How to Make a Facebook Cover Photo Fit

Nothing says we don't get this social media thing quite like a Facebook cover photo with cut-off text or a stretched-out logo. It’s the first thing people see on your Page, and getting it wrong instantly undermines your credibility. This guide will give you the right dimensions and a simple, repeatable process to create a cover photo that looks sharp and professional on every device, every time.

First, Why Do Facebook Cover Photos Look Weird?

The problem isn't your image, it's the screen. Your Facebook cover photo is displayed in two completely different shapes: a wide, short rectangle on desktop computers and a taller, narrower rectangle on mobile phones. Facebook doesn’t use two separate images, instead, it shows different parts of the same image depending on the device.

• On Desktop: Facebook displays your cover photo at a ratio of approximately 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall. It prioritizes width.
• On Mobile: Facebook crops the sides and shows a more centered, portrait-style view at about 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall. It prioritizes height.

This is where the trouble starts. If you design your cover photo only for desktop, the sides will get chopped off on mobile, cutting off your text or important parts of your graphic. If you only design for mobile, you'll end up with a cropped photo that looks strange and has empty sections at the top and bottom on desktop.

The solution isn't to create two separate photos. It's to create one smart photo designed with a "safe zone" in mind.

The Magic Dimensions: Your One-Size-Fits-All Template

Forget trying to remember all the different cropping sizes. Use this single template to build your cover photo, and it will work everywhere. The trick is to create an image that contains both the full width of the desktop view and the full height of the mobile view.

Your ideal canvas size is 820 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall.

Why these numbers? Because 820 is the *maximum width* (needed for desktop) and 360 is the *maximum height* (needed for mobile).

Finding Your "Mobile-Safe" and "Desktop-Safe" Zones

When you use an 820 x 360 px canvas, here's what happens on each device:

• On Desktop: Facebook will show the full 820px width but will crop a little off the top and bottom, displaying only the middle 312 pixels. This means 24 pixels on the top and 24 pixels on the bottom will be hidden.
• On Mobile: Facebook will show the full 360px height but will crop the sides, displaying only the middle 640 pixels. This means 90 pixels on the left and 90 pixels on the right will be hidden.

This leaves us with the most important area of all: the piece in the very middle that is visible on both devices universally. This is your true safe zone where all critical information - your logo, main headline, call to action, and faces - must be placed.

Your universal safe zone is the central rectangle measuring 640 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall. Everything outside this area is decoration that may or may not be seen.

How to Design a Perfect Cover Photo: A Step-by-Step Guide

Let's put this knowledge into practice using a free tool like Canva, but the principles apply to any design software (like Adobe Photoshop, Figma, or VistaCreate).

Step 1: Create Your Custom Canvas

Don't use a preset Facebook cover photo template. They are often outdated or don't account for the mobile cropping we've just discussed.

1. Open your design tool of choice.
2. Choose to create a design with custom dimensions.
3. Enter 820 px for the width and 360 px for the height.

You now have the perfect canvas that accounts for both desktop width and mobile height.

Step 2: Mark Your Safe Zone (This is the Crucial Part)

Before you add any text or logos, you need to visualize the safe area. Most design tools have rulers and guides you can use for this.

To find the mobile-safe area (center view):

• Your canvas is 820px wide. The mobile view is 640px wide.
• The difference is 180px, meaning 90px is cut off from each side.
• Drag a vertical guide from the ruler and place it at the 90 px mark on the left.
• Drag another vertical guide and place it at the 730 px mark on the right (820 - 90 = 730).

To find the desktop-safe area (top/bottom view):

• Your canvas is 360px tall. The desktop view is 312px tall.
• The difference is 48px, meaning 24px is cut off from the top and bottom.
• Drag a horizontal guide from the ruler and place it at the 24 px mark on the top.
• Drag another horizontal guide and place it at the 336 px mark on the bottom (360 - 24 = 336).

The rectangle in the very middle, defined by these four guides, is your universally safe 640 x 312 px area. Anything important you add to your design should live entirely inside this box.

Step 3: Design with Both Devices in Mind

Now comes the fun part. As you build your design, follow these simple rules:

• Critical content INSIDE the box: Your logo, main text, tagline, call to action, website URL, and people's faces must be inside the safe zone you just marked. This guarantees they won't be awkwardly cropped.
• Background content OUTSIDE the box: The areas on the far left/right and the very top/bottom should still be filled with your background image, color, or texture. Don’t leave them blank! These areas will provide context and a polished look on whichever device displays them. A background photo of an office, a simple brand pattern, or a color gradient works perfectly.

Think of it as a photo shoot. The main subjects are in the center of the frame, but the background still needs to be visually appealing, even if parts of it are out of the shot.

Step 4: Save &, Upload

Once you are happy with the design, save your file. Here are the best practices for file formats:

• For photos or complex graphics with gradients: Save as a JPG file to keep the file size smaller for faster loading.
• For graphics with solid colors, text, or logos: Save as a PNG file. This will give you the sharpest, cleanest text and lines without compression artifacts.
• Try to keep your file size under 100 KB if possible. If you start with a crisp 820 x 360 image, it should look great even after Facebook's compression.

When you upload your image to Facebook, it may ask you to reposition it. Because you designed it perfectly on your 820 x 360 canvas, you shouldn't need to drag it at all. Just click "Save changes".

3 Common Cover Photo Mistakes to Avoid

Even with the right dimensions, a few common design flaws can reduce your cover photo’s impact.

1. Your Profile Picture Covers Important Info

On desktop Pages, your profile picture sits in the lower-left section of the cover photo. On older layouts, it sat right in the middle. Be mindful of this on your current page's layout and avoid placing your main headline or a call to action in a spot where the profile pic might obstruct it, especially when viewed on mobile.

2. Too Much (or Too Small) Text

Your cover photo isn't an instruction manual. It's a billboard. Use a short, powerful headline that communicates your value instantly. Keep the text large, bold, and easy to read with high contrast against the background. Remember that more than half of your audience will see it on a small phone screen - if they have to squint to read it, you've lost them.

3. Forgetting to Optimize for the Call-to-Action (CTA) Button

Your Facebook Page has a big blue button just below the cover photo (e.g., "Shop Now," "Learn More," "Contact Us"). Smart brands use their cover photo to draw attention to it. Consider adding a subtle visual cue, like an icon or an arrow pointing down towards the button, to encourage more clicks. It's prime real estate, so use it as more than just a picture, make it a lead-generation tool.

Final Thoughts

Perfectly formatting your Facebook cover photo comes down to one simple strategy: start with an 820 x 360 pixel canvas and place all your text, logos, and essential graphics within the central 640 x 312 pixel "safe zone." This one move guarantees that nothing important ever gets cut off, no matter where someone sees your Page.

We know from experience that managing visual assets and sizes across every social network is a huge pain. At Postbase, my team and I built a visual calendar specifically to help you plan and see everything at once - so you always know what your brand looks like on every channel. It removes the guesswork and tedious spreadsheet work from managing your brand's presence, letting you schedule all your content for everywhere in just a few clicks.