Your cover photo is the first thing people will see when they visit your Facebook business page, and to create an excellent first impression if you want visitors to develop a positive view of your brand.
Usually, that means using a high-quality image that perfectly reflects your brand personality and showcases what potential customers can expect from your business.
But what about the dimensions of the image?
There is really no point in having a well-designed image if it looks awkward to Facebook users on their devices. That’s why optimizing your cover photo for mobile and desktop devices is crucial.
In this article, I will show you how to make your Facebook cover image fit perfectly and how you can design an effective Facebook cover photo.
What Is The Size Of The Facebook Cover Photo In 2023?
The most appropriate way to answer this question is to hear what Facebook itself has to say about cover photo dimensions:
- It should be left-aligned and full bleed
- It should have a 16:9 aspect ratio
- The minimum dimension acceptable is 400 pixels wide and 150 pixels tall
- Cover photos will display at 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall on desktops
- They will display at 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall on mobile devices
- It will load the fastest when it is 815 X 315 pixels and is less than 100kB
- It’s best to upload your profile photo and cover image as a PNG file
- Your Facebook profile will cover the left-hand side of your cover image
Facebook’s recommendations are a good place to start, but they don’t tell you what you can do to avoid awkward looking-images, especially on mobile devices.
Research shows that 820 X 462 pixels are the most optimal size if you want your cover image to look good on all devices. I will touch more on this in the next section.
How Can You Make Your Facebook Cover Photo Fit Perfectly
Given that images display differently depending on the viewing device, you must recognize that oversized and undersized images will be cropped to fit different screens.
If it’s too small, Facebook will stretch the cover photo to fit the available space, and if it’s too large, Facebook will crop it down and only display the part of your image that falls within the set dimensions.
The way this works on desktop is that Facebook will display more of the width of your image while cutting out parts of the top and bottom.
On mobile, Facebook will show more of your image’s height while cutting out parts of its width.
It instantly becomes obvious how this can be problematic. Cropping your cover image can cut out crucial parts of the text on your image, and that’s something you want to avoid.
To ensure all of the text and graphics in your image display on all devices, you have to place them in the safe zone. That zone is the middle space that won’t be cut off no matter what Facebook does to your image.
And that brings us back to the recommended 820 X 462 pixels. It is the most optimal size for keeping all of your important text in the middle zone.
Alternatively, you can use a cover video instead of a photo. The video must not be longer than 90 seconds, and the acceptable size is 820 X 312 pixels.
How To Design A Facebook Cover Photo
Follow the four-step process below to source, edit, and upload a high-quality cover photo to your Facebook page.
Step 1: Decide On Your Cover Photo
The best cover photo for your business page will depend on your type of business, your branding practices, and your target audience.
Below are a few cover photo ideas to help inspire you:
1. Amplifr
The company used its brand’s color scheme to align the cover photo with its profile photo (company logo). It is perfect for creative agencies.
2. Life Time Fitness
The health club chain used its cover photo to showcase what happens in its gyms and encourage Facebook users to sign up for a gym membership. You can use yours to showcase your store or office.
3. Buffer
The social media app manager company used its cover photo to show off its team, which is a very effective way to help people see the human beings behind your company. It humanizes your brand.
4. HBO
The idea here is to use the cover image to showcase an upcoming event. With this approach, your cover image will change constantly, and you should only follow this path if you constantly need to advertise upcoming sales or business events.
5. Innovative Global Vision
This digital marketing agency used its cover image, to sum up what it can do for potential customers and highlight features that set them apart from competitors.
6. Squarespace
The CMS brand uses its cover image for lead generation. There is a descriptive photo that shows the viewer what they can do with the product as well as a CTA text that encourages them to take the leap. The “Sign up” button is also readily available to ensure potential customers can take action immediately.
7. Uber
The ride-hailing company used creative graphics to come up with something unique and effective.
Step 2: Source Relevant Photos For Your Page
I have just shown you some amazing cover photo ideas, and to create yours, you can either take new images yourself or source existing high-quality images from stock photo sites like Unsplash and Flickr.
If you are more attracted to a graphical approach like Uber’s, you will most likely need to work with a professional designer unless you are familiar with design tools like Photoshop.
If it’s a Facebook cover video, you will have to shoot one yourself or hire a professional.
The image you opt for must follow Facebook’s cover photo guidelines.
- It must not be misleading: the message conveyed by the image must not be misleading. It must be an authentic image.
- It must be public: the image must not be offensive to any group of people since it can be viewed by anyone from Facebook’s global user base.
- It must not be used for promotional purposes: you can’t ask your followers to upload your cover photo to their personal timelines as a way to advertise your brand.
Failure to follow any of the three rules can attract a penalty from the social media platform.
Step 3: Resize Your Photo
At this stage, you want to adjust the dimensions of your cover photo to an image size that will work well across all devices.
You can choose to use photo editing software like Photoshop if you already have one installed on your desktop.
Alternatively, you can use an online tool like Canva with pre-formatted photo templates that are guaranteed to display well on all devices.
To create your cover photo on Canva:
- Log into your Canva account or create a new one, then click Create a design > Facebook cover
- That will give you access to a vast library of templates (images, graphics, illustrations, etc.) that you can customize for your page
- Once you are done personalizing your cover photo template, you can download it as a PNG file.
Step 4: Upload Your Cover Photo
To upload or change your Facebook cover image:
- Tap the hamburger menu in the top-right corner of your page, then click on your name
- Tap the camera icon in the bottom-right corner of the cover photo space
- You can upload a new photo from your device by tapping Upload Photo, or you can use any of your Facebook photos by clicking on Select from album
- Drag the photo to the cover image space and once you are done adjusting it, tap set as Cover photo
Once your cover photo is live, it will appear on your page, next to your name in comments & posts, and in your cover photos album.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Does Your Facebook Cover Photo Not Fit?
Facebook will crop your image to fit the available space, so if it is larger or smaller than the standard 820 X 312 pixels (desktop) or 640 X 360 pixels (mobile), the social network with stretch or crop your image.
Is Facebook Cover Photo Public?
Anyone visiting your business page will see your cover photo, and it will also show up next to your profile picture all over Facebook. Even people off the social network can view your cover image.
Wrapping Up
If you follow the guidelines outlined above, you will be able to create a compelling cover photo that will leave the right impression on visitors to your blog.
The examples will also help inspire you. What is working for a business in the same niche should work for you as well, with a few tweaks.
One last thing I must point out is that your cover photo shouldn’t be a permanent feature; you must change it from time to time to keep it relevant.
