Louise Myers Visual Social Media

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Ingenious! Facebook Cover Photo Mobile AND Desktop Template 2020

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Facebook Cover Photo Mobile and Desktop banner

Want your Facebook Cover Photo to look good on both desktop AND mobile?

Optimizing your Facebook content for mobile is non-negotiable.

Why?

More than half of Facebook users will only see it 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.

NEW for 2020 – intrusive text overlay on iPad tablets 😩Read on…

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 only for desktop viewing!

Facebook mobile usage stats for 2020

These are the most recent stats available as of January 2020.

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

In January 2019, 96 percent of active user accounts worldwide accessed Facebook via mobile devices.

Because people access Facebook from a variety of devices, the percentage numbers are over 100%. Stats and chart: Statista

Facebook users by device

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 phones and computers.

perfect Facebook cover photo safe zone

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.

perfect Facebook cover desktop vs mobile

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!

perfect Facebook cover desktop vs mobile

Next, choose a premade Facebook Cover template (which is fully customizable), or create a cover photo from scratch.

Facebook cover premade templates

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.

Facebook cover template desktop and mobile

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 [2020 update]

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!

NEW for 2020: Tablet viewable size differs from phone. It’s now cropped in height between the desktop and mobile version (which as of January 2020, still works for phones but not tablets anymore).

Even more problematical? The profile picture, Page name, and username are overlaid ON the cover photo, which may ruin your design.

Not to mention that excessive black gradient overlay.

You can compare the Page appearance on 3 different devices below.

Facebook page cover photo on desktop, iPhone and iPad

I redid my Facebook Page cover photo templates for 2020 showing this new iPad cropping and overlay. Note that the amount of overlaid text will vary depending on the length of your Page name and username.

You have a choice of 2 templates: low resolution (820 x 461 pixels) and high rez (1200 x 674 pixels).

I do recommend that you make your cover photo even larger than 820 pixels for best resolution. 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 Cover Photo template for mobile and desktop, 2020 version.
Right click to download the Facebook Cover Photo template for mobile and desktop, 2020 low-rez version.

 

Facebook Page Cover Photo template, UPSIZED!

Even better – Make your Facebook Page Cover Photo BIGGER! I recommend 1200 x 674. 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 perfect size 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.

upload your FB cover photo as a PNG file via desktop to avoid unsightly image compression
I recommend uploading your FB cover photo as a PNG file via desktop to avoid unsightly image compression.

 

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) except on iPad.

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 Page changes Summer 2016: No more type or profile picture overlays on the cover photo!
No more type or profile picture overlays on the FB Page cover photo as of Summer 2016.

 

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:

Check out: Facebook image dimensions infographic

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.

Don’t miss: Always-updated social media sizes cheat sheet

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 phone.

  • 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!

Tired of your Facebook Cover Photo mobile version getting chopped? No more! Grab this FREE template, and make a cover photo that rocks desktop AND mobile!

Comments

        • Because Facebook wanted to? Sorry, but they tend to do whatever they want. It’s weird as we’re not used to seeing @ tags on FB!

          Reply

      • I posted a Facebook cover photo for a client that’s 828 pixels wide and it’s getting cropped on my mobile device on both sides. Would you know how to solve this? Do I just move all the content into the center more and assume the outsides will be cropped?

        Reply

        • If you make it to the FB-recommended size of 828×315, the sides will be cropped on mobile. I haven’t experienced cropped sides with my template, though.

          Reply

          • If you haven’t noticed this on any design, you’re a magician!!! Any design that exceeds, let’s say 700px to the 828px limit, is cropped.

          • Have you tried my template? It works for me, and I don’t think there’s any magic involved.

    • Hi Kent,
      Click the button in the article that says “Get a free membership here.” You have to log in to get it. You won’t be added to any email list.

      Reply

  4. This is an excellent resource. Any chance of a similar one to preview Facebook ads in both desktop and mobile settings?

    Lia

    Reply

  5. Hi Louise,
    I’m also having problems with the template link. Can you provide an alternative or send via email? Very excited to have found this.
    Thanks!

    Reply

  6. Hi I’ve signed up, I’m logged in but I can’t see where I download the template from. I’ve looked in resources too but can’t find it?

