For a lot of people, their Steam profile is their little corner of the internet. It's a great place to express yourself trough art and the various showcases that Steam provides. This guide acts as an extensive overview regarding the many customizable aspects of your Steam profile, as well as some basic information to get you started. Each section also provides addition resources for more in-depth information.

When you create a Steam account, there are five things you can customize on your profile even before unlocking a showcase via the "Edit Profile" button.

• Leveling
  
• Upload an Avatar
  
• Changing your Background
  
• Adding a Summary
  
• Creating a Custom URL
  
• An Overview of Points & Awards
  
• An Overview of Showcases

Let's begin this guide by covering each one of these basics.

If you're looking for a specific topic, use the guide index found in the lower right of this page to navigate.

Leveling is an important part of profile customization because every 10 levels you unlock a new showcase to feature on your profile. You can level up your Steam account by getting a complete set of trading cards and using them to craft a badge. Each crafted badge gives you five things:

• 100 EXP to go toward your Steam level
  
• An emoticon to use in chat
  
• A background to use on your profile
  
• A coupon for a game on Steam
  
• 5 more available friends list slots

Overview

Most games on Steam have a set of trading cards. Half of the cards are given to you periodically as you play the game, but after half of the cards have dropped you'll either need to trade friends for their cards or buy the other half from the community market to complete the set. Once a set is complete you can use them to craft a badge. After the cards are used they're gone forever and your newly crafted badge will be showcased on your profile.





You can trade for or purchase the same set of cards up to five times. Each time you use a duplicate set of cards for crafting, your badge will increase a level and give you the five listed goodies all over again. You can also get badges and EXP by completing community tasks and purchasing games.

Leveling Bots

A lot of people use bot vendors to purchase full sets of Steam cards. This is a lot quicker than manually going through the market and buying each card individually, or having to find different people to trade for each card. The way these bot vendors typically work is that you find which bot you want to use, you add their Steam account to your friendlist, and then they will send you an automated message on how commands that you can send to them depending on how many sets of cards you want to buy. After everything is sorted out, the transaction usually takes place through a trade offer through Steam, where you can exchange CS:GO or TF2 Keys (Which act as a trading currency on Steam), for the trading card sets. There are a lot of different bots out there, so it's important that you shop around to find the safest and least expensive option out there. You can find a list of leveling bots here.[steam.supply]

You can also view a short YouTube video with more information on how to use these bots here.

EXP Chart

Since we want to reach at least level 10 to unlock a showcase and start customizing our profile, we need to know how much EXP we need. One badge equals 100 EXP, and each ten levels increases the required EXP by 100. Here's an EXP level chart:

• Level 1 - 10 requires 100 EXP for each level.
  1,000 EXP = Level 10
  
  
• Level 11 - 20 requires 200 EXP for each level.
  3,000 EXP = Level 20
  
  
• Level 21 - 30 requires 300 EXP for each level.
  6,000 EXP = Level 30

And so on... For an in-depth EXP chart, visit the resource below.


http://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=722062281

Your avatar can be viewed on your profile, when you post content to the community, when you're playing online games, and so on. You can upload a custom image or a default avatar from a game. Remember to follow Valve's avatar rules by not uploading inappropriate or too vulgar avatars. You can also buy animated avatars and boarders using the Point Shop, which we will cover shortly.





It is suggested your avatar is 184x184 pixels when you upload it, and it needs to be 1,024 KB or smaller in file size. All avatars get converted to a JPEG, so be prepared for your avatar to lose some quality. It'll be displayed as 164x164 pixels on your profile. From making your avatar look transparent on your profile to all sorts of other things, people can be pretty creative with their avatars. Some examples:






https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1892742974
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1347396817
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2146522146
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2144483683

As previously stated, you recieve backgrounds from crafting badges. If you haven't crafted one or wish to use a different one, you can visit the community market, Point Shop, or view the background gallary[steam.tools] to find a nice background. All backgrounds are related to the game they can be crafted from. Once you've either crafted or purchased the background, you can select it from the "Edit Profile" screen.






http://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=679503310
http://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=772904357
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2330405387
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=678617512

Summaries are the first info someone sees when they visit your profile. You can add all sorts of text formatting and emoticons to tell people who you are and what you do! Consider listing your hobbies or favorite games to share with others. If you put in too much info, it will not all show and another "View more info" option will appear when others look at it.








https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2243328933
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1622815199
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1170833932

This one is pretty straight forward, you can choose one custom link for your profile. You have to choose one that isn't already taken. Custom links makes it easier for people to find your profile. These links can also be used to differentiate scammers from original profiles.

