Size Does Matter — Guide to Social Media Image Dimensions

When you’re selecting cover photos, shared images, and other social media assets, knowing the basic image dimensions might not cut it.

What if you want to make sure a certain part of your cover photo isn’t obstructed by your profile photo? And what’s the difference between shared link thumbnails, or in-stream photos — are the dimensions different for those?

As it turns out, sizing images correctly for social media is no simple task. Even just for Facebook marketing, photo dimensions vary according to where and how it’s shared — from cover photos, to timeline images, to profile pictures.

This article is a detailed guide on social media image sizes. You can find the list of essential social media image dimensions for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube below

Facebook

Profile Picture / Business Page Profile Picture | 180 x 180

This is going to be a photo representing you or your brand on Facebook. This is the square photo that appears on your timeline layered over your cover photo. Your profile picture will also appear when you post to other walls, comment on posts

• Must be at least 180 x 180 pixels.
• The photo will appear on the page as 170 x 170 pixels on desktop, 128 x 128 on smartphones, and 36 x 36 on most feature phones.

Cover Photo | 820 x 312

Your Facebook cover photo will only appear on your Facebook timeline, but it is a lot bigger than the profile picture, which gives you more freedom to choose something creative. Where your profile picture might be a good choice for a picture of you or a brand logo, use this space to post something that speaks more toward you as an individual or as a brand.

• Appear on page at 820 x 312 pixels. Anything less will be stretched.
• Minimum size is 400 x 150 pixels.
• Displays at 820 x 312 pixels on desktops and 640 x 360 pixels on smartphones.

Shared Image: 1,200 x 630

A shared image is one of the most common forms of sharing on Facebook. These images will always appear on your timeline, and ideally, they will show up in most of your followers’ News Feeds. It’s unlikely that everyone will see your post. The more people engage with your post, the more likely it is that the rest of your followers and their followers will see that activity.

• Recommended upload size of 1,200 x 628 pixels.
• Square Photo: Minimum 154 x 154px in feed.
• Square Photo: Minimum 116 x 116 on page.
• Rectangular Photo: Minimum 470 x 246 pixels in feed.
• Rectangular Photo: Minimum 484 x 252 on-page.

Event Image | 1920 x 1080

Facebook Events help capture the attention of users and cut through the noise on Facebook. Reminders are sent to your audience and having a good space with an even better image is important. Make sure you have the right dimensions down for a Facebook Event cover photo.

• Facebook will scale down to minimum dimensions: 470 × 174.
• Shows in feed: 470 × 174.

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Twitter

Profile Photo | 400 x 400

Your Twitter profile photo is the main image that represents you or your brand across the network. It’s going to be seen across the site in a number of places by a number of people so make sure it’s of the highest quality. Here’s the places your profile photo will be visible on the site.

• Square Image recommended 400 x 400 pixels.
• Maximum file size 2 MB.
• Image types include JPG, GIF or PNG.

Header Photo | 1,500 x 500

Your header photo is the image that spans the top of your Twitter profile page. It’s quite a bit larger than your profile photo so make sure to save it at the highest resolution possible. Because you have more room to be creative with this picture and it will likely be the first thing your visitors see, make it something captivating.

• Recommended 1,500 x 500 pixels.
• Maximum file size of 5 MB.
• Image types include JPG, GIF or PNG.

In-Stream Photo | Minimum 440 x 220 (2:1 Ratio)

Twitter users can attach photos to any of their Tweets. Luckily, Twitter updated to no longer count characters against your Tweet limit. Uploaded photos will appear in your followers’ streams and the streams of their followers (if Retweeted).

• Minimum to appear expanded 440 x 220 pixels (a 2:1 ratio)
• Recommended aspect ratio is 16:9.
• Can tweet up to 4 images at one time.
• Can edit images if tweeting from Twitter iOS or Android app.
• Maximum to appear expanded 1024 x 512 pixels.
• Appears in stream collapsed at 506 x 253 pixels on desktop.
• Maximum file size of 5 MB for photos, and 5 MB for animated GIFs on mobile and 15 MB on the web.

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Instagram

Profile Picture | 110 x 110

Instagram is based on visuals, which should be an indication of how important it is to follow these image size guidelines. Ensure your profile image is recognizable so users can find you even easier through search or explore.

• Appear on your profile at 110 x 110 pixels.
• Square photo: make sure to maintain an aspect ratio of 1:1.

Photo Thumbnails: 161 x 161

When someone goes to your page, they’ll be presented with all of your content arranged in rows of thumbnails. These smaller renditions of your images and videos will expand when clicked and include a place for people to comment.

• The thumbnails will appear on the page at 161 x 161 pixels.
• Square photo: make sure to maintain an aspect ratio of 1:1 ratio.

Post Size | 1080 x 1080

Instagram is all about the images and videos presented in your followers’ feed. In fact, Instagram higher resolution photos when taken from the native application. If you decided to upload a photo or video from any other device, the resolution will be much lower.

• The size of Instagram images has been increased to 1080 x 1080 pixels.
• Instagram still scales these photos down to 612 x 612 pixels.
• Appear in feed at 510 x 510 pixels.
• For portrait (4:5) photos, recommended dimensions are 1080 x 1350 pixels.
• Smaller featured header images appear as 204 x 204 pixels, and larger featured header images appear as 409 x 409 pixels.