    Many thanks 🙂

    Reply

    • It’s odd. I see that there have been 373 downloads, so it’s definitely working. I’ll go ahead and send it so you don’t have to hassle with it any more 🙂

      Reply

  8. The download is not working. Keep getting error message. Why not make the graphic clickable so we can download it? I’ve wasted 10 minutes already trying to download after registering, logging in, etc. Very disappointed.

    Reply

    • Sorry for the hassle. I’m having my support team look into it, so far they can’t find any problem.

      It’s strange that 400 people have downloaded it, yet something has been preventing a few from doing so.

      I will email you the template now and will implement your suggestion if my team can’t figure out what’s wrong.

      Reply

  9. Hi Louise,
    I’m not able to download the link. I seem to just be going around and around in circles. Could you email it to me please?
    Thanks
    Kaye

    Reply

    • Thanks for your patience – my support team is working on it and asked me not to change anything until they can figure out what’s wrong. Sorry for the hassle!

      Reply

  11. Broken record I’m afraid… same problem as everyone else. No download… just keeps telling me I am already logged in.

    Reply

    • Emailed to the address you provided here. Sorry for the hassle! Thanks for your patience – my support team is working on it and asked me not to change anything until they can figure out what’s wrong.

      Reply

  13. Louise,
    First, THANK YOU for all the legwork you do for those of us in this crazy, ever-changing, social media marketing biz! Your resources are terrific and extremely helpful.

    Second, unlike so many others (based on the comments), I was able to download the FB template! That said (and here’s a dumb Q), how are these best used? Do I upload them to my FB page and T account, and then try to design from there somehow? If so, how do I make it so that my followers/fans don’t “see” this on my FB and T pages? #confused

    Thanks, Louise.
    Best,
    Carol

    Reply

    • Hi Carol,
      Nope, don’t upload them to your social accounts. You could use them 2 different ways:

      1. If you use Photoshop, Pixlr, PicMonkey, PowerPoint, or another program for designing your image that supports layers, you would make the template a transparent layer to use as a guide for your design – then delete it when your design is finished, and save your design to upload to social.

      2. If you don’t design with layers, you can use the template to get the measurements and use it as a visual guide for where to place elements in your design. If your program supports “guidelines,” you would use the measurements on the template to set them up.

      I apologize if all this is over your head! If so, it’s best to just use a plain photo for your social cover photos. You can crop it after uploading to the social network.

      Reply

  14. I’m also having this issue, unfortunately. The link only states that I am logged in. Thanks for your help!

    Reply

  15. Hi Louise!
    Thanks for the great info! I setup a membership then came back to this page and clicked on the Log In link. Which goes here:
    https://louisem.com/login?redirect_to=https://louisem.com/member-dashboard

    this url results in: (Failed to Open)

    However, I went to another page under Resources and the button to log-in there goes to:
    https://louisem.com/member-dashboard

    The first url’s redirect is pointing to a secure url (https) the second one is not.
    I’m in now. Thanks!

    Reply

  16. Hi Louise,

    Thank you soooooo much!! The 462 height did the trick. I had created my very first business Facebook page today, and was not surprised but still very disappointed that the Cover on the mobile was cut off on both sides. Why oh why do things never work the first go round!!???

    But then, thanks to your awesome tip… all is well now.

    I am launching the page this Monday, Memorial Day, with an observance to our fallen heroes.

    Reply

  19. The Facebook business Page cover dimensions/display has changed again. Is there a new template we can use? Thank you!

    Reply

    • Hi Anil, it’s the same size, the only difference is no profile picture overlap. Use 828 x 464 as I have on the cheat sheet. I just used it this week and it works perfectly.

      Reply

  20. Hi there! I’m wondering if you can shed some light on a little bug bear of mine. When I view the cover image on my mobile, the image doesn’t seem to be ‘responsive’… it used to be… but in the past few months, this has changed it seems. The cover photo looks bright and crisp on the laptop, but on the mobile, the image looks like it’s overlaid with a shadow, and the image view is cropped. I’m a bit baffled about this… can you offer some insight on it?!
    Thank you for your website… its incredibly well resourced 😀 xKristin

    Reply

    • Thanks, not sure I can help…

      I’ve never noticed the cover photo on mobile to be responsive, and I don’t see the shadow you mention. If you used the FB-recommended size, it will be cut off on the sides on mobile. I feel my size works better! 🙂

      Reply

  22. Hi Louise,
    I’ve tried uploading PNG images a hundred times to no avail. Facebook keeps turning them into JPGs with abismal compression and nasty artifacts. My clean PNG was 24bit, 97kb, 851x315px, didn’t work. tried an 8bit, 32kb, 256 color PNG and Facebok still converted it to JPG.

