In this article, I'm going to give you step-by-step instructions on how to create a kick-ass LinkedIn background photo for free and in less than 5-minutes.
If you're reading this article, I'm sure you already have a LinkedIn profile. But, before we jump into creating your LinkedIn background photo, let's quickly talk about why LinkedIn is important to you.
The Challenge: It’s Hard to Stand Out on LinkedIn
Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn is polished.
The platform is full of intelligent, educated, and highly successful people.
4.5 of 10 users are in upper management
7 of 10 users make above $50,000
5 of 10 users have at least a college degree or more
LinkedIn users are writing, posting, and engaging in deep business and technical conversations.
For the average user, it's hard to stand out.
But you're not average. You see the opportunity.
When everyone is wearing the "traditional" blue shirt, grey pants, and brown shoes…
You're going to slide in there with some color, some pizazz...
...followed by your keen ability to cut through the crap and give your audience the exact content they're looking for.
The Opportunities on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is growing.
There are over 600 million users across 200 countries.
The fastest-growing demographic is 46 million students and recent college graduates.
You can use the platform to build your brand, develop new skills, market your business, and generate leads.
That means LinkedIn provides a massive opportunity for you to take control of your destiny by standing out in front of a professional audience.
Using a LinkedIn Banner to Stand Out
Your profile picture and LinkedIn background photo are the first things people see when they visit your profile.
That means having a custom background for LinkedIn gives you the perfect opportunity to market your business, stand out from the crowd, and build your personal brand.
Your LinkedIn profile picture should be more professional. A good headshot.
But your banner, your LinkedIn background photo, can show off your personality, point people to a specific message, or act as a way of marketing you or your company.
And because size matters, the banner size for LinkedIn is 1584 wide by 396 high (pixels) or a 4:1 aspect ratio.
By the way, if you might hear or read LinkedIn banner, LinkedIn background image, or LinkedIn cover or LinkedIn background photo...They all mean the same thing.
How to Create a LinkedIn Background Photo in Less Than 5-Minutes
Let's jump into how to make professional backgrounds for LinkedIn for free.
Step 1: Click here to head over to www.canva.com and log in
Once you log in, you'll reach the home page of Canva, which can be a little confusing if you haven't used it before.
But, don't worry, when you follow the steps below, you'll create a spectacular LinkedIn background photo.
Step 2: Search for "LinkedIn Banner"
Go to the search function in the top center of the screen. Type in the search, "LinkedIn banner."
Click the button to go to the next screen.
Step 3: Narrow Down to Free LinkedIn Banners
Now we've pulled up all the LinkedIn banner templates that Canva offers. You can see on the right-hand side that Canva has 140 templates.
But this includes free and paid banner templates. I have Canva Pro, but right now, I'm logged into a free account to show you the real experience you'll find when using a free account.
To get the free banner templates, go to the drop-down on the left-hand side. Click the free checkbox.
You can see that there are 97 free templates for you to choose to make your LinkedIn background photo.
Scroll through them a little.
Step 4: Select a LinkedIn Banner Template
Scroll through the free LinkedIn banner templates. Find the template that's best for you and represents your personal brand. I selected one for this example. Once you click, it will take a little time to pull up the template.
Step 5: Get Oriented with the Customizable Options of the Template
Move around the LinkedIn Banner template to see what you can customize. For the example banner below look at the highlighted areas.
For the text, there's a quote that we can change. It looks like some sort of award this person won. We're going to change that too.
Then, you have the stock photo and what Canva calls elements.
Elements are the different building blocks, like squares, triangles, circles, and other things that Cana allows you to customize on this particular template.
Step 6: Customize the Text
The first thing you can do is replace the quote with your own quote or life mantra. So, the way you do that is to click into the text.
Then, type your new text into the box. Next, replace the award text with my name and job title.
Again, you just click into the text and type what you want.
Step 7: Customize the Colors
Now you're going to change the color of the blocks to match your brand colors.
First, go over to the block. Hover over it, and you'll see a highlight. Left-click into the block.
You'll see on the top left of the screen is kind of this colored square. Click on that and then select a color to change the block. Then, repeat those steps for each block you want to change.
