Facebook event photo size: a simple guide

If you’re planning to bring people together, you know that planning starts with an invite. And Facebook makes it easy to create an event, share the details, and get an idea of who’ll be attending (and who, regrettably, can’t make it,) all from a digital platform. A memorable Facebook event photo keeps your event top of mind and helps it stand out from the mindless scrolling of social media. 

Luckily, there are plenty of tools and tips to help you create an effective, on-brand Facebook event photo. Let’s start from the top.

Facebook event photo dimensions

The first tip for creating a well-designed Facebook event photo is to make sure it’s the right size and dimensions. If your image doesn’t meet the right specs, Facebook will stretch or crop it to fit the requirements—leaving your guests with a more doom-scrollable photo

The latest specifications for the main Facebook event photo are:

• 1920 x 1005 pixels—this 16:9 ratio is the standard size for best quality across all screen sizes

Even if you decide to stray from the suggested pixel dimensions, stick to the 16:9 ratio so your image displays correctly across all devices. 

But marketers know it’s rarely as simply grabbing an asset that meets the minimum requirements and adding it to your content. Let’s figure out what makes a good Facebook event photo and how to make one.

What makes a good Facebook event photo?

Sometimes it’s helpful to start with what qualities make a bad example. Your Facebook event photo shouldn't be

• Blurry. Your image should be properly sized and work across all screen sizes

• Generic stock images. There are exceptions, like these beautiful free stock photos sites. 

• Unrelated to your brand. Who are you anyway?

• Filled with too much text. Facebook prefers ads and event photos with minimal text. As a rule of thumb, less than 20% of the image should contain text.

Also, Facebook says you shouldn’t include contact information like a URL, email address, or phone number in the event image.

Now let’s look at what makes a good Facebook event header:

• Unique, eye-catching image. Attract the attention of people who may not even be aware of your company.

• Supports your brand. Use images with similar color schemes, fonts, and your logo. It should be recognizable as you.

• Event details. Add the date, time, venue, and any special guests.

• Clarity. Help Facebook users instantly understand what the event is about.

Have a recurring event? Make a template image that you can easily edit with updated details of the next event. If you’re going it alone without a design team, Canva can be your sidekick in content creation. Canva makes it easy to craft a single Facebook event image or create a template to use over and over again.

How to add a Facebook event header

Now that you’ve got an image, it’s time to add it to your event. If you’re not already an admin to the event on Facebook, you’ll need to ask someone who is to make you an event host.

Then follow these simple steps:

• Click “Add Event Photo” at the top right of the event page

• Choose your photo and reposition it if necessary

• Click “Save Changes”

You can’t edit the size of your uploaded photo. But you can reposition the picture if it doesn’t exactly meet the specs.

Want to step it up a notch? Use a video in the banner for your Facebook event. Facebook recommends videos between 30 seconds and 5 minutes.

Don’t forget: You can also add photos and videos to the event page itself. Let your guests add them for that crowdsourced, community feeling by adding them as co-hosts.

Where will the event photo show up?

Once you’ve added it, there are four main places where the event banner will show up for Facebook users and invitees. These are:

• The Facebook Newsfeed. On desktop this displays as 470 x 174 pixels and on mobile as 560 x 208 pixels.

• Main event page. Right there at the top.

• Upcoming events. The image will be displayed as a thumbnail.

• Suggested Events. If your event is public, it’ll appear to other Facebook users as a thumbnail.

So choose a high-quality photo that'll look amazing at different resolutions and sizes—on both desktop and mobile.

Summing up: event photo size does matter

If you plan to use Facebook events as a key part of your social media marketing strategy, then you need a photo that hooks your audience immediately, clearly communicates your brand, and sells an honest expectation of the event you’re throwing.

Get it right, and you’ve taken your first small step towards a successful event.