A mention for dimensions.

min

author

Emmi

14 April 2019

Facebook image dimensions: how to get them right.

We’ve already established that Facebook is one of our most powerful marketing tools (see our property marketing blog for proof), but now we need to talk about what it takes to make an effective Facebook post – and the crucial issue here is getting your Facebook image dimensions just right. After all, with both normal FB posts and paid ads, imagery is crucial. Sure, you can choose to run a plain text ad, but they don’t grab the attention like those with pics.

It’s easy to think you can just upload your images anywhere now, but images need to be tailored depending on how they’re being used. And it can be hard to know what those images requirements are if you’ve never used Facebook before.

So, deep breath – we’re going to learn about image sizes. And when you’re done reading, make sure you bookmark this article because we’ll be updating the sizes every time Facebook does. Which is a lot.

Why is it so hard to find image sizing?

I can hear you now… isn’t this just common sense, you cry? You’d think so, but sadly not. This problem seems like it could be solved with a simple Google search but it tends to be more complicated than that.

The internet – and Facebook advertising – is constantly changing, which means up-to-date info on image sizing can be hard to find. You can’t always trust the information you find online because things move so quickly and what you’re reading could already be outdated.

This is why it’s important to make sure you have up-to-date sources – hey, like this one.

Remember – design for mobile.

Designing for mobile is key because the majority of your audience is now using mobile. Think about it – all those people scrolling Facebook while they nibble on a sandwich during their lunch break – those are your customers. Most of them aren’t browsing Facebook for an hour or so when they they get home. Instead they’re browsing on the go multiple times an hour, which means mobile optimization should be a top priority when considering Facebook ad imagery.

Think about your image as seen from a phone. Can you tell what it is just by looking at it? Have you made it overly crowded or busy with lots of text? Size the image down very small, and see if you can tell what it is. If it’s not a distinct image, you may want to choose a different one.

An important announcement…

Before we get to the all-important list, we found during our research that a number of posts mention different sizes, ones that even Facebook themselves approve of. But one thing most of these guys – and Facebook – don’t mention is that all cover photos for your page, group and profile should be a 1920 x 1080px image size.These will then be cropped down to the best size depending on whether your customers are viewing on mobile, tablet or desktop.

1920 x 1080 might sound huuuuge, but Facebook will crop these pictures for mobile and video and have them looking shipshape and sharp. One thing to remember, though: because of how the images will be cropped for certain devices, try to leave space at the top and bottom of your images, so when the image is cropped you don’t lose the all-important text.

Facebook image dimensions (as of April 2019).

So, to the meat of it. Here’s a list of optimised Facebook image dimensions.

(These sizes are correct as of April 2019, and we’ll be updating this page periodically to make sure it stays relevant.)

Basic Facebook Images:

Facebook profile picture – 180 x 180px

Business page profile picture – 180 x 180

Facebook cover photo – 1920 x 1080

Shared image – 1200 x 630

Shared link – 1200 x 628

Highlighted image – 1200 x 717

Event image – 1920 x 1080

Facebook ads:

Facebook feed ad – 1200 x 628

Carousel ad – 1080 x 1080

Right column ad – 1200 x 628

Instant article ad – 1200 x 628

Marketplace ad – 1200 x 628

Audience network ad – 1200 x 628