicer icons for you to use. You can find all the benefits here: https://fontawesome.com/#benes-other
What problem does this feature address?
Using text icons is dangerous, since they are displayed differently for everyone. See below:
Not only that, it also pretty ugly in some cases (imo) and unclear. It also limits your control.
Describe a solution
Use a library such as the excellent font-awesome. It provides way more, more consistent and nicer icons for you to use. You can find all the benefits here: https://fontawesome.com/#benes-other
Examples of similar features