Do you suffer from an affliction known as “Facebook Decapitation?” Does a family member or close friend have to live with the heartbreak?
Well, perhaps it’s not as bad as all that, but it is an annoyance. “Facebook Decapitation,” as I call it, happens when a user uploads a lovely photo of the family as the Facebook cover. Because the dimensions of the photo aren’t exactly the same as Facebook’s prescribed dimensions, the top of the photo gets cropped.
If you use Facebook, you’ve seen it countless times. If it’s happened to you, you probably have no idea how to fix it.
Canva to the Rescue
Canva is a “freemium” service. They offer both free and paid accounts. I find the free account robust enough.
When you log into Canva, you see a search bar. Type “Facebook Cover.”
You’ll see some templates you can choose. In this case, choose to create a blank one. A simple rectangle appears that is the right dimension for a Facebook cover.
All you have to do is drag your photo into that rectangle. Click and drag the handles to resize the photo. Now you begin to see the problem.
Enlarge the photo to fill the width of the rectangle, and the photo is now too tall. The solution is to drag the photo up or down until the desired result shows inside the rectangle.
On the right-hand side of the screen, look for a button to download the creation. Upload it to Facebook as the cover. Done!
Two photos on the cover
Using Canva to create the Facebook cover opens additional possibilities. What if you want the entire height of your photo to display? Reduce the height to fit the picture and it’s no longer wide enough to fill the rectangle. One solution is to add a second picture.
Drag another picture into Canva right into the same rectangle. Resize it. Whatever is inside the rectangle becomes the cover you’ll download.
Just the beginning with Canva
You’ve seen one practical example of how Canva can make a design issue easy. There’s more where that came from. Every social media platform has its own set dimension: Facebook post, Twitter post, Twitter cover, Instagram post, Instagram story, etc. Enter what you want in the search bar and get a rectangle with dimensions appropriate for the project.
You’ll also see templates you can choose and modify for your needs. Whether you’re creating images for social media, designing a brochure, flyer, invitation, business card, or most any other design, Canva is the easiest option available for us all.
Free “pro” account for education
Some images and features are only available for “Canva Pro,” at a cost of $10 per month. Schools can unlock all of the premium features of Canva Pro for free. This one is too good to pass up.
See it in action
A picture is worth a thousand words. A video is worth far more. In this week’s video, you’ll see me create a Facebook banner from scratch using Canva. Without Canva, I would have suffered from “Facebook Decapitation.” With it, I have a beautiful photo. You can have it too, and you can have it today for free.
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