Dynamic VK cover: methods of creation, features

Telegram channel Programmer and business. Every day there are interesting stories about how a programmer builds a business.

From this article you will learn how to create a dynamic VK cover, what information is recommended to be displayed there, and how to design the header to make it attractive to community subscribers.

What information does a dynamic cover contain?

Practice shows that it is most rational to display the following data:

Counter of time remaining until a certain event;
Text via a link from the Internet – statistics of traffic to your site, quotes from publications, etc.;
A bot that answers typical questions from group members or provides other assistance;
Number of group members;
The last few subscribers who joined the group;
The most active community members are those who gave the most likes or wrote the most comments;
Information on the competition held in the public;
Exchange rates;
Weather in a certain region;
The state of traffic jams in a large city;
Information about donations and the latest activity of donors, with an active button for collecting funds.

As you can see, such a tool has a lot of possibilities. If you set everything up correctly, you can get the most out of your subscribers.

How to use live covers: some examples

It is an effective tool that can be used to develop a community. For example:

Cafes and restaurants can show off their most mouth-watering dishes;
Hotels can take a “virtual tour” of their rooms;
Clothing stores can present a new collection or talk about promotions and discounts;
Music groups can post a video from a past concert and offer to buy tickets for an upcoming concert.

Page visitors will see the new format in applications for iOS and Android. The mobile and web versions of VKontakte will still display the regular cover in a static form.

Previously, we reported that VKontakte can pin the first card in the dynamic retargeting advertising carousel.

Ways to create a dynamic cover

There are several ways to create such a design. They do not require outstanding design or programming skills.

Dynamic VK cover designer

The first step is to create a page header. It is not necessary to work with Photoshop and write scripts yourself. There are several well-known services with which you can quickly create a design from ready-made templates. And even if the widget you need is not on the list, specialists can create it for a reasonable fee. Essentially, the template is a PSD file in which text information is dynamically updated.

VK dynamic cover script

However, for such a cover to work, a special script is required that will pull the necessary information from the Internet. This script should be stored somewhere:

On your own computer - the cover will not update if the device is turned off:
On the hosting provider’s server – it may be difficult to configure it;
On the service provider’s server, specialists will help you set up everything, and renting server space is usually cheaper.

If you run several communities, each of which needs a dynamic cover, then you will need separate templates and scripts.

DyCover service

Since 2021, the platform provides the opportunity to create an attractive cover in a few clicks of the mouse, providing the user with the appropriate script. With the free plan, the functionality and number of widgets provided are limited. For the service to work properly, it must be given full access to your VKontakte account.

LETSCOVER service

A similar service, but without a free plan. With the support of several groups, the user receives a 30% discount. There is a free trial period of 24 hours.

Principle of operation

The familiar, classic design represents the company as a whole and is designed for a wide audience. The new solution from VKontakte personalizes content and shows users the most relevant information. From weather forecasts to statistics from CRM and other databases. There are two ways to implement this task.

VK dynamic cover scripts

This option is only suitable for programmers. You need to create a special module via the API. Using Access Token, gain access to data and substitute the necessary values into the site header layout. For simple tasks there are ready-made universal solutions. But you can create something original only by writing the necessary program code yourself.

The finished application is installed on the server. This could be third-party hosting or your own computer. In the first case, you have to pay a subscription fee to the hoster. In the latter, keep the PC constantly on. Otherwise, the “animated” image becomes static.

Online services

After the innovations on VKontakte, web resources began to appear that automate the registration process. With the help of dynamic cover designers in VK, you can create a community for free and without the involvement of expensive specialists. Simply drag and drop the required modules into the workspace and configure them. Thanks to the intuitive interface, even beginners can cope with this task. And most importantly, the price of such automation is tens of times lower compared to custom-written programmers’ scripts.

LetsCover and DyCover sites have proven to be simple and reliable. To work with one public, they provide basic tools free of charge. At the same time, for a nominal fee you can use the full functionality.

Peculiarities

To work with the cover group, these and similar services use the VKontakte API - the most secure method of integrating third-party applications. Contrary to the fears of some users, the platform, having gained access to the account, does not send spam or engage in any other activity other than that specified in the offer.

Overall, a dynamic header is an effective tool for promoting your community. Despite the fact that such functionality has been available for several years, for some reason it is rarely used. This means that this will help the public stand out from the rest and attract new subscribers.

How to create and upload a live VKontakte cover

You can upload a live cover in your community settings.

Create covers using any online graphics service. You can use Canva or Crello.
Go to community management. In the basic information section there will be an option to customize the cover. Click Manage.

2. At the bottom of the page you can upload photos or videos, which will automatically replace each other. This will be a live cover.

Technical requirements for live covers

Material sizes: 1080x1920 (vertical) or others in a ratio of 9:16.
Video: MP4 format (h264 aac codec), 15-60 frames per second; duration - up to 30 seconds; size - up to 30 MB.

Article on the topic: How to make the main cover for a group in VK

Dynamic VKontakte covers - free

The next nuance that requires detailed study is related to the cost of the service. It’s hard to imagine that such a useful tool is distributed freely and without restrictions.

Indeed, certain restrictions and conditions are present. But they do not make the option inaccessible and expensive. Most of the currently existing programs are provided under the following conditions:

the first cover is made free of charge;
access to the option and header designer is provided after receiving consent from the group owner to the terms of use;
additional covers (after the first) are available after payment (from 100 to 300 rubles);
Additionally, after depositing money, special functions of the service become available.

That is, everyone will be able to beautifully design the start page of the public.

How to create?

Of course, installation is not the most difficult process. It is much more difficult to create a high-quality banner and cover.

To create, you will need to use one of the graphic editors. The most popular are:

Adobe Photoshop;
Adobe Illustrator;
GIMP.

To get started, you need to have at least basic knowledge and skills in one of these editors. If this is your first time hearing about them, then I advise you to take training courses or use various video tutorials. They can be easily found on the Internet (YouTube in particular).

Be mindful of sizes. For banners they are 510 pixels wide, the length can be arbitrary. For the cover – 1590x400 pixels. By following them, your image will not be distorted, compressed or enlarged when published.

If you don’t have time to create public design elements yourself, use the services of freelancers.

How to make a live cover in a VK group

A live VK cover is added to a VK group absolutely simply and easily by pressing a few buttons. But in order to add it to the group, you need to create it in a graphic editor. To do this, you and I will use my favorite service, Canva (it is absolutely free).

We go to the Canva service on the main page and in the upper right corner, click on the “ Custom Dimensions ” button and enter the dimensions of our image there (1080*1920) and click on the “ Create Design ” button:

An empty template appears on which we can overlay various images that are located on the left in the panel:

In order to add images to the template, we click on any picture you like on the left, and it appears immediately on the template:

Now we can edit this template as we want. You can change or add text, you can remove unnecessary symbols and texts, you can change colors and add other elements to the template.

To understand how to use Canva, watch the video tutorial below:

So, you and I have edited the template the way we need it and now we need to download it to the computer in order to later add it to our VK group. In order to download the finished template, we click on the “ Publish ” button at the top right and immediately on the “ Download ” button:

At the bottom left you have a download file, you click “ Open in Folder ” and save this image to a separate folder.

To add a live cover, we need to create 5 such images. In the same window where you created the first image, you can make subsequent images. To do this, you simply remove unnecessary elements, add others, or completely change to another template.

If you don't know how to use Canva, watch this video tutorial.