It is amazing how fast people can judge you with something as small as an avatar. Well, we can’t blame them, as it is the most direct way for others to get an inkling of who you are and what you are about. It will only take an instant for visitors to your network to paint their own picture of you.
After all, it is the first impression that attracts a life long attention. That is why it is so important to get an avatar that fits!
Dimensions for Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn
For Facebook, all images that do not exceed 4mb are fine. Facebook automatically resizes the uploaded image to fit your profile page, allowing you to view the full picture in a smaller scale. Your Facebook avatar is a 50 x 50 pixel dimension extraction from the center of your profile image.
It is important to upload an image that makes sense when it converts into an avatar. Often, you would find problems with longitudinal images, like the one below.
Recommendation
Upload a rectangular image where its focal point lies in the centre. The bottom line is to ensure that the avatar makes sense and does not look untidily cropped.
Apart from its 700kb maximum file size, Twitter’s avatar system is similar to Facebook’s. It captures a 48 x 48 pixel avatar from the middle of the uploaded image.
Recommendation
Since Twitter does not normally show profile image that is larger than 48 x 48 pixel, it is only sensible to upload a picture exactly of that dimension.
LinkedIn’s maximum avatar file size is capped at 4mb and it allows you to crop an area of 80 x 80 pixel.
Recommendation
Unlike the other social media platforms, LinkedIn’s avatar system is pretty user friendly. Simply upload an image and cropped it using its internal tool. Alternatively, the foolproof method would be to upload an exact 80 x 80 pixel image.
Too complicated? Find out how you can escape all these without having to use Photoshop.
