Share images for social media

Share images turn a recipe into a post for Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest or X. Recipe Kit takes the recipe's photo, title, prep and cook time, servings, ingredients and directions, and lays them out at the size each platform wants. Make one image, or a carousel that walks through the whole recipe, and copy a caption that links back to it.

Share images are part of the Growth plan. On other plans you can still open the window and try every design, but the preview carries a watermark and the download buttons are replaced by an upgrade button. Compare plans on the Recipe Kit app listing.

Make a share image

1. Open the recipe in Recipe Kit.

2. Select Share image at the top of the page.

   

3. Under Post, keep Single image, or choose Carousel for a multi-slide post. See Make a carousel below.

4. Pick a Size for where you're posting.

5. Pick a Design. The thumbnails show your recipe in each one.

   

6. Change the details if you want to. See Adjust the details below.

7. Select Download PNG or Download JPG, then upload the file to your social app.

PNG is the sharpest. JPG is a smaller file, which uploads faster from a phone.

Sizes

Each size is the native upload size for that platform, so nothing gets cropped or squashed when you post it.

Portrait takes up the most room in the Instagram feed, so it's the one to pick for a feed post. Story designs keep the text clear of the profile bar and reply field Instagram draws over the top and bottom.

Designs

• Hero. The full photo with the title over a dark fade. A good default for any platform.
• Card. Photo on top, with the title and description on a clean panel below.
• Ingredients. Photo plus the ingredient list. This is the one people save and come back to, which makes it a good fit for Pinterest. Long lists are shortened to fit and end with "+ 6 more" or similar.
• Editorial. Centered serif title over a dimmed photo, with lots of space.
• Colour block. Photo beside a solid block of your accent color. The most on-brand of the five.

Make a carousel

A carousel turns one recipe into a swipeable post: your chosen design as the cover, then the ingredients, the directions over as many slides as they need, and a last slide pointing people to the full recipe on your store.

1. Under Post, choose Carousel.
2. Pick a Size and a Cover design. The slides that follow share the cover's size, color and font.
3. Select the thumbnails under the preview to check each slide.
4. Select Download carousel. You get a .zip with every slide as a PNG, numbered in posting order.

Unzip it on your phone or computer and add the slides to one Instagram, Facebook or TikTok post in order.

Adjust the details

• Accent colour sets the color used for labels, bullets and the Color block panel. Type a hex code like #1F6F4A or select the swatch to pick one. The first time you open the window it starts from your theme's brand color.
• Title font switches between Sans and Serif. Each design starts with the font that suits it best.
• Your handle is printed small on the image. It starts as your store name. Change it to your Instagram or TikTok handle, up to 40 characters.
• Show my handle turns the handle on or off.
• Photo crop moves the photo up or down inside the frame. Use it when the best part of the dish sits near the top or bottom of the photo.
• Show prep, cook and servings adds the times and serving count under the title.

The preview redraws as you change things. When you download, Recipe Kit remembers your size, design, color, font and handle, and opens with them next time.

The words on the slides, like "Ingredients", "Directions" and "Get the full recipe", come from Settings > Translations & labels, so they match the rest of your recipe cards.

Copy the caption

Under the settings, Caption holds a ready-made caption: the recipe title, a short description, a link to the recipe on your store and a few hashtags from the recipe's category, cuisine and your handle. Edit it however you like, then select Copy caption and paste it into your post. Reset brings back the original.

The link carries tracking tags (utm_source=social, utm_medium=recipe_kit_share), so visits from your posts show up as their own source in Shopify Analytics and Google Analytics.

Pinterest pins from your recipe cards

On the Growth plan, the share images also work for your shoppers. When someone selects the Pinterest button on one of your recipe cards, Pinterest gets a designed 2:3 pin of the recipe instead of whatever image it picks from the page.

Tips

• Use a good photo. The photo does most of the work. A bright, close shot of the finished dish beats a wide shot of a table. Recipes with no photo fall back to a plain color background.
• Make a few at once. While the window is open, download a Portrait for your feed, a Story for the same day and a Pin for Pinterest. Only the size and design change between them.
• Use the caption link. Paste the caption as it is, or put the link in your bio, story link sticker or Pin destination, so people who like the post can find the full recipe on your store.

Troubleshooting

Why does the Share image button have a lock icon?

Your plan doesn't include downloads. Share images are part of the Growth plan, and Enterprise includes them too. You can still open the window and try every design.

What does "This recipe has no photo" mean?

Add a photo to the recipe in the Recipe media section, save, and open Share image again.

What does "Couldn't load the recipe photo" mean?

Recipe Kit couldn't fetch the image. Check that the recipe's photo still opens in your browser. If it was deleted from Shopify Files or its link changed, upload it to the recipe again.

Why is my text cut short?

Very long titles shrink to fit, and are shortened if they still don't fit. Try another size or design, or turn off Show prep, cook and servings to make room.

What's next

• QR codes for your recipes covers sending people from your packaging to your recipes.
• Recipe images, sizes and alt text covers the recipe photo your share images are built from.
• Changing the text on your recipe card covers changing the words in Settings > Translations & labels.