Social media image size cheat sheet and tips: 2015 edition

Social media: the rules keep changing!

With each passing year, technology becomes more and more important. With that, social media has become a huge necessity when trying to market your business, your brand, or yourself. When trying to make a presence on the Internet, you have to make sure that you’re looking your best. This is achieved by having well-sized and appealing photos on your social media page.

As technology develops, social media templates develop as well in an effort to keep users feeling engaged. This new, new layouts for the variety of social media outlets have been switched up and setupablogtoday.com gives us the inside look at the best ways to size your photos.

1. Twitter

• The page size is set at 1280 x 1024.
• Header photo: 1500 x 500 – Image guidelines: recommended 1500 x 500 px; Maximum file size of 10MB; Use JPG, GIF, or PNG.
• Profile photo: 400 x 400 (displays at 200 x 200) – Image guidelines: square image, recommended 400 x 400 pixels; Maximum file size 100KB; Use JPG, GIF, or PNG.
• In-stream photo: 440 x 220 – Image guidelines: Minimum to appear expanded 440 x 220 pixels; Maximum to appear expanded 1024 x 512 pixels; Appears in stream collapsed at 506 x 253 pixels; Maximum file size of 5MB for photos and 3MB for animated GIFS.

2. Facebook

• Profile image: 180 x 180 px – Image guidelines: Must be at least 180 x 180 pixels; Photo will appear on page as 160 x 160 pixels; Photo thumbnail will appear throughout Facebook at 32 x 32 pixels – Notes: The photo represents you or your brand and will appear on your timeline layered over your cover photo; It will also appear when you post to others’ walls or write comments.
• Highlighted image: 1200 x 717 px – Image guidelines: Will appear on your page at 843 x 504 pixels; Choose a higher resolution for best quality.
• Cover photo: 851 x 315 px – Image guidelines: Appear on page at 851 x 315 pixels (anything less will be stretched); Minimum size of 399 x 150 pixels; For best results, upload an RGB JPG file less than 100KB; Images with a logo or text may be best as a PNG file.
• Shared images: 1200 x 900 – Image guidelines: Appear on page at 851 x 315 pixels (anything less will be stretched); Minimum size of 399 x 150 pixels; For best results, upload an RGB JPG file less than 100KB; Images with a logo or text may be best as a PNG file.
• Shared link: 1200 x 627 – Image guidelines: Recommended upload size of 1200 x 627; Square photo a Minimum of 154 x 154 in feed, Square photo a Minimum of 116 x 116 on page, Rectangular photo a Minimum of 470 x 246 in feed, Rectangular photo a Minimum of 484 x 252 on page. Note: Facebook will scale photos under the minimum dimensions. For better results, increase image resolution at the same scale as the minimum size.

3. Google+

• Profile image: 250 x 250 – Image guidelines: Minimum 120 x 120 pixels; Recommended 250 x 250 pixels; Maximum not listed (a 20MB photo at 5200 x 5300 pixels was able to be uploaded); JPG, GIF, or PNG. Note: You upload your image in a square format and then going render it into your page as a circle, so make sure you choose a photo that will not cut out your face.
• Shared image: 497 x 373 – Image guidelines: Appears in home stream and on page at a width of 426 pixels (height is scaled); Minimum width of 497 pixels (will scale the height for you); Maximum upload 2048 x 2048 px; Shared link – 150 x 150 (thumbnail).
• Cover image: 1080 x 608 – Image guidelines: Recommended 1080 x 608 pixels; Minimum 480 x 270 pixels; Maximum 2120 x 1192 pixels; Note: the cover photo may be the biggest on your page. Shared image: 150 x 150 – Image guidelines: Shows in the feed and on page as 150 x 150 pixels (pulls in photo from linked site).

4. Instagram

• Profile image: 110 x 110 – Image guidelines: Appear on your home page at 110 x 110 pixels; Square photo – make sure to maintain an aspect ratio of 1:1.
• Photo thumbnails: 161 x 161 – Image guidelines: The thumbnails will appear on the page at 161 x 161 pixels; Square photo – make sure to maintain an aspect ratio of 1:1.
• Photo size: 640 x 640 – Image guidelines: The size of Instagram images has been increased to 640 x 640 pixels; Instagram still scales these photos down to 612 x 612; Appear in feed at 510 x 510 pixels.

5. Pinterest

• Profile image: 165 x 165 – Image guidelines: Appears at 165 x 165 pixels on home page; Appears at 32 x 32 pixels on the rest of Pinterest; Maximum of 10MB.
• Pin sizes: 236 width in pixels – Image guidelines: Pins on main page appear as 236 pixels (height is scaled); Pins on board appear as 236 pixels (height is scaled); Expanded pins have a minimum width 600 pixels (height is scaled).
• Board display: 222 x 150 – Image guidelines: 222 x 150 pixels (large thumbnail); 55 x 55 (smaller thumbnail). Note: choose a well-sized image in order to attract attention.

6. Tumblr

• Profile image: 128 x 128 px – Image guidelines: Minimum 128 x 128 pixels; JPG, GIF, PNG, or BMP. Note: the profile image will appear as an icon next to your posts. It will also appear on your page, depending on your profile layout. Make sure to choose an image that fits both the icon shape and the profile shape.
• Image posts: 570 x 750 – Image guidelines: Dash images sizes max at 1280 x 1920, and show in feeds at 500 x 750; Images cannot exceed 10MB; Animated GIFS must be under 1MB and max at 500 pixels.

7. YouTube

• Video uploads: 1280 x 760 – Video guidelines: Videos must maintain a 16:9 aspect ratio; In order to qualify as full HD, your dimensions must be at least 1280 x 720 pixels.
• Channel cover photo: 2560 x 1440 – Image guidelines: With YouTube’s many different platforms and devices, it is important to have a photo optimized for any viewing – Display sizes – Tablet display: 1855 x 423; Mobile display: 1546 x 423; TV display: 2560 x 1440; Desktop: 2560 x 423; 1546 x 423 – pixels are always visible.

8. LinkedIn

• Standard logo: 100 x 60 – Image guidelines: 100 x 60 pixels (resized to fit); Maximum 2MB; PNG, JPG, or GIF. Note: One of the two brand logos that should be uploaded is a business logo.
• Banner image: 646 x 220 (minimum) – Image guidelines: Minimum 646 x 220 pixels; Maximum 2MB; Landscape layout; PNG, JPG, or GIF. Note: Banner images were recently implemented and are very prominent on a LinkedIn profile; use this as a way to attract users to your business.
• Career cover photo: 974 x 300 – Image guidelines: Minimum 974 x 300 pixels; Maximum 2MB; Landscape layout; PNG, JPG, or GIF. Note: This is the largest image on a LinkedIn page, use a picture that will speak to your company and will appeal to potential employees.
• Square logo: 150 x 50 – Image guidelines: 50 x 50 pixels (resized to fit); Maximum 2MB; PNG, JPG, or GIF. Note: This is the image that will show up when your company is searched. Therefore, use something recognizable.

Visual breakdown of all size requirements:

#SMimagesizes