Extend an Image to Banner Size with AI: Website Hero, YouTube and Social

By Ismail Farooq · 16 October 2026 · 5 min read

To make a banner from a photo that is the wrong shape, extend it instead of cropping. Open the Banner Extender, choose the banner shape and AI draws the extra scene at the sides or top and bottom. The free version does this on your device; Pro AI uses Google’s outpainting model for wide extensions on detailed photos.

What people search for, answered

What size should a website banner be?

A full-width hero is usually 1920 to 2560 pixels wide and about 21:9 to 16:9 in shape (for example 2520 × 1080 or 1920 × 1080). Keep the important part in the centre, because phones crop the sides. Compress it to under about 300 KB with the Image Compressor.

What is the YouTube banner size?

YouTube channel art is 2560 × 1440 pixels, with a 1546 × 423 safe area in the middle that shows on every device. Extend your image to 16:9 first, then resize with the Image Resizer.

How do I make a photo wider without stretching it?

Extend it: the Banner Extender keeps the photo as it is and draws new scene at the sides. Stretching distorts shapes; cropping loses the top and bottom.

What size is a blog header image?

Most themes use 3:2 or 16:9, around 1200 pixels wide, which also suits social share previews (1200 × 630).

How do I turn a landscape photo into an Instagram story?

Choose Story 9:16. The model adds scene above and below the photo; describe it (“more sky and sea”) for a better match.

Why use ImgVX Pro AI for it

• Exact banner shapes in one click: 21:9, 16:9, 3:2, 4:5 and 9:16.
• Google’s outpainting model continues the scene rather than mirroring or blurring the edges.
• The original photo is untouched; only the new area is drawn.
• Failed runs cost nothing. If Google returns an error or a safety filter stops the image, the credits go straight back to your account.
• No app, no watermark. It runs from the page in any modern browser on a phone or computer, and the download carries no ImgVX watermark. Google adds its invisible SynthID mark to AI images, which is how AI content should be labelled.

Free version or Pro AI?

The Banner Extender page has two versions of the tool. Try the free one first: if it is good enough, you have spent nothing.

How to use the Banner Extender, step by step

1. Open the Banner Extender and choose the photo.
2. In “Pro AI”, pick the banner shape and, if useful, describe what to show.
3. Press Run Pro AI (10 credits).
4. Resize to the exact pixel size with the Image Resizer and compress before uploading.

Tips for better results

• Leave space for headline text: describe “more empty sky on the left” if you need it.
• Check the result on a phone; a 21:9 hero is cropped to the middle on narrow screens.
• Use a photo with simple edges for the most natural extension.

What it will not do

• It does not add text or logos; add a headline with Add Text to Image.
• It does not edit people in the photo.
• Every typed description is checked by our payment provider’s moderation service before Google sees it, and Google’s own safety filters run on every image. Anything in our Acceptable Use Policy (sexual content, anything involving minors, deepfakes, fake documents, removing watermarks) is refused before any credits are used.

What it costs

Pro AI runs on paid credits only, because every run costs us money on Google Cloud: the Banner Extender uses 10 credits a run. Pro Monthly is $5.90 a month with 300 credits (your first month is $1), enough for about 30 runs. Pro Yearly is $39.99 a year with 4,000 credits. With no subscription, a credit pack of 50 is $4.99 and 200 is $12.99. The free trial credits do not cover Pro AI, and an account’s Pro AI use is capped by what it has paid, so the $1 first month covers only a few runs. See pricing.

Your photo is sent to Google Vertex AI for that run and is not stored by us; we keep a log of the run (tool, time, credits and any text you typed). The privacy policy has the details.

Frequently asked questions