How to Design Pinterest Pins That Get Clicks

30 June 2026·4 min read

Quick answer: Pins that get clicked are vertical (a 2:3 ratio, ideally 1000 x 1500px), lead with a bold, readable headline in the top third, use consistent brand colours and fonts, carry one clear call to action, and link straight to the specific page they promise — not the homepage. Below is the design checklist, real examples for an accounting firm, a real estate agency and a psychology clinic, and the small mistakes that quietly tank click-through. ✨

Pinterest is a scroll-fast, judge-instantly platform — you've got about a second of thumbnail-sized attention before someone keeps scrolling. Good pin design isn't about being arty, it's about being legible and obviously relevant at a glance. 💖

What most businesses get wrong

Uploading a horizontal photo or plain product shot — Pinterest is vertical-first, and text on the image tells people what they're looking at before they click.
Cramming three sentences of small text onto one pin — unreadable at thumbnail size on a phone, which is where most people are scrolling.
Changing fonts and colours pin to pin — nothing looks like it belongs to the same business.
Linking every pin to the homepage — instead of the specific blog post, listing or service page it's actually about.
Designing one pin per post and never testing a second — so you never learn which headline or image style actually earns clicks.

The pin design checklist

Run every pin through this before it goes live.

Size: 1000 x 1500px (a 2:3 vertical ratio) — Pinterest crops or shrinks anything else in feed. Headline: one short, benefit-led line in the top third, big enough to read on a phone from arm's length. Supporting text: one small line max, never a paragraph. Branding: a logo or brand colour block in a corner — small and consistent, never covering the image. Image: relevant to the actual content, not decorative stock. CTA: one instruction ("Read the guide", "See the listing") — never zero, never three. Link: the exact page the pin promises, not a general link to the site.

Three real examples

Each one keeps a single message and links to exactly what it promises. 📈

Accounting firm: A pin titled "5 BAS Deadlines to Diarise This Year" over a clean calendar graphic in brand navy and cream, linking straight to the BAS deadlines blog post — not the firm's homepage.

Real estate agency: A pin showing a hero photo of a listing with the overlay "3-Bed Family Home, Burleigh Waters — Open Sat 10am", linking directly to that listing page so the click lands exactly where the promise was made.

Psychology clinic: A pin reading "4 Signs It's Time to See a Psychologist" in a calm, on-brand colour palette, linking to the clinic's related blog post rather than a general contact page — the click matches the curiosity that got them there.

Designing for the algorithm as well as the eye

Pinterest's system reads your image as well as your text — it can genuinely tell what's in a photo, which is part of why relevant, uncluttered images tend to outperform busy collages. Idea Pins (Pinterest's short video and multi-page format) currently get an extra visibility boost over static images, so if you've got the capacity, pairing a couple of static pins with an occasional Idea Pin covers both bases without becoming a full-time job.

💡 Heads up: Piling your logo, website URL and three hashtags onto the pin itself can actually work against you — Pinterest has been known to suppress pins that read as heavily "salesy" or ad-like in feed. Keep branding present but small, and let the landing page do the selling.

Mistakes that quietly tank click-through

Text too small to read at thumbnail size — always check your design shrunk down to phone-scroll size before publishing.
Multiple competing messages on one pin — instead of a single, clear promise.
No consistent visual identity — so your boards feel like a scrapbook, not a business.
Skipping the mobile preview test — most Pinterest browsing happens on a phone, not a desktop screen.

Frequently asked questions

What size should Pinterest pins be?

1000 x 1500 pixels (a 2:3 ratio) is Pinterest's recommended size — it displays fully in feed without awkward cropping.

Do I need video or Idea Pins, or are static images enough?

Static image pins still work well and are far quicker to produce consistently. Idea Pins can add extra reach, but they're a bonus, not a replacement — consistency with simple static pins beats sporadic fancy ones.

Can I just reuse my Instagram graphics as pins?

You can, but Instagram graphics are usually square or horizontal and text-light, which underperforms on Pinterest. It's worth resizing to vertical and adding a real headline rather than reposting the exact same asset.

How many pins should I make per blog post or listing?

Two to three different pin designs per piece of content is a good habit — it lets you see which headline or image style actually earns clicks, rather than guessing. 🌴