    Here’s what’s driving me crazy: this page is managing to upload pristine PNG images, how are they doing it? https://www.facebook.com/breakfestco/photos/gm.295675714148611/550867371778369/?type=3&theater

    Reply

  23. Managed to download the template but cannot get cover photo resize to work at all … Any resizing for dummies tip as it feels like Ive tried everything!

    Reply

    • While I don’t know which design app you’re using, the best process is to start with the correct canvas (image size) first.

      Then import your photo and size to fit the canvas.

      You might have to refer to the instructions for your particular app if you don’t know how to do this.

      Reply

  28. When I try the new cover photo size there is a bar on the right of information that don’t seem to adjust and hover over my cover photo. The right bar that says type of page, response time, etc… all of it hovers over the cover photo to the top of page 🙁 instead of below. moompphotography on Facebook.

    Reply

    • Sorry, I don’t see any overlays on your page on desktop or mobile, or anything above your cover photo, OR to the right.

      Reply

  33. Really appreciate this, Louise. Like you said, changes to social media never stop. (I’ll definitely be subscribing to keep up-to-date!) Seems like the dimensions are always changing. Just yesterday, after creating a Facebook group, I thoroughly researched (or so I thought) what the dimensions of a perfectly sized cover photo should be. Then, I painstakingly created a multi-layered 828 x 315 masterpiece in Pixlr, comprised of images I found on Pixabay. Really wish I’d read this first! Also, I wasn’t aware that FB no longer superimposes profile pics on cover photos. Good to know.

    Cheers

    P.S. The cover photo dimensions DID change in Summer (or Fall). The height was increased by a pixel! lol

    Reply

    • It’s crazy, isn’t it, Wayne?! Yet Facebook still says the cover photo size is 828 x 315.

      Hope you were able to salvage your collage!

      Reply

  37. Would it be recommended to maintain the same aspect ratio (828 by 465) but to increase the size in pixels? I have a huge group photo of everyone in the firm, I mean it’s 21,000 pixels wide by 4,000 tall; before the professional photographer sent it, I thought that 3,000 pixels on any side was the maximum and I was w r o n g. Of course I can resize it to be a /little/ smaller without losing resolution, but it would still have to be rather big to make work for the cover.

    Reply

    • Hey Ven,

      With a photo that extremely horizontal, I’m not sure you can keep the proportions for mobile. But if you can, sure! Of course it will be sized way down on mobile (and even desktop). So I’m not certain that going more than double the display size would make any noticeable difference to the quality.

      Reply

  38. Hi Louise,
    Thanks for a great post! do yo also have a guide line for the Facebook Fan Page & Group cover size?
    For what i saw there is a difference on the sizes between Pages & Groups.

    Thanks,
    Pinto

    Reply

  39. Thanks for this. I was wondering why the cover photo on my page was looking weird on mobile. Thought maybe my mobile was just crap, but apparently Facebook is just weird. Followed your instructions and it looks fine now.

    Reply

  40. Outstanding! Thanks, Louise! I greatly appreciate these tips and tools! It relly helps when planning on the fly and needing to know what will look best when designing! Greatly appreciate you for sharing what you have discovered!

    Reply

  42. My apologies Louise,
    I am another one who doesn’t seem to be able to download the template successfully.
    Could you please provide another link, or email it to me if possible.
    Kind regards

    Reply

  44. Is there any possibility of providing similar advice for a Facebook Group cover image. Mine looks great on the PC but sides are cropped on mobile devices.

    Reply

    • I’d have to look into it further, but for now I’d recommend allowing for 25% of the image to be cropped on each side.

      Reply

  46. Thankyou so much Louise.
    You are indeed a genius.
    This had been a niggling problem since long. You nailed the trick to it.
    Bless you for sharing it!

    Reply

  47. Hello,

    This is genius! However, I don’t know if I’m doing something wrong to download it. When I right click it the little menu pops up and there is no download option, just to save it or open it in a new window/tab. Would you be able to email me the link possibly. If it’s not too much of a problem of course. Thank you!

