Are you using Tumblr? Do you know what the right Tumblr header size is? Is your header persuasive and attention-grabber? Well, it should.
Because it is one of the first things that a user will see on your Tumblr account, you need to make sure the header is appropriately sized, decent, well-designed, and grabs user attention.
Putting any image as a Tumblr banner will do more harm than good. It is a gigantic microblogging platform that received 327+ million unique visitors worldwide in May 2020.
More than 496 million blogs were hosted on Tumblr in April 2020, with a consistent rise in new accounts and blogs each year.
You need to make your account stand out from the crowd and you can’t do it with stock images and a poorly sized header. It has to be one of the best out there.
If you aren’t sure how to create a stunning header design with the right size that people will see and interact with, this guide is for you.
It covers everything that you need to know about Tumblr header size in 2021 with the right dimensions, why it matters, how to design a header from scratch, header ideas and examples, and more.
Table of Contents
What is a Tumblr Header?
A Tumblr header or banner is the primary image that appears at the top of your Tumblr blog. It is used as a welcoming image that appears above the fold and is instantly visible to the people who visit your Tumblr blog.
Here is how a header or banner looks like on Tumblr:
The banner appears at the top of everything, and depending on the theme and customization, the header might be visible at each individual post. The banner is fully customizable. You can personalize it from the theme settings.
Since visitors see the first image on your blog, the header must be visually appealing and persuasive. You can’t just put any image in the header as a filler. It will ruin the user experience.
A poor header will increase the bounce rate as most visitors won’t scroll down if they don’t find the header appealing. The readers must connect with the header.
For example, if your blog is related to cats, having a relevant header with cat photos makes sense. People interested in cats would like to see a similar header to feel connected and attached to your blog.
Irrelevant, poorly designed, and ill-sized banners are a big NO.
The Perfect Tumblr Header Size
The perfect Tumblr header size is 3000 x 1055 px for desktop and 640 x 360 px for mobile. You need to set your banner based on the desktop dimensions, and it will adjust appropriately for mobile. The aspect ratio is 2.84:1 for desktop.
Simply put, your banner’s width must be 3000 px, and the height needs to be 1055 px. This is the perfect Tumblr banner dimensions.
Uploading a header with precisely these dimensions will ensure that it covers the space entirely, isn’t pixelated, and no portion is cut off.
Here are other important things to consider when creating a banner:
- The aspect ratio for the mobile banner is 16:9.
- You can upload the header in JPG, PNG, and GIF formats.
- The maximum size of the banner could be 10 MB.
Why Are Tumblr Header Dimensions Important?
The Tumblr banner dimensions ensure that the header fits appropriately, and no part is cut off. In case of wrong header size, you might experience several issues, including:
- High bounce rate
- Poor image resolution, e.g., pixelated image when the image size is smaller than recommended
- Sides or a particular portion of the header being cut when the image size is larger
- Cross-device image size issues
- Poor user experience.
From a marketing perspective, the banner provides you an opportunity to connect with your audience. You need to make the best use of it.
For example, you can add your website URL, social media profile URLs, business address, phone number, email address, or any other information in the header so that visitors can see your website and get back to you later.
When you have your contact information available in the header, those who don’t scroll will still be able to connect with your business because they know about your business website and other details.
This is a great way to increase brand awareness.
Above the fold is the most crucial part of any website or blog. The header appears above the fold, and this makes it an essential part of your blog.
Why?
Because data shows that the difference in how visitors treat information above the fold vs. below the fold is 84%, the high visibility of above the fold makes it an ideal place to interact with the visitors.
Ideally, you must encourage visitors to scroll, but this can only be done with a powerful and intriguing banner because that’s the only thing visible above the fold.
This makes the header the most crucial part of your blog – and the Tumblr banner dimension is the next most vital thing to consider.
Because an appropriately sized banner will grab attention, connect and interact with the visitors, and persuade them to scroll down.
You can’t achieve this with a poorly sized header.
How to Create a Tumblr Header for Free?
Having a header with the right dimensions isn’t just enough; the image has to be visually appealing. If you want to create a Tumblr header, you need to ensure that it has the right size and is well-designed.
This can be achieved with Pixelied that offers you an easy-to-use free graphic design tool that lets you create a professional banner in no time.
