Answering the “best” Shopify banner size with a fixed resolution (e.g., 1920px * 1080px) won’t be a productive direction for this discussion.

Considering that Shopify automatically compresses image dimensions and crops them for optimal display on various screens, you have little to worry about regarding exact image size.

That doesn't mean you can leave everything on autopilot, though. You'd still want a general idea of the best Shopify image sizes.

The best banner size for Shopify depend on various factors:

• The banner height set in the Shopify theme editor (e.g., Small,  Medium, Large, etc.)
• The Shopify theme being used

Source: Beefcake Swimwear/Kirrin Finch

There are websites whose banners take up only half of the first fold, whereas some Shopify banners take up the entire above-the-fold space.

The ideal Shopify website banner size will depend on how you want your website to look.

How Big Should Your Shopify Banner Size Be?

When editing Dawn in the Shopify theme editor, Shopify suggests using 3:2 image sizes for banner sections.

This means Shopify images with 2160*1440 or 1500*1000 resolutions.

Having a 3:2 aspect ratio image will allow you to size your banner anywhere from full-screen to just half of the first fold without looking cropped.

Maximum Shopify Image Banner Size

This, however, doesn’t mean you can use images as large as 3,000,000 * 2,000,000 pixels. When considering the size of Shopify banner images, it's important to remember that Shopify has an image size limit of 5000 * 5000 pixels and 20 MB.

Also, high-resolution images tend to have bigger file sizes. This means the more “HD” your images are, the slower your website will load. 

To optimize the size of Shopify banner images, while Shopify’s image resolution limit is quite generous at 5k, we don’t suggest you go even half that size.

A 1500 * 1000 image will look crisp and clear on most devices—from desktops and laptops to tablets and mobile devices.

Source: Electro theme

The size of Shopify banner in the image shown above has a 1421*528 pixel resolution, for reference.

Crucial Banner Size for Shopify Considerations

There are some important things to note when deciding on Shopify image banner size.

Ideal Banner Size for Shopify Depend on The Theme You’re Using

As mentioned earlier, your choice theme is a huge factor for how much of the Shopify banner will be displayed.

With this in mind, we can say either:

• 1) Your Shopify image banner size should adapt to the theme you’re using, or
• 2) Your theme should adapt to the image you wish to use.

But we favor the third option: 3) Both your Shopify banner image and your theme should adapt to how you want your Shopify website to look.

Shine Theme Dimensions

Shine theme allows users to fill visitors’ screens from 50% to 100% with a banner image.

This feature essentially allows you to choose between a banner section or a hero section.

Considering that most monitor and laptop screens are 16:9 resolution(source: statcounter), merchants who want a full-screen hero banner experience may use 16:9 Shopify images.

Shine also has the option to fill mobile devices’ screens.

Source: Clipchamp

If you plan to fill entire mobile screens with a banner image, we recommend a 2:3 aspect ratio image or a 9:16 one to ensure the optimal banner size for Shopify.

Shine can set how large the Shopify image banner size should be for desktop and mobile devices separately.

Furthermore, Shine has an “adapt to image” option in the section height editor.

This allows Shine to match the banner section’s resolution with the image’s actual dimensions.

Dawn Theme Dimensions

For laptops and desktops, Dawn displays:

• 2:1 image sizes when the banner height is set to Large;
• 18:7 image sizes when the banner height is set to Medium; and
• And 24:7 image sizes when the banner height is set to Small.

For mobile devices, Dawn displays:

• 5:4 image sizes when the banner height is set to Large;
• 10:7 image sizes when the banner height is set to Medium; and
• And 7:4 image sizes when the banner height is set to Small.

Notice how Dawn’s display aspect ratios are different from Shine’s.

Dawn doesn’t display Shopify image banner size to fill device screens. Hence the distinction in display ratios.

It’s crucial to note that different themes will have different display ratios. Make sure to explore a theme’s demo pages or explore them via the “Try Theme”

When in doubt, 1:1 square images are flexible image sizes for mobile formats. They may function as Shopify mobile banner size images, product images, or blog-featured images without being cropped to obscurity.

Responsive Web Design

Most Shopify themes adopt a responsive web design.

This means that any website created through Shopify will adapt its dimensions to whichever devices visitors are using.

Responsive web design makes a Shopify store navigable and streamlined on any device.

So merchants won’t need to create separate mobile and desktop pages (even if they have the option to do so on some themes). Furthermore, Shopify web designers need not worry about which Shopify website banner size to use for desktop pages and mobile pages.

Shopify themes’ responsive web design will automatically adjust the Shopify website banner size to deliver the intended website experience, regardless of device.

Device Screen Sizes

Source: Analytico

Take into consideration your target audience—what devices do you envision them using?

Also, assess your Shopify analytics. From which devices are your customers mostly coming?

If your customers are primarily visiting your Shopify store through mobile devices, then you may opt to focus on a mobile-centered design and choose an appropriate Shopify mobile banner size.

