The short version
- The most common printed invitation is 5 × 7 inches, which is 1500 × 2100 pixels at 300 dpi.
- A digital invitation for stories and WhatsApp status is 1080 × 1920 pixels, a taller 9:16 frame.
- A clear invitation answers who is hosting, what the occasion is, when, where and how to reply, in that order.
- Printed and digital invitations look like a set when they share the same background, typeface and wording, rearranged for each shape rather than cropped.
- Script fonts suit names and headings on an invitation, but the date, address and reply details should be set in a plain, readable face.
On this page
Good invitation design starts with a 5 × 7 inch card, 1500 × 2100 pixels at 300 dpi, and a clear order: who is hosting, what the occasion is, when, where and how to reply. Choose one background and one or two typefaces, then build the digital version from the same parts in a 1080 × 1920 frame for stories and messages. Guests should recognise the phone version and the card on the mantelpiece as the same invitation.
Invitation sizes for print and screens
Size
Pixels
Use
Pixels
Use
Size
Pixels
Use
Size
Pixels
Use
Size
Pixels
Use
5 × 7 card
1500 × 2100
Story 1080×1920
1080 × 1920
Square post 1080×1080
1080 × 1080
What to write and where to put it
Invitations have a traditional order because it answers questions in the order guests ask them. Keep to it and the card will read naturally, even with decorative type.
- 1
The host
"Together with their families" or "Priya invites you". Small, at the top.
- 2
The occasion or the names
The largest words on the card: the couple, the birthday person, the event's name.
- 3
When
Day, date and time, written out in full for formal events: "Saturday 12 June at three o'clock".
- 4
Where
Venue name, then the address. Add a map link or QR code on the digital version.
- 5
How to reply
"Kindly reply by 1 May" with a phone, email or link. The smallest text, but never too small to read.
A 5 × 7 birthday invitation: occasion first and largest, then the when and where on one quiet line.
Matching printed and digital invitations
A printed card and a phone screen can't share one layout, but they can share everything else: the background, the typeface, the colours and the words. Rebuild the design for the tall frame instead of shrinking the card into it. On a story, move the details lower and keep roughly the top and bottom 250 pixels free of words, where the app's profile bar and reply field sit; our guide to the Instagram Story size shows the safe zones.
The printed save the date at 5 × 7 inches.
The same invitation rebuilt at 1080 × 1920 for WhatsApp and stories.
Gradiently helps here. A Mark is rendered fresh at each size rather than cropped, so the light lands in a sensible place on the card and the story alike, and the Designer can lay out the invitation and make the other sizes from it. Auto ink keeps the names and date readable on every line, whichever part of the background sits behind them.
Colour and type for different occasions
Avoid
- Script type for the address and reply details
- Three decorative fonts on one card
- Pale grey text on a pale background
- Words close to the trim edge
Do
- Script for the names, a plain face for details
- One decorative face and one quiet one
- Strong contrast for the date and time
- A generous margin all round
For type ideas, elegant fonts and script fonts both list faces that suit invitations. If the event is a wedding, wedding invitation design covers the etiquette in more detail.
Sending a digital invitation
Messaging apps compress images, and soft gradients and fine type suffer most. Export the digital invitation as a PNG at the full 1080 × 1920 rather than a small JPEG, and check it on your own phone before sending it to everyone. If the app offers to send it in high quality or as a file, take that option.
A digital invite can do things a card can't. Put the reply link or a QR code where a thumb can reach it, add the venue's map link in the message itself rather than in the image, and send a short reminder a week before with the same picture so guests recognise it instantly. A gently moving background, exported as a short loop, makes a story invitation feel special without filming anything; animated social posts shows how to keep the words still while the colour moves.
Printing your invitations
- Add bleed if the background runs to the edge; print bleed and safe margins explains how much.
- Proofread names, dates and the reply deadline twice, then ask someone else.
- Order one printed proof to check colour, especially on textured or uncoated card.
- Send a print PDF with crop marks; Gradiently Pro exports one with bleed included.
Questions people ask
What size is a standard invitation?
5 × 7 inches is the most common, which is 1500 × 2100 pixels at 300 dpi. It fits an A7 envelope.
What size should a digital invitation be?
1080 × 1920 pixels suits WhatsApp status, Instagram and Facebook stories. For sending in a chat, the same size reads well full screen.
What order does invitation wording go in?
Host, occasion or names, date and time, venue and address, then how and when to reply.
Can I use the same design for printed and digital invitations?
Yes, if you keep the background, type and words and rearrange the layout for each shape rather than cropping one into the other.
What font is best for invitations?
A script or elegant serif for names and headings, paired with a simple serif or sans serif for the details so the date and address are easy to read.
Written by Gradiently
The team behind Gradiently, a design tool built around Marks: living gradients that make everything you design look like yours.
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