With all the recent changes in the looks of the most popular social networks Facebook, Twitter and Google+, one thing which has changed big time is the way images are being shown. As a small business owner you like your social media pages and profiles to look clean and beautiful. Therefore we offer you a detailed description of the image sizes so you can resize them to the correct sizes so it looks nice and clean.
Facebook profile & fan-page
Although a Facebook profile and a fan-page are two completely different things, most of the image sizes are the same. There are five image sizes in the both Facebook timelines, being the cover photo, the profile image, the custom tab/app thumbnails, the shared photos and the highlighted photos.
Cover image:
The cover image is really important in the fan-page since this is the place to catch the reader’s attention. The fan-page timeline cover image used to be a little bit bigger as the one from the profile timeline but recently this was changed to: 851 x 315 pixels. You can use an image from your photo album but it would be better to upload a new custom made timeline cover photo to make good use of this space, especially in the fan-pages. In case of a fan-page there are some rules and cover images should not include: Price or purchase information such as 50% off, contact information such as web or email addresses, references to likes or shares or any other Facebook features and call to action such as “get it now”.
Profile image:
The profile image has since the launch of the timeline release early 2012 suffered some changes. The upload size of the profile image is 180 x180 pixels while the display size will be 160 x160 pixels. Make this photo important enough while this will also be the small thumbnail in every profile and fan-page status update. (by the way, it used to be 125 x125 pixels before).
Custom tab/app image (fan-page only):
In fan-pages there is also a way of changing the apps and tabs images. The way the apps and tabs are displayed has drastically changed with the timeline update. Whilst normally the app/tab image is a default one, there is a way to change this to an image of your liking. The image size is 111 x 74 pixels and can be uploaded by you. To change the image you will first have to go to the admin panel and click Manage and Edit Page. Click on Apps in the sidebar and look for the App of which you want to change the default image. Click on Edit Settings where you can change the name (which should fit in the text field) and change the Custom Tab Image. Click change and Choose File which would be the 111 x 74 pixels image you created. The new tab image will automatically upload.
Shared photo
Whenever you share or place a photo together with a status update, it would be wise to use an image which fit perfectly on the timeline. This off course to make sure the image is displayed the way you want it and to avoid readers have to click first on the image to see it correctly. The correct width of an image would be 403 pixels where the height will be proportional. It is always better to place nice looking and custom made images to make your fan-page timeline look nice for instance 403 x 403 pixels or 403 x 200 pixels.
Highlight a status update or image
Whenever you highlight a status update with an adjoining image, it is best to use custom made photos to make the massive image look nice. Highlighted images can be used for special events or to attract more attention to a certain status update. The sizes of an highlighted image are 843 x 403 pixels.
Style sheet:
Cover image: 851 x 316 pixels
Profile Image: upload 180 x180 pixels / display 160 x10 pixels
Fan-page Custom Tab/App image: 111 x 74 pixels
Status Update/Shared Image: 403 pixels wide (height proportional)
Highlight Image: 843 x 403 pixels
Google+
Google+ is relatively a new social media network but has already changed the way it looks and feels once. When Google+ was launched on June 28th 2011 the look of the social network was already in the new Google style but early 2012 Google changed the layout of its social network completely. In Google+ there are several image sizes to think of; the profile cover image, the profile image and the images in the posts. The sizes mentioned below count for both the profile and company pages in Google+.
Cover image
Google+ changed its cover image layout with its new design to match it with the Facebook timeline. Instead of Facebook though, users have the choice to maintain five separate square images of place one big cover image. When the user chooses the separate images there can be five images of 112 x 112 pixels each. These images can be placed in a separate folder within your online images. If the user chooses one big cover image the size of this image will be 900 x 180 pixels with two separate parts; one big one on the left of 625 pixels wide and one smaller part right next to the profile image of 13 pixels. There are no Facebook-like restrictions in what users can mention or show in the cover image.
Profile image
The profile image in Google+ is much bigger as in Facebook. In a way one could say Google+ is just the other way around as Facebook, meaning Google+ has a big profile image and small cover image where Facebook offers its users one big cover image and a small profile image. The Google+ profile image offers a 250 x 250 pixels square image with a 5 pixels padding and 1 pixels solid border which makes the final profile image 262 x 262 pixels.
Post image
The images the user can place in their posts on Google+ are 259 pixels wide. The height of the images will be scaled proportionally. Placed videos are also shown with these dimensions. While placing images in a post it is advisable to adjust them to these sizes so followers can see the full image in the post-stream and don0t have to do an extra click to see the rest. Also the images will show better in the mobile App and mobile version of Google+.
Style sheet:
Cover image, five squares: 112 x 112 pixels
Cover image. Big one: 900 x 180 pixels
Profile image: 250 x 250 pixels
Post image: 259 pixels wide (height proportional)
The micro blogging site Twitter has two important image sizes, the profile image and the changeable background image. The profile image is important since this will also be the smaller thumbnail when a user places a tweet. Experts recommend to use a personal image, meaning of a face, and not a company logo or impersonal image.
Profile image
Twitters’s profile image has the following sizes: 128 x 128 pixels. This image is also used for the smaller 48 x 48 pixels thumbnail image or avatar. The profile image can be uploaded and changes in the settings page and the profile menu and can only have a maximum size of 700k.
Background image
Twitter offers its users to change the background of the Twitter.com personal homepage. This is an excellent way for companies to promote their business or give the user more information or contact information. Although the Twitter page is centered in the middle of the screen, the background is fixed to the left of the browser. When a user makes the browser window wider, the right part of the background is not seen anymore. This is the reason you as a user only have to concentrate on the left of the background image.
Twitter itself has a fixed width of 865 pixels (it used to be 1040 pixels in the old design). This means you can use between 66 pixel and 194 pixel on the left to show information, images or text in a so called sidebar. When you decide to use 66 pixels wide sidebar for text or information there is a possibility that 99% of the visitors can see the full info. When you use 194 pixel 82% of the users will see the full info and using 238 pixel means only 56% will see the full info. So, if you want to make sure users on desktops, notebooks and laptops can see the full info you decide to include on your background, 66 pixels would be advisable.
To change the background image you need to design something yourself or use one of the many templates on the internet to define your look. When using Twitter for your small business it would be wise to create an overall look of your website and the Twitter background. Uploading an image can be done in the settings menu and the design tab. Here you can customize your own background by uploading your GIF, JPG or PNG image with a maximum size of 800k.
Style sheet:
Profile image: 128 x128 pixels
Background image: 1280 x 1024 pixels