A Google Play feature graphic generator built on the 1024 × 500 canvas.

Feature graphic specifications

The feature graphic has one fixed size, unlike screenshots, which accept a range. Build at the final size so you judge type and edges accurately.

MockupX has presets for all three: Feature graphic, App icon and Android TV banner, under Google Play · Store assets. The icon is usually made in a design tool from vector artwork; the feature graphic and TV banner are where a composition editor helps most.

Where it appears and why the center matters

The feature graphic is shown on the listing and in some promotional formats, which can add their own interface on top. If you add a preview video, the feature graphic becomes the video's cover and Google draws a play button over it. Google's guidance is to keep prominent visuals and the focal point toward the center, keep the logo, app name, slogan and main UI out of the cutoff zones, and restrict background elements to the edges.

Google does not publish an exact pixel safe area, so do not trust any fixed margin you read elsewhere. A conservative working rule is to keep everything essential inside the middle of the canvas with generous space on all sides, then preview the result with a circle over the center (to stand in for a play button) and with the edges covered. If the app name or the one important word is hidden in either test, move it.

What Google recommends leaving out

Google's feature graphic guidance is more specific than most people expect. These are the elements it lists to avoid, with the reason where one is given.

• Device imagery, because it dates quickly and can alienate some users. This is the biggest difference from a typical 'phone on a gradient' banner.
• Ranking, pricing, testimonial or award language such as 'Best', '#1', 'Free' or 'Sale'.
• Time-sensitive content, which goes out of date.
• Third-party trademarked characters or logos without permission, and Google Play or other store badges.
• Pure white, black or dark gray backgrounds, which blend into the Play Store background.
• Branding that duplicates the app icon, and fine detail that will not be visible on small screens.

A layout that follows the rules

A reliable structure is three layers. The background: a vibrant gradient or color field, with any texture or shapes kept toward the edges. The center: the app name in large type with one short promise beneath it. The visual: one product element that reads at a glance, such as a cropped, enlarged piece of the interface or brand illustration, placed close to the text rather than out at the edge.

A full phone screenshot shrunk into the banner fails twice: it is device-like imagery, and at 500 px tall its text is unreadable. A single cropped UI element (a chart, a card, a map pin) at large size says more. Google lists 'main UI' among the key elements to keep away from the edges, so a clear piece of interface is welcome; a device around it is what to avoid.

Keep the promise to five or six words. Localize the text for each market where you translate the listing, as Google recommends, and keep the layout the same so only the words change.

Build it in MockupX

Set the output frame to Google Play · Store assets · Feature graphic (1024 × 500). Choose the Screenshot (frameless) mode rather than a phone frame. Use the crop tool to cut your capture down to the one UI element you want, or upload brand artwork instead; the canvas needs at least one image before it will export. Turn on Optional content for the app name as the headline (up to 100 characters) and the promise as the description (up to 180), then drag the text block toward the center.

• Backgrounds that suit Google's color advice: Aurora, Sunset, Mint, Coral, Violet, Solar or Glass blue.
• Avoid White, Ink, Graphite and Midnight for the feature graphic; they sit too close to white, black or dark gray.
• Use Right focus to put the image beside the text, or Centered hero for an image-led banner.
• The library's Google Play Feature and Android Feature templates start from a Nothing Phone frame. Switch them to Screenshot mode if you follow Google's advice on device imagery.

Check legibility at small sizes

The banner is often seen far smaller than 1024 px wide. After exporting a draft, view the file at about a quarter of its width (roughly 256 × 125) and ask whether the app name is still readable and the visual still recognizable. If not, enlarge the type, cut words, or simplify the visual. Then look at full size for compression edges around text and gradients.

Compare it with your app icon side by side. The two should feel related through color and style, but Google recommends against simply repeating the icon's branding in the banner, so let the feature graphic carry the name and promise while the icon carries the mark.

Export and upload

Export JPEG at 1× for an exactly 1024 × 500, opaque file; PNG works too if the background is solid. Free MockupX exports carry a MockupX watermark, which is fine for review but not for the live listing; MockupX Pro exports have no watermark. Upload the file in Play Console under Main store listing, add alt text that describes the image in 140 characters or fewer without starting with 'image of', and check the preview there. MockupX does not upload assets or review them against Google's policies.