Looking for the correct Facebook group cover photo size?
One that works on both desktop and mobile?
For “New Facebook” in 2021.
And gives you an attractive thumbnail preview!
You’re in the right place.
Like all Facebook cover photos, the one for groups changes frequently, and displays differently on various devices.
Facebook group cover photo size changed late 2017 – and again a couple weeks later.
Then, the group banner size Facebook finally revealed didn’t actually work.
But you can beat FB at this game!
What you’ll learn below about Facebook Group Banners
1 | How to create a Facebook Group Cover Photo for mobile AND desktop.
2 | The EASY way to make your group header without fussing over size and safe zones.
3 | How to get a great looking Group thumbnail preview (updated for 2021).
4 | FREE group cover photo template for those using another design tool.
Facebook Cover Photo sizes are many and varied
This article deals strictly with group covers. But I have more – and I keep them updated.
For business pages, personal profiles, and events, click:
Facebook Business Page Photo size
Facebook Profile Cover Photo size
Facebook Event Cover Photo size
Read on for groups…
Facebook Group Cover Photos made easy!
Let’s start with easy. Because easy rocks!
If you don’t want to mess with Photoshop and designing from scratch, make your group header the easy way – with Snappa.
Snappa has integrated Facebook Group cover photo dimensions and safe zones into their graphic design tool, so it’ll look perfect on both mobile and desktop.

Inside Snappa, you’ll also find:
- 500,000+ photos plus graphics – royalty-free and licensed for commercial use.
- Or, upload your own photos into Snappa.
- 200+ fonts pre-loaded in Snappa
- Or, import your own custom fonts to keep your branding intact.
- Hundreds of pre-designed templates!
You can toss together eye-catching Facebook Group banners in seconds!
Even better? In a couple clicks, your cover photo can become a perfectly-optimized:
→ YouTube channel art
Or any one of a couple dozen other social media images!
Read on for instructions. Or jump in and try it out now…
• • • Create a Facebook cover photo for free NOW! • • •
Disclosure: IF you upgrade to a paid plan, I may receive a referral fee.
Facebook Group Banners on Desktop vs. Mobile
It’s tricky to design your cover photo to display properly on both mobile and desktop. Designing with “safe zones” will get you a Facebook group header that looks great on all devices!
Facebook doesn’t stretch and distort your image to fit different devices – it crops it automatically instead.
On a mobile device, your group cover photo will be seen in its entirety.
But on a desktop device, Facebook will crop the top and bottom.
Using the Facebook-recommended group cover photo size of 1640 pixels by 856 pixels, and keeping critical elements within safe zones, will ensure that nothing important gets cut off on desktop.
How to make your FB Group cover photo with Snappa
Choose the Facebook Group cover photo preset for a perfect cover photo size – automatically!
Next, choose a premade Facebook Group Cover template – it’s fully customizable. Or, you can choose to create a cover photo from scratch.
Make your life easy with a template! You can still upload your own image as a background – or choose from Snappa’s library of FREE images.
Add text, graphics, shapes, and effects to any part of the banner image.
All of these add-ons can be:
- Dragged and dropped easily.
- Defined as to the opacity you desire.
- Placed on whichever layer you choose.
You’ll notice that the overlay shows the mobile-only zones of your Facebook cover, so you’ll never have to worry about text and graphics getting cut off. ?
You can easily toggle this overlay on and off.
What’s more, once your design is complete, you can transform your new Group Cover Photo into any other image type.
It’s so fast and easy. Give it a try now!
• • • Create a Facebook cover photo for free NOW! • • •
Disclosure: IF you upgrade to a paid plan, I may receive a referral fee.
What Facebook says about Group Cover Photo size
According to Facebook, the ideal size is 1,640px by 856px, or 1.91:1 ratio. This did not work anywhere when they announced it on November 27, 2017.
But now it does – on mobile display only.
Facebook finally got on board and offered their own simplified template (below).
If you don’t want to deal with a template, you can simply create a new image in your graphics program at 1,640px by 856px. This will work fine on both phones and tablets.
Fortunately, Facebook no longer places text overlay across the bottom on mobile, though you will see a darkened gradient band at the bottom on desktop display.
Allow cropping top and bottom on desktop. Facebook isn’t allowing full control over the cropping on desktop. A portion of the top and bottom will be cropped.
These dimensions have been verified to work as of December 11, 2020.
Below is Facebook’s template. But keep reading as we can do this one better.
Facebook Group thumbnail previews
Have you noticed the little previews when you look for groups?
In 2020, these changed from a circle to a round-cornered square. In 2021, they appear as round-cornered squares in some places, and other times round.
The important point is – some previews catch your eye or communicate at a glance, and others are a messy and confusing.

Where does the Facebook Group thumbnail preview come from?
The preview is grabbed from the center of your banner.
However, if you have a strong focal point in your cover photo, that will be auto-detected by Facebook, and may pulled out as your thumbnail. No guarantees with Facebook!
If you don’t have a powerful focal point, or care to risk Facebook’s whims of the week, use my new 2021 group cover photo template below to preview your preview!
How do I get the best Facebook Group preview?
An effective group cover photo doesn’t necessarily translate into an effective thumbnail.
Most group admins are ignoring this opportunity, so you can really stand out if you pay attention!
Lots of tiny text is not your best bet. You may want to include your group rules, but try to include an element with visual impact.
How to design your header image so you get the best thumbnail:
- Keep it simple! That’s the best and easiest way to go.
- Center something that communicates at a glance. Don’t make it slightly off-center.
- OR, include a strong visual element and let FB pull that out.
- Cut additional text, or make it much smaller, so your main message stands out.
Read on for examples.
Below you’ll see an example of an effective cover photo that failed as a thumbnail.
