Images play a crucial role in making blog posts engaging, visually appealing, and shareable. Whether you decide to use stock images or branding photography, the right image size not only enhances user experience but also improves your site’s load times and SEO. If you are putting together a blog for your website, you may want to know what the correct size for blog images is. Let’s break down the ideal image sizes for blog posts! As a bonus, I’ll also touch on why and how you can further optimize your images.
Why is it Important to Have the Correct Size for Blog Images?
Having the right image size isn’t just about aesthetics. The size of your blog images impacts several critical factors:
- Load Speed: Oversized images can slow down your site, leading to higher bounce rates.
- SEO: Faster-loading pages rank better in search results, and having the correct size for your blog images can help with that.
- Readability: Properly sized images make the post easier to read and navigate.
- Social Media Sharing: When users share your post, the image often acts as the preview. Using the correct size for your blog images ensures it looks great on all platforms.
Types of Images in Blog Posts
Before diving into what the the correct sizes are for blog images, it’s important to realize there are four main types of blog images.
1. Header Image
The header images is the main image that represents your blog post. It is called the featured image in WordPress and usually appears at the top of the blog post.
2. Inline Images
Inline images are dispersed within the body of your post. They are used to illustrate or emphasize points throughout the post and provide visual representations of post topics.
3. Thumbnails
Thumbnails are tiny versions of an image that are used as previews. These smaller images are displayed on the main blog page before a website visitor clicks onto an actual blog post page.
4. Social Sharing Images
Sharing blog posts on social media is a great way to increase engagement for your website. Social Sharing images can be designated within your WordPress post with plugins like Yoast. The social sharing image displays whenever your post is shared on social media and have unique dimensions.
What is the Correct Size for Blog Images?
Honestly, there is no single “correct” size for blog images per se. The ideal size for blog images can vary depending on your blog layout and specific needs.
That being said, here are some baseline guidelines you should keep in mind:
Header/Featured Image: 1200 x 628 px
This size is commonly used because it looks great across devices and fits well on most content management systems (CMS) like WordPress. A 1200 x 628 px image also complies with Facebook and LinkedIn sharing sizes, so it works for social preview images.
That being said, there isn’t a single answer to this. A lot of blogs will use 1200 x 800 px, which can also work well. Generally, you’ll just want to make sure to keep the width of a regular landscape header/featured image between 1200 and 1600 px.
Inline Images: 600–800 px wide
Inline images should be large enough to be clear on all devices, but not so large they slow down page load time. A good rule of thumb is to make inline images around 600 to 800 px wide. This provides enough detail without overwhelming the reader.
Thumbnails: 150 x 150 px or 300 x 300 px
Thumbnails are smaller images used as previews, often in grids or lists of blog posts. A good ratio for thumbnails is oftentimes 1:1 to allow for design consistency. Size-wise, 150 x 150 and 300 x 300 both work well for most blogs thumbnail images.
Social Media Sharing Images: 1200 x 630 px
- Social platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter use 1200 x 630 px for optimal display, so using this size ensures your images appear well when shared.
- Pinterest recommends a 1000 x 1500 px format for its platform, which favors vertical images. If Pinterest is part of your strategy, consider creating separate images at this size.
Tips for Optimizing Blog Images
As promised, here are some additional things to keep in mind when aiming to optimize the images on your blog.
1. Compress Images
When handling client images, I always compress images before uploading them. I either use the web export option in Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop or use tools like TinyPNG or Cloudpresso to compress images without losing perceived quality. Compressed images load faster, improving your page speed and user experience. This in turn helps your website’s SEO.
2. Choose the Right File Format
- JPEG is best for photographs and images with a lot of detail.
- PNG works well for logos or images with transparent backgrounds
- WebP offers both high quality and reduced file sizes, making it a great option for your blog images. Keep in mind that some browsers at this time may not support WebP, but most do! However, you can find a number of plugins that will convert all of your images to WebP. These plugins can also designate universally supported fallbacks in case the image is loaded on a browser that doesn’t support WebP.
3. Use Responsive Images
Make sure your images adapt to different screen sizes. CMS platforms like WordPress often automatically generate various image sizes to help make images responsive across devices.
4. Include Descriptive Alt Text
Alt text is not only essential for accessibility. It also boosts SEO by providing useful context to search engines like Google. Make sure to use clear, descriptive text for each image.
5. Test Your Page Load Speed
Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to check your site’s performance. If images are slowing things down, consider reducing their resolution slightly or further compressing them.
Recommended Size for Blog Images
| Image Type | Recommended Size |
|---|---|
| Header/Featured Image | 1200 x 628 px (width 1200-1600 px) |
| Inline Images | 600–800 px wide |
| Thumbnails | 150 x 150 px or 300 x 300 px |
| Social Media Sharing | 1200 x 630 px (or 1000 x 1500 px for Pinterest) |
Conclusion
Choosing the correct size for your blog post images is essential for creating visually appealing, shareable, and SEO-friendly posts. By sticking to recommended dimensions, compressing images, and following best practices, you can improve your site’s performance and boost reader engagement.
Keep these guidelines in mind, and your blog images will enhance your blog and help with your ultimate goal of reaching viewers and sharing great content!
Are you in the beginning stages of starting your WordPress blog? Or have you always wanted to get started with a new blog? Learn more about Desert Rose Design & Photo Co. and how I can help get your WordPress blog set-up!
Related Topic: Best Stock Photo Websites for 2025
0 Comments