    Reply

  51. Hi Louise
    I’m unable to download the Facebook cover photo template.
    Can you please email it through?
    Thanks in advance
    Kim

    Reply

  52. Thanks Louise, I spent ages perfecting our cover photo, uploaded and looked perfect on my laptop. Took me a day to realise it had cut off the sides on mobile!! But a fairly simple fix with your info.

    Reply

  53. Hi,

    I don’t think your template is correct. I attempted to use it and I had far less vertical space than the template specified. Also noticed on your page that your own cover photo has been sliced vertically. It is also extremely distorted. I am viewing on a 2017 Lenovo ThinkPad.

    Reply

    • Facebook is constantly changing things, making it impossible to keep up – unless it’s your full-time job 😉

      I’m now seeing a bar across the top of the cover photo on desktop. But sometimes these changes release in limited areas, and then they revert back.

      Interesting about the distortion. I don’t see it.

      Reply

    • I, too, was unable to use the “official” height of 312. To get all my image displayed, I had to use 250 px. As with other users, my image displays perfectly on desktop and almost completely in Safari on mobile devices. However, the Facebook app on iPhone and iPad chops the image horribly. I’m now going to try Louise’s extra high approach and see how that works.

      Lane

      Reply

  55. Hi, Louise – Using Firefox’s inspector shows that the desktop version of the Facebook cover photo is now a just a tiny amount of pixels fewer – 820 x 312. Proportionately, it probably doesn’t make too much difference with your template!

    Reply

    • Thanks Ariadne. It never did measure out exactly right to me. I figured FB was counting a couple pixels that get covered by the border 😉

      Reply

    • That’s not from FB but from a Fan Page. It’s not contradictory but a different way to deal with the size difference that’s more desktop-focused. And also low-resolution.

      Reply

  58. This is so helpful, Louise! I really appreciate you taking the time to put this together and delivering the information so clearly. A big help for designers like me! Much love to you!

    Reply

  59. Really helpful thx Louise, was driven demented with these variables, not to mention the amount of time lost in trial and error. Thanks for the helpful share

    Reply

  60. Hello Louise,

    I’m not good with this stuff! So please be patient!
    I’ve saved your template to my drive but what do I do now please?

    Christine

    Reply

    • Create your canvas in your favorite image editor at the full size: 828 x 465 pixels.

      If you’re using Photoshop or another program that gives you the ability to add layers, add the template as a semi-transparent layer so you can see what will get cut off on desktop.

      Otherwise, you can just use it as a reference to visualize what will get cut off on desktop.

      Reply

  63. Thanks SO MUCH for this guide! Finally, I’m able to have a decent looking Facebook cover for desktop and mobile applications.

    You ROCK, Louise!

    ?❤

    Reply

  66. Thank you very much for taking the time to share this information.
    I tried to figure out a way solve this problem and your solution is just great.

    Reply

  67. Louise, I had a quick question. After downloading your template, I noticed that it was done in 200 ppi, with a Index-256 color palette and not the usual 72 ppi with an RGB 8 bit Channel. Does this make a difference or is there a reason for this? Thanks so much, was just curious. 🙂

    Reply

  68. Hi
    Can I use Mobile cover size 828*465 as you told?
    And will it appear on desktop computer?
    Please answer, because I’m using FB just on Smart phone ?

    Reply

    • It will appear cropped on desktop. You (or have another admin) should go in and adjust the cropping on desktop to your liking, bc I can’t guarantee FB default cropping.

      Reply

  70. Thanks so much for this info! Worked like a charm. I have used your tips on several occasions, thank you so much!

    Reply

  71. Unfortunately this doesn’t work for me. I’m trying to upload from desktop and I can’t click the ‘Save’ button because it displays at the bottom corner of the image which isn’t visible because the image is too tall for the frame… Anybody else have this issue?

    Reply

      • Chrome and Firefox. I ended being able to do it by adding the cover photo while sitting on the ‘photos’ tab of my page because of the way the page is displayed – there was just a sliver of the save button showing that I could click. It’s pretty odd that Facebook hasn’t created an easier way to do this.

        The template works really well though, thanks!