Without a strong focal point, the center was grabbed, which simply makes no sense at all.
By the way, if you’re interested in that Planner, it’s absolutely free!
Click here to get the free Pinterest Planner. That’s my affiliate link, which means if you join the Simple Pin Collective, I’ll earn a referral fee.
Speaking of the Collective, I’m a mentor and an admin in the Facebook group.
Their cover photo produced one of the strongest thumbnails, and as you can see, it was not grabbed from the center. Facebook simply pulled the strongest visual element.
Here’s another favorite, which had a strong and attractive logo centered on the cover image:
Now that you can see what works (and doesn’t) for previews, let’s face one more issue that came with New facebook.
New Facebook gradient on desktop
Another element to consider when designing your group cover photo is the background gradient.
On desktop display only, Facebook pulls a color from the top sides of your group banner, and creates a gradient that stretches to either side.
If your cover image has different colors on either side, this gradient can come out a bit odd and unbalanced.
It can also be less than ideal if you’ve used a photo with colors in the upper corners that clash with your brand colors.
These may not be deal-breakers for you, but worth considering.
Here’s your Facebook Group Cover Photo template for 2021!
I’m seeing a slight change in cropping in New Facebook versus Classic Facebook. The mobile view doesn’t show quite the entire 1640 x 856 header image. So I’ve updated my template!
This new template:
- Is the recommended width of 1640 pixels.
- Is the recommended proportion of 1.91:1.
- Shows where that group thumbnail will be extracted (see tips above).
Since Facebook isn’t allowing full control over the cropping on desktop, this template shows a default center crop.
Right-click to download full-size template for 2021:
Because Facebook changes on a whim (and because I find this new cropping a bit odd), you might want to download and save the 2020 version too, just in case they change their minds.
You can do that below:
Instructions for using my social media templates
1 | Open in Photoshop or other graphics editing program that has layers.
2 | Change Image > Mode to RGB (the template is an indexed color PNG).
3 | Add guidelines to match template, or use template as a translucent layer for guidance.
4 | Delete template from image file when your design is done.
If your design program doesn’t have layers, you can use them for size and visual reference.
There are more social media templates in the Free Member Area.
I can’t set the right size for my Facebook Group Cover Photo!
IF you’ve looked at the easy solution above, but insist on persisting…
If your preferred design tool doesn’t allow you to set pixel size, look for a “Facebook Link Preview” size, or a 1.91:1 shape. This is the same proportion, or aspect ratio.
No go? You can find a 16:9 cropping template in any photo editing app, even free ones, like Photos on iOS.
If you go with Facebook’s suggested width of 1640, it’ll be 923 pixels tall.
Be aware that only 856 pixels of the height will show on mobile, and 662 on desktop. So you’ll lose a smidge off the top and bottom.
Remember that the thumbnail will be taken from the full height you upload, though!
Persistence is futile? Try Snappa!
• • • Create a Facebook cover photo for free NOW! • • •
Disclosure: IF you upgrade to a paid plan, I may receive a referral fee.
How do I upload a cover photo to my group?
The following tips are provided by Facebook.
Only admins can upload or change cover photos for their group.
To upload a cover photo for the first time:
- From your News Feed click Groups in the left menu and select your group.
- Click Upload Photo to upload a photo from your computer or click Choose Photo to choose from your Facebook photos or your group’s photos.
- Select the photo and click Save.
To change or reposition an existing cover photo:
- From your News Feed click Groups in the left menu and select your group.
- Hover over the cover photo.
- Click Change Group Cover and select Upload Photo or Reposition Photo.
- Click Save.
It appears this weird issue has been fixed: If the cover photo had never been set, a group member could add a cover photo. Now you must be an admin to do so.
Facebook Group Cover Photo problems?
Please remember that Facebook cover photos crop differently on desktop and mobile. There is simply NO one-size-fits-all solution.
My article on FB business page covers gives more detail on this confounding problem. It’s all about aspect ratio.
→ Facebook Business Page Photo size
To find templates for personal profiles and events:
→ Facebook Profile Cover Photo size
→ Facebook Event Cover Photo size
The group cover photo dimensions have been verified to work as of December 11, 2020. Facebook is even providing a similar template on their Help page.
But things change! If you’re having problems, leave specifics in your comment. I can’t help if you simply say, My Facebook group cover photo is too large.
Explain the cropping problems you’re having and I’ll look into it.
Ready to make your Facebook Group cover photo the easy way?
Try Snappa online design tool for free!
Their templates give you the perfect size, with safe zones to ensure your beautiful design looks great on both desktop and mobile.
- Create highly engaging images in minutes with drag-and-drop.
- 500,000+ photos and graphics – royalty-free and licensed for commercial use.
- 200+ fonts pre-loaded in Snappa.
- Or upload your own photos or fonts.
- Choose from hundreds of pre-made templates, suitable for a wide range of niches.
- Magically resize to another type of cover photo in seconds!
Whether you’re a designer or not, it’s really got everything you need.
• • • Create a Facebook cover photo for free NOW! • • •
Disclosure: IF you upgrade to a paid plan, I may receive a referral fee.
Enjoy your new Facebook group cover photo!
Lynne says
Creating a facebook group cover photo can do wonders for your page. It can provide a face or picture to associate with your business. Knowing how to do this right is very helpful. Thanks for sharing.
Louise Myers says
Most welcome, Lynne, thanks for your comment!
Leslie says
I have no idea how to make a Facebook group cover photo
Louise Myers says
You can simply upload a photo that’s at least 801 pixels wide.
If you want to add text to it first, here’s one way you could do that: https://louisem.com/4344/add-text-to-pictures-free-photo-editor
Court Smith says
What is the correct size for a Facebook Group photo at the top of the page. it’s been fine for years up until recently.
