Want your Facebook Cover Photo to look good on both desktop AND mobile?
It ought to! Over half – 56.5% – of Facebook users ONLY access the site by mobile (up from 51.7% in January 2016).
One billion users access Facebook daily through their mobile phones. source
I love my big beautiful desktop monitor, but even I use Facebook on mobile sometimes 😉
Now your Cover Photo can have it both ways! Here’s a Facebook Cover Photo mobile template – that also works great on desktop.
This article is for Facebook Business Pages ONLY. For personal profiles, groups, and events:
Why is the Facebook Page Cover Photo so confusing?
Facebook Cover Photo sizes seem to be a tough concept for many to grasp.
First off, there are 4 different kinds of cover photos on Facebook.
If that’s not confusing enough, Facebook recommends different sizes for each.
BUT the problem is NOT the pixel dimensions!
Issues arise because each cover photo has a different shape on desktop vs. mobile.
Cover photos have a wider aspect ratio on desktop. They’re taller on mobile.
This isn’t because Facebook is trying to confuse designers! It’s because a browser window is wide. A mobile device is tall.
FB is trying to accommodate these completely different displays.
However, Facebook doesn’t help us much when they tell us:
Your Page’s cover photo:
Displays at 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall on your Page on computers and 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall on smartphones.
Must be at least 400 pixels wide and 150 pixels tall.
Loads fastest as an sRGB JPG file that’s 851 pixels wide, 315 pixels tall and less than 100 kilobytes.*
Yeah. Well that would be great if we could actually upload a separate image for mobile and desktop. But we can’t!
What we need to do is design a cover photo that works for both sizes / shapes.
Let me reiterate, the pixel size is not the critical issue. It’s that the SHAPES are different.
You can design for desktop, and have a huge portion of the sides cut off on mobile.
OR, you can design for mobile, and allow some cropping top and bottom on desktop.
I highly recommend mobile-first design!
As marketers, we spend a lot of time at a computer monitor. This is not the case with the general public!
Over half – 56.5% – of Facebook users ONLY access the site by mobile. These folks will never see your desktop-optimized design.
My templates are optimized for mobile first.
*By the way, I strongly suggest you ignore any cover photo size advice from Facebook!
Facebook Page Cover Photo Mobile AND Desktop Template
Your mobile Cover Photo will no longer have the sides rudely chopped off with this template.
The secret is to make your image much taller than the recommended 820 x 312 pixels – 461 pixels tall, to be exact. This gives you 75 pixels top and bottom that will be cropped on desktop.
I tried different aspect ratios, and this one worked best. You may lose a pixel or two on one or more of the edges on mobile. Nothing worth worrying about!
I do recommend that you make your cover photo even larger than 820 pixels for best resolution. I have a template for that too! The one just below is 820 pixels wide, Facebook’s recommended width.
Just right click the image below to download, and choose “Save Image As…”
Facebook Page Cover Photo template, UPSIZED!
Even better – Make your Facebook Page Cover Photo BIGGER! I recommend 1200 x 675. Right click here to download the LARGE template.
This one is so close to the recommended size for link shares that you can multi-purpose it. It’s also the exact size recommended for tweeted images. 🙌 The proportion is 16:9.
For current image sizes for Facebook and 7 other social platforms, click here:
Updated Social Media Sizes Cheat Sheet
When you upload your Cover Photo on desktop, you can adjust the top cropping so it’s positioned top-to-bottom exactly as you like it. If you upload on mobile, it will crop to center automatically in desktop view. However, I don’t recommend this, as the compression is terrible!
Stick to uploading a PNG file via your desktop computer and it will look 10 times better.
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.
What Changed With Facebook Cover Photo Size 2016–2017?
Fortunately, the Facebook Page cover photo size has remained stable for a year and a half now (since Spring 2017).
This post was originally published on Dec. 7, 2015, with a desktop size of 851 x 315 and a mobile size of 851 x 475. Then these changes happened:
Spring 2016: The desktop width reduced to 828 pixels. I reduced the height for mobile accordingly. Facebook personal profiles are NOT affected.
Summer 2016: There are no longer type or profile picture overlays on the cover photo!
Winter 2017: The desktop size was reduced to 820 x 312 pixels, from 828 x 315.
This is the same proportion! So you don’t need to redo your cover photo if it’s 828 x 315.
Unless you want it to look good on mobile 😉
Facebook Cover Photos: Conclusion
Don’t forget to visit these other articles for more cover photo templates:
For all Facebook dimensions, including ads:
Want all the top image sizes? This one rounds them up for you, plus provides links to in-depth articles on many of the topics! It’s truly the ultimate guide to social media image sizes.
One last tip, if you design your cover photos in Photoshop.
You can find flexible social media header templates available for purchase on Creative Market.
They use Photoshop Smart Objects so you can preview how your design will look on desktop, phone, and tablet. Move your images and text around and see the mockups update before your eyes!
Note: I’m a Creative Market affiliate and will make a small referral fee if you purchase.
I believe the small cost is well worth the time you’ll save.
