Facebook Tricks

Written by Catherine Hayford | Hayford Marketing LLC | Columbus, Ohio

How Do You Get Rid of Those Colored Bars on Your Facebook Posts?

I know the trick — and it's simpler than you think.

You've seen it. You upload a photo to Facebook and suddenly there are ugly colored bars on the top and bottom — or the sides — of your image. It looks unprofessional. It looks like you don't know what you're doing. And for a small business trying to make a great first impression, that matters.

Here's the good news: it's not your photo. It's not your phone. It's a size problem — and it has a very simple fix.

Why Do Those Bars Show Up?

Facebook has a preferred size for images in your feed. When your image doesn't match that size, Facebook adds colored bars — sometimes called "letterboxing" — to fill in the space. It's the same thing that happens when you watch an old TV show on a widescreen TV and get black bars on the sides.

Facebook isn't trying to make your post look bad. It just doesn't know what to do with the extra space — so it fills it in. The result looks messy and amateur, and it can actually hurt your engagement because people scroll right past posts that don't look clean.

The Fix: Use the Right Image Size

Here's the trick I've learned after years of managing social media for small businesses across Columbus:

□ Make your image 1920 x 1440 pixels.

That's it. That's the magic number.

1920 x 1440 is a 4:3 ratio — and Facebook handles it beautifully in the feed. No bars. No cropping. No weirdness. Your image fills the space the way it's supposed to, and your post looks polished and intentional.

What About Other Facebook Image Sizes?

Here's a quick reference so you always know what size to use:

□ Regular feed post (no bars): 1920 x 1440 px — this is your go-to

□ Square post: 1080 x 1080 px — works great, looks clean

□ Facebook cover photo: 820 x 312 px

□ Facebook event cover: 1920 x 1005 px

□ Facebook Stories: 1080 x 1920 px (vertical)

Facebook's own Business Help Center has updated image specs too — worth bookmarking.

How Do You Resize Your Images?

You don't need fancy software. Here are a few free and easy tools:

□ Canva — free, beginner-friendly, has Facebook post templates already sized correctly. Just pick "Facebook Post" and you're done.

□️ Adobe Express — also free, great for quick resizing and adding text to photos.

□ Your phone's built-in editor — both iPhone and Android let you crop photos. Set the crop to a 4:3 ratio and you're most of the way there.

□️ Microsoft Paint or Preview (Mac) — old school, but both let you manually set exact pixel dimensions for free.

If you're using Canva and want to match 1920 x 1440 exactly, just choose "Custom size" and type those numbers in. Done.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

Facebook's algorithm pays attention to engagement. Posts that look professional get more likes, shares, and clicks. Posts with bars and weird cropping get scrolled past — and the algorithm notices.

Think about it this way: if no one interacts with your post, it's just a poster on a wall in a dark alley. Nobody sees it. Nobody engages. And Facebook stops showing it to anyone.

The quality of your image is part of that equation. A clean, correctly sized image tells people — and the algorithm — that you're a business that pays attention to detail.

One More Tip: Check Before You Post

Before you hit publish on any Facebook post with an image, always use the preview. Facebook shows you exactly how your image will look in the feed before it goes live. If you see bars — stop, resize, and reupload. It takes 2 minutes and makes a big difference.

Little things like this are what separate businesses that look like they know what they're doing from ones that don't — and in a crowded social media feed, that gap matters.

Need help making your Facebook page look its best? That's exactly what Hayford Marketing does — for small businesses in Columbus, Reynoldsburg, Gahanna, Pickerington, and all of Central Ohio.

□ 614-273-5303  |  □ hayfordmarketing.com

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Frequently Asked Questions: Facebook Image Sizes for Small Businesses in Columbus, Ohio

Why do my Facebook posts have colored bars on them?

Colored bars appear when your image doesn't match Facebook's preferred dimensions. Facebook fills the empty space with a color sampled from your photo. The fix is to resize your image to 1920 x 1440 pixels before uploading — that 4:3 ratio fits the Facebook feed perfectly with no bars.

What is the best image size for a Facebook post in 2025?

For a standard Facebook feed post without colored bars, use 1920 x 1440 pixels (4:3 ratio). For a square post, use 1080 x 1080 pixels. Both display cleanly in the feed on desktop and mobile.

What free tool can I use to resize images for Facebook?

Canva is the easiest free option — it has Facebook post templates already sized correctly. Adobe Express is another great free choice. Both work on desktop and mobile and require no design experience.

Do image sizes affect Facebook engagement?

Yes. Posts with awkward bars or poor cropping get scrolled past more often, which signals to Facebook's algorithm that the content isn't worth showing. Clean, correctly sized images look more professional and earn more clicks, likes, and shares — which keeps your posts in front of more people.

Can a marketing company in Columbus help me manage my Facebook posts?

Absolutely. Hayford Marketing LLC in Reynoldsburg handles Facebook post creation, image sizing, scheduling, and engagement strategy for small businesses throughout Columbus and Central Ohio. No long-term contracts, no big agency pricing. Call 614-273-5303 or visit hayfordmarketing.com.