The Communic8 media library is where you upload images for use in campaigns and broadcasts. Images may appear differently depending on how they are viewed (e.g. in a webpage, mobile app, or email). This can be confusing, but the following recommendations will help take the guesswork out of formatting your images.

When you upload an image to the Communic8 media library, the original file is stored without modification. When an image from the media library is used in a campaign, it will be resized to optimise it for display based on the device it is viewed on (e.g. laptop, phone, tablet, etc.). This optimisation is usually impossible to spot, but makes a big difference in how quickly the image will display. The Communic8 platform does this to deliver your images as quickly as possible without compromising on quality or user experience. In other words, we do the thinking for you. Your job is to make sure the original image you provide follows the suggestions below.

When uploading images into the media library, follow these guidelines:

We recommend using image files of less than 500 KB for best results, though the limit for an individual image upload is 40 MB. When it comes to image size, bigger isn't always better, as uploading multiple large images can affect performance. If you're adding multiple images to a campaign, keep your overall message size in mind.

The dimensions of the original image you upload to the media library can have a big impact on how it displays.

You can use third-party software to reduce an image's dimensions. We don't recommend enlarging a smaller image, as this can make it appear pixelated. Instead, start with an image that is at least 1920 pixels wide.

When you are ready to send your communications you have the ability to add a thumbnail. You can use the same image for all delivery methods. If you do this, Communic8 will resize and crop the image to fit. Alternatively, thumbnails can be set individually for each delivery method, in which case we recommend the following:

Be careful when adding images that have text written on the actual image (text which is embedded within the image), as the text may be cropped (not visible) on smaller devices.

If your image contains text, it's best to save it as a .png file. Text in a .jpg file often becomes blurry when the image is compressed. A .png file typically retains its sharpness, especially if the image is displaying at its original size. But it always comes down to balance as .png files tend to be larger than .jpg files.

Ensure that your image is in the correct orientation before uploading it. If your image is saved upside-down, rotate the image with image editing software before loading it to the media library.

If you're concerned about image resolution, focus on the image's dimensions and keeping the file sizes under 500 KB, rather than DPI (dots per inch) or PPI (pixels per inch). DPI and PPI affect an image's print quality, but not its quality when someone views your communications.

Even if all your images are under 500 KB, if you have a large number of images on a page it can cause issues such as slow loading speeds. Try to keep your message size to under 5 MB or smaller.

To find the size and/or dimensions of your images before you upload them to the media library:

An image's aspect ratio is its width to height ratio expressed as a number like 4:3. Maintaining a consistent aspect ratio prevents images from becoming distorted (squashed in either direction). For example, if you reduce the height of an image by half, you must also reduce the width by half, otherwise, the image will be distorted and appear squashed down.