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How-to

Design the perfect Twitter cover photo with Stencil in under 30 seconds!

Quickly make a custom Twitter header cover with our easy-to-use online graphic design tool. No design skills necessary.

Create Twitter Cover Photos
Twitter Cover Photo}

Creating a Perfect Twitter Banner

With over 321 million active users per month, Twitter is one of the most popular social media platforms that’s well worth building a presence on. If you want to get more engagement, leads and customers from Twitter, having a well-optimized profile is key. However, optimizing some parts of your profile, like your Twitter banner, might be tricky: even if you’re using the recommended Twitter header dimensions, you might notice that parts of your image are sometimes being cropped. If you have been struggling to create a Twitter banner for your business page, you’re not alone! In this article, we’ll show you how to get it just right.

Twitter Header Size

Twitter’s recommended dimensions for header images are 1500px x 500px. Twitter supports JPEG, GIF, and PNG file formats. However, even if you follow these guidelines, you may still find that your images don’t look right. Why? Because Twitter crops the top and bottom of your photo after you upload it. Here’s what it looks like:

Twitter Header Safe Area

To prevent any important element from being cut off, be sure to leave enough empty space at the top and bottom of your header photo.

You also need to ensure your profile photo isn’t interfering with your header. The tricky part is that the position of your profile picture in relation to the cover photo shifts depending on the screen size. This is why we recommend avoiding having any critical elements in the bottom left corner of your Twitter banner.

If figuring out that perfect Twitter header size sounds like too much work, we got you! With Stencil’s new feature, you can now turn on/off overlays on the canvas that show you exactly where it’s safe to put graphics in your header images to ensure they won’t be affected by your profile photo or different screen resolutions. This feature is also available for free plans, so you can start designing your Twitter header now!

Creating Twitter Headers: Best Practices in 2024

Choose an Image that Reflects Your Brand

Your Twitter header can be another way to connect with your customers, so make sure it’s consistent with your company’s messaging. When your banner reminds users of your brand, showcases your products or highlights your company values, it will have the most impact.

Twitter Header Amazon Example

Use High-Quality Images

Your header image is like a giant billboard, so make sure you always use a high-resolution image as your cover. Twitter also compresses images, which can affect image quality. Using a high-resolution image will help you to achieve a higher-quality look despite any resizing or compression that might take place.

With Stencil, you can choose from over 5,000,000 stunning royalty-free photos to create amazing designs.

Update Your Twitter Header Regularly

Have an event coming up? Use your Twitter header to let your followers know! Your Twitter Header is a great place to promote your current events or #hashtag campaigns.

Twitter Header Adidas Example

Showcase Your Products

Your Twitter header image is a valuable piece of advertising real estate, so why not use it to promote your current offerings or support product launches.

Twitter Header Samsung Example

Promote the Lifestyle

Give your customers something to relate to by showcasing the type of lifestyle that your brand encompasses.

Twitter Header AirBnB Example

Join over 395,000 others and create your first Twitter header image in under 2 minutes (No designer required!)

Create your first image

Creating Twitter Headers with Stencil Is Fast and Easy

Optimizing your Twitter header isn’t always easy. Here are just a few ways Stencil can help create that perfect Twitter for your business in minutes:

No more hunting for the correct image sizes. Use our Twitter Header Image preset size and save tons of time.
Our "Safe Area" overlay shows you exactly where to safely place graphics so that they appear properly on all devices.
Upload your own backgrounds or choose from millions of amazing stock photos.
Easily add your logo to your Twitter banner and download in high-resolution PNG, JPG or GIF.
Pick from 6,550+ Google Web fonts that are safe to use in any of your cover images.

Here Are Some Examples of Twitter Headers You Can Create With Stencil

How to Create a Professional Twitter Header in 4 Easy Steps

In less than 2 minutes, you'll have a beautiful Twitter Cover that will look amazing on all devices. Here's how to do it in Stencil:

1

Open Stencil and choose the Twitter Header canvas size.

First thing you'll want to do is select "Twitter Header" from the Stencil canvas resizer. You can also start by using one of our Twitter Header templates, found in the Templates section.

2

Choose a background photo or upload your own

Choose from over 5,000,000 photos for the main image in your cover or upload your own to the Uploads section. Use our "Safe Area" guide to see where parts of the image will appear on all devices.

3

Add your logo and any display text you want to include

Make sure to keep your text either centered or more to the right so your Twitter profile image doesn't overlap.

4

You're done!

It's that easy. Now all you need to do is download your image and upload it to your Twitter account.

How to Upload Your Twitter Header

Now that you’ve created an amazing Twitter header, all you have to do is upload it to your Twitter page. Here’s how:

  1. Log on to Twitter and go to your Twitter profile page. Then, click on the “edit profile” button.
  2. Click on “Change your header photo.”
  3. Upload the header photo you just created.
  4. Click the “save changes” button.
  5. Enjoy your new Twitter header!

Frequently Asked Questions

You can use Stencil by visiting our in-page app or can you install the Chrome Extension, Firefox Add-on or WordPress Plugin. With our browser addons, you can highlight text anywhere or right-click images on the web to create amazing visuals on-the-go!

Absolutely! All of the photos and icons in Stencil are royalty-free and safe to use! They are sourced from trusted providers and can be used personally or commercially, with no attribution required. Some examples include social media graphics, blog/website images, ads, posters, t-shirts, eBooks...or practically anything. For more detailed information on usage, learn more.

Of course! We offer dozens of preset canvas sizes, 1,350+ templates and many other ways to create images for almost any medium.

Pick a plan that makes the most sense for you and sign up! We offer a 7-day money back guarantee on all plans, so there's no risk at all to give Stencil a try.

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