Ask the Expert with Claire Steele
Social Media Image Sizes 2018
for Small Businesses
by Claire Steele of Lil’ Creative Studio
Last updated – November 2018
As a Graphic and Digital Designer more and more often I am being asked to create Social Media Image packs for my clients. For small or micro businesses on a tight budget this is not always an option. However, without help businesses struggle with their visual online presence, having badly cropped or pixellated images which look unprofessional.
Below is a guide of how to make your Social Media Business Image look good across different platforms. I have tried to make it short, and clear, but with so much information and so many devices it has been difficult! I have also created a Social Media Image Sizes 2018 Cheat Sheet for you to download which contains a quick reference guide to the image sizes without all the extra information below.
The I have collated the details for the following Social Media Platforms as these are the ones I am most frequently asked about by my clients.
- Google+
There are many more platforms out there. Let me know in the comments section if you would like the image sizes for any other platforms.
Download the Social Media Image Sizes Cheat Sheet
Where to source images & photos?
First stop for many people is a photographer who will photograph you, your employees, your business and your products – job done. However, not all of us have the budget. You can get around this by either taking your own photos or using stock photos. There are numerous paid and free options out there for you to find the perfect image/s (my favourites are iStockPhoto, Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and for the free option Pixabay). Your Social Media Profiles does not need to ’literally show’ your business, it needs to encapsulate your business and appeal to your audience.
Profile recommendations
- Personal photo – if your business is all about you.
- Logo – Top Tip: when designing your logo make sure your designer creates a version that works as a square. This is essential if you want your logo as a profile picture.
Cover/Header image ideas
- Location photo. Could be your office (inside or out) or the surrounding area. We live in a beautiful part of the country so share it!
- Product photo. I often put up the latest project I have completed. It advertises what I have done without the hard sell.
- Images that evoke emotion and/or sell the experience. Yoga instructor? Have an image that evokes peace, calm, tranquillity and meditation.
- Advertising banner. You can use the header to promote a hashtag, your latest offer or promotional giveaway, or one that directs your audience to your website.
- Abstract graphic. For a while all my headers were patterns influenced by the sewing I was doing in my spare time.
- If you are stuck for ideas write down a list of 6-8 words that reflect your business and start searching the stock photos!
Choosing the photos
- Across all platforms profile photos need to be square. Make sure there is enough room around the edge of the image for it to be cropped as a circle. Most Social Media Platforms will crop your profile photos into a circle.
- Cover and header photos need to be landscape. Make sure the essential information is in the centre. When Social Media Platforms resize images for different devices they resize from the centre and cut off the edges.
Editing the photos
OK so you have found a selection of images but now what?
- Find the photo editor on your computer. I always use Photoshop so am not an expert on other editors. I know Windows come with a photo editor and Macs can access free and paid apps. There are also numerous photo apps for mobiles and tablets. You must make sure the editor comes with the ability to specify pixels.
- All Social Media sites require your photographs in pixels – this is the number of squares that make up the image. Find where you can edit this, it is usually with cropping.
- For best image results have more pixels than the minimum size. The higher the number of pixels in your image higher the image quality. Remember you can only decrease the number of pixels ie. from 2000px wide down to 1000px wide. DO NOT increase the number of pixels. ie. increase an image 180 x 180px to 800 x 800px. You will not increase the number of pixels and the image quality, only the size of the pixels.
- Screens view images at 72dpi so use that unless it looks pixellated (printed literature needs 300dpi).
- Always save your image as RGB web colour (digital photos are RGB by default).
- Save your images as jpeg or png. A photo should be jpeg. A logo, an image with text, or an image with brand colours should be png.
***Important Note – All images sizes are given in Width x Height ie. 180pixels width x 180pixels height***
Facebook is the most confusing so lets get this out of the way first…
1. Profile
- Min 180 x 180px
- Max 2048 x 2048px
Will display at
- 170 x 170px on desktop
- 128 x 128 pixels on smartphone
- 32 x 32px as thumbnail
TOP TIPS
- This is your most important image. It appears on your timeline, other peoples timeline, every post,
every comment and every share. This photo is you / your brand. Make sure it is a suitable representation as it will be how people get to know you. - Even though you upload as a square, don’t forget it will be cropped as a circle.
- If you have a logo make sure there is enough space around for it to crop neatly.
2. Cover Photos
BUSINESS PAGE
- Min 820 x 312px
- Max 1958 x 745px
Will display at
- 820 x 312px on desktop
- 640 x 360px on smartphone
EVENT
- Min 500 x 262px
- Max 1920 x 1080px
Will display at
- 470 × 174px in feed
GROUP
- Min: 820 x 461px
- Max: 1640 x 922px
TOP TIPS
- Make your cover picture fun, personable and mostly all about you or your business – don’t turn it into an advert.
- Centre the content to make sure that it is visible on all devices.
- On a Personal Facebook page elements cover part of the image.
3. Story (for Business Page)
- Min 820 x 312px
- Max 1958 x 745px
Will display at
- 820 x 312px on desktop
- 640 x 360px pixels on smartphone
Images in Feed
4. Shared images
These are the images that appear on your timeline and show up in your followers news feeds. You can upload at any size but below is the optimal size.
- Recommended 1200 x 630px
Will display at
- 504px wide on desktop
- 470px wide in a feed
5. Shared link
When sharing a link most people use the image that automatically pops up. However, if it does not look good you can upload a relacement image.
