Upload the wrong size and the platform crops your picture for you, usually cutting off the best part. Knowing the right dimensions takes five minutes and makes every post look more professional.
Square profile pictures
WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook profile photos are shown as circles or squares. Start from a square image of at least 640 x 640 pixels and keep the face in the middle.
Wide images
YouTube thumbnails use 1280 x 720 pixels. Facebook and LinkedIn covers are wide banners, so check the current size in the app before you design.
Keep the file light
Platforms recompress everything you upload. Starting with a clean, correctly sized JPG gives them less to damage.
Why your picture looks blurry after you upload it
Most of the time the problem is not your camera. The app shrinks your picture to fit its own layout and then compresses it again to save space. If you upload a tiny image, the app stretches it and it turns soft. If you upload a huge one, the app squeezes it hard and you lose detail. The cure is the same in both cases: give the app an image that already has the right shape and a sensible size.
Commonly used sizes at a glance
- WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook profile picture: a square of at least 640 x 640 pixels.
- Instagram post: 1080 x 1080 for square, or 1080 x 1350 for portrait, which takes more screen space.
- Instagram Stories and Reels: 1080 x 1920, a tall vertical frame.
- YouTube thumbnail: 1280 x 720.
- X (Twitter) header: about 1500 x 500.
- LinkedIn banner: about 1584 x 396.
Apps change these now and then, so treat the list as a starting point and confirm in the app before a big design job.
Keep the important part in the middle
Profile pictures are cropped to a circle, so the corners disappear. Banners are cropped differently on phones and computers, so text at the edges can get cut off. Put faces, logos and words toward the centre, and leave a margin around them. A simple trick is to preview your picture as a circle or a thin strip before you upload it.
How to get the size right in a minute
Open the Image Resizer, add your photo and type the width and height you need. If the original is a different shape, crop it first so that nothing important is lost. Then check the file with the Image Compressor if the app has a size limit. Look at the result on your phone, not just on a big screen, because that is where most people will see it.
Mistakes that make posts look unprofessional
Using a screenshot instead of the original photo, uploading a picture that was already forwarded through WhatsApp several times, putting small text on a photo that will be shown as a tiny thumbnail, and mixing different shapes in one profile grid. Fixing these takes five minutes and the improvement is easy to see.
Free, no signup, and your files never leave your device.
Open Image ResizerCommon questions
Do these sizes change?
Yes, platforms update their layouts now and then. Treat the numbers as a good starting point and confirm in the app.
Should I upload PNG or JPG?
JPG for photos, PNG for graphics with text or logos.
Also useful: Image Compressor.
Topics
whatsapp dp sizeinstagram image sizefacebook cover sizeyoutube thumbnail sizesocial media image sizes