Instagram Stories | 1080 x 1920

With more than 300 million daily users, Instagram Stories are a popular source of visuals on the app. There are both video and image options available to publish. And while this feature is meant to be ephemeral, it’s possible to upload your own content.

• Recommended resolution is 1080 x 1920.
• Minimum resolution is 600 x 1067.
• Aspect ratio is 9:16.
• Max file size is 4GB.

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YouTube

Channel Profile Image | 800 x 800

YouTube allows you to select different profile image borders, but the dimensions stay the same. Ensure your YouTube has a profile image set up before you select your border.

• Recommended 800 x 800 pixels.
• Displays as 98 x 98 pixels.
• Image types: JPG, GIF, BMP or PNG.

Channel Cover Photo | 2,560 x 1,440

Spice up your YouTube channel with some “channel art.” When users click through your YouTube videos to your channel, some appealing images could entice them to stay on your page longer and watch more of your videos.

• Recommended 2560 x 1440 pixels.
• Safe area for mobile and web (without text and logo cropping) 1546 x 423 pixels.
• Maximum file size: 4MB.
• Image types: JPG, GIF, BMP or PNG.

Display Sizes: There are a lot of different platforms and devices that users can stream YouTube on so it’s important that your brand has a photo optimized for each one.

• Tablet display: 1,855 x 423.
• Mobile display: 1,546 x 423.
• TV display: 2,560 x 1,440.
• Desktop: 2,560 x 423 (1,546 x 423 pixels are always visible). Flexible Area (maybe visible): 507 pixels to the left and 507 pixels to the right of the safe area.

Video Uploads | 1280 x 720

Uploading your content to YouTube is one of the most important parts of establishing your presence on the site. Videos can tell viewers something about you as a person, or it could show off something that your business might offer.

• Videos must maintain a 16:9 aspect ratio.
• In order to qualify as full HD, your dimensions must be at least 1,280 x 720 pixels.

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LinkedIn

Personal Profile Image | 400 x 400

LinkedIn started using a new layout for personal profiles and kept the box logo with company pages (more on that below). However, the personal profile dimensions for LinkedIn is very straightforward. This is the main image that represents you on your personal profile. So anytime someone takes a look at your profile for some quick info, this is the prominent image that represents you. It’s important to get the size right.

• Recommended between 400 x 400 and 20,000 x 20,000 pixels
• Minimum 200 x 200 pixels
• Maximum file size 10MB.
• Image types include JPG, GIF or PNG.

Company Logo Image | 300 x 300

One of the two brand logos that you should be uploading to LinkedIn is the standard company logo. This is the bigger of the two and is going to show up right next to your brand name on your LinkedIn homepage. This image also appears in the “Companies you may want to follow” section. The more enticing the photo, the more likely you’ll gain followers.

• Recommended 300 x 300 pixels.
• Minimum 300 x 300 pixels.
• Maximum 4MB (Square layout).
• Image types include PNG, JPG or GIF.

Square Logo: 60 x 60

This is the brand image that shows up when your company is searched. Make sure you use something recognizable to your brand let customers know which company is yours.

• 60 x 60 pixels (resized to fit).
• Maximum 2MB.
• Image types include PNG, JPG or GIF.

Company Cover Image: 1536 x 768

Unlike the personal background image, the company or standard business background image covers the entire top of the page. The image appears much larger than the personal dimensions, giving businesses a bit more space.

• Recommended between 1536 x 768 pixels.
• The minimum size is 1192 x 220.
• Maximum 4MB.
• Appears as 1400 x 245 pixels.
• Image types include PNG, JPG or GIF.

Banner Image for Company Pages | 646 x 220

The banner image is one of the newest and most prominent of the images that you can use on LinkedIn. This image appears when a user visits your brand’s homepage. Since this image is located on your homepage it’s likely the visitor is actively searching for your brand, so use this opportunity to reel them in with a great image.

• Minimum 646 x 220 pixels.
• Maximum 2MB.
• Landscape Layout.
• Image types include PNG, JPG or GIF.

Hero Image | 1128 x 376

Finding great people to work for your company is one of the most important aspects of LinkedIn. You can have a separate tab solely based on career opportunities at your company. At the top of this page sits a banner that is bigger than any of the other images on LinkedIn.

You can use this space to choose a picture that speaks to your company in order to attract some great potential employees.

• Recommended 1128 x 376 pixels.
• Minimum 1128 x 376 pixels.
• Maximum 2MB.
• Landscape Layout.
• Image types include PNG, JPG or GIF.

Shared Image or Link: 1104 x 736

This size works for LinkedIn posts that share a photo or a link with an image to a blog post or article. If you’re only sharing a photo, you have a bit more room for the maximum size if you prefer.

• The recommended size for images or links: 1104 x 736 pixels
• Appears at 552 x 289 pixels
• Maximum size for shared images only: 1104 x 736
• Image types include JPNG, JPG or GIF.

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All resources are taken from multiple online articles. Hope it was helpful.