General Image and Video Guidelines

Accepted File Types 

  • Files must have a file type (extension), such as .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .webp, .gif, .mp4, .mov, or .avi.  
  • Only one video is allowed per post for Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 
  • Video URLs must be in an accepted video extension such as .mp4 or .mov. You will not be able to embed start markers (for example, ending a URL in “code=30s”).

Standard Social Media Video Requirements  

  • Each social network has different requirements for its videos. If you want a video that can be published to the “big three” social networks such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, use the following standards: 
    • Dimensions: 1280 x 720 px 
    •  Length: 60 seconds 
    • Size: 50 MB  
    • Format: MP4

A Note on Designing for Best Parish Experience

Catholic Social Media will notify you of errors if you try and upload media that does not fit the requirements listed below. For media to preview properly on the planner, be sure to keep graphics to 940x788 pixels. While the social media networks will accept rather large file sizes, many parishes are utilizing slower internet connections. Keeping files to a manageable size will help them achieve success in using Catholic Social Media: Diocesan Essentials.

Facebook Requirements (utilized by 100% of parishes)

  • For Images:
    • Max image size: 5MB  
    • Supported formats: JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, animated GIF, and TIFF 
    •  Recommended upload size of 1,200 x 630 pixels 
    • Appears in feed at a max width of 470 pixels and will scale to a max of 1:1  
    • Appears on page at a max width of 504 pixels and will scale to a max of 1:1
  • For Videos:
    • Max video size: 100MB
    • Supported formats: MP4, MOV, and AVI
    •  Duration max: 4 hours 
    • Recommended video dimensions is 1280 x 720 for landscape and portrait 
    • Landscape aspect ratio is 16:9
    • Portrait aspect ratio is 9:16 
    • Video max frames 30fps

Instagram Requirements (utilized by 40% of parishes)

  • For Images:
    • Max image size: 5MB
    • Supported formats: JPG and PNG
    • Only 25 Instagram posts are allowed over a 24-hour period
    • Aspect ratio: Must be within a 4:5 to 1.91:1 range
    • Minimum width: 320
    • Maximum width: 1440
  • For Videos:
    • Max video size: 100MB 
    • Supported formats: MP4 and MOV 
    • Multi-videos are not supported 
    • Duration: 3-60 seconds 
    • Video max frames 60fps 
    • Video bitrate: VBR, 5Mbps maximum 
    • Audio bitrate: 128kbps 
    • Audio codec: AAC, 48khz sample rate maximum, 1 or 2 channels (mono or stereo) 
    • Video codec: HEVC or H264, progressive scan, closed GOP, 4:2:0 chroma subsampling 
    • Frame rate: 23-60 FPS

Twitter Requirements (utilized by 10% of parishes)

  • For Images:
    • Max image size: 5MB 
    • Supported formats: JPG, PNG, GIF, Animated GIF, and WEBP
    • Image dimensions must be >= 4x4 and <= 8192x8192 px
    • Recommended Tweet sharing a single image: 1200 x 675 px 
    • Recommended aspect ratio is 16:9
  • For Videos: 
    • Max video size 100MB
    • Supported formats: MP4 and MOV
    • Maximum video resolution: 1280x1024 px 
    • Recommended Video Codec: H264 High Profile 
    • Recommended Video Resolution: 
      • Landscape 1280x720 px 
      • Portrait 720x1280 px
      • Square 720x720 px 
    • Frame rate must be 60 FPS or less
    • Duration must be between 0.5 seconds and 140 seconds
    • Aspect ratio must be between 1:3 and 3:1
    • Must have 1:1 pixel aspect ratio
    • Audio must be mono or stereo, not 5.1 or greater