Here is a step-by-step guide on creating a Tumblr banner for free:
Step #1: Open Pixelied’s Free Editor
Open up Pixelied’s easy-to-use editor to start creating catchy Tumblr banners.
In the left sidebar, you can go through millions of free stock photos that are ready to use for commercial purposes.
Easy, right?
The free plan comes with thousands of templates, more than 3 million stock photos, unlimited downloads, background removal, elements, illustrations, mockups and more.
You can explore templates, image formats, and other features.
Step #2: Add Your Elements to the Canvas
It is time to design your header with Pixelied drag-and-drop design editor. It has an exceptionally easy-to-use and self-explanatory design tool that anyone can use without any training.
You can access all the essential design elements from the left sidebar, such as images, text, illustrations, elements, and icons:
Click any element to add it to the canvas. The elements can be edited when they’re placed on the canvas from the edit menu at the top.
You can edit and customize the header as per your needs. Pixelied editor is quite flexible and gives you full control over your design. Here is how you can use Pixelied editor like a pro:
- Change the background color of the canvas.
- Add free stock images. There are more than 3 million royalty-free stock images available to choose from.
- You can tweak images using features like eye-dropper, crop, opacity, add border, layers, shadow, alignment, grouping, image effects, image filters, and more.
- Add customized text and choose from over 900 Google fonts. You can choose from existing text styles.
- Add free illustrations and customize them using the editor. There are hundreds of ready-to-use professional illustrations available to choose from within the editor.
- Customize your design with icons and elements that are free to use.
- You can upload your own files such as logo, favicon, etc. to personalize your banner.
Pixelied provides you with a powerful yet easy-to-use design and editing features at no cost. Designing a professional banner is a piece of cake with Pixelied.
Step #3: Download Your Banner
Once you are done with the customization and your header is all set, download it by clicking Download from the top right corner. Select the format (JPG, PNG, and PNG transparent).
Tumblr supports both JPG and PNG image formats, so you can download your image in any format you like:
You can now upload your banner on Tumblr.
Tumblr Header Ideas & Examples
A perfect, well-sized, and professionally designed Tumblr header must score well on several factors such as color scheme, typography, white space, and creativity.
Here are a few best Tumblr banner examples that will give you an idea of creating your header to stand out from the crowd.
1. Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum has a perfect header that grabs your attention right away as it is simple and uses a lot of white space. The design is simple yet professional. The header describes what the blog is about and what you should expect.
The best thing is the way how they have used their header to share the official website. This is a perfect marketing design approach to put your website in front of as many eyeballs as possible.
The typography is top-notch. Nothing works better than the black font on a white background.
2. Freeform
Freeform has a nicely designed header that resonates with its brand theme. They have used black color, logo, and tagline. The header has links to their social media accounts.
There is a lot of white space, along with contrasting colors that make it visually appealing. As soon as you see the header, it grabs your attention. The typography and overall design are perfect and in accordance with its style guide.
The social media icons at the top are actually hyperlinks, making it convenient for viewers to visit any social page. However, Freeform hasn’t used its official website URL in the header.
3. Horoscope Quotes
I love the header by Horoscope Quotes as it is creative and utilizes white space smartly. It is clean, creative, and appropriately sized. It misses nothing.
They have smartly placed their app in the header that shows visitors how easy it is to get horoscope quotes via their smartphone app. They have used design to communicate with the viewers, which is a perfect way to use the Tumblr banner.
You need to make sure that your header speaks.
Conclusion
Creating a Tumblr header isn’t an issue as long as you have access to the right design tool that will help you convert your ideas into a practical design. Pixelied enables you to create professional banners in no time with its simple user-interface and feature-rich editor.
The Tumblr header size and design are the two most important factors that determine its success and effectiveness. Pixelied helps you manage both size and design at no cost.
Click here to get started right away and create your first Tumblr header in the next 5 minutes.
Hi, I am using the 3000 X 1055 dimensions, but my banner is still cut off. I thought maybe it was the size of my desktop computer screen, but mobile looks terrible as well. What am I doing wrong? I am using the default theme, not some fancy theme. I upload the banner using the Edit Appearance option, but it appears to be the incorrect size and gets cut off. What gives?
There’s only one size for both desktop and mobile, just need to understand the safe zones for mobile devices.
I would also recommend to download the design in 2x or 3x size. Hopefully this will solve your problem.