Images in your Learnster platform play a key role in creating a strong first impression and setting the tone for your platform and content. This article provides guidance on choosing the right image formats, sizes, and styles — including specific tips for hero images and course cover images.
Hero image on top. Course card images below👇
General Image Principles
When adding images to your platform or course, follow these best practices to ensure a professional and consistent look:
High Resolution – Use high-quality images to avoid pixelation or blurriness. Crisp visuals make a strong first impression.
Professional and On-Brand – Choose images that reflect your organization’s tone, values, and visual identity.
Recommended Size – Aim for a minimum of 1920 x 1080 px. This standard web resolution works well for wide layouts and gives you flexibility to crop without losing quality.
Landscape Orientation – Opt for landscape (horizontal) images rather than portrait, as they better suit most screen sizes and layouts.
Supported File Formats – Use JPG, JPEG, or PNG formats.
Minimize Text in Images – Avoid adding important text directly into images, as it may appear too small or render inconsistently across devices. If the text is decorative or purely for visual impression, it’s fine — but don’t rely on it for conveying key information.
The Hero Image
The hero image is the large, wide image displayed at the top of your platform. You upload it under Settings > Customize. This image plays a key role in setting the tone for your platform. It should create a strong first impression and visually represent your brand in both color and style.
Hero Image Best Practices
Keep it clean – choose images with a clear focal point and simple composition. Avoid cluttered visuals or backgrounds with small details that may not display well across all screen sizes.
Set the mood – Focus on creating a feeling or atmosphere rather than conveying detailed content.
Stay on brand – Follow your brand guidelines for colors, imagery, and style to ensure consistency across your platform.
Use the right size – For an exact crop, use 1400 x 360 px. You can also use a larger image and crop it during upload to fit the space as needed.
Use color overlays if needed – A dark or semi-transparent overlay help text stand out and reduce visual noise — especially useful if you're working with a busy background.
Responsive Design
Note that hero images and course cover images adapt to different screen sizes and orientations. What appears one way on a desktop — such as a wide layout with visible details — may look different on a mobile device, where the image could be cropped to fit the screen.
This example shows how a hero image adjusts across devices — some elements, like people or background details, may be cropped on mobile. Still, with the right image choice, the overall look and feel remain strong and consistent👇
ℹ️ If most learning happens in the Learnster app, choose images that look good on smaller screens — and don’t forget to test how they appear on mobile.
Course Cover Images
Course cover images are shown when a learner opens a course, and also appear on course cards — such as on the start page and in the course catalog. Their main purpose is to give learners a quick visual cue about the course’s theme or subject. You add a course cover image in course settings.
Course Cover Image Guidelines
Set the tone – Just like hero images, course cover images should evoke a mood or theme — rather than trying to communicate too much detail.
Avoid text in images – Text in images may become too small to read or be cut off on some screens. Instead, use the course title field to display important information.
Keep responsiveness in mind – Course cover images adapt depending on the context — they may look different on various devices, and depending on whether the course is open or displayed as a course card.
Overlays for better readability
Using an overlay helps improve text readability when course titles appear over images (the overlay does not appear on course cards, such as in the catalog or on the start page).
Below is a comparison of a course cover image without (left) and with (right) an overlay. As shown, the overlay enhances readability by creating better contrast between the text and the background image👇
ℹ️ If you upload images directly from Unsplash, the sizes will automatically be suitable for use — no need to resize or adjust.