- Recommended 1200 x 628px
Will display at
- 474 x 294px on desktop
- 560 x 292px on a smartphone
6. Highlighted Image
These are the images that appear to mark milestones in your business. It sits on your timeline and is bigger than the Shared images.
- Recommended 1200 x 717px
Will display at
- 843 x 504px on desktop
7. Video
- Max width 600px
- Ratio 9:16 portrait to 16:9 landscape
- Upload the highest-resolution video available that meets file size and ratio limits
- File size 4 GB max
- Min length 1 second
- Max length 240 minutes
Facebook Adverts
This is a whole blog article in itself. Visit https://www.facebook.com/business/ads-guide/ for the different sizes
1. Profile
- Recommended 400 x 400px
- Displays on desktop at 200 x 200px
- Max size 2MB
TOP TIPS
- It will appear in your stream next to every Tweet.
- Don’t forget – your profile image will be saved as a square but it will be cropped as a circle on Twitter. Pease leave enough space around the edge.
2. Header
- Recommended 1500 x 500px
- Max size 5MB
TOP TIPS
- The Header is seen by everyone who visits your page.
- It is much larger than your profile picture so make sure it is high resolution.
3. In-Stream Images
- Min 440 x 220 px
- Max 1024 x 512px
- Max size Photos 5MB, Gifs 5MB on mobile & 15MB on desktop
TOPS TIPS
- Will display at 506 x 253px on desktop
- Can tweet up to 4 images at one time
1. Personal Profile
- Min 200 x 200 px
- Recomended 400 x 400px
- Max size 10MB
TOP TIPS
- Don’t forget – your profile image will be saved as a square but it will be cropped as a circle. Pease leave enough space around the edge.
- It will appear in your stream next to every post.
2. Personal Header
- Recommended 1584 x 396px
- Max size 4MB
TOP TIP
- It is much larger than your profile picture so make sure it is high resolution.
3. Image links
Recommended 1200 x 628px
TOP TIP
- It is the same size as Facebook.
4. Image uploads
- You can have any height but there is a recommended width of 1200px
TOP TIP
- The height is ratio to the width on a desktop but images are cropped to horizontal on a mobile feed. The image link size works best.
5. Company Logo
- Min 300 x 300px
- Max 4MB
6. Company Cover Image
- Recommended 1536 x 768px
- Max size 4MB
TOP TIPS
- On a desktop displayed at 1400 x 425px (this is very narrow) so choose an image that looks good both as a strip and as a landscape photo on a mobile.
- It is much larger than your profile picture so make sure it is high resolution.
- I have not included Company details for paid LinkedIn accounts. For more information on this please visit https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/70781
1. Profile
- Recommended 110 x 110px
TOP TIPS
- It will appear in your stream next to every post.
- Don’t forget – your profile image will be saved as a square but it will be cropped as a circle. Pease leave enough space around the edge.
Photos
2. Square
- Recommended 1080 x 1080px
3. Landscape
- Recommended 1080 x 566px
4. Portrait
- Recommended 1080 x 1350px
5. Thumbnail
- Will display at 161 x 161px. Instagram rezises this for you.
TOP TIPS
- Will display at 510px wide in feed
- Remember Instragram is a photo-sharing website. It is essential that your images are high resolution.
6. Instagram stories photos
- Min 600 x 1067px
- Max 1080 x 1920px
- Max size 4GB
For information on Instragram Ad sizes visit https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-ad-sizes/
1. Profile
- Recommended 165 x 165px
- Max size 10MB
TOP TIPS
- Don’t forget – your profile image will be saved as a square but it will be cropped as a circle. Pease leave enough space around the edge.
- It will appear in your stream next to every post.
- Displays at 165 x 165 px on your homepage.
- Displays at 32 x 32 px on the rest of Pinterest.
2. Board Display
- Recommended 222 x 150px (large thumbnail)
- Recommended 55 x 55px (smaller thumbnail)
3. Pins
- Max width on home page & board 236px
- Max width when the pin is expanded 600px
- Recommended ratio 2:3 to 1:3.5
TOP TIPS
- Pinterest has a limit on the width of your pin, but not the length.
- 90% of of Pinterest Pages are external links . Use it as a tool to drive traffic to your website.
Google+
When you create a Google+ account you can create a Google+ Brand Page as well as a Google+ Business Page. A Google+ Brand Page allows you to post short blogs (100-300 words) as well as connect with like minded people via communities. The Google+ Business Page collates all your business information ie. website, location, opening hours etc and displays it on the right side of the Google homepage when your business is entered in the search bar. Both accounts are tied to the search engine and even a simple Google+ page will help your SEO.
1. Profile (Brand & Business)
- Recommended 250 x 250px
- Max size 100MB
2. Cover Image (Brand)
- Recommended 1080 x 608px
- Min 480 x 270px
- Max 2120 x 1192px
TOP TIPS
- The header is seen by everyone who visits your profile page.
- It is much larger than your profile picture so make sure it is high resolution.
3. Shared Image (within Post on Brand & Business))
- Min width 497px
- Max upload 2048 x 2048px
TOP TIPS
- Don’t forget – your profile image will be saved as a square but it will be cropped as a circle. Pease leave enough space around the edge.
- Both your Google+ Brand Page and Google+ Business Page will boost your SEO.
Hope this helps! Please contact me if you have any questions! 🙂 Claire
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