Look at this…. facebook.com/groups/VancouverHotRods
No matter what size I make the photo…it turns out like this…I’ve tried so many including yours with no luck. Thank you
Louise Myers says
Sorry this didn’t work for you. It actual looks perfect to me, so I can only conclude that some people have a different view. FB changes always take a while to roll out to everyone.
Hadi says
Is there any changes in facebook Group Cover photo size to date ? (Aug 2016)
Louise Myers says
Hadi, not that I’m aware, but I’m not a FB group admin.
Kimberly says
Louise,
First, thank you for so freely sharing this hard-won information! I’m sure it will become a much referenced resource for me. I came upon your site via a Google search for guidelines to correctly size a picture to be used as the header of a Facebook Group page (you know, the first thing anybody will see). The recommendation of 801 x 250 pixels results in a very distorted picture and I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. My group will be a very small group indeed; single purpose page providing an exchange forum for those of us ‘nerds’ who collect the Wade porcelain ‘whimsies’ given as premiums by Red Rose Tea. (See what I mean?) I still want to do a quality job and any advice you can provide would be most helpful. Thanks in advance for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Cline
Louise Myers says
I haven’t been able to find any reliable info on this. It sounds to me that what people see on desktop vs mobile vs Group app (I didn’t even know there was such a thing!) varies greatly.
My best suggestion is to start out with a larger photo for better resolution, and if you have a PNG files, that would probably give you the best result.
Your cover photo doesn’t appear distorted to me, just low resolution.
Good luck! I’d love to hear how it works out.
Rebecca Beauregard says
When creating group photos should we follow the same guideline for desktop/mobile viewers? It’s so frustrating for me when I create a graphic that looks great on PC only to find my information cropped off when I view it in my fb app.
Louise Myers says
I think we need to keep any text or vital elements away from the sides. If I get a chance I’ll test it for dimensions, but that won’t be real soon, sorry.
Gloria Grace Rand says
I heard from Mari Smith today that the group photo size should be: 1920×1080 pixels (16:9 ratio). I haven’t tried it yet, but wanted you to be aware!
Louise Myers says
Yes, that’s what works for mobile, thanks for confirming! Without the template you won’t know where the type goes or it crops on desktop. Not sure why FB has to make them different 😉
Alan Stone says
I only noticed this last week that my group cover image was appearing enlarged. After several attempts to find a current size I came across your page. Because my cover consists of a photo plus a logo and text I tried at least 6 times to make a cover image that worked based on the dimensions in this article. It was either too large, couldn’t be re-positioned, or cut off part of the image on the top. The following is what finally worked: Total size: 1640 x 856. Keep a margin of at least 100 pixels at the top (no text) because that gets cut off by Facebook’s blue navigation bar. Leave bottom margin of 186 pixels blank of text and image (I left mine with a simple background color). That should work for smart phones although the FB app on my phone puts text all over the darkened cover image.
Alan Stone says
Sorry, 1640 x 856. Just as Katie Williams says. Just leave that 100 pixel margin at the top if you are adding text.
Louise Myers says
Interesting. I wonder if different FB accounts are seeing it differently. I have no other explanation for why some people say my template is perfect, and others say it doesn’t work!
Chris Mathan says
Thank you for that! The cover photo for the group I managed changed in front of my eyes the other day. I wasted a lot of time looking for an answer and then trying to figure out what the new size is. Nothing from Facebook. They are really starting to drive me crazy, not approving ads, no response to inquiries about that etc.
Louise Myers says
I know, they are difficult at best ?
Sarah says
How do you use the template?
Louise Myers says
I added instructions to the post. But if your design program doesn’t have either layers or guidelines, just create your image to the recommended size and follow my templates for areas you need to keep clear of type or important elements.
Pauline says
Thanks Louise but I still can’t get the new dimensions right. it is driving me nuts. I manage a few groups and all of them are distorted and no matter what I do I can’t get the banners right at this time.
Louise Myers says
By distorted – you mean Facebook is resizing your images non-proportionally? I haven’t seen this occur. Email me a screen shot?
Scott says
Thank you Louise for your article here, I now know that I am not alone. Nevertheless, I am at my limit here with FB’s ‘Group Banner’. I have tried 296×90, 300×150, 400×150, 450×150, 493×150, 600×200, 784×239, 800×150, 821×250, 821×334, 851×315, 1200×400,1250×400, 1640×720, 1640×856, 1640×921; and all are being over-stretched or over-sized by FB, I can only re-position it left & right, yet it is still too tall. What did FB do to my older, pristine, heavily edited, beautiful ‘Group Banner’ – HeLp !? 11/29/17
Louise Myers says
FB cover photos, no matter what size or shape you use, are going to crop on one device or another. I recommend using the mobile proportions as I detailed in the post, allowing space at the bottom for the type overlay, and positioning it on desktop to cut that part off. The old cover photo size isn’t coming back.
Katie Williams says
Part of the top is also not visible. I made my own template, using the 1640 x 856 size and it works well on my notebook computer.
Louise Myers says
How does it look on mobile though? Remember that the vast majority of users are viewing via mobile.
And yes, part of the top will be cut off if you don’t reposition it. Depends on how you want it to look, but the amount cut off on desktop is such a close match to where the type overlays on mobile, it almost seems intended to work the way I show in the template.
Paige says
Thank you for the template! I just wanted to chime in that if you have a long FB Group title that shows up as more than one line on mobile, you’ll need to leave even more space on the bottom to account for that.
Trial and error, as always…that’s what graphic design is all about, I suppose!
Louise Myers says
Oh, good point! Thanks.
Uwe Jarchow says
I was going nuts trying different sizes for my group cover photo after Facebook changed the dimensions. Your template did the trick first time. Thank you. Thank you.