        Reply

  72. I noticed that when I created my cover using PS, it looks great and has high quality but when I uploaded it to FB, the image turns a bit blurry. Is this how FB works or there is something I did wrong? 🙁

    Reply

  74. Just wanted to say that this post and the social media cheat sheet really helped me out with designing some stuff for my local food bank. You rock, Louise!

    Reply

  75. I dont understand one thing. How to upload desktop and mobile cover separately? Because If I will use mobile version than it will look bad on desktop and vice versa.

    Reply

    • You can only have one cover. That’s why the template – so you can design it so the part that shows on desktop won’t cut off any important info.

      Reply

  76. I used the template and specs worked great for the mobile. What I am confused about is how do I use the same photo for the desktop. I used the template and sized for mobile,

    Reply

    • The template is to show you how much of the mobile image will show on desktop, so you don’t put any important elements in the areas that will get cut off.

      Reply

  78. April 20, 2017

    Hi Louise,

    Thank you for the great templates. I have been having lots of fun with Facebook in the last few days.

    Not only are the page sizes doing a lot of changing they are also experimenting with webP compression. According to Facebook you need to increase your page resolution from 72ppi to 251ppi and keep your page size to 851px X 351px.

    This size looks great on the desktop page, terrible on the ipad – it cuts off the sides, terrible on the iphone it cuts off the sides. I will try your templates hopefully they are newer than the info I found.

    Reply

    • 251ppi? Who said that? PPI doesn’t matter when you’re designing web graphics. They’ll be displayed at the resolution of the device they’re viewed on.

      The cover photos haven’t been 851 wide for a year. Try my size and let me know how it goes! It worked great for me.

      Reply

      • Sorry I can’t find the article I read on webP which suggested I work on my image at 250ppi and upload as a .png.
        I also asked a photographer friend about it and she uploads all her Facebook images as 300ppi jpgs.

        I had to make my own template 250ppi, 851px X 315px which they do say is the correct page size on this page https://www.facebook.com/help/1703757313215897/?helpref=hc_fnav.

        Through testing I found there was an area of 140px on the left and right sides of my cover image that was getting cropped off when I viewed the image inside the Facebook app, on an iPhone . Strangely enough viewing the same page inside Facebook.com in Chrome there is no problem.

        I just did the same test on my iPad with the same page and image. Viewing it inside the Facebook app, it gets cropped. Viewing it via Facebook.com, it doesn’t get cropped.

        Firefox the same results.

        I said ppi doesn’t matter because Facebook seems to be allowing the upload of all all resolutions as long as the file sise is under 100kb and lets webP work it’s compression magic and shows them all as 72 ppi. At least that’s my guess because all the 250ppi and 300ppi photos that I have uploaded to Facebook and downloaded to my system have opened up in Photoshop as 72ppi images.

        So I am left with 2 questions.
        1. What do we do tell our client’s not to use the Facebook app and just build for the web?
        2. If Facebook is going to compress our images with webP why not save them with a really high ppi at the correct final size ?

        By the way for anyone that needs this you can create a folder on Facebook and turn on HD and it won’t compress the images you save into it. I haven’t tried it yet.

        I hope this isn’t too rambling 🙂

        Reply

        • Hi Sylvia,

          PPI is totally irrelevant for web images. We have absolutely no control over the PPI of a user’s device. Whoever told you to produce a certain PPI is misinformed.

          You asked: What do we do tell our clients not to use the Facebook app and just build for the web?
          People are going to use the FB app, whether your clients do or not. Read the article and use the template. It’s optimized for both.

          Reply

  80. This was so helpful and amazing. Thank you. You don’t happen to have just as perfect of a solution for twitter do you?

    Reply

  82. Thank you, this just saved me a whole world of pain. Having been a graphic designer for 20 years and finally managing to quit and do something entirely different (something that makes my heart sing!) I really appreciate the time and energy you have put into this, something so simple to most but some of us know how much time you’ve spent. Thank you.

    Reply

  83. When creating a graphic for Facebook, was resolution/dpi do you use, and set the color to RGB when creating a new document, correct?

    Reply

    • I use 72, but it really doesn’t matter, as graphics on the web will be shown at the viewer’s screen resolution (usually 72). This is why dimensions are provided in pixels and not inches or cm.

      Yes, RGB.

      Reply

  84. Thank you so much! I’ve been looking for something like this for ages.
    Does this apply to facebook group cover photos as well?

