How to Size Images for Your Blog Content [HubSpot Support Series]

As marketers, we can all agree on one thing: content is king. It doesn’t matter who you are or what line of business you’re in; it is super important to keep a viewer’s attention on your page. One way to do that is through using good content and including engaging images.

Here at HubSpot Support, we see a lot of users import images that are not necessarily sized correctly for their intended shapes or sizes on the finished page. We also have a lot of users call in wondering what the optimal sizes are for commonly used blog content. The answer is: there are no rules!

HubSpot users are free to shape and size your images however you please, and HubSpot provides some useful tools for making those changes. However, many people may not know where to start when it comes to the dimensions required for content.

So, with that in mind, I called up a few of my favorite models and have compiled a list of commonly used image types within HubSpot and suggestions for how you may want to shape and size them. Without further ado, I present to you The Dogs of HubSpot posing for commonly used blogging images. (Note: All image dimensions refer to the desktop version of this post.)

Blog Author Image

The key to making a headshot look great in a circle frame is to start with a square photo. In this case, it's almost always safe to start with an image size of 500 x 500 pixels in your file manager. This allows for the image to be resized as necessary, while retaining its dimensions, even when being inserted into a circle frame.

Blog Featured Image

Blog featured images largely depend on the type of blog listing template you're using. However, if you're using a simple template that shows your posts in a standard list format, you'll want to make sure the reader can see more than one of these featured images on the screen at once. For this reason, regardless of the width, you'll likely want the height of the image to remain at about 300 pixels or less. The following image is 400 pixels wide by 300 pixels high.

Infographic

Infographics are powerful tools for capturing and keeping the attention of your target audience. They are a clear and concise way of sharing information. A standard infographic is generally long and thin, so that it can be easily read without having to scroll from side to side (also making it ideal for mobile devices).

The following infographic is 663 x 2000 pixels. If you're interested in trying your hand at creating one, you can download some free templates here!

HubSpot Blog Blueprint - "How-To" Post

In the HubSpot blogging tool, we have already built three blogging blueprints to pave the way for our fellow bloggers. The first of our three blueprints is the "How-To" post. In these types of posts, we teach the reader how to do something in a series of steps, usually accompanied by a small photo in each step, generally wrapped by text. In this example, the images are 250 pixels wide and 190 pixels high.

Step 1. Go for a walk in the park.

With spring coming to Cambridge, it's finally time to make the most of the great weather. Take a page from Brickle's book, and head to the park to catch some rays. Plus, everyone knows you have to keep the squirrels in line. Good work, Brickle!

Step 2. Stop by the HubSpot Help Desk!

Once you're back from the park, be sure to walk over to the HubSpot IT desk to get some cool new tech stuff, just like Luna the corgi here. Did you know that in Welsh folk tales, fairies rode corgis into battle? Their markings are supposed to be from the fairy saddles. Pretty wild, right?  

HubSpot Blog Blueprint - "List" Post

"List" posts are a great way to make your content scannable and succinct. They usually are styled by series of numbered items based on your topic. To keep the content easy to scan through, you might want to use an image that is short in height and long in width such as the one below at 600 pixels wide and 200 pixels high.

HubSpot Blog Blueprint - "Visual" Post

A picture is worth a thousand words. In "visual" posts, we take this saying to heart. If you have an image that has a lot to say, you'll want to make it the visual centerpiece of your post and let it do the talking for you. This is when we would use an image that is big, bold, and beautiful. The following image is 663 pixels wide by 398 pixels high.

Now that you have an idea of how to shape and size your images, I hope you are able to confidently adjust your images and create some paws-itively beautiful content!

Want to hear more from Juli? She's hosting an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on the HubSpot Community from January 14, 2019 – January 28, 2019. Join the conversation here.