Reusing a supplier photo that still carries a 1688 or Taobao watermark, which invites an image complaint as well as buyer distrust.
Marketplaces · AliExpress
AliExpress product image requirements
1 of the 7 image rules below come off pages AliExpress publishes. The rest say plainly where they came from.
7 image rules1 read at AliExpressChecked 10 August 2026
The short answer
AliExpress does not publish an English-language image specification outside its seller centre; the upload form enforces the limits. Sellers report a square 1:1 main image of at least 800 x 800 pixels, JPEG or PNG under 5MB, on a clean white background with no watermarks. Build to 1000 x 1000 square and you clear the reported floor with room to spare.
Updated
Check your file against this
What AliExpress asks for
Every row states where it comes from. A rule read off a page AliExpress publishes is marked as a primary source; a figure that circulates among sellers without appearing in the platform’s own documentation is marked and hedged, and it is never printed as though the two carry the same weight.
| Requirement | What AliExpress asks for | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Published English specification | None outside the seller centreThe AliExpress seller help centre and rule centre are Chinese-language and do not surface a public product image spec article. Verified by fetching both on 2026-08-10. | Primary source |
| Main image shape | Square, 1:1Reported by sellers and by support documentation. AliExpress does not state this figure on a page we could read, so treat it as a working number rather than a rule.Thumbnails in the app and in search are rendered square, so a tall or wide upload gets cropped by the system rather than by you. | Reported |
| Minimum main image resolution | 800 x 800 pixelsReported by sellers and by support documentation. AliExpress does not state this figure on a page we could read, so treat it as a working number rather than a rule.Reported floor. 1000 x 1000 or larger is the practical working size because the product page offers zoom. | Reported |
| Maximum file size | 5MB per imageReported by sellers and by support documentation. AliExpress does not state this figure on a page we could read, so treat it as a working number rather than a rule. | Reported |
| File formats | JPEG and PNGReported by sellers and by support documentation. AliExpress does not state this figure on a page we could read, so treat it as a working number rather than a rule.JPEG for photographs, PNG only where you genuinely need transparency or hard-edged graphics. | Reported |
| Main image background | Clean white preferred, not enforced as a hard gateReported by sellers and by support documentation. AliExpress does not state this figure on a page we could read, so treat it as a working number rather than a rule.Unlike Amazon, AliExpress does not block a non-white main image. It still costs you clicks, because a white thumbnail blends into the app interface and the product appears to float. | Reported |
| Watermarks and third-party logos | Not allowed on product imagesReported by sellers and by support documentation. AliExpress does not state this figure on a page we could read, so treat it as a working number rather than a rule.Images still carrying a 1688 or Taobao watermark are the most common credibility failure on a new store. | Reported |
Slide the table sideways to see every column.
- Primary source means the value is read off a page AliExpress publishes, linked under Sources below. 1 of 7 rows here is primary.
- Reported means sellers and support documentation agree on the figure but AliExpress does not state it anywhere we could read. 6 rows are reported.
- Platforms change these rules without announcing them. Every source below carries the date it was read, and the figures here were checked on 10 August 2026.
Why this matters on AliExpress
AliExpress is a mobile-first marketplace. Most of your traffic sees your product as a small square tile in an infinite scroll, next to twenty near-identical listings from sellers who source from the same factory. The main image is not decoration in that context. It is the entire pitch.
Two failures cost you money in different ways. A technical failure stops the upload, so the listing sits unpublished while you hunt for the reason. A quality failure publishes fine and then quietly underperforms: a non-square image gets auto-cropped by the app and the crop lands on the wrong part of the product, or a 800 x 800 upload turns to mush the moment a buyer uses zoom.
The third failure is trust. A main image still carrying a 1688 or Taobao watermark tells every experienced buyer that you are reselling someone else's photo, and it exposes you to an image theft complaint from the seller who actually shot it. That is not a formatting issue, it is an account risk.
The walkthrough
How do you get a photo through AliExpress?
6 things in order, each one answering a question a seller actually types.
Why can you not find the official spec?
Because AliExpress keeps it inside the product posting form. The public rule centre and seller help centre are Chinese-language and do not carry an English image specification page. The limits you actually meet are the ones the uploader enforces, so the fastest verification is to open the posting form in your own seller centre and read the hint text next to the image slots for your category.
What should you export if you want one file that always works?
A square
1000 x 1000JPEG. It clears the reported 800px floor, gives the zoom feature real pixels to work with, sits far under the 5MB ceiling once compressed, and needs no cropping when the app renders it as a square tile. If you shoot at 2000 x 2000 as a master, downsize to 1000 for upload rather than uploading the master.How do you make a non-square photo square without stretching it?
Extend the canvas instead of distorting the subject. Crop to a 1:1 frame if there is spare margin around the product, or pad the shorter side with the same background colour so proportions stay true. Photomop is a photo studio that runs on your own device, and pairing its crop tool with its resize tool turns a mixed folder of portrait and landscape shots into one uniform square set.
How do you get a genuinely white background rather than an off-white one?
