Shopify Hero Banner: Sizes, Examples & Best Practices (2025)

Shopify Hero Banner Guide: Create a First Impression That Sells

You have about 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression on your Shopify store. That is it. Before a customer reads a single word, they see your hero banner. It is the billboard of your digital storefront.

Yet, so many merchants get it wrong. We see blurry images, text that gets cut off on mobile, and calls-to-action (CTAs) that blend into the background. If your hero section isn't optimized, you are leaking potential sales from the moment a visitor lands on your site.

In this guide, we will cover everything you need to know about the shopify hero image size, how to design banners that convert, and how to solve the dreaded "mobile crop" issue.

What is a Hero Banner?

A hero banner is the large, prominent image or video section at the top of your homepage. It usually contains:

• A high-quality background image or video
• A headline (H1)
• A subheadline
• A primary Call to Action (CTA) button (e.g., "Shop Now")

The Perfect Shopify Hero Image Size

There is no single "magic" pixel dimension because every theme and screen is different. However, adhering to these standard aspect ratios will ensure your banner looks professional on 99% of devices.

Desktop Dimensions

Recommended: 1920 x 1080 px (16:9 Aspect Ratio)

This is the standard fullscreen size. It looks great on laptops and large monitors. If you want a shorter banner that allows users to see products immediately (a technique called "keeping content above the fold"), use 1920 x 600 px.

Mobile Dimensions

Recommended: 800 x 1200 px (2:3 Portrait Ratio)

This is where most stores fail. They try to use their wide desktop banner on a tall mobile screen. The result? A tiny strip of an image where nothing is visible.

The Fix: Use a theme or section that supports separate desktop and mobile images. This allows you to serve a wide image to laptop users and a tall, full-screen image to mobile users.

Don't have a theme that supports separate mobile images? You don't need to switch themes. You can add a premium Hero Section from Section Store that includes this feature built-in. No subscription for any Hero sections.

Design Best Practices for High-Converting Banners

Getting the size right is step one. Step two is the design. Here is how to design a hero banner that drives clicks.

1. The "Safe Zone" Rule

Never put important text or faces on the extreme edges of your image. Different devices will crop the sides differently.

• Center your subject: Keep the main focus in the middle 50% of the frame.
• Leave negative space: Don't clutter the image. You need empty space (sky, wall, plain background) where your text overlay can sit and be readable.

2. Use HTML Text, Not Image Text

Beginners often design their banners in Canva, adding the text directly onto the JPG file. Do not do this.

Why?

• Responsiveness: When the image shrinks on mobile, your text becomes microscopic.
• SEO: Google cannot read text inside an image.
• Accessibility: Screen readers for visually impaired users cannot read it.

Instead, upload a clean background image and use your Shopify theme editor to add the Heading and Button on top. This ensures the text stays crisp and readable on any screen size.

3. Contrast is Key

White text on a light background is invisible. Black text on a dark background is impossible to read. Ensure your text pops.

Quick Tip: If your image is too "busy," add a black overlay with 30-40% opacity in your theme settings. This darkens the image slightly, making white text stand out perfectly.

Top 3 Hero Banner Examples

1. The "Lifestyle" Hero

Best for: Fashion, Outdoor, Travel brands. Shows the product being used in real life. It sells a feeling rather than just a spec sheet. Example: A hiker wearing a backpack on a mountain peak.

2. The "Product Focus" Hero

Best for: Tech, Beauty, Skincare. A clean, close-up shot of the product with a solid color background. Minimal distraction. Example: A bottle of serum on a marble table.

3. The "Video Background" Hero

Best for: High-energy brands, Sports, Food. A silent, looping video that captures attention instantly. Warning: Keep video files under 5MB to avoid slowing down your site. Use MP4 format.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

"My banner is cutting off the model's head!"

This is an aspect ratio mismatch. Your image is likely too tall for the container. Solution: Change the "Section Height" setting in your theme from "Adapt to image" to "Small" or "Medium," or crop your image to 16:9 before uploading.

"The image looks blurry on my iPhone."

You likely uploaded a small file. Solution: Ensure your desktop hero image is at least 1920px wide. For mobile-specific images, ensure they are at least 800px wide.

"I can't have different images for mobile and desktop."

This is a limitation of many free Shopify themes. Solution: This is a dealbreaker for modern ecommerce. You need to upgrade your section. All of our Hero sections allow for completely different assets on mobile and desktop, ensuring you never have awkward cropping again.

Conclusion

Your hero banner is the most valuable real estate on your website. Treating the shopify hero image size as an afterthought is a costly mistake.

Recap Checklist:

• Desktop Size: 1920 x 1080 px.
• Mobile Size: 800 x 1200 px.
• Format: JPG (compressed under 500KB).
• Text: Use Shopify's text overlay, not text baked into the image.

Ready to upgrade your storefront? Stop fighting with your theme's limitations. Browse our collection of easy-to-install Hero Banner sections for just $9 and give your store the professional look it deserves in minutes.

Next up: Shopify FAQ template that converts