    Anna

    Reply

    • It seems every cover photo on FB is different. See if this post helps with the groups. I’m not sure if that’s still current – FB changes so often!

      Reply

  85. Hi.
    I updated my cover photo abd changed it to video. However it chopped most of it as u may be able to see on mobile view. Any ideas how to handle this?

    Reply

    • Probably the same issues as a static cover photo. So you’d need to create your video so that it works in both shapes (desktop and mobile). I’ll have to try it.

      Reply

  86. Thanks for the template. Any idea how to get the images to save? I’m trying to update my group cover photo. I’ve tried uploading directly, but it won’t save. So I uploaded it to group photos, it still won’t save. have tried 3 different browsers – chrome, firefox and safari. Any other ideas?
    Many thanks!

    Reply

  87. Hi Louise,

    I’ve tried every possible sizing you recommended up above (the 828 x 315, the 830 x 315, the 1200 x 675, the 820 x 461)… And it still cuts it off on the side of my Facebook cover on mobile and tablets… Do you have any recommendations? It’s driving me dotty!!

    Many thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi Rose,

      For a Facebook business page, 1200 x 675 or 820 x 461 works for me. It’s also the same proportion FB recommends for mobile. Not sure why you’re having problems, sorry.

      Reply

      • Banner size for PC needs to be 851 x 315 pixels. I noticed that the very edges of the my previous banner were not visible on a PC because it is reduced to 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall on a Page for computers. It’s awkward, but you have to design for 820 x 312, but make sure your final image is actually 851 x 315. Then again, if you want to cater for smartphones, the crucial part of your banner needs to be 560px, (with the 1st 158px of 851px on the left not shown, and the last 134px of the 851px on the right not shown)

        Reply

  88. Some good tips here. I’ve been trying to figure out how to take it a step further – if there’s text on the cover image, when some SHARES the business page and then that sharing post is viewed on a desktop, the page name gets plastered over the top of the image, so you need to restrict the text area quite a lot to make sure the text is still ok. Something like “no text in the lower half and none in the top 5th”

    Reply

  89. Your writing style inspires me. It’s so clean and personal. I can hear you talking. You are a great teacher!! Kudos!!

    Reply

  91. How we can get more traffic through facebook and how to choose facebook cover banner design ?

    I Have run a ads on facebook but the charges experience rather than other Campinas.. how we can reduce the cost….

    Reply

    • I would suggest Google for free info, and maybe purchase a course. Certainly more than I can answer in a comment.

      Reply

  93. This was extremely helpful. I’ve been trying to fix our mobile cover for a month or so now and I’m glad I found this page.

    Reply

  94. hey there Louise,

    regarding the png, do you prefer to have it in 300 ppi or 200 or?

    would really appreciate hearing your take on that.

    regards
    Hrvoje

    Reply

  95. Hi Louise,

    Thank you for much – worked wonders for the FB page cover photo, however could not get the template to work as well for the FB group cover photo. Do you have a similar template as the FB page cover template for FB group covers?
    Driving me crazy haha 🙂
    Thanks Heaps 🙂

    Reply

  98. What programs do you recommend to create banners, cover photos, or just general content? I’ve messed around with a few apps, but haven’t found one that I am in love with yet.

    Thanks!

    Reply

  100. This is extremely helpful, but I just have one problem. My profile pic is still over the top of my cover photo! It seems FB may not have changed how everyone’s pages display? In any case, I’m still having to block out the 170×170 px area so that I don’t have important content there. Just thought I’d share. Still appreciate your helpful hints and the template!!

    Reply

    • On a FB business page? I may not have been clear about that 😉 It would be very odd if after a year this wasn’t applied to all pages. Of course, anything’s possible with FB!

      Reply

  103. 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:)

    Reply

      • 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

        Reply

        • It’s a toughie, and my best resource has retired from this business. I hope to find another source soon.

          Reply

  105. 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

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  108. I keep trying to create a cover photo for a group page, and nothing I have found is working out. Is the size different?

    Reply

  109. 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

    Reply

  111. Hi, Louise – It seems like now the Facebook covers are being cropped from the top, rather than right in the middle, on desktop.

    Reply

  112. 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!

    Reply

  114. 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.

