A picture is worth a thousand words. However, in the digital context an image can have a thousand formats and sizes, and with the wrong dimensions it doesn’t say anything at all. In order to use the various platforms correctly and not just create posts for empty space, it helps to have an overview of the latest image formats for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and the like.
Each one of the most popular networks requires different image sizes for the perfect post. To ensure that your community can see your graphic properly and that no edges are cut off, information is lost or distortions may occur, there are a few things to consider. We have summed up the most important ones for you here, so that you can perfectly capture the attention of users despite the enormous oversupply of visuals on social media.
Differences of the social media platforms
Below, we will take a look at the image sizes of the five biggest players: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Instagram. The focus will be primarily on Instagram post dimensions, as the distribution of photos and video content is particularly central on this platform.
In addition to feed posts, there is a whole range of other ways to share content on the common platforms. From your own profile picture and banner, to stories, events and groups – the picture formats are different everywhere. Accordingly, it is quite possible that one and the same graphic or image section cannot be used everywhere that your brand is represented. While profile pictures are often round, stories focus on vertical shots, but for profile banners and events horizontal is usually the right format. Our Social Media Cheat Sheet infographic shows at one glance which dimensions are best suited for each network
The common ground of social media channels
A profile photo can be added on all platforms. However, the size, i.e. the number of pixels for a photo, varies slightly. For the profile picture upload on Instagram, the Instagram photo size should have the dimensions 110 x 110 px. Facebook has an optimum of 180 x 180 px. For LinkedIn and Twitter, the profile photo should be adjusted to 400 x 400 pixels. With 165 x 165 pixels, your profile picture is optimally tailored for Pinterest.
On LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, a cover image can also be added. The perfect dimensions and aspect ratios differ more clearly here. The optimum for a cover image on Facebook is 829 x 312 pixels, on LinkedIn 1584 x 396 pixels and on Twitter 1500 x 500 px.
With more than 1.3 billion users worldwide and more than 50 billion uploads, Instagram is the top visual-driven social media platform. Visuals are key, and a wide variety of features, such as Instagram filters and other editing options, allow each upload to be unique and individualized. Emotions are conveyed faster and better through images, and consequently the platform is ideally suited as a marketing channel, as it offers social proof and places people with their individuality and uniqueness at center. The perfect implementation of this customer-centricity requires the ideal Instagram image size, and that’s what this article is all about. The maximum for image height is 1080 px, everything above needs to be cropped.
Which image dimensions can be shared on Instagram?
The square, 1080 x 1080px [1:1], is the classic format for Instagram picture size. Feed Posts can also be uploaded in landscape format [1.91:1] with dimensions 1080 x 566px or in portrait format [4:5] with dimensions 1080 x 1350px. In addition to the feed post, Instagram has Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, Instagram Video and Instagram Live. Instagram Stories can be 15 seconds long and are displayed in portrait format. The recommended Instagram Story image size is 1080 x 1920px, which is a 9:16 format. The same Instagram image size applies to Instagram Reels, Instagram Live and Instagram Video.
Why do Instagram pictures sometimes appear blurry?
Some social media platforms, most notably Instagram, compress images and videos that exceed a certain file size in order to enable short loading times for their users even via mobile data. This can cause even photos and videos taken with a high-resolution camera to suddenly look pixelated after posting, resulting in a loss of quality. A rule of thumb to avoid this is that images uploaded to Instagram should never be larger than 8 MB. If the visuals exceed this size, you can easily compress them online.
When images become blurry, it can also be caused by the wrong image size, i.e. a smaller number of pixels. Especially on Instagram, it is problematic not to stick to the minimum size, since there is such a high number of uploads every day and bad visuals get lost directly in the large mass. In order not to be undercut, make sure that your images do not fall below the minimum width, otherwise they will automatically be stretched and look distorted. The Instagram Story image size should not be less than 600 x 1067px. The minimum size for posts is 612 x 612 pixels to ensure optimal exposure. Also note that Instagram is mostly used on mobile, so it’s more important how a photo or video looks on mobile devices than on desktop.
In addition to the classic cover photo, the cover photo of your profile, you can also upload group or event cover photos on Facebook to make your event or topic-specific group appear more personal and meaningful. The dimensions for a group cover photo are 1640 x 922px. You should adjust the title image for an event to a size of 1920 x 1080px. As with Instagram, you can also upload content as a short story, in this case the image format is 1080 x 1920px. If you want the content to be visible on your feed in the long term, you can upload it as an image post [1200 x 630px] or post moving images in video format with the dimensions 1280 x 720px.
On Twitter, you have the option to share images or videos in addition to a text tweet. Graphics and images should not exceed the format 1024 x 512px here. You can upload videos in three formats: square [720 x 720px], landscape [1280 x 720px] or portrait [720 x 1280px].
The dimensions mentioned above for a profile picture [400 x 400px] and a cover picture [1584 x 396px] apply to LinkedIn personal profiles. If you want to upload a profile image or a cover image for a company page, the company logo should ideally be uploaded in 300 x 300px and the company cover in 1536 x 768px. For the mobile version, your feed image will have the optimal image size if you resize it to 1200 x 628px. For desktop viewing, a 1:1 aspect ratio of 1200 x 1200 px is excellent. Videos should be between 256 x 144 px and 4096 x 2304 px in their image size.
Standard pins are in portrait format and have an aspect ratio of 2:3, the optimal image size here is 1000 x 1500px. In general, pins should not have a height of more than 2061px and they are generally cropped to a 2:3 ratio on the feed page. Videos can be aligned square [1:1] or vertically [9:16].
FAQs
1. How do I resize an image for Instagram?
Using the graphic design platform Canva, you can create layouts and content for your posts and give them a personalized touch. You can also crop your content directly in the appropriate format and use various templates for inspiration.
2. Is there one image size that fits all social media channels?
Generally, the square image format (width = height) fits on all social media platforms. Keep this in mind when you’re redesigning content that you want to use on all channels, because it will ensure that nothing is cut off. 1080 x 1080px is the most common image size and can be used as a rule of thumb.
3. Which image file formats can I use?
You can upload image files in JPEG and PNG formats. For the perfect resolution, the broad rule is that JPEG is more suitable for photos and PNG is more suitable for graphics.
Social Media Cheat Sheet Infographic
Just copy this code and embed it on your website:
<a href="https://blog.squarelovin.com/instagram-bildgroessen-social-media-cheat-sheet/"><img loading="lazy" src="https://blog.squarelovin.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2020-06-22_15-08-18.png" alt="Instagram image size social media cheat sheet" title="Social media image size cheat sheet" /></a>