What do you think? Now your Facebook Cover Photo mobile version can rock just like on desktop! Share with a friend!
Worked brilliantly!! Thank you so much! 🙂
thank you so much for this! it worked perfectly.
Thank you Louise! Just helped me to get my fb business cover to function responsively. Previous dimensions used in Canva had it looking wonky on mobile. I know, I know, that’s what I get for using software instead of a human being graphic designer:)
I wish one of those programs would get “with it” on this issue 🙂
Hi Louise I’m clueless at this sort of stuff and need an image made for my page can you drop me an email for anyone that might be able to create this for me
It’s a toughie, and my best resource has retired from this business. I hope to find another source soon.
Nice job!
Please help. I have tried using the 820 px 312px but it is still too big when I view on mobile device. what am I doing wrong?
Much thanks
Deb, if you read the article and look at the template, you’ll see that that size won’t work for mobile. Follow the instructions and it will work.
640 x360 fits but is very grainy. Please help
Deb
I don’t recommend that size. Read the article for my recommendation.
Thank you so much 🙂
I keep trying to create a cover photo for a group page, and nothing I have found is working out. Is the size different?
Yes. FB cover photos for business pages (this article), groups and events are all different. And they change frequently, so I can’t verify current size for group or event.
Hi Dawn, updated info and my new FB group cover template here.
Thank you for this info! I ended up sizing mine 3280 x 1844, saved as JPG, and it looks pretty good on both desktop and iphone/Android phones. -Nikki
Thanks Louise! This works brilliantly!
x Jasmine
Hi, Louise – It seems like now the Facebook covers are being cropped from the top, rather than right in the middle, on desktop.
Click on “Change Photo” and then “Reposition” to adjust the cropping.
Thanks! I was struggling to make my artwork fit on all views without cropping anything and your up to date template helped immensely – thanks again!
Thank you so very much, worked like a charm.
Thanks for this info. Its not really a big deal if just using an image, the problem we’re having is when we use text on the image. Upload one size and it looks good on desktop but text is cropped on mobile, upload another size and its visa versa.
So I guess the answer if you are using text on your cover photo is to go for 820 x 461 and keep your text within 75 pixels from top and 75 pixels from bottom.
The full image should then show on mobile and the cropped image will show on desktop with all your text showing.
Yes, that is correct. Or go larger as I recommend. I have templates for both 820 width and 1200 width. No guessing required 🙂
This doesn’t work fir me even after going larger. I think he has a point for those of us that use text in our cover photo
I don’t understand what point that is. He’s only said what I wrote in the article and applied in the template. You must keep your text away from the top and bottom.
What seems to be the problem?
Merci beaucoup, votre article a été d’une très grande aide.
Thanks a lot for the high quality of this article. It helped me a lot ^:)
A French Webmaster 🙂
Really useful, thanks so much!
Been having the problem of text being cut off on my cover images when viewing on a mobile device. This worked great to fix that problem!
Great!
How do I remove the writing and purple background now that it fits. It does fit beautifully but I don’t know how to remove the original writing on the template. I copied and pasted my logo into the template if that helps to bring light on my situation.
Hi, I just added the instructions from the free member area to the blog post. In short, you need a photo or other background to make a cover photo. The template is for guidance, not an image to use in your design.
I cannot thank you enough I tried canva and just about everything nothing worked
I hear ya! No one wants to get on board with this. And once you know, it’s easy!
Your template and proportions match what I’ve been using for the template I created to use in PowerPoint for designing my covers. I was not aware of the whole series of changes that had been made so I really enjoyed reading about that.
I noticed one comment mentioned cover dimensions for Facebook groups and I thought I would share what I’ve been using for my GB groups and it seems to work well with dimensions of 784 x 250.
Thanks Susan! Is that size still working OK? It seems the size changed very recently, maybe even today. Right now I see approximately 2.5 times as wide as tall. 1025 x 415 on desktop.
Thanks for the template and suggestion to go bigger so it suits mobile and desktop.
Just wondering what your experience is with FB video? Sizing? Format?
Also, I uploaded my image and then the next day FB had decided to delete it and has again. Any ideas why that would be?
I don’t use video, but the 16:9 proportion should fit perfectly on mobile.
The dimensions for the Facebook group cover photo don’t work at all now. Does anyone know what are the new group cover photo dimensions for desktop?
Hi, updated info and my new template here.
thank you!
the key was to NOT use the standards dimensions given by FB… haha of course…
Well thank you! now my cover pic does not get cut on the mobile version
Right! Of course 😀
Thanks for this tutorial. I have just one question. In the page where I’ve uploaded the cover with your dimensions but the image on the page look a little blur (in mobile naviagiont)…but when i click on it I can see properly. Why this? How can I fix it?
This happen also with the dimensions given by Facebook.
I use a retina display on smartphone.
Thanks in advantage.
Probably a separate preview image that FB creates to load faster. Doubt there’s anything you can do about it.
Hi,
Shouldn’t it be 820x 462 for mobiles?