Louise Myers says
Glad to hear it!
Nayem Mahmud says
Thank you for the template! I just wanted to chime in that if you have a long FB Group title that shows up as more than one line on mobile, you’ll need to leave even more space on the bottom to account for that.
Louise Myers says
Why are you copying another comment? I removed your link and if this happens again you’ll be spammed.
Matthew says
This saved me a lot of time on our facebook group. Thanks so much.
Marthinus says
Just remember to change the template from indexed color to RGB. Don’t know why the template is in indexed. ** sigh **
Louise Myers says
I always save flat color images as PNG for better quality and smaller file size – but I hadn’t thought to alert people about the color mode. So thanks for the heads up, and you’re welcome for the template!
Vera Schafer says
Thank you for the template. I try to make my Facebook Group Banners using Canva.com.
However, I am having a problem first because their suggested size doesn’t fit well on my groups anymore. I found your template but this group, for example, doesn’t show either Group Name or sub-title under the 230 px clear for type. What am I doing wrong?
facebook.com/groups/brasileirosdamelhoridade/
Louise Myers says
Sorry, I can’t tell. As I’m not in your group it may look different to me. Also the large type only shows on mobile.
Christy says
Thanks for this! I found 1920 x 1080 was perfect for FB in both mobile and desktop leaving space at the bottom to account for the group name.
That change in dimensions is so frustrating but glad you could give some help!
Louise Myers says
So glad it helped!
Cal says
Hi Folks!
I can’t speak for older smartphones, but this approach works for my clients on Tablet, Notebook/Laptop and Desktop PC.
1500 x 783 … 80 pixels letterbox, with 688 pixels in height, so basically showing a letterbox with a slightly deeper band at the bottom.
As many of you say, a lot of angry people out there, as FB do this kind of thing on a whim, with no professional levels of notification. After all, with the money they make, surely they could build a simple update notification into their main website toolbar, for the entire world to see??
All the best.
Louise Myers says
Thanks Cal!
Cal says
You’re very welcome Louise!
I should clarify, when I mention 80 pixels letterbox, I should have expanded in saying “80 pixels from the top, with a height of 688 pixels thereafter (all within an overall canvas dimension of 1500 x 783.
Again, you never know when Facebook will change things, so even with “semi-guaranteed” dimensions, it’s still a good practice to place text areas (or crucial graphic elements) well within your preferred container template!
Kind Regards.
Mark Kalvin says
Many manyThanks
Hubuhs says
Thank you for your information, I have a plan to change my fb cover …
Byron Jones says
Trial and error got us there but very annoyed with FB for not making this a lot clearer.
Thank you Louise for the direction and help and Merry Xmas.
Louise Myers says
You’re welcome and Merry Christmas, Byron.
Beney Raheem says
it does not fit for cover. width is ok, but hight does not fit
Louise Myers says
On mobile or desktop?
Grant Gardner says
Hey Louise, thanks for the info above. I will agree with Beney – the height is somewhat off. I made my over all frame the size listed above (1640 x 921) and my “content” of image only 662 px tall, and FB was still cutting off the top. For my design, I was able just to bump it down into the whitespace, probably about 100px or so (just eyeballed but can go look) and that got it close enough to use. Seems like they’ve messed with things again.
This was on desktop.
Louise Myers says
Thanks so much for explaining, Grant! It’s hard to keep up.
Grant says
This was a lifesaver for me. Thank you, thank you!!
Lindsay says
Thank you for keeping this updated!
Mayur says
Thx !! Been looking for this all over.
Esadh says
Thank you so much for this!
Dawn says
Thanks for this the new banner size was doing my fruit in!!
Cal says
I appreciate all the input which people are providing here – we may as well stick together, while Facebook leaves us all out in the cold to figure things out by ourselves.
Now, regardless of which dimensions are labelled optimal or what people are coming up with themselves, I am seeing more reference to the whole 16:9 approach, where people are going with 1920 x 1080 as the standard HD scalable ratio. So …. is it absolute madness to design a template for a Facebook Group with such a large canvas, or am I going mad completely bonkers over this end?
Kind Regards,
Cal 🙂
Christian says
Thank you. Your directions seem to have worked for me.
Louise Myers says
Glad to hear it!
Rob says
Are you insane? Your template takes up the entire page on my laptop screen!! I don’t think that is what is meant by “cover” photo. It’s not supposed to cover everything else on the screen!!
Louise Myers says
No, it’s not supposed to cover your screen, you’re supposed to open it in an image editing program. Sorry you’re finding it so challenging. Perhaps rereading the instructions in the post will help shed some light on it.
Cal says
Rob, Facebook have moved away from “fixed position images” … so that’s really what’s created all this mess. It’s still very vague, but most people are now opting for 1920×1080 (standard video HD) and it’s all about scalable ratio 16:9. So, yes, it does seem insane, but it’s about achieving a failsafe canvas which can downscale for all desktop/laptop/notebooks/tablets and smartphones … that’s the backbone to all this mess!!!
I have since created a new template which is based on a 1920×1080 Canvas, where I am simply placing a letterbox boundary for important text/banner elements … so essentially, it’s simply the backdrop which is sized at 1920×1080, with the focus being on allowing plenty of space from edged, particularly top/bottom text margins within your banner.
Hope this helps?
Kind Regards,
Cal
Nick Pappagallo says
This no longer seems to work I have tried all of the variations you suggested, think FB might have changed it again! Its so frustrating that they can’t leave things alone.
Louise Myers says
Uh oh. So far it looks the same for me, but who knows what tomorrow may bring!
Nicole says
Thanks so much! The group banner mobile dimensions are perfect. I’ve been looking everywhere!
Louise Myers says
Great! Glad it helped.
