If you’ve made Facebook cover photo for a Facebook page you probably also need a Twitter header. In this tutorial I’ll go over a quick and dirty method for modifying Facebook cover photos for use as a Twitter header.

If you need directions for making a Facebook page cover photo, you can follow my step-by-step tutorial for how to make a Facebook cover photo.

The Twitter header requires a bigger image than a Facebook cover photo. But that’s not the only adjustment you have to make.

Putting in Twitter header photos is incredibly annoying. Twitter tells you that the correct Twitter header size is 1500 x 500 pixels. But, when you upload an image that size, Twitter still automatically enlarges it, cuts off the edges, and decreases the quality. A triple whammy!

After considerable research, I came up with 5 easy ways to Optimize your Twitter Header Image. And I use these five tips when I show you step-by-step how to convert your Facebook Cover Photo into a Twitter Header Image below.

Twitter Header Image Tutorial – step-by-step directions

If you made your starting image from my Pixlr tutorials for a Facebook cover photo, it’s best to start with the Pixlr image, the .pxd file so that you get the best quality.

Note: This tutorial won’t have the great step by step images of my earlier  tutorials. That took a tremendous amount of time and I’m still working with a broken wrist. But, if you work through my earlier photo editing Pixlr tutorials, this should all make sense. For further tips on how to read my tutorial shorthand, see How to read my WordPress tutorials.

1. Open your Facebook cover photo in a photo editor. I like to use the free online photo editor, Pixlr.com. (The image I started with here was 851 x315 for a facebook cover photo. Even at that size, it was really too big for the resolution of my logo images. See note below in Sharpen Blurry Twitter Header Photos)
   1. Go to Pixlr.com.
   2. > Launch web app.
   3. > Open image from computer.
   4. Browse and select the image file. > Open
2. Increase the size of the canvas. (The background your image sits on.)
   1. > Image > Canvas size
   2. Width: 1500 pixels, Height: 500 pixels, Anchor: (select center box to center the original image), > OK
3. Save image as .png
   1. > File > Save
   2. Name: (Name your image, I include the size when I name it), Format: (choose PNG), > OK
   3. (Browse to where you wan to put your file) > Save
4. You now have your image on a big white background. That blank edge will come in handy with Twitter automatically zooms in close on your image and cuts off the edges. (Note, you could also try coloring this background.)
5. Go to your Twitter profile
   1. Go to twitter.com.
   2. In the upper right, > (your little square profile photo) > View profile
   3. On the right – below the current header image, > Edit profile
6. Change your Twitter header photo
   1. > Change your header photo
   2. > Upload photo
   3. (Browse to the photo) > Open
7. Optimize your Twitter header photo
   1. Use the slider bar to enlarge the image. If you followed my example, try sliding it about 25% bigger – move the slider about one quarter way down the bar – to enlarge your image to a size that looks nice on Twitter. Since you have a big, white, margin, you won’t loose any of your image.
   2. Re-position the image. Hover over the image to get the four way arrow for your cursor, click and hold to slide around. You can not get this perfect. It’s going to jump after you save it, and it’s going to be in a slightly different place when the page is viewed on different devices.
   3. > Apply
   4. > Save changes

I hope it works for you! If it does, let me know. 🙂 If it doesn’t work, check out Optimizing your Twitter Header Photo Size.