Steam Points are a currency on Steam which you can earn through either buying games or receiving awards from other people. Once you have some Steam points, there are two ways to spend them.

ᴍᴇᴛʜᴏᴅ ᴏɴᴇ

Point Shop

The Point Shop allows you to spend your points on content for your profile, such as badges, additional showcases, animated backgrounds, emoticons, avatar boarders, and much more. It is periodically updated with new content, so be sure to check it out from time to time when you have some points to spend!

ᴍᴇᴛʜᴏᴅ ᴛᴡᴏ

Giving Awards

The second way to spend your points is to give other users an award. This is a way gifting people your points as a thank you for their user generated content, or if you just like their profile. You can award any content someone uploads to the community. There are various different awards with different point costs, but they all function the same way. It takes 14 days for the other person to receive the points through your award and the other person will always receive 1/3 of the points which you award them.

When someone receives awards, their awards and points will be displayed on their profile. This acts as a good way to gauge how active someone is in the Steam community.

Now that we've covered the basic areas of customization before leveling up, let's look through each available showcase that you can use once you reach level 10 or higher. Showcases like the artwork and screenshot showcase require you to upload such content before being able to select them.

As mentioned in the previous section, you can spend your points by visiting the Point Shop to upgrade and unlock additional showcases.

https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2347274114

This showcase is self explanatory. While there aren't any real ways to customize it, it's a good way to show off your rarest achievements! You can upgrade this showcase to display additional achievements through the Point Shop.

The game collector showcase lets you showcase up to 4 of your favorite games, but you can upgrade it to 12 via the Point Shop. It also displays some in-game stats such as game completion rate and achievement progress. You can display Steam APIs such as "Steam" and "Greenlight" using the resource below.


https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1441680716

This showcase is also self explanatory. It lets you display 6 items from your inventory, with the ability to showcase up to 16 items with Point Shop upgrades.

This showcase functions a lot like the item showcase, but it includes platform stats such as how many market purchases or trades you've made. It also allows you to add custom text at the end which is great for people who want to share information or have emoticon artwork.


https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=160483480
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=177244559

This showcase allows you to display 6 of the badges you've crafted, however if can display up to 18 badges when upgraded through the Point Shop. This showcase also displays how many badges you've crafted and how many trading cards you have.

https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=145245037
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=898555599

This showcase lets you showcase a single game and how many hours you've spent in that game. You can also showcase things like "Steam" using the resource below.


https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1817063594

This showcase allows you to display up to 4 screenshots that you've taken in-game. This showcase normally only supports JPEG, but if you use the custom screenshot guide in the resource section it can also act just like the artwork showcase and will support PNG, GIF, and APNG as well.


https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1358157391
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=693118839
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1165778253
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=910948020

This showcase acts a lot like your profile summary, but it allows a lot more text. This is where you can tell the world who you are! Consider putting some general information about yourself, requirements for sending you a friend request, social media links, or anything else you'd like to share with the world. You can also use this showcase to display your emotes, use them in tandem with your text or create beautiful artworks with them. Check out this website[steam.tools] which transforms images into emoticon artworks made of the emoticons you already own. For some inspiration, free formatting templates and an introduction to emoticon artworks, visit the resources below.


https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1922401556
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1170833932
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=956619670
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=928782571
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1130380323

This showcase simply lets you display any one group that you're a part of.

https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=334896308
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=926485037

This showcase simply allows you to display one of your game reviews. You can also write a review for Steam that's unrelated to a game, and include whatever content you'd like. Visit the resources below for more info.

https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=198148241
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1453976144
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1984605946

This showcase allows you to display a single workshop item that you've created. You can also use it to display art if you prefer. You can upload a workshop submission by visiting any game you own that has workshop support, visiting the workshop section of it's community hub, and clicking the "Submit Workshop" in the upper right corner of the page. If you're interested in simply displaying art, visit this guide and the additional resources listed below.



