Image Sizes for Every Platform: Social Media, Email and Websites

Most platforms work best with a small set of shapes: 9:16 for full-screen vertical content, 4:5 for portrait feed posts, 16:9 for video and wide images, and 1.91:1 for link previews. Pick the shape first, then the pixel size. The table below lists both for each placement, and the Image Resizer will set the exact dimensions in your browser.

The cheat sheet

Sizes are the recommended upload dimensions in pixels. Where a platform accepts several shapes, the first one listed is the safest default.

Platforms change their layouts often. We check these figures against each platform's help pages and major social media guides; see Sources. If a platform's own upload screen shows a different size, follow the platform.

Why the ratio matters more than the pixels

A platform will scale almost any image up or down to fit, but it cannot change its shape without cropping. Upload a square photo where a 9:16 story is expected and you get bars above and below, or a zoomed-in crop that cuts off faces. Upload the right shape at a slightly lower resolution and it usually looks fine.

So work in two steps: crop to the ratio, then resize to the pixel size. Doing it the other way round wastes pixels, because you shrink the whole photo and then throw part of it away.

Worked example: one iPhone photo, three platforms

A typical iPhone photo is 4032 × 3024 pixels, a 4:3 landscape shape. Here is how it becomes three different posts.

1. Instagram portrait post (1080 × 1350, 4:5)

The target is taller than the photo, so the limiting side is the height. Scale the photo until its height is 1350: the width becomes 4032 × 1350 ÷ 3024 = 1800 px. Then crop the width from 1800 to 1080, keeping the centre 60% of the frame. Frame your subject in the middle when you shoot and nothing important is lost.

2. YouTube thumbnail (1920 × 1080, 16:9)

Now the target is wider than the photo, so the limiting side is the width. Scale to a width of 1920: the height becomes 3024 × 1920 ÷ 4032 = 1440 px. Crop 1440 down to 1080 by trimming 180 px from the top and bottom. YouTube recommends uploading at 3840 × 2160, but that needs a source at least that large; from this photo, 1920 × 1080 keeps full quality while staying well above the 640 px minimum.

3. Email banner (1200 × 400, 3:1)

Scale to 1200 wide (height 900), then crop to a 400 px strip. In the email's HTML, set the image width to 600. It will display at 600 px but stay sharp on high-density phone and laptop screens, which draw two image pixels for every layout pixel.

In each case the crop happens in your phone's photo editor or any image editor, and the final exact size is set with the Image Resizer with Keep aspect ratio turned on. If you enter a width and the height it calculates is not the one you expected, the crop ratio is off.

Keep text inside the safe zone

Many placements cover part of your image with interface elements, so the edges are not a safe place for text or logos.

• Stories, Reels and TikTok (9:16): the top shows your name and buttons, the bottom shows captions and reply bars. Keep key content in the middle of the frame, roughly the central 1080 × 1350 area.
• X and LinkedIn headers: your profile photo overlaps the lower-left area, and phones trim the sides. Put text near the centre.
• Instagram profile grid: the grid shows a 3:4 preview, so the top and bottom of a 4:5 post are slightly trimmed there.
• YouTube thumbnails: the video length is shown in the bottom-right corner.

Mistakes that make images look bad

• Upscaling a small image. Stretching a 600 px image to 1920 px adds no detail; it only makes the blur bigger. Start from the original file, not a screenshot or a downloaded copy.
• Turning off the aspect ratio lock. Typing both width and height without cropping first squashes or stretches faces and logos.
• Uploading huge files. Platforms recompress everything. A 12-megapixel photo sent to Instagram is reduced to about 1.5 megapixels anyway (1080 × 1350 has 88% fewer pixels), so resizing first gives you control over how it looks.
• Using the wrong format. JPG suits photos, PNG suits logos and screenshots with sharp text. For websites, WebP is usually smaller at the same quality; see the JPG to WebP converter.
• Sending iPhone HEIC files. Some forms and older apps reject them. Convert with the HEIC to JPG converter before resizing.

Sizes for your own website

Three images matter most on a site you run. The Open Graph image (1200 × 630) is what appears when someone shares your link on Facebook, LinkedIn, X or a messaging app. Images inside articles should be at least 1200 px wide so they stay sharp on large screens and qualify for large previews in Google features such as Discover. A full-width hero at 1920 px covers most desktop screens; serve it as WebP to keep the page fast.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best all-round size if I post the same image everywhere?

1080 × 1350 (4:5). Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and X all show it in the feed without cropping. Make a separate 9:16 version for Stories and a 1.91:1 version for link previews.

Why does my image look blurry after uploading?

Usually because it was smaller than the display size and the platform scaled it up, or because it was a heavily compressed copy. Upload at the recommended size from the original photo.

Does DPI matter for screens?

No. Screens only use pixel dimensions. A 1080 × 1350 image looks the same at 72 DPI or 300 DPI; DPI only matters when printing.

Can I resize without uploading my photo anywhere?

Yes. Utivaro's Image Resizer processes the image in your browser, so the file never leaves your device.

Related tools

• Image Resizer: set exact width and height
• JPG to WebP: smaller images for websites
• HEIC to JPG: make iPhone photos compatible
• How to Reduce a Photo to Under 100 KB: get photos small enough for upload forms

Sources

• YouTube Help: Add custom thumbnails
• Hootsuite: Social media image sizes
• Buffer: Social media image sizes
• Linearity: Instagram size guide
• Email on Acid: Images in email