Dude says
Great! Thanks for keeping this up-to-date. 🙂
Glowacz says
Bonjour Louise, bonjour à tous.
J’ai lu et relu toutes vos instructions, mais je n’arrive toujours pas à avoir la bonne dimension de l’image de mon groupe.
J’ai tout testé, mais je ne trouve pas. Pouvez vous m’aider, je travaille sur ordi.
Merci beaucoup.
L’image la mieux adaptée 1500×753 mais la hauteur est coupé en haut et en bas de l’image 🙁
Louise Myers says
As far as I can see, these dimensions still work. It’s always possible that Facebook is rolling out changes to some people and not others. Nothing I can do about that.
Be sure to look at your cover photo on desktop AND mobile. Don’t forget that most FB use is from mobile, so we have to come up with a solution that works for both. Something will be cropped on either one or the other.
Glowacz says
Merci Louise pour votre réponse
Brandon Benson says
This is way off. The image is way too large. Are you sure this is for a Facebook Group Cover photo? (Not a Facebook Page Cover?) 784 x 250 is what Facebook last says, and that’s entirely too large. I tried your dimensions and it’s not correct either. What are some of us missing here?
Louise Myers says
There’s no such thing as a too-large image. It will be scaled to fit on different devices. It’s all about the aspect ratio. Have you seen how many people have used this and said it works? It works.
Also, the width is what Facebook themselves say. Their height doesn’t work for mobile though. That’s what this post is about… a cover photo that works for both.
Brandon Benson says
Everyone try 820 x 312 or 640 x 360. This link was updated Jan 6th.
Louise Myers says
Hey Brandon,
Those sizes have been recommended by Facebook for PAGES but it does not work for groups, and it doesn’t even work well for Pages because it doesn’t work for desktop AND mobile.
Sarah Liz says
These didnt work for my group image – these were are still to large
Louise Myers says
I’m perplexed by what you mean by “too large.” Part of it is getting cropped off on desktop that’s not as I’ve indicated on the template? It still works for me but I’d love to know where the problem is. FB is even providing a similar template now!
CFS says
Hi Louise,
Using canva.com, I created a FB Group Cover photo with dimensions 1640 x 859.
Unfortunately even after I compressed the photo using FastStone Photo Resizer 3.8, the .jpg file ended up being 440kb, which somehow doesn’t seem to be able to upload to the Group Photo.
I’m very new to web/graphic design, have just been running a new FB group for ME/chronic fatigue syndrome.
The web site URL below is just the current FB group (without the new Group Cover Photo).
Any info that you could provide would be much appreciated.
Kind regards,
CFS Brisbane
Louise Myers says
Don’t know what the problem is. I just uploaded a 1.5MB image as a group cover photo. Are you getting some kind of warning message?
Carolyn V Hamilton says
I have created several different size mastheads, according to all the specs I’ve read here, in Photoshop Elements, saving them as jpegs with the sizes noted in the file name. When I try to upload one to my Facebook Group cover photo, almost all of them import at exactly the same size (one imported really small). I’m so frustrated, I don’t know where to go with this.
Louise Myers says
Carolyn, I’m not really sure how to help.
You can only upload one cover photo. It will show at different sizes and croppings on different devices. This is what the template hopes to show.
Does this explain it better? I’m not sure if you’re trying to upload different sized images. You can only have one cover photo per group.
Kim Abbott says
Using your template but still having issues. I even changed my dimensions in Photoshop to what you have and every time I try to upload my image it looks bigger and looks nothing like what I saved. Even placed my picture over the template and saved it but still same problem.
Louise Myers says
Sorry, I can’t see that anything has changed with the group cover photo, and FB still recommends this size.
Paolo says
These size are not correct for FB Pages cover… I think neither for groups….
Louise Myers says
This is not for FB Page covers. Have you tried it for groups? This is what FB recommends, and it works for me.
Sara C says
I used it today and it worked well. I played around with it a bit to make sure I would have enough room on the left for mobile and my font is big. You have no idea, or maybe you do.. how important it is to have big font. I can look down at my phone and immediately be able to see and read my group page name. It’s awesome. Thank you so much.
Louise Myers says
Absolutely… everything must be considered for mobile viewing.
Sabbie says
Whats the last update? Still 1640×859?
Louise Myers says
Yes.
HL says
Thank you Louise – I have just spent about 3 frustrating hours trying to get our group photo to fit and, having tried a number of different dimensions, finally found yours – which are the only ones that are correct! Much appreciated and many many thanks.
Louise Myers says
Great!! Glad to hear it worked.
Lisa says
Thankyou so much. 🙂
Isabella Gracen says
Thank you! I was able to use your provided template as a guide and it worked well! I apprecieate your help by providing this template and the useful information!
Louise Myers says
Great to hear 🙂
claudia rizhman says
Hi Louise, i delete & create a new FB group. I´ll use your template. Hope it fits well 🙂 By the way, FB sucks, change things and don´t answer any doubt from anyone.
Sarah says
Thank you so much for this! I was getting so annoyed with trying to simply upload my facebook group banner! Now I finally have it placed properly and visible on all devices! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Sharon LoMonaco says
Thank you, thank you thank you! You need the Nobel Peace rize just for saving me from pulling my hair out! I was ready to just delete all FaceBook accounts!
SAL
Louise Myers says
Ha! Awesome to hear.
Jane Unsworth says
That was driving me bonkers too, Thanks Louise 🙂
Carole says
I completely agree! THANK YOU, Louise, for sharing the exact size needed for my Facebook group page. No more trial and error! THANK YOU!
Louise Myers says
You are so welcome, Carole! Thank YOU for putting a big smile on my face 🙂
Wendy says
Hi Louise, I’m still not getting a full image using these sizes and so far I’m down to 1500 x 570. Any new info that can help me set the size right for the full image to display on a fb group cover?
