Cover photo ideas for Facebook, LinkedIn and X

The best cover photo ideas say one thing at a glance: what you do, what's coming up, or simply what your brand looks like. A short line on your brand colour, a calm gradient, a wide photo of your workplace or a single upcoming date all work well. Design at the platform's own size (Facebook 1640×624, LinkedIn 1584×396, X 1500×500), keep words clear of the lower left and bottom edge where the profile photo sits, and change the cover whenever there is news.

Cover photo sizes for each platform

Each platform has its own shape, and all of them are very wide. Making one image and letting each platform crop it is how logos lose their edges. Design each at its own size.

Each has its own crop and safe area, covered in the size guides: Facebook cover size, LinkedIn banner size and X header size.

Cover photo ideas for personal profiles

For a personal Facebook or LinkedIn profile, the cover is context. It tells a visitor something your photo can't: what you do, what you care about, or simply that you have taste.

1. One line about your work. "I help small charities raise more online." Set on a calm colour, right of centre.
2. A colour you are known for. A single soft gradient in your colour, no words. Quiet and recognisable.
3. Your desk or tools. A wide, uncluttered photo of where you work, with space on the right.
4. A place that matters. A landscape from home, cropped wide, with the horizon low.
5. Your current project. The book, course or product you're working on, with its name.
6. Speaking or teaching. A photo of you on stage or at a whiteboard, if it's real and recent.

LinkedIn deserves its own thought because recruiters and clients look at it. LinkedIn background ideas has more concepts written for that audience.

Cover photo ideas for business pages

A business cover is a shop window. Treat it as something you change through the year, not something you set once and forget.

1. What you do and where. "Wood fired pizza, Leith." Six words that answer the first question.
2. Opening hours. Set large and clear. The most useful cover a local business can have.
3. The next event or launch. Date, name and one line, replaced when it's over.
4. Seasonal colour. The same layout in a new palette each season, so the page looks cared for.
5. Your team. A real group photo, cropped wide, faces in the centre band.
6. Product in use. Your product in someone's hands or home, not on a white void.
7. A promise. Your offer in one line: "Same day repairs", "Free local delivery".
8. Hiring. "We're hiring baristas" with how to apply, while the role is open.

Company pages on LinkedIn have their own, even thinner cover; see LinkedIn company cover size before you design for it.

Cover photo ideas for creators

1. Posting schedule. "New videos every Thursday." Sets expectations and brings people back.
2. Your look, wide. The same background and type you use on posts, stretched into a panorama.
3. Latest release. Album, episode or newsletter issue, with its title and where to find it.
4. Featured in. Places you've been published or played, as plain text rather than logos.
5. A quote from your work. One line from your writing or a lyric, set beautifully.
6. Nothing but colour. A calm gradient that matches your profile photo's background.

How to make a cover photo in ten minutes

1. 1

   Pick one idea from the lists

   Write the words first, if there are any. Six words or fewer suits every cover shape.

2. 2

   Start at the exact size

   Open a canvas at the platform's size, not a square you will crop later.

3. 3

   Lay down the background

   Your brand colour, a gradient or a wide photo. Darker or calmer on the left, where the profile photo will sit.

4. 4

   Set the words right of centre

   Large enough to read on a phone, with generous space above and below.

5. 5

   Upload and check on a phone

   View your own profile on a phone and a computer. If anything is clipped or hidden, move it towards the centre.

What makes a cover photo work

The most professional profiles share one look across every platform: the same colours and type on the Facebook cover, the LinkedIn banner and the X header. In Gradiently, you design once and resize to every cover size in one step (a Pro feature; choosing one new size is free), and the background keeps your words readable wherever each crop lands. The full list of formats is in social media image sizes.