How to Add Text to an Image
A practical guide
Put text on an image and you can make blog thumbnails, card-news slides, memes, event posters and plenty more. Place it badly, though, and you end up with something unreadable or an image you've actively ruined. This guide covers how to add text effectively, with practical tips.
Contents
1. How to add text to an image
With ImgFixIt you can add text to an image right in your browser, with no software to install.
- Upload your image — drag & drop or click to load it
- When the "① Edit" step appears, type your text into the input field
- Choose a font size (in px) and a color
- Click the "Add Text" button
- Click the text that appears on the image and drag it where you want it
- Repeat to add more text layers
- When you're happy with it, click download to save
This works on mobile too: You can add text on a phone browser as well — drag with your finger to position it.
2. Choosing a font size
Font size is relative to the image's resolution. The same 36px looks huge on a 100×100 image and tiny on a 2000×1500 one.
| Image size | Headline text | Subhead / body |
|---|---|---|
| 800×600 or smaller | 24~40px | 14~20px |
| 1080×1080 (Instagram square) | 48~80px | 24~36px |
| 1200×675 (blog thumbnail) | 60~100px | 28~44px |
| 1920×1080 (Full HD) | 80~140px | 36~60px |
Rule of thumb: Text should be readable the moment you look at it. If it's still legible in a shrunken thumbnail, the size is right.
3. Choosing colors that stay readable
What matters about text color is its contrast against the background image. Low contrast means text you can barely see.
White text (#FFFFFF)
Reads best on dark photos — skies, interiors, dim landscapes. It's the most common choice by far.
Black text (#000000 or #222222)
Suits bright backgrounds, white backgrounds and pastel images. Works well on product shots and bright scenery.
Yellows and oranges
Signal warning, emphasis and energy. Yellow on a dark background has strong contrast and grabs attention.
When the background is busy
On a busy photo, no color reads well. Put a semi-transparent box behind the text, or darken the photo first and lay white text over it.
The contrast rule: White text on dark backgrounds, black text on light ones. Never pair text and background of similar brightness.
4. Principles for placing text
Leave margins
Don't crowd text against the edges. A margin of 5–10% of the image width keeps it looking clean.
Put it over simple areas
Text reads best over plain regions — sky, a wall, a dark shadow. Avoid busy patterns and objects.
The centering trap
Text doesn't have to be centered. Left alignment often reads more naturally, and for longer text it's clearly more legible.
Don't cover the subject
Text laid over a face, a product or a logo makes the image feel cramped. Keep it off the subject and in the open space.
5. Real-world examples
Blog thumbnails
- Size: 1200×675px (16:9)
- Text: headline (bold, large) plus a smaller subhead
- Color: pick whatever contrasts with the background
- Tip: image on the right, text on the left works well
Card-news slides
- Size: 1080×1080px (square)
- Text: one core message per slide
- Color: stay consistent with your brand colors
- Tip: text should fill 60–70% of the frame to read well
Event and announcement images
- Size: match the destination (1080×1920 for Instagram Stories)
- Text: lay out date, place and key details in a clear hierarchy
- Color: brand colors, or the event's theme colors
- Tip: the most important information gets the largest type
6. Tips for better text images
- Use less text: Keep what you put on an image as short and pointed as possible. Long sentences hurt readability.
- Stick to one or two fonts: Mixing several typefaces in one image looks messy. Cap it at two.
- Limit the number of layers: The more text layers you add, the busier it gets. ImgFixIt lets you add many, but three or fewer is best.
- Make room when the background is busy: Crop the photo, or find a dark region and place the text there.
- Check the preview: Look at it on a phone. Text that reads fine on a desktop can be far too small on mobile.