Louise Myers says
You cannot get a full image to display on both desktop and mobile. Reducing the pixel dimensions won’t make that happen.
Robert Petersen says
Louise, thank you. I’m a long time Photoshop Elements guy but have been really frustrated by not getting the straight poop on what FB actually wants. With your template and suggestions, I got more accomplished in 30 minutes today than several hours yesterday. A comment: for the 170×170 profile pic, you suggest at least twice that size. I ran into problems going 846×846 (which was a pic I already had), but going to 340×340 game me a great result.
Louise Myers says
Thanks for the tip, Robert!
Atse says
Hi Louise,
thanks for your tips. However, somehow my group header illustration keeps getting compressed by Facebook that results in a pixelated illustration. I use your suggested ratio, convert it to a .jpg with an Alpha channel under a 100kb and still, it doesn’t look nice.
What to do about it?
Atse
Louise Myers says
I can suggest trying a LARGE PNG file size. It might work, but we unfortunately can’t control how FB decides to compress things. Would love to know if this helps though.
hai phan says
you save my life
Henrik says
So you say, if I take my present Facebook Group photo and resize it to 1640 x 859 it should work then … hhhh. but it doesn’t!
I’m trying to make it fit with picresize.com
You can “see” my present Facebook coverphoto (which is not shown correctly anymore since obviously not fitting frame) here:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/nobodyneedsmercury
Thanks in advance for your assistance!
Kind regards,
Henrik
Louise Myers says
If you follow the template, it will work. It’s not about resizing your current image. You need to keep the type out of the areas cropped top and bottom on desktop.
chen says
how do i download the template? can’t seem to figure out where to right click
Louise Myers says
On the image.
Marva says
But right clicking doesn’t do anything; there’s no option to download simply by right clicking. Love your blog, btw! Great stuff!
Louise Myers says
Interesting, maybe this varies by operating system.
Barney says
Super Helpful!
Henrik says
Dear Louise
Hmmm sorry, don’t really now what “follow the template” means …. all I want is for the cover photo to show correct again with all photos and the complete text … isn’t there maybe an app or online program that that make this work 1:1 for me!?
Cheers,
Henrik
Louise Myers says
I don’t think so. The online tools and apps tend to follow what FB recommends, which works on desktop only.
“Follow the template” means to keep anything you don’t want cropped to the smallest area shown (desktop cropping).
Henrik says
Well, all I want it to re-use my present/current image and have it shown with all photos and all text …. I’m absolutely no buff at this … so how would I go about this, dear Louise!?
Kindest regards and have a nice weeend,
Henrik
Christine Rosas says
I always know to look for you to save the day! You rock! Thank you so much for this post!
Jeanne Gosa says
I don’t know what I am doing wrong, but I have tried using these dimensions and using the pixel 1640×662 makes the image huge and when I upload it to my group it doesn’t fit at all and cuts off most of the picture. The previous dimensions that I had used on my group cover photos was 821×303. So I am not sure how it could almost double and still be able to fit in the cover photo.
What am I not understanding here?
Louise Myers says
The missing piece: Images for Facebook (and virtually all social media) need to be created to a proportion and not a specific pixel size. However if you use 1640×662 the sides WILL be cut off on mobile. I suggest you follow my template.
KJ Rio Ventura says
THANK YOU for being the ONLY one on the entire interwebs to have been able to call out the need for a compensation template to address the FB Group Photo zooming debacle. They really should be ashamed of themselves, but after all, THEY control the spin, so not addressing it is a self-preservation tactic in itself. Thank YOU for your integrity and for your service to your fellow (wo)man pulling our hair out in clumps for HOURS. *sigh* That’s billable time, as far as I’m concerned. I should send an invoice to Zuckerberg.
Thou rocketh so hard, madam. <3
Louise Myers says
Thanks 🙂
starshine says
I don’t know if FB has changed it again or what. I’ve tried NINE different sizes and they’re all too large. I’ve tried 1025 x 300, 851 x 315, 1640 x 662, 1025 x 415, 820 x 428, 700 x 223, 550 x 175, 784 x 250 and 801 x 250. They all cut the sides, top and/or bottom off.
I have owned many groups over the years and have never had a problem like this before.
Louise Myers says
FB always crops cover photos differently on desktop vs mobile (whether group, page, event, or profile). There’s no size that will show in full on all devices. This is why I wrote the posts and made the templates.
Milly Frances says
Louise, I can’t tell you how much time and frustration you saved me. I don’t like FB at the best of times LOL.
Thanks so much.
Milly
SS says
Did not work!!!!
Found this site and followed instructions and it worked perfectly.
Louise Myers says
LOL that’s exactly what I said. Leave the top and bottom clear because they’ll get dropped on desktop. Don’t know how to make it any plainer than that.
Peter says
We decided to leave ours oversized on all our groups rather than have to play catch up with Facebook moving the goalposts on a regular basis.
They really need to stop trying to fix things that aren’t broken.
Besides, the oversized group images serve as a reminder of their ineptitude.
Thanks for the effort you made to address this issue but if the people who created it can’t be bothered then what hope is there.:)
Louise Myers says
I hear ya, Peter!
Lori says
Great Post! Quick question, do you know if it is possible to add an animated cover photo to a Group page (I know you can add it to a regular/business page). HELP. I can’t seem to figure this out and I’m seeing all these cool animated/slider-type cover photos and not sure why our group page is not able to do the same.
Thank you,
Lori, Ziglar Family
Louise Myers says
You could try uploading a GIF with the photo uploader. Videos aren’t yet supported, at least in my group.
London says
Hi Louise!
What size/compression do you recommend exporting as? I’ve designed my file to your template, but every time I try to upload it to Facebook it comes out SUPER pixelated and messy. I’ve googled and tried everything I can think of, but nothing seems to help.