312 + 75 + 75= 462
You can do that if you like. Basically I’m following a 16:9 proportion. It might not be *exactly* 75 off the top and bottom, but close enough.
Thanks very much Louise. This is VERY helpful information, and especially great that it’s so current. FB seem to be changing things around regularly.
Keep up the great work. Cheers from New Zealand.
Jonathan
the size you have described are perfect. Now I am able to set my Favourite picture in cover picture. Thank you so much for this post. Great work keep it up..!!!!
Thank you for your directions. I have been doing this for a while but never had a client banner that had to fit mobile before. Your instructions worked perfectly! The banner now looks good on mobile with all pertinent images within the viewing area. I can’t wait to explore the rest of your site.
Great!
Thanks! Helped me a lot!
Hello,
Any one have any suggestions on a particular photo editor that I can install on my desktop to do this?
Thanks
GIMP is a free photo editor that works like Photoshop, so it would be able to do this. Steep learning curve though.
Hi Louise.
MANY thanks for all the tips and tricks – they are invaluable!
I strictly follow your guidelines for the cover photo, etc. but have used a jpeg instead. I uploaded on desktop and, although it looked perfect prior to uploading, I’m unhappy with the end result on Facebook. Would uploading a png instead solve the problem? Not sure what happens compression-wise when uploading to Facebook, but something certainly happens! Way too much “noise” in the image for my liking. (Maybe I should add that it’s an illustration with text, and not a photograph. I mostly upload illustrations.)
Thanks again and all the best for 2018!
🙂
Hi Mariëtte,
You’d have to try a PNG file and see what happens. PNG-24 has the highest resolution, however in the past I’ve tried this and cover photos still get compressed by Facebook. Used to work great for image posts though.
If it’s only flat colors you could try a PNG-8 file which will be a small file size.
I can’t say for certain what FB is doing with different types on images, different file types, and maybe even in different countries! I’d love to hear what happens if you test it. Take screen shots to compare 🙂
Hi Louise.
Thank you. Seems like we’re on the same page. My biggest reason for using jpegs is file size, yes. And I reckon that FB wouldn’t be too keen to help us upload high res images – or rather, hand out the how to’s. I’m in South Africa, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a difference in the compression.
Once I get to a solution, I’ll let you know. 🙂
Fantastic! It’s frustrating trying to help my readers when I suspect they may be seeing Facebook differently than I do. 2 billion users, who knows how many ways FB serves up content lol
The business page works perfectly with the above 1200 x 675 template however the personal page just would not show clear writing like the business page.. exact same image. So I re-saved it as 851×479 and the writing suddenly became crystal clear.. I have no idea why but FB must do something to the personal one that it doesn’t on the business page banner???
I’ve heard that if your file size is under 100kb FB won’t compress it. Maybe your smaller image got by without compression 🙂
Thanks this saved me a ton of hassle!
Hi,
I have no issues with the image height but on desktop the image is great but viewing on mobile is very different with text being cut off on both sides. Is there a limit on how wide the image should be (it seems as if the image is not being re-sized once in mobile format).
Thanks
Craig
It’s all about the proportions, or aspect ratio. If you use a shape that works for desktop, then the sides will be cut off on mobile. I recommend using a shape that works best on mobile and allowing the crop top and bottom on desktop. Have you tried the template?
Hi Louise,
Thanks for the reply, I haven’t tried the template yet but will give it a go today.
Cheers
Craig
the big one worked perfectly, thanks a bunch
THANKS, finally, I have been editing that facebook cover from 851 x 315 to 820 x 312, and the mobile version is still CROPPED. GODDAMIT. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Thank you.
1200 x 675 perfectly fits desktop and Android, but not to iPhone. Kindly advise
There isn’t one size that looks the same across all devices.
Thank you SO MUCH!
Thanks! This aspect ratio is just what I was looking for..
Thank you so much, finally right size
Thank you so much. This was exactly what I needed and it worked perfectly!
Hi There,
I know I am not dumb, but I cannot get my cover photo to properly show even when following the template.
It shows fine on my desktop, I cannot get it to appear properly on my mobile.
Here is my FB page: @abovealladmin
Can someone please assist.
Kind Regards,
Tovey
Can you explain what you mean by “properly”? I see the full image on mobile and cropped on desktop.
How do you use the template? For FB cover photo …. Need something that works for both desk top and mobile.
Thanks
Directions are in the post. Look for the header “Instructions for using my social media templates.”
Hi Louise, I followed the instructions you gave but I think I am still doing something wrong. I am not very computer savvy…….
I uploaded the image using a PC and it looks fine on the desktop, but on the tablet it’s cut off-
My question is – do I have to upload the image using a mobile device if I want it to fit on a mobile device?
I am using Canva which is pretty easy but also have Photoshop which I am still learning
No, I recommend uploading on desktop as mobile compresses the image even more.
As long as you’re using the overall size I recommended, it doesn’t matter what program you use. Sounds like you’re using the desktop size. I suggest you reread the article on why that won’t work for mobile.
Thanks Louise! Brilliant and easy instructions to follow.