Tutorial:Creating a News Article ThumbnailThe 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

What is a News Article

Thumbnail

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

• 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

Elementaryvs.

Secondary

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

• Size• Shape• Alignment on Homepage

Size, Shape & Alignment by School Type

Elementary Secondary

800 x 450 pixelsor

16 x 9 inches (ppt)

Size:

Alignment:

600 x 400 pixelsor

12 x 8 inches (ppt)

Size:

Alignment:

Vertical on page,Right of Article

Shape:

Rectangle w/ Pointed Corners

Horizontal on page,Above Article

Shape:

Rectangle w/ Rounded Corners

How to CreateThumbnails

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

• PowerPoint• Canva

Create a News Article Thumbnail Using PowerPoint

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

Elementary Template

Secondary Template

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

1 2OR Change your own ratio in PowerPoint by:

1. Clicking Design Slide Size Custom Slide Size

2. Match these settings:

3. Click OK

4. Click Ensure Fit

16.000 in

9.000 in

12.000 in

8.000 in

Elementary Secondary

Create a News Article Thumbnail Using CanvaWhat: 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

TEMPLATESFind designs you like

ELEMENTSInsert shapes & graphics

UPLOADSAdd school logos & photos

TEXTFind fonts & customize text

MOREExplore styles, charts, etc.

Use tabs on left nav to explore

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

Have Canva Template Questions?Contact Kellie Feramisco

kellieferamisco@cusd.comX79093

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

Save Your Graphic

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.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.

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5

Upload Your News Article

Thumbnail

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