50 Facebook timeline covers – examples and best practices

October 1, 2011

Facebook’s Timeline covers

Included in Facebook’s numerous product updates is the new Timeline function which tells a user’s story in a chronological way, literally resembling a traditional timeline. What is most captivating about the Timeline to us is that it offers a “cover” which is a massive picture at the header of a user’s profile. Timelines are now rolling out to all users and as each user gains access, they will be prompted to add a cover photo.

We finagled our way into using the new Facebook timeline features over a week ago and have experimented with types of photos, sizes and resolutions and see others making the frequent mistake of using a photo that is too small. The best tip that no one is telling you is that the actual size of the photo needed is 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels tall, so users should try to use a high resolution image in that size. We caution against the obvious: don’t use a photo that doesn’t belong to you or you don’t have rights to, and keep it clean. There are now websites that offer to generate a cover photo, but thousands of others will have the same image as you, so we suggest using your own photo.

So far, most early adopters aren’t using it as a professional billboard with tacky ads all over it, but that’s sure to come, so we hope our readers will keep it minimal and respectable and avoid hitting consumers over the head. Facebook timeline cover photos are a cross between Myspace and Twitter backgrounds, but limited and much more streamlined and less gaudy. The new features are attractive to users and it is our hope that Facebook doesn’t allow full customization, lest it become Myspace.

As the new features become available to you, you’ll want to immediately add your timeline cover shot, so below are a variety of examples, most of which are family photos, self portraits, and nature shots, but there are some extremely clever photos, so hunt below for the following clever uses of the Timeline cover photos: Mark Story, Bob LeDrew, Daniel Agee, Juan Carlos Farias, and Amber Austen.