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 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:
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 in 2021.
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 get 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 with FREE template
To get details and FREE templates for personal profiles and events:
→ Facebook Profile Cover Photo size
→ Facebook Event Cover Photo size
Want more?
Check out ALL the optimal Facebook image dimensions here!
The group cover photo dimensions have been verified to work in 2021. 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!
Antonio says
No download link, where is it ?
Louise Myers says
The template is right on the page. Right-click to download on your hard drive (recommended) or long-press and save to your photos on your phone.