A blog featured image is the primary visual that represents your article — appearing in your blog's post grid, social media shares, RSS readers, and search engine results. A compelling featured image increases click-through rates on social media by 3–5×.
Featured Image Size by Platform
| Platform | Featured Image Size |
|---|---|
| WordPress | 1200×628 px (Open Graph) |
| Ghost | 1200×675 px (16:9) |
| Medium | 1400×788 px (16:9) |
| Substack | 1200×628 px |
| Webflow Blog | 1200×630 px |
Elements of an Effective Featured Image
- Visually relevant to the article topic — readers should understand the content at a glance
- Strong visual — not a generic stock photo
- Clean composition — not too busy or cluttered
- Works as thumbnail at 300×157px — how it appears in social media feeds
- Optional: article headline or key phrase in readable text overlay
How to Create a Featured Image Free
Start with a high-quality photograph or illustration relevant to your article. Upload to imgresizr.com. Crop to 1.91:1 aspect ratio (1200×628px) — the Open Graph standard that works for all platforms and social media shares. Apply any text overlays using the Caption tool. Compress to under 150KB for fast loading as the critical LCP element. Download and upload to your blog platform.
Featured Image SEO
- File name: include the article's primary keyword (e.g., "beginner-guide-image-seo.jpg")
- Alt text: describe the image with the article keyword naturally included
- Add Open Graph meta tags to ensure social platforms use your chosen image for share previews
Create compelling blog featured images at imgresizr.com — the right size, style, and file size for every platform.