Adding a custom header photo to your LinkedIn profile is an excellent way to showcase your personality and make your profile stand out. With over 722 million members, having an eye-catching header photo can help you get noticed by recruiters and potential connections.
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Why Add a Custom Header Photo?
Here are some of the key benefits of using a custom header photo on LinkedIn:
- Makes Your Profile Memorable: A unique header photo makes your profile visually distinctive and more memorable to visitors. This increases the chance they will connect with you.
- Shows Your Personality: You can showcase your personality, interests, and what’s important through images in your header photo. This allows visitors to get to know the real you.
- Reinforces Your Personal Brand: A customized header photo aligned with your professional brand makes your profile appear more polished and put together.
- Improves Click-Through Rates: An eye-catching header photo tends to have higher click-through rates to your profile.
LinkedIn Header Photo Specifications
To ensure your header photo renders properly, make sure to follow these specifications from LinkedIn:
- Minimum Dimensions: 1,128 pixels wide x 191 pixels tall
- Recommended Dimensions: 1,400 pixels wide x 425 pixels tall
- Maximum File Size: 4MB
- File Types: JPG, GIF or PNG
How to Upload a Custom Header Photo
Uploading your own custom header photo is easy to do by following these steps:
If You Have a Free Account
- Go to your profile page
- Click the Edit public profile & URL button on the right sidebar
- Click the camera icon next to your current header photo
- Select Upload photo
- Choose your header photo file from your computer
- Click Apply to publish the new header photo
If You Have a Premium Account
- Go to your profile page
- Click Edit background above your header photo
- Select Upload to choose your own photo
- Find and select your header photo file
- Click Save to publish your new header
Once uploaded, you can further customize the look and positioning of your header photo by selecting the Change or remove option.
Design Tips for Great LinkedIn Header Photos
Follow these best practices when creating your LinkedIn header image for optimal results:
Use High-Quality Images: Use a high resolution photo that looks crisp and clear at the recommended 1,400 pixel width. Poor quality images will look unprofessional.
Include Relevant Images: Incorporate images relevant to your industry, interests or brand for optimal alignment.
Show Personality: Candid photos and hobby images are great for conveying your personality. Just keep it professional.
Use Text Sparingly: You can add text but keep it short. Too much text can make your header look cluttered.
Check Mobile Appearance: Preview how your header photo looks on mobile devices and tweak as needed.
Tools to Create Header Photos
If you don’t already have a suitable header photo, you can create one using these free online design tools:
- Canva: User-friendly design platform with templates and stock photos specifically sized for LinkedIn headers.
- BannerSnap: Provides banners sized for LinkedIn and other social networks with stock photos and design options.
- Recite: Generates customized visual quotes you can use as elegant header images.
- Pablo: Creates simple yet striking visuals by entering your text which gets overlaid on images.
So be sure to take advantage of LinkedIn’s header photo functionality by uploading your own customized image. A professional and eye-catching header photo can help you stand out and make positive impressions on visitors.
