Want your Facebook Cover Photo to look good on both desktop AND mobile?
As Hootsuite says, Optimizing your Facebook content for mobile is non-negotiable.
95 percent of Facebook visits are made on smartphones and tablets!
But your Cover Photo can have it both ways: Here’s a Facebook Cover Photo mobile template – that also works great on desktop.
2 Great ways to make the perfect Facebook Page Cover Photo!
Already know how to design with a graphics program that has layers, like Photoshop?
Then you’ll love my FREE cover photo template below.
Not a pro designer? No worries!
There’s an EASY online design app that includes a template right inside!
Read on for both of these options, with instructions on keeping your elements within the “safe zone” so it won’t get cropped on either desktop or mobile.
Why Should You Care about Optimizing for Mobile?
Mobile use is on the rise, and this trend will continue to grow.
Google won’t like your website if it’s not optimized for mobile – and Facebook users won’t understand your cover photo that’s designed for desktop viewing!
Facebook mobile usage stats 2019
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 😉
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 (see below).
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!
This article applies to Facebook Business Page cover photos ONLY.
For personal profiles, groups, and events, click:
Facebook Profile Cover Photo size
Facebook Group Cover Photo size
Facebook Event Cover Photo size
Facebook Page Cover Photos made easy!
Let me alleviate your confusion. It doesn’t have to be difficult.
If you don’t want to mess with Photoshop and templates, make your FB header the easy way – with Snappa!
Snappa has integrated Facebook’s 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:
- 40,000+ photos and 3,500+ 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!
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.
Cover Photos on Desktop vs. Mobile
I agree – it’s tricky to design your Facebook cover photo to display properly on both mobile and desktop. Designing with “safe zones” will get you a Facebook cover photo 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 Facebook cover photo will crop out the sides, while showing more of the cover photo’s height.
And on a desktop device, Facebook displays more of your cover photo’s width, while cropping the top and bottom.
You can quickly see the difference below.
Using the Facebook cover photo size of 820 pixels by 360 pixels and keeping critical elements within safe zones will ensure that nothing important gets cut off on either mobile devices or desktop.
If you’re ready to create a Facebook cover photo, Snappa’s powerful and easy-to-use graphics builder has made this process incredibly simple.
Here’s a step-by-step video showing you how to create a Facebook Page cover photo in the optimal size using Snappa.
Or, follow these screenshots to walk you through the process.
Choose the Facebook cover photo preset for a perfect cover photo size – automatically!
Next, choose a premade Facebook Cover template (which is fully customizable), or create a cover photo from scratch.
Even if you use a template, you can upload your own image – or choose from Snappa’s library of free images.
Add text, graphics, shapes, and effects to any part of the 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 there’s an overlay showing the mobile and desktop only zones of your Facebook cover so you’ll never have to worry about text and graphics getting cut off. 🙌
Ready to get going?
• • • Create a Facebook cover photo for free NOW! • • •
Disclosure: IF you upgrade to a paid plan, I may receive a referral fee.
Facebook Page Cover Photo Mobile AND Desktop Template
Prefer Photoshop?
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…”
For high-resolution version and instructions, keep scrolling!
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.
Instructions for using the Facebook Cover Photo templates under the next heading ⬇️
This template 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.
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.
The easier Photoshop solution for Facebook Page Cover Photos
Photoshop Smart Objects!
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!
Disclosure: 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.
How to upload your Facebook Page Cover Photo
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.
What Changed With Facebook Cover Photo Size 2016–2017?
Fortunately, the Facebook Page cover photo size has remained stable for almost 2 years 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:
Facebook Profile Cover Photo size
Facebook Group Cover Photo size
Facebook Event Cover Photo size
For all Facebook dimensions, including ads:
Want all the top social media 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.
Ready to make your Facebook Page 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.
- 40,000+ photos and 3,500+ 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.
- Choose from hundreds of pre-made templates, suitable for a wide range of niches.
- Image dimensions for social media, display ads, blogs, emails, and infographics.
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.
What do you think? Now your Facebook Cover Photo mobile version can rock just like on desktop! Share with a friend!
Anthony says
Thank you for this. I posted this article on my facebook page.
I also used it for my new banner design… saved me a lot of hassle.
Thanks,
Anthony
Louise Myers says
Glad it helped! Thanks for sharing.
Sara Scheuermann says
Hi Louise,
What about file size? Trying to get my 1200x675px image under 100K seems to be next to impossible. I’m in Photoshop Save for web, saving as a PNG-8 and have to select 4 colours to get the file size below 100K. (Needless to say it’s not pretty!)
Louise Myers says
Honestly I’ve never tried to compress the file that much. In my experience, the bigger the file, the better the result!