How To Get The Best Facebook Cover Photo
When Facebook added cover photos to profiles and pages, it gave users a new way to stand out from the crowd. However, many people have struggled to get a cover photo that looks great. So how do you get the best Facebook cover photo?
The common problems
Part of this is because Facebook compresses photos that are uploaded. That is, they make them smaller so they take up less room on their servers. This can mean that elements that looked sharp in your original photo look blurry when viewed on Facebook.
Another problem many people encounter is how Facebook crops their cover photo. After all, your original photo will be cropped to fit the specific size of the cover image space. Additionally, your profile photo will cover up part of the cover photo.
This is what happens when you don’t edit your image and apply the incorrect dimensions;
This is what happens when the correct file size and dimensions are applied;
See the difference?
How to get the perfect cover photo
There are a few easy steps to take to get a cover photo that does everything you want it to do. All of this is done before you upload it to Facebook.
First, make sure your image has the right dimensions. Facebook cover photos are always 851 pixels x 315 pixels, so plan your image with those dimensions. Doing this will prevent the need to crop or resize your photo.
Second, position your content within your image for the best impact. This includes allowing space for overlapping Facebook elements and optimising your cover image for mobile users.
Allowing space for your profile photo, page category, and sharing buttons can ensure none of the important details are covered up. The lower left corner of your image, approximately 185 pixels x 140 pixels, will be covered by your profile photo. Next to this, your page category will cover around 300 pixels x 100 pixels, and at the bottom right, another 300 pixels x 100 pixels will be covered by sharing buttons.
Mobile users will also only see part of your cover image. Approximately 145 pixels on each side of the image will be cropped for mobile browsing, and a larger portion will be covered by your profile photo and category. Keeping your main content in the central 560 pixels space can help ensure mobile users don’t miss out.
Finally, make sure your image is small enough. Facebook will resize images that are over 100KB. Photoshop’s ‘save for web’ tool can give you a live preview of how your JPG image will look as you downsize and optimise it. In most cases, choosing the JPG high quality setting at 60% optimised will give you the perfect balance.
Now you can upload your cover photo and it will look exactly as it was when you saved it. If it’s under 100KB and the right dimensions, Facebook won’t need to resize or crop, giving you the best Facebook cover photo possible!
We have created a fantastic photoshop template and made it available for download, so you can easily edit your own Facebook cover for your account. Download it here.