Shoot against white card or a light tent, then cut the product out and place it on a pure white field so every hero shot in your catalogue uses the same white. Inconsistent whites are the clearest amateur signal on a store page: one ivory, one grey, one slightly blue, sitting side by side in your gallery.
What goes in the gallery slots after the main image?
Use the remaining slots for the things that reduce returns. A scale reference next to a hand or a coin cuts the size complaints. A detail close-up shows stitching or finish. A lifestyle shot gives context. Backgrounds and props are welcome in these slots, so keep the white constraint for the first image only.
Is anything on the image that should not be?
Check for watermarks, store names, URLs, contact details, price stickers, promotional badges and logos from other platforms. Zoom to 100 percent and look at the corners, which is where reused supplier images hide their marks.
The settings, in one place
The Photomop preset for AliExpress
Cut the product out, drop it onto a pure white square canvas at 1000 by 1000 pixels with a small even margin, and export as JPEG so the file lands in the low hundreds of kilobytes and the thumbnail blends into the AliExpress interface.
Remove background runs on your own device, at full resolution, with no watermark on the export.
What goes wrong on AliExpress
Every one of these is a real rejection or a real drop in placement, not a matter of taste.
Uploading a tall or wide image and letting the app auto-crop it, so the square thumbnail cuts off the part of the product that sells it.
Treating 800 x 800 as the target instead of the floor, then wondering why the zoom view looks soft.
Pushing a 4MB uncompressed file just because 5MB is allowed, which slows the gallery for buyers on mobile data.
Using a different shade of white on every product, so the store page looks like a patchwork instead of a catalogue.
Copying an Amazon hero shot straight across without resquaring it, since the two platforms crop thumbnails differently.
Questions sellers ask
AliExpress image requirements, answered
The questions people search for once a photo has already been refused.
What size should an AliExpress main image be?
Sellers report a floor of 800 x 800 pixels, and square 1:1 is the shape the app renders. Export at 1000 x 1000 or larger so the zoom feature has enough detail, and keep the file under the reported 5MB ceiling.
Does AliExpress require a white background?
It is strongly preferred rather than hard-enforced. A white main image blends into the app interface so the product appears to float, which is why the top listings in almost every category use one. Save lifestyle and context backgrounds for the later gallery slots.
Where is the official AliExpress image specification?
Inside the seller centre product posting form. As of this check, the public AliExpress rule centre and seller help centre are Chinese-language and do not publish an English image specification page, so the uploader itself is the authoritative source for your category.
Can I use the same photos on AliExpress and Alibaba.com?
Yes if you build square. Alibaba.com publishes a ratio band of 1:1 to 1:1.3 with a 3MB file ceiling, so a square export under 3MB satisfies both platforms from one file.
Are text overlays allowed on AliExpress images?
Keep them off the main image. Watermarks, store names, URLs, price tags and promotional badges belong nowhere on a hero shot. If you need to explain a feature, put the annotated version in a later gallery slot instead.
Where these AliExpress rules come from
Each link is the page the figures were read at, with the date it was opened and whether it could be read at all.
- AliExpress Seller Help Center home (Chinese-language, no public image specification article found)Opened and read in full on .
- AliExpress Rule Center index (Chinese-language; individual rule bodies did not render for product image specifications)Opened and read in full on .
- AliExpress seller landing page (marketing only, no image specification)Opened and read in full on .
- Secondary source: PixelPrep, AliExpress product image requirements 2026 (used for the 800 x 800, 5MB and format figures)Opened and read in full on .
Same cluster
More platform guides
Neighbouring guides, so every platform in the set is one hop from every other.
Depop
Depop publishes no pixel requirement for listing photos. Here is what it does enforce: photo counts, one video, and hard rules on stock, online and AI images.
Zalando
Zalando requires 1:1.44 portrait JPEGs, at least 762x1100 pixels, packshots on pure white. Full partner image specs, background hex codes and how to fix rejections.
Wayfair
Wayfair requires product images of at least 1000x1000 pixels and 3 or more per product, with 2000x2000 recommended. What Wayfair publishes, and what it does not.
From the studio
The tools this guide uses
Each one runs in the browser tab you are reading this in, on your own device.
Remove background
One clean cut-out, hair and all, at whatever resolution you brought.
Resize image
Exact pixels, or a marketplace preset that already knows the rules.
Crop image
Free crop, fixed ratios, and the aspect every platform asks for.
Compress image
Hit an upload size limit without watching the photo fall apart.
Keep reading
Elsewhere on Photomop
Image glossary
A hundred photo editing terms, defined in plain words and filed by the job they do.
Read itResize image
Exact pixels, marketplace presets and an aspect lock, run on your own device.
Read itCompress image
Name a file size limit and the tool re-encodes until the photo fits it.
Read itAll the tools
The whole toolbox in three families, with what each one needs before it can run.
Read it
Get the file right before you upload it
Photomop is a photo studio that runs on your own device. Resize to the exact pixels AliExpress asks for, compress to the weight limit, convert the format and batch the lot, all at full resolution with no watermark. The image glossary explains any word in the table above.