Step 8: Personalize the Picture
For this step, you're going to change the Canva provided stock photo with your customized LinkedIn background photo. So go to the left-hand side of the screen and click uploads. Then, upload media.
Under the upload section, you can select the location you want to upload your picture from.
Canva has options for uploading from your computer (device), Facebook, Google Drive, Instagram, or Dropbox. Select the location, find your picture, and click upload.
Once the picture is uploaded, left click and hold, slide the picture over until it replaces the LinkedIn template picture. Let go of your left click, and you are done.
Wow! Look at your bright, professional, and customized background for LinkedIn!
Step 9: Download Your LinkedIn Background Photo
We're almost done! Now you're ready to download your new LinkedIn background photo.
Look on the top right-hand side. See that download button, click it.
Select the png option. Last, hit that download button at the bottom again. Save the file to the location of your choice.
Step 10: Upload Your New Background Photo to LinkedIn
Sign in to LinkedIn. Go to your profile. Look at your background photo and find a circle with a pencil-looking icon. Click that icon.
Scroll down, and you'll see a button to "change photo." Click that button.
Next, click the upload photo button.Make a few adjustments and finally click save.
Boom!
Hell yes! You are done.
You just created a sweet Background for LinkedIn, all for the low cost of free. You can't compete with free!
I have no doubt this article showed you how easy it is to update and customize your LinkedIn background photo.
Below I'll leave links to a few other sites with free images you can use for your LinkedIn background photo.
Do me a quick favor. If you liked this article, please share it on your social media. You'll be helping me out.
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FAQs
How do I make my background picture fit on LinkedIn? ›
Go to Tools and select Adjust Size. In the Image Dimensions dialog box, select Fit into: Custom. Change width and height to 400 x 400 pixels for your profile photo. For your background photo, resize your photo to be as close to 1584 (w) x 396 (h) pixels as possible.
What is the best size for LinkedIn background photo? ›LinkedIn profile background photo – 1584px x 396px
Your LinkedIn profile background photo is displayed at a 4:1 aspect ratio. LinkedIn recommends using photos that are 1584 pixels wide and 396 pixels tall.
Open the image by either right-clicking on it and selecting Open With, or clicking File, then Open on the Paint top menu. On the Home tab, under Image, click on Resize. Adjust the image size either by percentage or pixels as you see fit.
How do you crop a LinkedIn banner? ›Click "Custom Size" from the toolbar on the right side of the Studio. In the Custom Resizer window, enter your dimensions to resize your image. Remember: LinkedIn banners have other constraints that you'll need to keep in mind.
What size is a LinkedIn cover photo 2022? ›LinkedIn company cover image size: 1128 x 191px.
Why is my LinkedIn background blurry? ›Why is my LinkedIn banner blurry? Your photo is probably blurry because it doesn't fit the specified dimensions. Remember to keep it 1,584 x 396 pixels, a 129:8 ratio, and not larger than 4MB.
Do square images work on LinkedIn? ›Take a look at these two image posts: A square image (1080 x 1080 pixels) and a rectangle image (1,536 x 806 pixels) both show up nicely in the feed: Both square and rectangle images work well on LinkedIn.
Can you post Canva on LinkedIn? ›While you may want to download a graphic manually from Canva and then add it to LinkedIn, you can also publish content to a LinkedIn page or profile directly from the Canva app.
How do I use Canva on LinkedIn? ›How to Create the Perfect LINKEDIN BANNER with Canva - YouTube
How do I get a LinkedIn banner for free? ›- Save and share your banner for LinkedIn. Export your LinkedIn banner in a variety of formats and download it right to your device.
- Resize in a snap. ...
- Create a captivating LinkedIn banner. ...
- Explore eye-catching templates. ...
- Start creating for free.
Should you use a LinkedIn background? ›
While your profile photo should be professional and conservative, your background photo is a way to show off your brand and your personality. When used correctly, your LinkedIn cover photo can help new connections and hiring managers get a sense of your personal brand and get to know you a little bit better.
