Now that the technical requirements and design considerations for Twitter header images have been covered in Part 1 of this topic, the next step is putting that knowledge to work in creating and uploading a header image to Twitter.

A downloadable Photoshop header template can help you plan, create, and save your header image. It has “helper” layers to show you where the profile photo is positioned, a diagram of image dimensions, sample text you can use to check for readability, and a semi-transparent black gradient layer to test the effect on your header image before you upload it to Twitter.

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In September, 2012 Twitter added a header image option allowing users to further customize the look of their Twitter pages. Unlike the profile photo that I wrote about previously, uploading a header image is quite straight-forward and the results are predictable.

Design considerations are a more pressing concern with the header image. You’ll want to ensure that the white text that overlays the header image is readable and that the profile photo (avatar) doesn’t obscure an important part of your image.

In Part 1, we’ll look at header display dimensions, upload specifications, and design considerations. Part 2 provides detailed, illustrated instructions on working with a Photoshop template you can download to help you plan and save your header image. This is followed by instructions on uploading and removing header images from Twitter.

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Social media sites don’t make it easy to understand how to customize your account pages with images. For designer types like myself who want to know precise image dimensions and anything else that may affect the resulting image quality, it can be frustrating. User help pages often leave out important details and Twitter is no exception. I’ve spent hours googling to find the answers I’m looking for. Hopefully, this article and the ones that follow on the Twitter header image will save you time and spare you the frustration that I experienced.

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