Social Media Image Sizes: A Practical Cheat Sheet

Social platforms ask for different shapes, and they change their recommendations from time to time. Saving one image for every placement leads to stretched portraits, cropped logos, and text hidden behind interface elements. A better approach is to work from one good master and export the shapes each placement needs.

The Resize Image tool sets an exact width and height and fits the photo inside without stretching it. This cheat sheet covers the shapes worth preparing and the details that survive a crop.

Start with shape, not pixel count

Exact pixel recommendations are revised, and some platforms generate several sizes from one upload. Rather than memorising a table that will age, prepare the ratio, keep the master file, and confirm the current guidance in the platform’s help centre before a campaign. Export from the largest good copy you have, because enlarging a small image adds no detail.

Feed posts: square and portrait

A 1:1 square is the safest feed shape because it survives cropping in most layouts. A 4:5 portrait takes more vertical space on a phone and is useful when the subject is tall or when you want the post to occupy more of the screen. Both need the important content away from the edges.

Text overlays are the usual casualty of a crop. Keep captions inside the central area, use a readable size, and check the result on a phone rather than only on a desktop preview. If the same image will appear in several placements, make the square version first and treat it as the safe master.

Stories, reels, and vertical video

Stories and short vertical videos use a 9:16 frame. The top and bottom of that frame are often covered by the platform’s own controls, captions, and profile details, so keep faces, logos, and essential text in the middle band. Do not assume the full height will be visible.

For a still image used in a vertical placement, a 9:16 crop is better than padding a landscape photo with large empty bars. If the whole landscape frame matters, consider a different placement rather than shrinking it into a narrow strip.

Profiles, covers, and link previews

Profile pictures are usually displayed as a circle or a rounded square. Start with a square image, centre the face or logo, and leave a margin so the crop does not cut into it. Covers and banners are wide, and the visible area often differs between desktop and mobile, so keep the key element central.

Link previews favour a wide landscape image with the subject away from the edges. A busy image with small text rarely reads well at preview size. Test the link after publishing and check how the title and image appear together.

After resizing, compress the file and inspect it at 100%. The Resize Image tool fits the image inside the target and fills any leftover space with white, so check the preview for bars before you download. The resize runs in your browser; remove private details from a photo before publishing it. For the exact passport and ID photo measurements that share the same presets, read Passport Photo Sizes by Country. If a photo comes back stretched, the fix is in How to Resize a Photo Without Stretching It.