Is black and white good for LinkedIn? ›From their site: “As for black and white photos, we couldn't come up with any statistically-significant effect— positive or negative. We were really expecting to see something like a slight rise in Influence and slight fall in Likability. But alas, there is no significant difference, after all.”
How do I take a good photo for LinkedIn? ›Your face should occupy 60% of the space
Your Linkedin photo is non-clickable, it is therefore important that your face occupies 60% of the space. Don't choose a picture taken far away on a mountain top! Show them your professional potential with a cracking smile!
- Open the image in Paint.
- Select the entire image using the Select button in the Home tab and choose Select All. ...
- Open the Resize and Skew window by navigating to the Home tab and selecting the Resize button.
- Use the Resize fields to change the size of the image either by percentage or by pixels.
Fotor's image resizer offers a fast and simple solution to resize images without cropping. Just upload your image to Fotor, enter your desired width or height in pixels, and Fotor will automatically resize your image.
How do I resize an image for wallpaper? ›How to Make Any Photo Fit as your Wallpaper (2022) - YouTube
Does LinkedIn automatically resize images? ›When you click on 'start resizing' the image will automatically resize and download straight to your computer! That's it, you're done! You are officially an image resizing master- go forth and make your LinkedIn profile awesome!
How do I resize an image in Photoshop? ›- Choose Image > Image Size.
- Measure width and height in pixels for images you plan to use online or in inches (or centimeters) for images to print. Keep the link icon highlighted to preserve proportions. ...
- Select Resample to change the number of pixels in the image. This changes the image size.
- Click OK.
- Choose Image > Resize > Image Size.
- Select Resample Image, and choose an interpolation method: Nearest Neighbor. ...
- To maintain the current aspect ratio, select Constrain Proportions. ...
- In Pixel Dimensions, enter values for Width and Height. ...
- Click OK to change the pixel dimensions and resample the image.
Many of you have seen the newest display of solidarity going around Facebook. Turning your profile photo red, or posting a blank red photo to drive awareness of the lost work facing the event, music and film industries.
What kind of photo should I use for LinkedIn? ›
Pick a photo that looks like you
Make sure your LinkedIn profile picture is up to date (within the past few years) and reflects how you look on a daily basis — your hair, glasses, makeup, and so on. If you do change your appearance drastically, consider taking a fresh pic to keep candidates in the loop.
- Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
- Click View profile.
- Click the Camera icon on the upper right corner of your introduction section. ...
- Click Upload photo to select an image from your computer, and click Open.
- Click Apply.
Step-By-Step Instructions for the Un – Blurring Tool
In the saved file, replace-all this text: “isBlurred”:true, for nothing (i.e. remove all occurrences of the text). Save the file on your HD with an HTML extension (for example, name it results. html). That's it; just view the file.
While several people have contacted LinkedIn's support team, no one seems to have nailed an exact cause for why their LinkedIn photo looks out of focus. The real cause of blurriness is likely due to how the platform compresses and stores images for profile photos.
Does LinkedIn compress photos? ›As Craig mentioned, there are recommended sizes, but in the end, what you see once it's uploaded has been redone according to what their algorithms think work best for their platform. As a result, you end up seeing jpeg compression artifacts around the edges of the type and in other areas.
What is the ratio for LinkedIn photo? ›Use a 1.91:1 ratio (1200 x 627 pixels). Image must be more than 200 pixels wide. If your image width is less than 200 pixels, it will appear as a thumbnail on the left side of the post. This doesn't apply if you're posting an image only or an image and text.
Can you post any size image on LinkedIn? ›LinkedIn post image size: 1200 x 1200 (square) 1080 x 1350 (portrait) LinkedIn link post size: 1200 x 627. LinkedIn video size: 256 x 144 (minimum) to 4096 x 2304 (maximum)
What size are pictures? ›The most common size for a photo is 4R, or 4 inches by 6 inches, typically because it's not too small and not too big. There are many types of frames available for that size. The aspect ratio of the photo print is 2 by 3, suitable for photos taken on majority of digital cameras and phone cameras.
How do I create a LinkedIn carousel in Canva? ›- Step 1: Sign up for a free canva account. ...
