How to Choose Image Sizes for Every Platform
Choosing image sizes by guessing used to be normal: upload the biggest file you have and hope your theme handles it. In 2026, that approach is expensive. It slows down your website, hurts Core Web Vitals, and wastes bandwidth on mobile. At the same time, going “too small” makes your brand look blurry and unprofessional.
This guide gives a clear, practical framework for picking the right image dimensions for web pages, Shopify stores, WordPress blogs, and social media — so your visuals stay sharp without killing performance.
1. Core principles of choosing image sizes
Before looking at specific platforms, keep three rules in mind:
- Match the display size. Do not upload 4000px images for sections that never display above 1400px.
- Respect pixel density. Retina screens (2×) look sharper when you provide assets up to ~2× the CSS size.
- Compress and convert. After sizing, always compress and convert to WebP/AVIF where possible.
2. Image sizes for general websites
For a standard marketing site or web app:
- Full-width hero images: 1600–1920px wide
- Content images inside articles: 1000–1200px wide
- Grid or card thumbnails: 400–600px wide
- Logos / small icons: 150–400px wide (SVG when possible)
If your layout never stretches beyond 1200px, you can safely cap hero images around 1600px.
3. Shopify image sizes (product + theme)
Shopify themes are responsive, but good starting points are:
- Main product image: 1600px on the longest side
- Zoomed / gallery images: 1600–2000px
- Collection thumbnails: 600–800px
- Homepage hero banners: 1800–2200px wide
Upload clean, well-lit images at these sizes and let Shopify’s CDN serve scaled-down versions for mobile. Avoid uploading 5000px+ originals — they slow down the first request and consume unnecessary storage.
4. WordPress blog & landing page image sizes
For WordPress, think in terms of your theme’s content width:
- Featured / hero image: 1300–1600px wide
- In-content screenshot or diagram: 1000–1200px wide
- Sidebar thumbnails: 300–400px
- Author avatars or small logos: 150–300px
Most modern themes have a content width between 700 and 900px. Export 1.5–2× that width for crispness on high-density screens, then compress to WebP.
5. Social media image sizes (2026 fundamentals)
Exact specs change often, but these baselines work across major platforms:
- Facebook / LinkedIn share images: 1200 × 630 (16:9)
- Twitter / X large card: 1200 × 675
- Instagram feed: 1080 × 1080 (square) or 1080 × 1350 (portrait)
- Stories / Reels: 1080 × 1920 (9:16)
- Pinterest pins: 1000 × 1500 (2:3)
When you publish a blog post, create at least one 16:9 image around 1200–1600px wide so it looks clean in social previews and Google Discover.
6. Handling retina and high-DPI screens
You don’t always need separate “@2x” images for everything. A simple approach:
- Export at ~1.5–2× the CSS width for key visuals (hero images, product photos).
- Use responsive attributes like
srcsetso the browser can choose the appropriate version. - Still compress aggressively — extra pixels don’t need to mean bloated file sizes.
7. Workflow: from design to final image
A repeatable workflow saves countless hours:
- Design or collect the original image at high resolution.
- Decide where the image will be used (hero, thumbnail, product, social share).
- Resize to platform-appropriate dimensions.
- Convert to WebP and compress using tools like ImagePulser or ImageDocker.
- Upload and test on desktop + mobile.
8. Common mistakes when choosing image sizes
- Using one huge image for multiple roles (hero, thumbnail, card).
- Uploading phone camera originals (4000–6000px) directly.
- Exporting everything as PNG, even photos.
- Ignoring social share dimensions, leading to cropped or awkward previews.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the right image size is less about perfection and more about smart constraints. By aligning dimensions with real display sizes on web, Shopify, WordPress and social platforms, you keep your brand sharp and your pages fast. Combine this with modern formats and compression, and every image works harder without slowing your users down.
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