But if your customers are primarily coming from laptop and desktop devices, a horizontal image would be more prominent.

Optimize Your Images

A bigger file size doesn't necessarily mean high-quality images

Listed below are some crucial tips to consider before uploading images.

Higher Resolution Isn’t Always Better

Higher resolution typically means a crisper, clearer, and overall more “premium-looking” image.

But that isn’t always the case.

Not everyone has 4k monitors.

Plus, on mobile devices, it can be hard to decipher the difference between 1080p and 720p unless you look really really close.

When considering your Shopify mobile banner size, once images reach an optimal resolution, site load time and snappiness start to become more crucial factors in a positive user experience.

To achieve better load speeds, don’t crank your image resolution way up. You’ll sacrifice significant load time for an incremental improvement in visual clarity.

Ideally, you wouldn’t want your images to go beyond a 1920-pixel width. That’s the maximum resolution of most monitors.

Use Image Compression Tools

Source: Optimizilla

Compressing images can achieve smaller file sizes with virtually no compromise on image quality.

A smaller image file helps your site load faster.

You can compress large image files with image editing apps such as Photoshop and dedicated compression apps such as Optimizilla and TinyPNG.

Use Fast Themes

Some themes automatically optimize uploaded images to improve site load speed without compromising on visual quality.

These themes include SalesHunterThemes’ Blum theme, Shine theme, and Electro theme

Use JPGs instead of PNGs

JPG image formats are generally smaller than PNGs.

It’s highly recommended that you only use the PNG image format for icons and transparent images (e.g., the Shopify logo image).

For static images, use JPGs.

If you have PNGs that would serve a JPG’s function (i.e., their transparency won’t be used), it's best to convert them into a JPG using Photoshop or available conversion tools.

Analyze Image Sizes of Other Websites

If you still aren’t sure what resolution or aspect ratio to use, you may see what others are doing.

Explore a website you like and assess the website images' resolutions.

The sites you assess don't even have to be Shopify stores.

Here’s how you can do it:

Step #1 Find a Good Reference Website

Source: Goodfair

Look through your competitors' websites.

That way, you can see what page formats might work well with your audience.

This is basic competitor research 101.

Bookmark a few competitor sites whose website layouts you’d want inspiration from. You may want a bunch of these for layout references and studies, so keep a couple in stash.

Step #2 Inspect the Webpage

Note: This next step is best done on a PC.

Once you have your reference sites, visit their homepages.

You may also look at their product pages, collection pages, contact us pages, about us pages, etc. if they have banner images.

Right-click anywhere on the page you want to inspect. A dropdown will appear. Select Inspect.

This will bring up the element inspector.

Step #3 Hover Over The Image

Press Ctrl + Shift + C.

This key shortcut will allow you to hover over elements (e.g., text, buttons, images, etc.) to inspect them.

Hover over the banner image of the competitor site. This should highlight it.

Take note of the details that appear. You should see the element resolution in the upper right corner of the details box.

Note that this resolution may not be the exact resolution that the merchant uploaded the image with. This is just the Shopify render resolution. So, the competitor merchant may have originally uploaded the image with a higher resolution.

Nonetheless, this render resolution tells us the aspect ratio of the display image.

We may copy this render resolution if we please.

However, your theme may prevent you from getting your Shopify banner at a specific display aspect ratio.

Shine theme allows you to adapt your banner display aspect ratio to that of the original image.

So, you’ll be sure that the banner will display according to how your designers laid out the image—not cropped or zoomed in.

FAQs

What is the best aspect ratio for Shopify banner?

For a flexible and adaptable image, Shopify suggests a 3:2 aspect ratio. This allows Shopify to crop it and optimize image layout for various website configurations and devices.

But if you want a hero banner image—a banner that fills the website’s first fold and visitors’ entire screen—we suggest a 16:9 aspect ratio. But make sure to use a theme that allows you to expand the banner image to this size, like Shine.

How do I resize a banner in Shopify?

In the Shopify Theme Editor, click on the banner section that you want to resize.

The panel on the right will provide ample resizing settings.

These settings will look different depending on the theme.

Dawn, for example, has three size settings to choose from. Shine, on the other hand, has five, and allows users to have different size settings for mobile and desktop.

What is the best banner size for mobile Shopify?

If your visitors come from mobile, it can be a good idea to have a 5:4 aspect ratio image for your website banner.

But if you want a hero image that occupies mobile phones’ entire screen on the first fold, we suggest a 2:3 or 9:16 aspect ratio image. Then use a theme that allows you to set custom banner dimensions.

What is the ideal Shopify mobile banner size?

The ideal Shopify mobile banner size is around 640 x 360 pixels, ensuring fast load times and a good display on mobile devices.

What’s the best Shopify website banner size?

The best Shopify website banner size is typically 1200 x 400 pixels, which works well for headers and hero sections.

Conclusion

This guide applies to any image that occupies significant above-the-fold space.

Which means these tips are also applicable to collection images, the featured blog image, Shopify slideshow images, and product images, among others.