- Step 2: Create a new deisgn, select instagram post. ...
- Step 3: Add a background to your slide. ...
- Step 4: Add your logo. ...
- Step 5: Add text placeholders. ...
- Step 6: Add call to action slide. ...
- Step 7: Save presentation as a template.
- Click Start a post.
- Click the Document icon.
- Click Choose file to select a document from your computer. ...
- Select the file that you want to upload (choose one).
- Add a title to your document.
- Add a description to the post. ...
- Click Post.
How do I add a LinkedIn logo to Canva? ›
To get started, sign up or log in to Canva. In the top right corner, click “Create a design” and type “LinkedIn Banner” into the search bar. Select the option that measures 2000 x 600 px.
Is Canva program free? ›Canva is always free for every individual and team. However, if you want to unlock premium features, individuals can upgrade to Canva Pro to easily create professional designs and content.
How do I add a LinkedIn banner to PowerPoint? ›- Go to Design Tab / Page Setup (Set width to 1584 px and height to 396 px.)
- Insert an image of choice and place it where you want it.
- Insert a text box and add your message.
- Insert some social icons and links for networking.
To create a new template: Move your cursor over your profile picture at the top right of your Recruiter homepage and select Product settings from the dropdown. Click Message templates on the left rail. Click Create new template to the right of Message templates.
What does 1st mean on LinkedIn? ›1st-degree connections - People you're directly connected to because you've accepted their invitation to connect, or they've accepted your invitation. You'll see a 1st degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile.
How much is LinkedIn premium per month? ›Key Takeaways. A LinkedIn Premium Career account costs $29.99 per month. For the money, the Premium Career account offers several additional features over the basic account. These include free InMails, profile views, more intel on the job and job applicants, and featured applicant status.
What your LinkedIn banner says about you? ›Your LinkedIn background banner photo should reinforce who you are and visually support the written portions of your profile. This image should communication your value, skills and professional identity.
How do I change the pixel size of a picture? ›- Choose Image > Resize > Image Size.
- Select Resample Image, and choose an interpolation method: Nearest Neighbor. ...
- To maintain the current aspect ratio, select Constrain Proportions. ...
- In Pixel Dimensions, enter values for Width and Height. ...
- Click OK to change the pixel dimensions and resample the image.
Create a LinkedIn Profile Background Image With Canva - YouTube
How do I resize a photo on my iPhone? ›To resize an image on your iPhone, use the crop tool in the Edit menu of the Photos app. You can crop an image using a range of dimensions: Original, Freeform, and Square. To change the image's resolution, you'll have to use a third-party app like Image Size.
How do I resize a JPEG image? ›
- Open the image in Paint.
- Select the entire image using the Select button in the Home tab and choose Select All. ...
- Open the Resize and Skew window by navigating to the Home tab and selecting the Resize button.
- Use the Resize fields to change the size of the image either by percentage or by pixels.
One way to do this is to use a program like Photoshop. With Photoshop, you can resize an image without losing quality by using the "Image Size" dialog box. In the "Image Size" dialog box, you can change the width and height of the image. You can also change the resolution.
How do I know the pixel size of a JPEG? ›- Right-click on the image (or, on a Mac, control-click).
- Choose Properties or Get Info.
- Click the Details tab. (or, on a Mac, More Info).
- You'll see the image dimensions in pixels.
- [Instructor] You can create and publish many LinkedIn designs with Canva, including a LinkedIn post, sponsored content, or an article cover image.
How do I use Canva on LinkedIn? ›How to Create the Perfect LINKEDIN BANNER with Canva - YouTube
How do I make a picture fit my wallpaper? ›Tip: touch and hold the empty space on your home screen and select Wallpaper at the bottom to reach the wallpaper setting screen. Pick the image you want to use as your background. Once your image (portrait or landscape) is selected, you will see a preview of your wallpaper filling up your whole screen.
How do I resize a photo on my phone? ›Tap the image you want to adjust. You can adjust the size of an image or rotate it: Resize: Touch and drag the squares along the edges. Rotate: Touch and drag the circle attached to the image.