I see companies with crystal clear images as their Facebook cover photo and am wondering HOW? Any help would be greatly appreciated! 🙂
Thank you so much!
Louise Myers says
Sorry, I really don’t know. Part of the compression issues have to do with colors (reds and magentas suffer most) and just what the image is. Sharp edges get a lot of artifacts. On photos it’s less noticeable.
I’ve tried PNG 24 and sometimes that helps, but not always.
Günther Simetsberger says
Please!! I need help. :'( I have several facebook groups and all my cover photos are now too high or too wide. There are so many different recommended sizes to see. Non of them works. There’s always a big part cut away. I tried also YOUR sizes shown on this page: 1640×856 pixel, 1640×859, 1640×662 and 1640×923. Non of them works. 🙁
WHY?? Why facebook must change always everything? I’m already so frustrated. Has anybody an idea about an actually size for watching the group’s photo on a computer?
Louise Myers says
I think you’re misunderstanding the post. There isn’t, and has never been, one size that looks the same across all devices. You need to create the larger size and allow for cropping on desktop.
Adrienne says
Hi Louise. I am having a hard time understanding your template. I made a cover image 1640 x 630 and it’s getting cut off on the sides. Are you saying we should make our image 1640 x 859 to have it not get cut off on mobile but it will be a tad cut off on desktop?
Thanks so much!
Louise Myers says
That’s correct: make it 1640 x 859
Greg says
Thank you for this! You wrote, “Facebook is even providing a similar template now!” Just out of curiosity, where do you find those?
Louise Myers says
I found it in the Help.
Ali says
Thank you! No matter what I tried I could not get our group photo to show up right. Your template saved my sanity!!
Louise Myers says
Great to hear it!
Sais says
Thanks for posting this – it was helpful. There’s one problem still. High saturated red/pink tones get distorted. I find this frustrating as I commonly do branding with these colours. Do you have a solution?
Louise Myers says
No, this is a known problem, unfortunately no solution (other than using different colors).
Flat colors and hard edges will always show more artifacts, and colors with a lot of red most of all.
Maria says
Hello
please reply ، can we share on our website?
Thank you
Maria
Louise Myers says
You are welcome to link to my posts. Posting my images or more than a sentence of my words is NOT allowed.
Copyright policy
Marvin says
No matter what I try, no matter how large or small I make a photo, no matter which online tool I use, it always posts as the SAME size. It is way too big. I have tried widths ranging from 1859px to 600px. Neither side can be seen unless it is re-positioned, and then it is only one or the other; not both. The top and bottom cannot be seen or revealed even by re-positioning.
HELP!!!!
Louise Myers says
You cannot get around the fact that there WILL be cropping on either mobile or desktop. That’s why I wrote the article. You have to plan for the cropping. Making a different size in the same shape won’t make a difference.
May says
I made a graphic design for the group cover photo in 300 ppi, I used the same dimensions that you mentioned (1640 x 859px) but then when I tried to upload it to the group, the photo became low res 🙁
Help I do not know what to do. 🙁
Louise Myers says
I doubt there’s anything you can do. We can’t maintain a PPI on the web, as it’s device-dependent. Also FB will compress any uploads. You could try a different file type, like PNG if you used JPG. Or compress it more / less before uploading.
Alisha says
Thank you so much! I have literally been working on this silly group cover photo all day! After reading this article, I started over completely with a canvas size of 1,640px by 859px and apparently that was the trick! It worked the first time. What a silly process! Anyway, just wanted to pop in the comments to say thanks. This solved my issue! 🙂
Louise Myers says
So glad to hear it, Alisha!
Bob Murphy says
you deserve a medal!
Louise Myers says
??
Denis says
What is the image size ratio when creating a doc inside the group?
Facebook now allows to add a header image to docs created within groups. I was wondering what is the cropping for that one
Louise Myers says
Sorry don’t know that one yet!
Gary Wels says
I would like to put a border around a group cover photo. If I use the ratio of 1.91×1, and then place a stroke on the photo, upload it to the FB page, the only part of the stroke that shows is both ends. I know FB crops the top and bottom. Is there away around this, in sizing?
Louise Myers says
Nope, there is not. No matter what size or shape you use, a border would be cropped on some devices.
Brenda Funari says
This is great – and my question may be obvious but when I am setting up my template (using gimp) do I use 1640 x 923 OR 1640 x 859?
TIA
Louise Myers says
1640 x 859 is good!
Maruz says
Thanks… It’s really work! You really save the day…
With LOVE from MALAYSIA.
chosenone says
thank youuuu…
you are the best )*
Tricia Martin says
You are awesome! I found this in a google search trying to find the correct dimensions of a FB cover since even when I use the correct dimensions, it is ALWAYS off. Your explanation as to why explained it all! As a new blogger, I will be a new subscriber for you too. Thank you!
Louise Myers says
Fantastic, Tricia! Welcome aboard.
Nurbek says
Thank you. You are awesome…
Marva says
OMG! I paid someone $50 yesterday to recreate my design of my fb group cover, because I couldn’t get it to fit. Well, HE COULDN’T EITHER (so that was money down the drain!) I googled “What the hell is the right size for fb groups covers” and landed here! Couldn’t download the template so I snipped it; pasted my image on top, resized it to height and width of the LIGHT PURPLE part of the template; grouped the two images; copied into Paint, resized to 1640×859 and — VIOLA — a PERFECT, CRYSTAL FB GROUP COVER! Where do I send my check?
Louise Myers says
Awesome ?
Lia Huber says
Is it still possible to have the cover just display the members? Before, if I didn’t have an image uploaded, it would show the members up top. It seems NOT to be doing that any more.
