Tutorial: Creating a
News Article Thumbnail

The image that appears on your homepage next to your News Article!

Table of Contents

What is a News Article Thumbnail? Elementary vs. Secondary
How to Create News Article Thumbnails - PowerPoint
- Canva

Upload Your News Article Thumbnail

Purpose: To help identify content of and draw attention to the News Articles on a school’s homepage.

What is a News Article Thumbnail

• Image that appears on homepage with News Article

• Can be a preview of a document you are sharing, a photo of your school/students, clipart, or an image/icon from the internet

• Must be a .jpg file!

• File name may not contain spaces or strange characters! Stick to letters and
underscores (_).

News Article Thumbnail Examples

Elementary	Secondary

Elementary vs. Secondary

Thumbnails differ from one another on Elementary compared to Secondary sites in a few ways:

• Size
• Shape
• Alignment on Homepage

			
	Size:
		
	800 x 450 pixels or
16 x 9 inches (ppt)
		
	Alignment:
		
	Vertical on page, Right of Article
		
	Shape:
		
	Rectangle w/ Pointed Corners

Elementary

Size, Shape & Alignment by School Type
Size:

600 x 400 pixels or
12 x 8 inches (ppt)

Alignment:

Horizontal on page, Above Article

Shape:

Rectangle w/ Rounded Corners

Secondary

How to Create Thumbnails

There are two recommended ways to create News Article Thumbnail images:

• PowerPoint • Canva

Create a News Article Thumbnail Using PowerPoint

1

Use the templates we created in the appropriate aspect ratios. Click the links below to download templates with instructions for:

OR	2

Change your own ratio in PowerPoint by:

1. Clicking Design Slide Size Custom Slide Size

2. Match these settings:

Elementary	Secondary

Elementary Template                                       16.000 in 9.000 in

12.000 in

8.000 in

Secondary Template

3. Click OK

4. Click Ensure Fit

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Create a News Article Thumbnail Using Canva

What: Canva is an online design tool with LOTS of customizable templates, many of which are available in the FREE version of the tool. (No need to pay for Canva Pro, as the free version provides plenty of options for our purposes.)

How: Click the links below to access news article thumbnail templates in Canva. Additional tips & instructions are on the following slides.

Elementary News Article Thumbnail Template Secondary News Article Thumbnail Template

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

How to Use Canva Templates

1. After clicking on the template link in the previous slide, click Use template.

2. You will land on a page with several design options in the correct dimensions for your news article thumbnails.

3. Design your News Article Thumbnail graphic! (Pointers on next page.)

Design Your Graphic

Have Canva Template Questions? Contact Kellie Feramisco kellieferamisco@cusd.com X79093

*If I can’t answer your questions, I may refer you to Sarah Burress!*

Use tabs on left nav to explore design elements

No Crown = Free (Use these!) Crown = Paid CanvaPro feature

TEMPLATES Find designs you like

ELEMENTS Insert shapes & graphics

UPLOADS Add school logos & photos

TEXT
Find fonts & customize text

MORE Explore styles, charts, etc.

Save Your Graphic	1

1. When design is complete, click Download in the upper right corner.

2. Under File type, select JPG.
3. Under Select pages, choose the pages you
want to save.	3
4. Click Download. File will appear at the bottom left.

5. Click the arrow next to the File, then click Open.

6. Save files to desired location on computer.

2

4

5

Upload Your News Article Thumbnail

Follow the instructions in the News Articles Tutorial for uploading thumbnail images (pages 15-17).