Images are the most important tactic in optimizing social posts, and this is especially true on Facebook, where visuals get huge play in the News Feed. Posts with images capture a user’s attention and entice the person to interact by liking, commenting, or sharing the post.

Outside of those super-engaging News Feed and post images, Facebook offers a plethora of visual content options, all with their own image specs. Your company’s cover photo, profile picture, ads, and more are all opportunities to make a great impression.

Use this Facebook Image-Size Cheat Sheet to ensure your images are of the right dimensions and appear in top shape around the site:

 

Facebook Cover Photo

Your cover photo is an important part of your company page. This is going to be the largest image on your page, so choosing the right size is a must.

The optimal image size for cover photos is 851 x 315 pixels. Image guidelines include:

• Anything less than 851 x 315 pixels will be stretched, thus compromising quality.
• Minimum size is 399 x 150 pixels.
• For best quality, use an RGB JPG file less than 100 KB in size.

 

Facebook Profile Image

While not as prominent as your cover photo, the profile image is displayed at the top of your page and will be seen by most visitors.

The optimal size for profile image photos is 180 x 180 pixels. Here are some additional image guidelines:

• Even though the minimum size is 180 x 180 pixels, it will appear on your company page as 160 x 160 pixels.
• The photo thumbnail is displayed as 32 x 32 pixels.

 

Facebook Post Images

The optimal size for post (shared) images is 1,200 x 630 pixels. These guidelines will help you select and edit your shared images for optimum quality:

• Recommended upload size is 1,200 x 630 pixels.
• Will appear with a maximum width of 470 pixels in Facebook feed.
• Will appear on a Facebook page with a maximum width of 504 pixels.

 

Facebook Shared Link Images

Similar to shared images, shared link images have an optimal size of 1,200 x 627 pixels. Keep these guidelines close by when uploading shared link images:

• Square photo has a minimum upload size of 154 x 154 pixels in feed.
• Square photo has a minimum upload size of 116 x 116 pixels on page.
• Rectangular photo has a minimum upload size of 470 x 246 in feed.
• Rectangular photo has a minimum upload size of 484 x 252 on page.

Facebook will automatically scale photos using the minimum dimensions. To avoid poor quality, increase image resolution when scaling.

 

Facebook Tab Images

Also known as Facebook apps icons, they display on a company page at 111 x 74 pixels. They are located in the left sidebar, below "about" and "photos." If you upload an image larger than the maximum, Facebook will crop it to fit.

When creating tab images, consider this: The bottom portion of the image is cut away, with the top left showing. If you are sharing images with fans, the favicon will display in their News Feed at 16 x 16 pixels, which is much smaller than the original upload size.

 

Facebook Ads

Facebook Ads continue to grow in popularity, largely because the social networking giant attracts more than 900 million people every day. Not to mention the fact that you can get started for as little as $5.

Facebook shares detailed information regarding the recommended size for each type of ad image:

 

 

If your image does not match the specified size, it will be automatically resized to fit the type of ad you selected.

Keep this Facebook Image-Size Cheat Sheet close by so you always have just the right specs at hand for your awesome Facebook visual creative!