Facebook image cheat sheet: maximum photo sizes for your branded page and ads
Our previously published guide to Facebook image sizes is well over two years-old and therefore long overdue for an update, and SO much has happened to the world’s most popular social network (for now) since then…
However, as Larry Kim taught us this week in his post on how to improve organic Facebook reach, it is still possible to find your audience without having to break the bank.
This guide is designed to ensure that when Facebook users do see and interact with your brand, that you’re all scrubbed up and as presentable as you possibly can be.
These are the correct dimensions, resolutions and features you need for optimising your Facebook channel, without the need of an overzealous parent spitting in a handkerchief and scrubbing your face till it’s red.
In order to do this as accurately and up-to-date as possible (seeing as Facebook only just recently changed the layout of branded pages again) I’ll be using examples from the FB Pages Sizes and Dimensions page from Yoconda. It’s worth giving them a like to keep up-to-date. And I’ll be using the helpful advice from Miranda Miller in her original guide.
The top of your Facebook page as of July 2016 will now look something like this…
Let’s break down the measurements…
The optimal image size for your header image is 851 x 315 pixels. Any less and you’ll lose resolution. Start with a canvas of double that size – 1702 x 630 – for sharp, crisp images; Facebook will resize it and you’ll have the right dimensions.
The mobile safe area is 563 x 315 pixels.
Follow these dos and don’ts of header images:
Your profile picture will be displayed at 160 x 160 pixels but must be at least 180 x 180 pixels to upload.
Pictures of different dimensions can be cropped upon uploading.
Also note that the profile picture no longer partially obscures the header image like it used to, so you can no longer do those ‘fun and amusing’ combinations
Your profile picture appears around Facebook wherever you interact with users and in their Newsfeed at 90 x 90 pixels so your profile picture must be legible at this resolution.
The image that’s automatically pulled in from a link you’ve shared, or the one you’v uploaded an alternative image from your desktop will appear on your timeline and in the Newsfeed as 476 x 249 pixels.
Facebook Ads images also have their own set of rules: