You ca n’t always label a book by its top , but you may try a social medium visibility by its cover image . In this pillar , you ’ll learn how to make your own cover images for Facebook , Twitter , Google+ , and LinkedIn , including design idea , right sizes , and sage file format advice . This is your chance to get originative and let your personality shine — after all , an paradigm is worth a thousand words !
Size Matters
The mental imagery you practice for cover images among societal media services does n’t have to be different , though each service want slightly dissimilar pixel dimension . While you may trim and reposition the image during the upload mental process , size it aright ahead of clock time gives you more control and let you plan for areas of the image that ’ll be cover by your profile picture or text overlay . Below are the presently recommended sizes for today ’s pop players ( all size are in pixels ) , and while some services accept larger images , the sizes below work well on both screen background and mobile machine :
Facebook : Covers for personal or fan pages are 851×315 . Your visibility image is shown as overlay in the lower - left , with your name as a textual matter overlayer to its right . Facebook Groups have masking images of 801×250 .
chirrup : Cover images are 1500×500 . Your visibility mental image is shown as sheathing in the lower - leave , with your name and bio appearing beneath it .
Google+:Cover images are 1080×608 . Your profile range , name , and URL are shown to the left of your cover image , not as an overlayer .
LinkedIn : LinkedIn ’s cover images are 1400×425 , but they ’re currently for Premium ( pay off ) account only . No overlays are shown atop the binding image .
A good visibility image feature your face or logotype in full inning ( left ) . In a full - duration body shot , your face is too small to see ( right wing ) ; however , if the persona is big enough , you’re able to use the service ’s rapid growth feature during the upload outgrowth to fix that .
Profile image sizes vary across divine service , too , though they ’re always fairly diminished . A good rule of ovolo is to upload a portrait - style picture of yourself — or your fellowship ’s logotype if it ’s a concern page — and then use the inspection and repair ’s cropping feature to make your head , neck , and shoulder fulfill the systema skeletale .
Building the cover image
To make a expectant cover image , you need an applications programme that lets you create a customs written document size , and add more than one image to that document , as well as schoolbook . Such programme includeTurboCollage($5),Pixelmator($30),Adobe Photoshop Elements($100),Adobe Photoshop CC($10 / month with anCreative Cloud Photography subscription ) , and the like . ( With enough science you could do it in Aperture or Lightroom , but that ’s fodder for another story — it involves make a tradition paper size in the Print module , project a new mark template , and then using the individuality plate and watermarking to add a logo and text . )
Both the dyad ’s exposure and the blank schoolbook to its right field are automatic overlay ( top ) . To pull up stakes room for that stuff , set a template in your picture editor in chief ( bottom ) .
No matter which program you use , the first footstep is to create a new document at one of the sizes list above , generally by choose File > New and put down the right property and resolution ( use 72ppi ) . Next , start import imaging into your document and set up the authoritative bits so they ’re not incubate by any overlays the service baste on . To be safe , do n’t set any text inside the bottommost 145 pixels .
What to include
To make the best impression , use singular numbers of your very in force images . pick out high - quality look-alike that well reflect your personality or Falco subbuteo . expend images you ’ve shot yourself , purchased from a royal house - free stock image company , or those that are in the public domain or have generous usage right ( NASA ’s Visible Earth image , for example ) . But do n’t apply images you ’ve snatched from the Internet using a Google epitome hunt .
If it ’s a personal pageboy , give your cover prototype extra personality by add a favourite shibboleth , such as “ practice aloha ” or “ It ’s 5 o’clock somewhere ! ” Just keep it clean and keep it short . call up , the whole world can see this , include current and future friends , family , teammate , even bosses .
Including URLs on business cover images makes them easier for visitors to detect , shown here on a Facebook buff Sir Frederick Handley Page ( top ) and Twitter ( bottom ) .
If it ’s a business varlet , be sure to include your URL and tagline so it ’s extremely visible . If you have a intersection for sale , include a picture of it to increase brand name recognition .
Save it in the right file format
When you ’re finished , first save a master copy of your document in the package ’s native data format so you could edit it again after . Next , apply the package ’s File > Save As instruction to create a JPEG or PNG written matter in that you ’ll upload to the serving itself .
The JPEG format produce a smaller file size of it , though PNG produce a higher - quality range because no data is lost when it ’s pack together . So if your covering image includes a logotype or textbook , use PNG–8 . If it admit a large gradient — a smooth transition from one colouration to another , like in a big sky — manipulation PNG–24 , which supports more coloration than PNG–8 ( and therefore produce a larger filing cabinet size ) . For anything else , use JPEG at the high tone mise en scene .
Facebook is notorious for compressing JPEGs even further during the upload physical process , so if your cover image looks blurry , taste PNG–8 or PNG–24 instead .
Here TurboCollage was used to make this montage ( with the exact Facebook Amytal as a backdrop color ) . To keep text crisp , carry through this cover image in PNG format .
Keep these tips in head , and your social media cover simulacrum will bet their best and send the right substance . Until next time , may the creative strength be with you all !
PhotoLesa.comfounder Lesa Snider teach the world to create full graphics . She ’s the author of the good - sellingPhotoshop : The Missing Manualbooks , joint author ofiPhoto : The Missing Manual , generator ofThe Skinny Bookebook serial , a foundingcreativeLIVEinstructor , and unconstipated columnist for Photoshop User and Photo Elements Techniques clip .
