The Short Answer
No, Facebook does not allow animated GIFs to be used as cover photos. Facebook cover photos must be static JPG, PNG or GIF images. Uploading an animated GIF as a Facebook cover photo will result in a static image being displayed from the first frame of the GIF.
Facebook Cover Photo Specifications
Facebook has specific requirements for cover photos in terms of file size, dimensions and format:
- File Size: Less than 100MB
- Dimensions: 820 pixels by 312 pixels
- File Types: JPG, PNG, GIF (non-animated)
Animated GIFs do not meet Facebook’s file format specifications for cover photos. While you can upload an animated GIF, only the first frame will be displayed as your cover image.
Why Facebook Doesn’t Allow Animated GIF Cover Photos
There are a few reasons why Facebook does not support animated GIFs for cover photos:
Performance
Animated GIFs can negatively impact performance, resulting in slow load times. With millions of users visiting Facebook daily, large animated files at cover photo resolutions could significantly degrade performance across the platform.
Consistent User Experience
Facebook likely wants to maintain a consistent feed experience for users, without distracting animations at the top of timelines. Static cover photos align with the rest of the primarily static content in Facebook feeds.
Advertising
Facebook cover photos are highly visible real estate for brands and businesses to communicate their identities. Allowing animated GIFs could detract from this goal and make cover photos too distracting as an advertising space.
Clutter
Excessive motion and activity in the cover photo area could also contribute to visual clutter on timelines. Facebook aims to keep its interface clean and usable. Animated GIFs may not align with this goal.
Workarounds to Use GIFs on Facebook
While you can’t set an animated GIF as your Facebook cover photo, there are some workarounds to display GIFs on your profile:
Profile Picture
Facebook does allow animated GIFs for profile pictures up to 5MB in size. Setting an animated GIF as your profile picture is currently the only way to display animation next to your name and posts.
Share GIFs in Posts
When creating a post, you can upload a GIF up to 100MB via the GIF button in the composer. This will allow you to share animated GIFs on your timeline.
Link to GIFs
You can post links to animated GIFs hosted on other sites like Giphy and Imgur, allowing people to view the GIFs when they click the link.
Upload Video
If you convert your GIF to video format like MP4, you can upload it as a native Facebook video in posts or ads. Just be aware of Facebook video length limits.
Tips for Making Static GIF Cover Photos
Even though you can’t use full animated GIFs, you can still create interesting static GIF cover photos:
Freeze on a Striking Frame
Pick out an eye-catching frame from your GIF to use as the static image. Often the middle of the animation has the most action.
Overlay Text
Add bold text overlays to your frozen GIF frame to add more visual interest. This can highlight key messaging.
Crop Creatively
Zoom in and crop around the most interesting part of your chosen GIF frame. Cropping creates more focus.
Add Effects or Filters
Consider applying filters or text/graphic effects to your static GIF cover photo using photo editing apps. This adds artistic flair.
Use High-Resolution GIFs
Choose a high-resolution GIF source with larger dimensions to allow for quality cropping. Pixelated GIFs will look blurry.
Tools to Convert GIFs to Video
If you want to convert your GIF into a video file to upload natively to Facebook, here are some easy tools:
GIF to MP4 Converters
Online tools like Ezgif, Zamzar and CloudConvert can quickly convert GIFs into MP4 or other video formats. Just upload your GIF and download the converted file.
Online Video Editors
Tools like Animoto, InVideo and Biteable allow you to upload a GIF and convert it to video right within their online editor. This allows you to customize with effects and text.
Desktop Video Editing Software
Video editing programs like Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and iMovie can import GIFs and export them as standard video files on your local computer.
Mobile Apps
Some mobile apps like Video & GIF Memes and GIF to Video Convertor offer quick GIF to video conversion and customization options right on your smartphone.
Facebook Tools
You can also upload your GIF when creating a Facebook ad and the Ads Manager will automatically convert it to video format for you.
Are There Any Other Options for Animated Posts?
While animated GIFs are not supported for Facebook covers, you do have options for injecting motion into some of your Facebook posts:
Facebook Stories
You can upload GIFs and short videos to your Facebook Stories that play automatically as people scroll through them. Stories allow more creative flexibility than the main feed.
Facebook Live
The Facebook Live streaming feature lets you broadcast real-time video to your followers. Live video automatically plays as people scroll past it in their feeds.
Native Video Posts
As mentioned earlier, uploading video files directly to your timeline as native Facebook video posts will make them play automatically as people scroll.
Carousels
Photo and video carousels let you string together multiple images and clips into a scrollable post. This allows a sense of motion.
Slideshows
Similar to carousels, you can upload albums of photos and select the slideshow option to display them as an auto-advancing post.
Conclusion
Unfortunately animated GIFs are not supported for Facebook cover photos due to file size, aspect ratio and performance restrictions. However, you do have options like uploading GIF profile pictures, sharing GIF link posts, converting GIFs to video, or using Facebook Stories and Live for animated content. With creative thinking and the right tools, you can still inject motion into your Facebook presence. The key is working within the given limitations of each post type. With the rise of video and new formats like Stories, we may see support for animated cover photos eventually. But for now, static images are still the standard.