# Facebook ad design: creative that earns the scroll stop [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/facebook-ad-design) A Facebook ad gets the same half second as everything around it. The image has to be recognisably yours, say one thing, and leave the selling to the words Meta prints above and below it. ## The short version - Good Facebook ad design puts one message in the image, in a few words, and leaves detail to the ad's primary text and headline. - Square 1200×1200 or portrait 1080×1350 images suit the Facebook feed, and 1080×1920 suits stories and Reels. - Meta no longer rejects image ads for the amount of text they contain, but short text in the image is still easier to read in a scrolling feed. - Ads that share a consistent background, colour and type with a brand's organic posts are easier to recognise before the logo is read. - Each placement should get its own version of the design rather than a crop of one image. Good **Facebook ad design** comes down to four things: one message in the image, said in a few words; a look people recognise as yours before they read the logo; a clear layout that does not fight the headline Meta prints under it; and a version made for each placement, so the feed gets a square or portrait image and stories get a full vertical one. The rest is testing, which is covered in [ad creative testing](https://gradiently.design/guide/ad-creative-testing). ## Facebook ad sizes by placement Meta's tools can crop one image into every placement, but the results are rarely what you would choose. Design these three versions and you cover nearly every place an image ad appears. | Placement | Size | Ratio | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Feed, square | 1200×1200 px | 1:1 | The safe default, works almost everywhere | | Feed, portrait | 1080×1350 px | 4:5 | Takes more of the screen on phones | | Stories and Reels | 1080×1920 px | 9:16 | Keep words out of roughly the top and bottom 250 px | | Link ads | 1200×630 px | About 1.91:1 | Wide image above a link headline | Facebook's [post size](https://gradiently.design/guide/facebook-post-size) and [story size](https://gradiently.design/guide/facebook-story-size) are the same frames ads use. - Feed square 1200×1200: 1200 × 1200 - Feed portrait 1080×1350: 1080 × 1350 - Stories and Reels 1080×1920: 1080 × 1920 The three shapes, to scale. A design laid out for the square needs rearranging, not stretching, for the other two. ## What goes in the image and what goes in the copy A feed ad is more than its image. Meta shows your page name and primary text above it, and a headline and button below. The image should not repeat those words; it should do what words beside it cannot, which is stop the scroll and make the offer feel real. ### In the image - The one idea, in up to about eight words - The product, the result, or the feeling - Your recognisable background and colours - A small logo, if the brand is not obvious ### In the ad copy - Primary text: the reason to care, a line or two - Headline: the offer or outcome, plainly - Button: Shop now, Book now, Learn more - Details, terms and dates A portrait Facebook feed ad announcing The winter blend is back, with Small batch above it Feed version: one line, one detail, the background doing the recognition. The same coffee ad as a vertical 1080 by 1920 story, with the words centred in the frame The stories version of the same ad, rebuilt with the words in the middle band. ## How much text a Facebook ad image should have Meta used to limit text to a fifth of the image and dropped that rule in 2020. Its guidance still favours images with little text, and so does common sense: an ad is read in motion, on a phone, beside a headline that already exists. Aim for a single short line and, at most, one smaller detail. > **Short is a design choice** If your message needs three sentences, it belongs in the primary text. The image line is the headline of the headline. [Text layout for social media posts](https://gradiently.design/guide/text-hierarchy-social) shows how to rank what remains. Whatever text there is must read on every part of the background. A gradient or photo that is light in one corner and dark in another can swallow a word that sits across the boundary. Keep a calm, even area behind the line, and check contrast at phone size. ## Making ads recognisable as yours People scroll past ads they think they have already judged. An ad that looks like your organic posts borrows the trust those posts earned; one that looks like a stock template borrows nothing. The quickest route to recognition is a consistent background and colour, used everywhere. [Distinctive brand assets](https://gradiently.design/guide/distinctive-brand-assets) explains why a look can work harder than a logo. - Roast ground: #1a120b - Cocoa: #5c3d2e - Copper light: #b5651d - Crema: #e8c39e - Paper ink: #f4ede4 A coffee roaster's ad palette, the same one used on its posts and packaging. Recognition comes from repetition, not novelty. - Use the same background family on every ad, varying the message and the product rather than the look. - Keep the logo small and in the same corner each time; the background does the heavy lifting. - Use your real fonts, not whichever font the ad tool suggests. - Show the real product or a real outcome where you can; people trust what looks like the thing they will receive. ## Producing a set of Facebook ads 1. **Write three messages** Three different reasons someone might buy: the product, the result, the occasion. Each becomes one ad. 2. **Design the portrait feed version first** 1080×1350 gives the most room on phones and forces you to keep the message short. 3. **Make the square and vertical versions** Lay out each message again at 1200×1200 and 1080×1920 rather than cropping, so words never sit under the interface. 4. **Write copy that complements the image** Primary text adds the why; the headline names the offer. Neither repeats the image line word for word. 5. **Preview in every placement** Meta's ads manager shows each placement. Look at all of them on a phone before you publish. Gradiently makes the size step quick: design the ad once, then with Pro resize it to every placement in one go, and the Mark renders fresh at each shape with its calm area moving behind the words. You can also ask the Designer for three messages in your brand kit's voice and have them laid out in your Mark. The same set adapts to [Instagram ad design](https://gradiently.design/guide/instagram-ad-design), since both run through Meta's ads manager. ## FAQ ### What size should a Facebook ad image be? Use 1080×1350 for portrait feed ads or 1200×1200 for square, and 1080×1920 for stories and Reels placements. ### Does Facebook still have the 20 percent text rule? No. Meta dropped the rule in 2020, but it still recommends keeping text in ad images short, and short text reads better in a feed. ### Should a Facebook ad image repeat the headline? No. Meta prints the headline below the image, so use the image for a short line that stops the scroll and let the headline name the offer. ### How do I make Facebook ads look like my brand? Use the same background, colours and fonts as your organic posts on every ad, and keep a small logo in a consistent corner. ### Can I use one image for every Facebook ad placement? Meta can crop one image automatically, but making a version for the feed and one for stories gives you control over where the words sit.