The short answer: in Google Slides, open File → Page setup, choose Custom and enter 1080 × 1350 pixels. Build one slide per idea, choose File → Download → PDF and upload that file to LinkedIn as a document. It is all free with a Google account. Before you post, open the PDF and make sure no skipped slides came along.
The size to type into Google Slides
| Field | Portrait 4:5 (most carousels) | Square 1:1 |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 1080 | 1080 |
| Height | 1350 | 1080 |
| Unit | pixels | pixels |
Google Slides takes pixels directly, so there is nothing to convert. None of its presets (Standard 4:3, Widescreen 16:9, Widescreen 16:10) is portrait, which is why you need Custom. Google does not document how those pixels turn into the PDF's page size; what matters is the 4:5 shape, and you can confirm it in the downloaded file.
Why 4:5: people read LinkedIn on a phone, where a widescreen slide is a short strip with small text. At the same width, a 1080 × 1350 page is a quarter taller than a square one. LinkedIn publishes no carousel size; the convention follows from the 1080 px width it recommends for images and the 4:5 maximum it displays them at. See LinkedIn carousel size.
1. Set up the page
- Open a new, blank presentation.
- Click File → Page setup.
- Click the down arrow and choose Custom.
- Enter 1080 and 1350, pick pixels as the unit and click OK.
Then switch the rest of the editor to pixels: Tools → Preferences, tick Use measurement unit preferences and choose Pixels. Rulers and object sizes now use the same numbers as the page, so a 100 px margin on a 1080 px slide is easy to set and repeat. To change only the ruler, click it and choose Change units.
Reusing a widescreen deck you already have? Google's help does not say what happens to existing content when the page size changes, so change the size on a copy of the deck and expect to rearrange every slide. A 16:9 layout does not become a good 4:5 one by itself: the text usually needs to be shorter and larger.
2. Build the slides
- Keep one idea per slide. For type sizes, contrast and margins, see LinkedIn carousel design; for the first, middle and last slides, see how to structure a LinkedIn carousel.
- Build one content slide, then duplicate it. Right-click it in the filmstrip on the left and choose Duplicate slide. New slide, at the top left, adds a slide with the same layout; New slide with layout lets you pick another.
- Order the filmstrip. Drag slides to reorder them, Shift-click to move several at once. The grid view, switched on at the bottom left, shows the whole carousel at a glance.
- Delete slides you don't want; don't skip them. A skipped slide is hidden only while you present. It stays in the file, Google says people you share the deck with can still see it, and Google does not say whether Download → PDF leaves it out.
- Write speaker notes if you like. They show up in a PDF when you print with the 1 slide with notes layout, which you will not use here.
3. Download the PDF
- Click File → Download and choose PDF.
- Open the downloaded file and page through it: one page per slide, in order, no skipped slides, no notes, every background in place.
For more control, use File → Print settings and preview instead. Keep the layout at one slide per page without notes, look in the toolbar for the option to include skipped slides and turn it off, and leave Hide background off so the slides keep their color. Then download the PDF from that screen.
4. Post it on LinkedIn
LinkedIn accepts PDF, PowerPoint and Word files, not Google Slides files, so upload the PDF. On a computer, the document picker can open Google Drive as well as your disk, so a PDF stored in Drive can go straight into the post; pick the PDF, not the presentation. Downloading a PPTX instead also works, but LinkedIn recommends PDF for the best quality. The posting steps are in how to post a carousel on LinkedIn.
What it costs
Nothing. Google Slides is free with a personal Google account, and every step above, from the custom page size to the PDF, works without a paid plan.
Google Slides pitfalls and fixes
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| The PDF has slides you skipped | Delete them, or turn off skipped slides in Print settings and preview and download from there |
| Every page has notes under the slide | In Print settings and preview, switch the layout from 1 slide with notes back to slides only, then download again |
| Slides came out white or plain | If you downloaded from Print settings and preview, turn off Hide background and download again |
| Slides look like a thin strip on a phone | The deck is still on a widescreen preset. Set Custom 1080 × 1350 before you design |
| Text or photos look different from the editor | Google does not document how it handles fonts and images in a PDF. Zoom into the downloaded file and judge that, not the editor, before you post |
The shorter way
cropdot is quicker when the hard part is the words. Type a topic or paste your notes and it drafts the slides, aiming for 6 to 10 with a hook on the first one. Export → Download PDF gives one page per slide at 1080 × 1350, every page the same size, with no page setup, skipped slides or print settings to check.
Google Slides is better when you want a free tool you already know, a layout you draw yourself, or a deck you already have. cropdot has six fonts, eight templates, no custom fonts and no import from a file, and it keeps carousels in your browser only, with no cloud sync.
Sources
- Google Docs Editors Help: Change slide size & measurement units in Google Slides, Add, delete & organize slides, Print a file.
- Google Slides, Google Workspace.
- LinkedIn Help: Upload and share documents.
Checked on October 2, 2026.