Do you know?
Thanks!
Lia
Louise Myers says
I think this feature was removed quite some time ago, sorry.
Serge Taran says
Remove the image, see the group from other account than Admin’s . Old style is displayed by default to non-admins.
Louise Myers says
Good to know, I haven’t seen this style for ages. Thanks.
Becky Blanton says
FACEBOOK IS F’ed up. Totally. I downloaded your templates, downloaded Facebook’s template and NONE OF THEM WORK. I’m a graphic artist, not a newbie. What is going on? I HATE Facebook. I hope Zuckerburg gets early onset dementia. How hard is it to actually provide a template that works?
Louise Myers says
Every now and then I hear from someone that this template just doesn’t work. I’m not sure if you’re seeing a different format for some reason. This still works on my computer, iPhone, and iPad.
teri says
Same here, I’ve tried everything. Also a designer. I can’t figure out what the issue is, but no matter what i do the image uploads too large every single time. I’ve even shrunk the image down tiny within the dimensions just to see if it would change, nope. Facebook uploads the same thing every time. This is a frustrating problem to something that should be so simple. Convinced it’s a facebook issue. Thank you for your time in trying to help all of us.
Louise Myers says
Not sure what you mean by “too large.” Is it cropped on both desktop and mobile? Would love to see what you see… let me know.
Jose Vidal says
where do I download the Group Cover template?
Louise Myers says
It’s right under these words in the article:
“Right-click to download template:”
Lou says
Always find your articles very helpful! Thanks a lot! 🙂
Donna Merrill says
Hi Louise
Maybe you can’t tell a book by it’s cover.
But you should be able to learn an awful lot about Facebook groups from their cover images.
That’s why the resources and training you’ve shared here is so invaluable.
-Donna
Louise Myers says
Aww, thanks so much Donna, glad you found it useful.
JasaSitus says
Hi Louise!
Its still working on february 2019? I see on other site is different about this size, can You Explain this?
Regards,
JasaSitus
Louise Myers says
I think I’ve explained everything pretty thoroughly! I don’t know which site you refer to or what they say, so I can’t say if it’s right or wrong, only that mine has been tested to be correct.
Jim Van Wyck says
Thanks Louise… you really found your niche, and serve it beautifully.
Just used your guidance to change my FB group cover image.
==>Jim
Louise Myers says
Thanks Jim, glad you stopped by!
Christine Ellis says
Louise! Facebook is using face recognition software to autocrop the circle where the face is! I specifically created my cover to have the center text be the circle thumbnail. How disappointing! Want to update your article to include this now? Thanks for all your great cropping info, you are always my go-to.
Louise Myers says
Oh boy. Always something new. I just wrote this 2 weeks ago! And the face in the sample was not centered. Thanks for this update!!
Nancy says
Hi Louise,
I uploaded a 1640×859 cover group image, but facebook is NOT using the center part of my image for the thumbnail, it’s using the right side. I can’t figure it out, I tried different heights, still the same result. I’m perplexed. Can you help?
Louise Myers says
I can take a look. I believe they also use some type of visual recognition to determine what’s the best part to feature. I haven’t seen this personally but others have said similar.
christy says
i am on a laptop. at this point pretty angry they have made it so hard.
i even paid someone, and THEY CAN NOT get it right either!
i have the 4 major sizes.
of course even though the same laptop, it will not take the same as the last banner image.
I have 1640×856 to the 150 size..
for gods sake.. on a laptop anyone has a clue!
I have compressed… you name it. cleared browser.
the closest one still cuts off the last line i need to show.
just going crazy here after DAYS of trying.
and saying “too big” is not good enough after all these post… LMAO… lol clearly everyone posting comments knows what that means. hehehe
Louise Myers says
I suppose if they actually did, they’d figure it out then.
As far as “everyone,” most commenters say this template worked for them. I can’t say whether sometimes FB just freaks out and does something weird. It’s been known to happen. #FaceBug
I agree Facebook is frustrating, nothing I can do about that. It sounds like you’re not allowing for the cropping though. Sorry but it’s impossible to know exactly what you mean. That’s why “too big” isn’t enough for me to help.
Kirby Wallace says
Apparently, FB developers have no idea what the CSS “cover” style does. 😉
Debs says
Thank you! That saved me a ton of jiggling with photos sizes 🙂
Louise Myers says
Awesome.
Alain Charlebois says
Tried Group Banners with dimensions as per your suggestions and results were less than perfect. An aperture of 1640×620 worked much better for me on PC. I don’t have the hardware to test smartphone formats…
Thanks for your great work;
Speedy Charly
Louise Myers says
Thanks for letting me know! Things are kind of a mess right now with FB transitioning people to “New FB.” And I don’t have it yet!
I’ll reference your comment when I’m able to see the updates. Appreciate it.
Digby Maass says
I hope everyone is giving plenty of feedback to FB.
Our running club group cover photo suddenly became squashed vertically with the new design. I used to regularly feature the best members’ photos from posts. Quick and easy. Slide it about for best view and there you are. Now I would have to download, crop by guesswork, reupload. And then you can’t even go back to reposition as that option is removed from ‘edit’.
FB stupidity at its best. All those brilliant minds and not a clue.
Louise Myers says
And I’m still waiting for access so I can figure it out myself! What a pain that you can’t reposition though.
Jaime says
The template is already wrong :'(
Louise Myers says
I’m sorry to hear it’s not working. I’ll have to check into it after the holidays.
J-Ryze says
Insanely helpful post. Thank you for all your time, energy, and clarity with this. I can feel my group is better already 🙂 (Though I’m a bit concerned about the commenter who said the template is already obsolete… did facebook change something? Guess I’ll experiment and see.)
Louise Myers says
You’re welcome! Would love to hear what happens.