Ghost Image Sizes: Best Practices

Quick answer: Upload one large original (at least 2000px wide for full-width images) and let Ghost do the rest. Ghost generates multiple sizes from every upload, and the theme automatically serves the smallest one that looks sharp on the visitor’s screen. Uploading images that are too small is the mistake that can’t be fixed automatically; uploading big is always safe.

How Ghost and your theme handle images

Every image you upload is processed by Ghost into a set of widths the theme declares (in Luxe themes: 160, 320, 600, 960, 1200, and 2000 pixels). When a page loads, the browser picks the best fit for the screen and pixel density. Two practical consequences:

1. You never need to pre-resize. The 4000px photo from your camera works fine; phones will still receive a 320px version.
2. Small uploads stay small. Ghost can shrink images but never enlarges them. An 800px upload will look soft on a desktop screen or a retina display, and nothing can repair that after the fact.

Recommended sizes per image slot

These slots exist on every Ghost site. Exact display ratios vary by theme, so check your theme’s documentation for its specific numbers; the sizes below are safe for all Luxe themes.

Set the publication images under Settings → Design & branding → Brand; author images under Settings → Staff; tag images under Tags in Ghost Admin.

Formats and file size

• Photos: JPEG or WebP. WebP gives smaller files at the same quality and every current browser supports it.
• Logos and graphics: SVG where possible (crisp at every size), otherwise PNG with transparency.
• File size: keep originals under roughly 1 to 2 MB. Ghost serves resized versions to visitors either way, but very large originals slow down uploads and the editor.
• Animated GIFs: work, but are heavy; a short video file is usually smaller.

If an image looks cropped

Post cards display images at a fixed aspect ratio and crop the overflow, keeping the center. If something important sits at the edge of the frame, reframe the image toward the center. Several Luxe themes also expose the card ratio as a setting or a small CSS override, so you can match the crop to how your images are shot; your theme’s documentation lists the specifics.

If an image looks blurry

It was almost certainly uploaded too small, then stretched by a large or high-density screen. Re-upload a bigger original. As a rule of thumb, aim for at least twice the largest size the image is displayed at.