Good image work is less about one perfect setting and more about understanding the destination. This guide gives you a repeatable path and points out the trade-offs worth checking.
Platform dimensions change
Social platforms update placements, previews, safe zones, and compression behavior. Use current official creator or business guidance before a campaign launch.
Photo Peanut’s presets are convenient starting values stored in a configurable data file, not a promise that a platform will never change.
Common working canvases
A 1080×1080 square remains useful across many feeds. A 1080×1350 portrait uses more vertical feed space, while 1080×1920 is a common full-screen story or short-video canvas. Landscape link and post visuals often use ratios near 1.91:1 or 16:9.
A compatible dimension does not guarantee the whole design is visible in every crop. Feeds, profiles, grids, and share previews may frame the same upload differently.
Design a safe center
Keep faces, logos, and essential text away from extreme edges. Interface buttons, captions, profile crops, and responsive layouts can cover or trim those areas.
Test the visual inside the actual posting interface before publishing. A local preview cannot reproduce every platform overlay.
Crop intentionally
When a source ratio differs, decide whether to fit with background space or fill by cropping. Stretching should not be the shortcut.
For a multi-post campaign, establish one focal strategy per ratio so square, portrait, and story versions feel related without being awkward clones.
Export and archive
Use JPG or WebP for photography where accepted and PNG for graphics that need crisp text or transparency. Platforms will usually recompress uploads, so inspect the live result.
Keep an editable master with separate exports named by placement and dimensions. That makes later platform updates much easier.
Questions people ask
Are social media dimensions permanent?
No. Confirm current specifications with the platform before important publishing.
Why use safe margins?
Interface overlays and alternate previews can cover or crop edge content.
Should I stretch a photo to fit?
No. Fit with background space or crop to fill while preserving proportions.