https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=232365177
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1717371438
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2174159512

This showcase allows you to display your workshop submissions on your profile. You can display up to 5 submissions by default, but you can upgrade it to 10 in the Point Shop. It's a great way to show off mods and maps you've made for games. You can also use it to display art if you prefer. You can upload a workshop submission by visiting any game you own that has workshop support, visiting the workshop section of it's community hub, and clicking the "Submit Workshop" in the upper right corner of the page. Workshop showcases can display art of higher quality as it allows for bigger file sizes to be uploaded. If you're interested in simply displaying art, visit this guide and the additional resources listed below.



https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=232365177
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1717371438
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1655512977
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2174159512
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=735471874

This showcase allows you to display up to 4 custom images, as well as a link to your entire artwork gallery. This is a very versatile showcase as it can be used to display any image you want, whether that be custom created artwork or a picture of your gaming setup, or anything else! As long as it follows Steam's content guidelines. You can upload artwork to your Steam profile here. If you want to upload art to a game's hub, simply visit the game's community section, navigate to artwork, and click the "Upload Artwork" button found at the upper right of the page. Please note, you won't be able to select this showcase until you have at least one artwork uploaded to your Steam account.


https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2144483683
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=748624905
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1165778253
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2216769769

This showcase allows you to display up to 4 videos on your profile. You can ether link your YouTube channel to your Steam and showcase your videos that way, or you can be added as a contributor to other people's videos.

This showcase lets you display any guide that you've favorited in the past on your profile. This is a great way to show support for your favorite guide. A lot of people also use this showcase to simply display guides that have a visually appealing thumbnail. You can find such guides in the resource section below.

https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1634321457

This showcase allows you to display the guides you've published on your profile. You can display up to 4 guides by default, but you can upgrade it to 8 in the Point Shop. It's a great way to show off the content you've contributed to the community. You can upload guides to Steam by visiting this link. If your guide is specific to a game, you can visit the guide section of the game's community hub and clicking the "Create Guide" button.


https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=837385938
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1103622431
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=220061282
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1301190133

This showcase allows you to choose up to 7 achievements that you've unlocked from any game, as well as displaying your total number of achievements, how many games you've completed, as well as your completion rate. Some games include the alphabet in their achievements so you're able to write a message using this showcase. For more information on that, visit the resources below.


https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1443549695
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=488878150

This showcase lets you display a character you were able to create during a past Steam event. You can no longer create a Salien, but you can read about the event here.

This showcase simply allows you to display all the awards that other Steam users have given you, as well as total achievements received and given.

Unlike the normal artwork showcase, this showcase allows you to display a single large image. It supports JPEG, PNG, GIF, and APNG formats, with a file size restriction of 8 MB and width maximum of 630 pixels. This is a very versatile showcase as it can be used to display any image you want, whether that be custom created artwork or a picture of your gaming setup, or anything else! As long as it follows Steam's content guidelines. You can upload artwork to your Steam profile here. If you want to upload art to a game's hub, simply visit the game's community section, navigate to artwork, and click the "Upload Artwork" button found at the upper right of the page. Please note, you won't be able to select this showcase until you have at least one artwork uploaded to your Steam account.


https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2216769769
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=748624905

This showcase simply lets you display 2 games that you've completed. You can upgrade the available game slots using the Point Shop. This showcase also includes how many games you've completed, and the total achievement count in the games you have featured.

Thank you for visiting this guide! We hope it was helpful. If you'd like more people to discover this guide, a like and favorite would really help us out! Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions or concerns.

Sometimes Steam corrupts or breaks images and formatting. If this guide is broken, please visit this archived version[web.archive.org] instead.

Is there any information in this guide that isn't quite accurate, or do you have any additional information you'd like to see in this guide? Please leave us a comment and we'll be glad to update this guide as more information and resources are released.

If you'd like to get notified when more profile related content is released, feel free to follow my Steam page or Steam group. You can also find an extensive database of profile guides below!

https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=736635300

Want to start earning some Steam points? Feel free to award this guide and then leave a comment underneath letting others know you're available for returning awards.