Whether you're trying to drive social traffic to your site or simply want your personal profile to look its best, you really need this Facebook image size guide.

From your profile banner to your holiday snaps, visuals really matter on the world's largest social network. So we're here to help you find the best image sizes to use on Facebook.

Unfortunately Facebook doesn't make things easy, with some images appearing differently on mobile and desktop versions. But this Facebook image size guide should help you figure it all out.

Picking the Right Facebook Cover Photo Size

Size on Mobile: 640 x 360 pixels

Size on Desktop: 851 x 315 pixels

Best Size: 820 x 462 pixels

Since you can only use one size of image for both mobile and desktop, the ideal minimum cover size is: 820 x 462 pixels (an aspect ratio of 1.77:1). This size displays nicely on both mobile and desktop, and you can position your image precisely when you upload it using Facebook's own tools. If you use a larger image that still conforms to the same aspect ratio, desktop and tablet users will see an improvement in quality.

The cover photo is the banner at the top of your Facebook page. It's the first thing visitors will notice when they land on your profile or page, so it's important to create a unique Facebook cover photo. Things work a little differently for personal profiles and business pages.

For personal profiles, your cover forms a background for your personal profile. On mobile your profile picture appears in the center of the cover photo. For pages, the two are entirely separate. Your cover photo is a chance to say something bold about your brand, while your profile image provides a small snippet of identity.

What's the Best Facebook Profile Picture Size?

Mobile and Desktop: 180 x 180 pixels

Profile pictures are easy, since they're square images. The image will display at 160 x 160 pixels, but Facebook asks for 180 x 180 pixels to scale down. You can basically use any square image you like, whether it's large at 900 x 900 pixels or small at 200 x 200 pixels. Facebook will automatically resize and compress your image to fit.

Facebook Event Cover Image and Photo Sizes

Best Event Cover Photo size: 1920 x 1080 pixels

Photos in Event Feed: (up to) 470 x 470 pixels

Facebook displays event cover images differently on mobile and desktop, so an aspect ratio of 16:9 is recommended to avoid cropping. An image at full HD resolution will also give your cover enough clarity should anyone click on it from the event page. Feel free to go to an even higher resolution to pack in the pixels.

After checking a whole load of event pages out, it seems event organisers use slightly different sizes but ensure the important content (names, dates, venues) appear somewhat toward the center of the image. Images displayed on your event wall can go up to 470 pixels wide and high, depending on the shape of your image.

The Best Facebook Group Cover Photo Size

Best Cover Photo Size: 820 x 462 pixels

Despite only displaying at 820 x 250 pixels in the desktop news feed, the mobile version of Facebook shows the full 820 x 426 pixels group cover photo size. This is an aspect ratio of 1.77:1, so provided you stay within those boundaries you can create a higher resolution image which will fit perfectly.

Facebook Groups are an increasingly popular way to connect with friends, communities, and customers. And there are some awesome ways to discover new Facebook Groups. As always if you have any really important information that you don't want hidden from view on desktop, make sure you account for the clipping that will occur at the top and bottom of the image.

What Is the Best Facebook Link Image Size?

Size on Mobile: 560 x 292 pixels

Size on Desktop: 470 x 246 pixels

Best Link Image Size: 1200 x 629 pixels

The link image is the image pulled from any link you happen to share on Facebook, such as a blog post or a news story. If you have control over the source medium (your personal blog, for instance) you can design your "featured" image to conform to the 1.9:1 ratio at a size of around 1200 x 629 pixels for the best results.

Other image sizes will be cropped to fit this template. Assuming your image is purely illustrative, and doesn't require 100 percent accurate reproduction on Facebook (like text, or a logo) this shouldn't worry you too much. If you're looking for a good image for an article, check out the best websites for free stock images.

Choosing the Right Facebook Ad Size

Single image ads: 1200 x 629 pixels

Carousel ads: 1080 x 1080 pixels

Single image ads follow the same precedent set by link images, at a 1.9:1 ratio. If you just want to promote your product with a link to your product page or blog post, 1200 x 629 pixels is fine. For carousel ads, which let you run up to 10 images in a scrolling carousel, stick to the 1:1 image ratio at 1080 x 1080 pixels or higher.

Remember that promoted posts are different to adverts. If you click the "Boost Post" button on your Facebook page to boost a post, you aren't bound by the same restrictions and don't require a Facebook ad manager account.

This allows you to do things like create a new post with a square image, put a link in the body of the text, and promote it like you would an advert.

Facebook Is Always Changing

Like Google, nobody knows what Facebook is thinking. And it changes things up regularly. With that in mind it's best to keep up with the news in order to keep ahead of any changes. The social media giant's influence continues to grow, and growing with the service is something users will just have to get used to.

However, popularity can cause problems too. The social network's biggest hack saw 50 million accounts compromised, so make sure you know what to do if your Facebook account has been hacked.

Image Credit: ifong/Depositphotos