    Reply

    • Yes, that is correct. Or go larger as I recommend. I have templates for both 820 width and 1200 width. No guessing required 🙂

      Reply

      • 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

        Reply

        • 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?

          Reply

  115. 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 🙂

    Reply

  117. 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!

    Reply

  118. 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.

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  120. 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.

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  121. 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?

    Reply

  122. 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?

    Reply

  123. 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

    Reply

  124. 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.

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  126. 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

    Reply

  127. 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..!!!!

    Reply

  128. 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.

    Reply

    • GIMP is a free photo editor that works like Photoshop, so it would be able to do this. Steep learning curve though.

      Reply

  131. 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!
    🙂

    Reply

    • 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 🙂

      Reply

      • 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. 🙂

        Reply

        • 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

          Reply

  132. 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???

    Reply

    • I’ve heard that if your file size is under 100kb FB won’t compress it. Maybe your smaller image got by without compression 🙂

      Reply

  134. 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

    Reply

    • 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?

      Reply

  136. 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!

    Reply

  143. 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

    Reply

    • Can you explain what you mean by “properly”? I see the full image on mobile and cropped on desktop.

      Reply

  144. How do you use the template? For FB cover photo …. Need something that works for both desk top and mobile.

    Thanks

    Reply

    • Directions are in the post. Look for the header “Instructions for using my social media templates.”

      Reply

  145. 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

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  148. This is amazing! Now need something similar for YouTube. I tried the template in the free members area but then when I went to upload it in my channel I got a message saying it was too small, must be 2048 x 1152. 🙁

    Reply

    • It was too small, or too big? The template is larger than that – 2560 × 1440. Same proportions as 2048 x 1152! Still finding 2560 × 1440 to be the recommended optimal size. What size was your upload?

      “For the best results on all devices, we recommend uploading one 2560 x 1440 px image.” Direct from YouTube.

      Reply

  149. You rock, Louise! Thank you! 🙂

    P.S. I got an eMail from Google todaytthat read “Your personal Google+ account is going away…On April 2nd, your Google+ account and any Google+ pages you created will be shut down and we will begin deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts. Photos and videos from Google+ in your Album Archive and your Google+ pages will also be deleted. ”

    What the what?!?

    Reply

  150. 820 x 360 seems away out when added to Facebook. Facebook seems to want me to drag the image inside a smaller window. Looks very poor on desktop and also distorts on mobile.

    Reply

  151. 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

    Reply

  152. 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!)

    Reply

    • Honestly I’ve never tried to compress the file that much. In my experience, the bigger the file, the better the result!

      Reply

  153. Thank you Louise! I’m new at this and your suggestion of 820 X 461 was perfect for mobile and laptop. I wish I saw your page a 3-4 hours ago! All the other dimensions I chose just didn’t work.

    Thanks again!

    Reply

  155. This article is a mess. In order to get “better seo” you fill the article with 99% rubbish peppered with 1 million ads that make it virtually impossible to read. Now i will take your png “template”. make it a psd and give it away for free. Essentially duplicating your page without all of the spam and provide the reader with what they want. This page is part of the 99% of the internet that is total rubbish.
    Thanks for being a part of that. And thanks for not being brave enough to approve this 100% truthful comment

    Reply

    • So you 100% hated my article but are taking my template for your own purposes. Lovely.

      “99% rubbish” and “1 million ads” isn’t exactly “100% truthful.”

      Have a great day though.

      Reply

    • More thoughts for you.

      “Essentially duplicating your page without all of the spam and provide the reader with what they want.”
      That’s 100% stealing, aka copyright infringement.

      It appears you think I should figure all this out for you, do it for free (no ads), and not be found by search engines (so you and others can’t find it). And not only that, but it’s OK for you to copy and post it elsewhere.

      I guess that makes sense 🙄

      Fortunately I had a kind comment last week from a reader saying they love the thoroughness of my articles. Some do like all the “rubbish,” aka pertinent information.

      Reply

  156. Does the template for FB cover photos work now for both business and personal pages? 1200×458 desktop, cropped from 1200×674 IPhone and 1200×581 IPad?

    Reply

  157. Using the template the cover photo shows up fine on desktop and in the Facebook app on a mobile phone but when using a web browser on a mobile phone things are getting cut off. Not sure what Facebook is doing different in a mobile browser versus the app.

    Reply

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