Merchant Center shows “Image too small” when the main image is under Google’s minimum: today 100×100 pixels (250×250 for apparel), and 500×500 for every product from 31 January 2027. The fix is to re-upload a larger original photo in your store, not to enlarge the small one.
| Shown in Merchant Center as | Image too small |
|---|---|
| Attribute | image_link |
| Effect | Product disapproved — Disapproved under 100×100 (250×250 for apparel); warning up to 500×500 until 31 January 2027 |
| Where to find it | Products → Needs attention, then filter by this issue |
| Free check | Reported by the free feed check |
What Merchant Center means by “Image too small”
Google fetched the image at your image_link, measured it, and found it under the minimum for the product’s category. Until 31 January 2027 the minimum on Google’s help page for the issue is 100×100 pixels for most products and 250×250 for apparel, and images that clear that bar but fall under 500×500 show a warning; from that date, the image_link specification requires at least 500×500 for every product. Google’s 2026 specification update adds that it will optimize some images smaller than 500×500 to prevent disapproval, and marks those with a warning. It does not say which images qualify.
The issue appears per product, under Products → Needs attention. Enforcement of the 500×500 minimum starts on 31 January 2027. The image size is not shown in the product list of Shopify or WooCommerce.
Why it happens
- Old catalogue photos. Products photographed years ago at 300–400 pixels for a storefront that has since been redesigned. The store scales them up; the feed sends the original.
- Supplier images. Manufacturers’ thumbnails pulled from a price list or a marketplace, often 200×200 or smaller.
- The feed points at a thumbnail URL. Some exports use the “medium” or “thumbnail” size the platform generated instead of the original upload. The original is fine; the URL is not.
- Variant swatches used as product images. A colour swatch image attached to each variant, so the variant row inherits a 64×64 file.
How to fix it
In Shopify
Open the product, click the image, and the media editor shows its dimensions. Replace anything under 500×500 with the original file (Shopify stores up to 4472×4472 and serves smaller versions on demand, so uploading large costs nothing). If your feed is built from a Shopify export or app, make sure it writes the original image URL without a size suffix such as _400x.
In WooCommerce
Media → Library, open the image, and the attachment details show its dimensions. Re-upload a larger original and set it as the product image; for variable products, check the variation image as well, since a variation image replaces the parent’s in the feed. If your feed plugin writes a registered size (“medium”, “woocommerce_single”) rather than “full”, switch it to full. Our free connector sends the full-size URL of the variation image, falling back to the product image.
In a CSV or XML feed
Filter the Needs attention tab to this issue, download the CSV, and replace the image_link for each listed id with a URL to an image of at least 500×500 (Google recommends around 1500×1500). Then re-fetch the feed. If the file is generated from a database, fix the field that picks the image size rather than the rows, or the next export undoes the work.
How long until Merchant Center clears it
Google’s help page says changes may take 24–72 hours to show on the Needs attention page. For a changed image Google recommends a new URL; at the same URL it can take up to 6 weeks. Before 31 January 2027, images under 100×100 (250×250 for apparel) are disapproved; images between that size and 500×500 show a warning. From that date the 500×500 minimum is enforced.
What FeedRobin does about it
The free feed check downloads a sample of the images in your feed and reads their pixel size from the file, because the feed itself never carries it. Products under 500×500 are reported as “an image smaller than 500×500”, as a warning today and as critical from the enforcement date. FeedRobin does not change image files: the report lists the products, and a larger photo has to be uploaded in your store. For a connected store, the same count sits on your dashboard and updates on every sync.
Questions merchants ask
Can I just upscale the image to 500×500?
The requirement is a pixel size: at least 500×500 from 31 January 2027. Google recommends around 1500×1500. An enlarged photo has more pixels but no more detail than the original.
Which products does the 500×500 rule apply to?
All of them, from 31 January 2027. Until then non-apparel needs 100×100 and apparel 250×250, and images between the old and the new minimum show a warning. Google states it will optimize some images under 500×500; those also show a warning.
Does the image size show anywhere in Shopify or WooCommerce?
Not in the product list. Shopify shows dimensions when you open a single image in the media editor; WooCommerce shows them in the Media Library attachment details. A feed check that reads the actual files is the only way to find them all at once.
Sources
- How to fix: Image too small — Google Merchant Center Help
- Image link [image_link] — Google Merchant Center Help
- Merchant Center product data specification update 2026 — Google Merchant Center Help
- Fixing Merchant Center disapprovals for product data quality violations — Google Merchant Center Help