Ever wondered why your cover photo on Facebook keeps looking pixelated? Are you tired that the pictures you post always end up cropped in the wrong place? You may find this guide very useful, especially if you manage a public Facebook page for your business or personal interests. A pixelated image is always a no-no in the public eye of social media, remember: first impressions matter!
Below you will find a lifesaver graphic with the proper sizes of Facebook’s 2016 layout. After there is a brief description for each item we discuss.
1. Cover Photo
The display size of your cover photo is 828 x 315 px, you may upload a bigger or smaller image but Facebook will always resize it to fit the 828 px horizontal measure. Also, keep in mind that the displayed height of the image is 315 px, and Facebook lets you select the part you want to display in case you have an image taller than 315 px, which is especially useful in case you want to display text. However, not all images are displayed with the right quality, so in order to prevent your cover photo from appearing pixelated, it is strongly recommended that you upload your image with the actual display size (828 x 315 px), make sure your resolution is 72 dpi, and PNG format.
2. Profile Picture
You can upload an image of any size. However, since Facebook’s layout will always display your profile picture in a square format, save yourself the need to select which part of your picture you want to display and crop it. The best size is 336 x 336 px. PNG format is also preferable over JPG as it keeps better quality but you can now go crazy and use an animated GIF instead. Let your creativity go wild! Remember that Facebook will display your profile picture in your main page in a 168 x168 px size and in 32 x 32 px in your timeline posts.
3. Shared Link Thumbnail
The full sized thumbnail for shared links will always be 470 x 246 px, which is particularly useful to know if you want to customize your post or you manually added a link to your post after uploading an image. However, Facebook will not always display a full sized thumbnail and sometimes will use other scales of 155 px for landscape oriented pictures or 114 px height for portrait oriented pictures. What makes Facebook decide what to display? There is no specific criterion, but it likely has to do with whether the page you’re linking has the OpenGraph image property defined or even the size and orientation.
4. Photo on Timeline
Any image you upload, no matter the size will be displayed at a maximum scale of 470 px height (portrait oriented pictures) or 470 px wide (landscape oriented pictures). So, if you want to use the maximum space allowed, be sure it’s at a squared proportion of least 470 x 470 px. Remember, PNG format is still the best.
If you upload multiple pictures, Facebook will give you various options for the main post thumbnail. You may pick one main image that will be displayed in a bigger size than the others or you can also pick an option that will display all images in the same size.