Best LinkedIn Header Size and Background Ideas for 2021

byAreg Vardanyan
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I’ll take my chances and say that you have a LinkedIn account. Maybe you created it a while back and your current position is still a job you left years ago. Or perhaps you keep it very up to date but struggle with adding quality connections. Here at UniClix, we are committed to helping you get the most of your LinkedIn account, and that includes giving your tips and ideas for a stunning LinkedIn header.

They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but a lot of people WILL judge your LinkedIn profile by its cover. If you are looking for LinkedIn background ideas then you will find this article very helpful and even worthy of your precious bookmark. So, let’s discuss how you can tune up your account and step up your LinkedIn game.

Isn’t LinkedIn basically an online CV?

No, it most certainly is not. LinkedIn could be considered an interactive CV but it is more importantly the number one networking platform for individuals and businesses. It is a place that brings together professionals of different backgrounds in one place, so you should make sure you have a decent presence there.

As of 2020, LinkedIn has over 660 million users from over 200 countries. 15% of LinkedIn users are senior-level influencers and 4 out of 5 people are the decision makers of their respective companies.

Just like any other social media platform, LinkedIn has advertising and it is actually about 28% cheaper than Google. The results of LinkedIn advertising are impressive too. In the US, it reaches over 160 million users and generally it is estimated that LinkedIn ads can reach 12% of the world’s population that is older than 13.

I think I made my point, so I am not going to overwhelm you with any more statistics. You can take a look on your own here if you wish.

Compared to other social media platforms like Facebook with its 2.5 billion monthly users, LinkedIn may seem small but you should think about quality over quantity. People don’t go to LinkedIn to just scroll like they do it on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok these days. LinkedIn has a certain user base, a specific audience, if you may, and you should be taking advantage of that.

LinkedIn does allow businesses to register and you should definitely register yours but the rules of the game here are a bit different. The whole world is shifting towards a more person-oriented marketing, which means CEOs, CMOs and other C-suite executives become the face of the company and use their pages to promote their products and services.

For the best result, first promote your LinkedIn profile and build an audience that follows your content. In the meantime, make your business page look nicer, keep it active, post constantly and share those posts via your account to advance your product/service.

But how do you get started?

The first step to successful LinkedIn marketing is the profile and I am not talking about connections or followers but how it looks, how you present yourself and your business. A professional and friendly photograph for your profile and a high-resolution logo for the business page will serve you well.

The next and often ignored element of a successful profile is the header. In the next sections we will talk about LinkedIn header which some sources call LinkedIn background Images.

What is a LinkedIn Header?

The LinkedIn header or the LinkedIn Background is essentially a cover image that goes on the top of your page. The sizes and the choice of the header differ for profiles and business pages, so we will discuss them individually.

Very often than not, we spend so much time looking for a nice option that will look good as a profile picture that there is no more energy or creativity left to find a nice LinkedIn header and we end up opting for a plain background.

However, just like in any other social media platform, aesthetics is very important on LinkedIn, so you have to put more thought in your header. To make your job easier, I will be sharing some LinkedIn background ideas that will make your profile look nicer and neater.

LinkedIn Background for Personal Profiles

Your LinkedIn header not only puts your whole profile together but also communicates a message, a message of your choice. You have different places on LinkedIn to talk about yourself – for example, you can write a catchy and impressive synopsis about you in the headline. You can also elaborate on each of your positions and responsibilities.

The truth is some people will read through your profile and some will skim through it, so you need to use all the visuals that you have to communicate what is important to you – it may be your strengths, your values, your dedication to your company.

Take a look at Gary Vaynerchuk’s profile. He is a world renown entrepreneur, author and an influential expert in digital marketing and social media marketing. For his LinkedIn background, Vaynerchuk decided to promote his own brand – VaynerX. He also strategically placed some of the other companies that he owns or is involved at the bottom of the banner.

Arianna Huffington, the president & editor-in-chief of Huffington Post, took a different approach. She went for a more neutral LinkedIn background but still placed the logo of Thrive Global, the tech and wellness company that she founded in 2016.

Since this company offers science-backed technology to help employees cope with burnout and contributes to the overall wellness of individuals, the banner is not overwhelming. The color and the layout are calming, and certainly in line with the mission of Thrive Global.

From her LinkedIn header, it is apparent that at this point, Arianna Huffington is more interested in promoting Thrive Global than Huffington Post. Like her, you should also prioritize what you want people to learn about and pay attention to and choose your LinkedIn background accordingly.

And the last example is Bill Gates. He certainly doesn’t need any job offers, new connections or sales, so his LinkedIn header is what he currently cares for. If you want your audience to know what you are passionate about and what you value then you can follow Bill Gates’ example.

For profiles, the recommended LinkedIn header size is 1584×396 pixels. It can be slightly bigger or a bit smaller. You will have a chance to adjust how it looks but following the LinkedIn header size is for the best if your image has text. You don’t want important parts to be cropped.

To sum up:

The LinkedIn header can be a powerful visual that conveys a message of your choice.
Make sure your LinkedIn header speaks with your profile picture.
Choose a header based on what you want your audience to take away from your page.
Pay attention to the LinkedIn header size and make sure you don’t crop out important info.

LinkedIn Background for Business Pages

Okay, now let’s look into how to choose a LinkedIn background photo for your business page. For personal profiles, it is for the best to play on a safer side to maintain the professional nature of the platform but with business pages, you can be a lot more creative. The logic behind the header for the business pages on LinkedIn is similar to that of Facebook meaning you can make it seasonal and change from holiday to holiday.

Take the example of Reddit, Inc. – the header is very eye-catching and it visualizes what Reddit is (a network of communities). The banner is essentially the elaborated version of the profile image.

Some organizations opt for a more informing LinkedIn header. For example, World Health Organization used its background image to provide reliable information on how to reduce the risk of Coronavirus infection:

LinkedIn background World Health Organization WHO

You can also use the LinkedIn background photo to raise awareness about a certain cause, make an announcement or perhaps share your celebration. For example, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, so their header is dedicated to that.

UCLA LinkedIn background University of California

For business pages, the recommended LinkedIn header size is 1128×191 pixels. And again, you can make it a bit bigger and then adjust as long as it doesn’t leave out important parts of your background image.

To sum up:

For business pages, you can be creative and have more fun with the header.
Color coordinate your LinkedIn so that it matches your profile image, which is usually the logo of your company.
The LinkedIn page is as important as your other social media accounts, so do put some thought in the header.
Make sure you update your LinkedIn background photo every once in a while, to give your page a fresh look.

Templates for LinkedIn Header

Now that you have some ideas of what you want your LinkedIn header to be, you have to figure out how to make it or where to find one. Well, if you have a graphic designer in your team or a friend who is one then you have got yourself an answer. Give them the sizes, describe what you want and they will give you the LinkedIn header of your dreams.

But what if you don’t have or don’t know a graphic designer? Thankfully, there are some tools out there that can help you create a LinkedIn background photo. One of them is Canva. If you type “LinkedIn banner” in the search field of Canva, it will give you dozens of templates that you can work on and customize to your needs and wants.

It may be so that you simply want a nice image that goes with your profile. In that case, we again got you covered. There is a whole website called LinkedIn Background, where you can find free LinkedIn backgrounds of different styles from abstract to technology or urban.

Another resource that you can use is Unsplash, which has a special section for free LinkedIn backgrounds.

The good thing about these websites is that the images come in proper or close to proper sizes, so you don’t have to worry about that.

How to Use Uniclix to Schedule LinkedIn post

Now that you have a good-looking LinkedIn profile, it is time to think about keeping it active. I have to admit that it is indeed time consuming to stay active on so many social media platforms these days that it’s hard to keep up with all of them.

But I also have to say that there are tools in place that make your job easier. With UniClix, for example, you can control all your social media accounts through one platform. Via UniClix, you can manage your posts on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn. You can curate the content, work on it with your friends or colleagues and publish content to Twitter, Facebook Pages and Groups, LinkedIn from one place.

Here are the steps you need to schedule or post in Linkedin using UniClix

Go to Uniclix and log in.
If you don’t have yet your UniClix account :

Go to the UniClix website and click on Try 14 days for free

It will ask for your email address. Be sure it is the same address you have connected to your social accounts.

2. Connect your social accounts

The app will pull which accounts are associated with your email address. Click Done when you finish reviewing.

Create/ Schedule a post for LinkedIn

Go to your dashboard. Check that the dashboard is on the Linkedin account
Go to Create post.
Write, add images or video as you like.

4. Once your post is ready, you can select Add to queue, which will post the content at your next selected time. You can Post Now, to publish immediately. Or you can Schedule the post, which lets you choose the date and time your post will be published.

5. Under Advanced features you can use your post to run a campaign, repeating it weekly or daily and as many times you want.

6. When finished, just click in Post or Schedule and it’s done.

You can schedule a month of posts this way.

If you wonder how it works with other social media channels, check the below video.

And we’re done!

LinkedIn is one of the best if not the best platform that you can use to build an audience that is interested in your industry and promote your product/service to them.

Just like with other platforms, you have to tick all the boxes and get that 100% ready mark to make sure that your profile/page has all the information and of course, looks nice. One of the things that gets you a mark is LinkedIn header.

By now, you already figured out that a LinkedIn header isn’t just another pretty thing, it is an opportunity to stand out, inform, convince or announce.

When choosing a LinkedIn background photo, make sure that you:

Have the right sizes.
Match it with your profile picture.
Don’t overdo it.

Use templates or download free LinkedIn backgrounds from the web.

Keep in mind that a nice header can do a lot but it is not magical, so to see results, you have to keep your page active. To save you time but also remain productive, you can use UniClix.

That’s it for me. Good luck with your LinkedIn adventures.

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