You can post the most intriguing video to YouTube; however, it might not receive the attention it deserves if you’re relying only on simple freeze-frames to inform viewers what the content is all about.
Thumbnails, which are tiny pictures that users can click on to are presented with when searching through videos via YouTube, could be equally important as a video’s title. They show the viewer a preview of your film and encourage viewers to click.
Making lively YouTube thumbnails will also attract the attention of users and will help you stand out from a crowd of normal thumbnails that are trying to get attention.
Table of Content
Why are YouTube thumbnails important?
Spend time learning the reasons YouTube thumbnails are crucial:
1. YouTube is a popular site
Every hour more than 30000 hours of video will be able to find a home in the world’s most extensive ecosystem for video.
There’s a video to cover any topic you can think of; that’s why YouTube is extremely crowded.
So, the problem is to be noticed in your film and create a appear appealing.
2. There are a variety of videos on the same subject.
Many of the YouTube videos include HowTo videos that aid people in completing a particular task. For instance, a how-to video could include:
- Change my car tire
- Train my dog
- Create an animated cartoon
- Design a flower within 10 minutes
- Click great outdoor pictures
These subjects likely include several videos that explain the same idea. Therefore, if you’d like to ensure that your video is positioned over the other videos, you must have a stunning YouTube thumbnail.
3. If you don’t create one you want, YouTube will create one for you automatically, which is not good
By default, YouTube provides you with a handful of thumbnail options from the video, which you could make use of. If you’re curious about why YouTube recommends these thumbnails, it’s their super-smart algorithms in action.
In the real world, they won’t fully reflect the work that you’ve made to your film. So you’ll have to work hard to design YouTube thumbnails that appeal to your target audience.
YouTube video thumbnail size
Here’s the short version of the most appropriate dimensions to create your YouTube thumbnail.
The optimal YouTube Thumbnail size or dimensions are twelve inches wide by 800 pixels high. While this seems to be a huge size for the size of a YouTube thumbnail image, this assists in ensuring the flexibility of the video when it is embedded on other websites and increases the chance that the video will be clear and sharp on high-density displays, such as Retina displays.
If you choose to upload a smaller image to a YouTube thumbnail, the chances are that it would appear blurry or pixelated to viewers. To prevent this from happening, YouTube recommends minimum thumbnail dimensions of at the very least.
The ideal aspect ratio to choose for your customized thumbnail is 16:9.
The maximum size of images that you can upload as thumbnails for YouTube can be 2 MB. If you upload any file bigger than that, you’ll be notified of “File is bigger than 2MB,” and your upload is rejected.
The formats for images that you could use to upload images onto YouTube comprise JPG (or JPEG), GIF (non-animated), PNG, BMP, and JPG.
How do you upload a YouTube thumbnail?
Upload your YouTube thumbnail when you upload your YouTube video or afterward. There are two types of YouTube thumbnails you can upload.
1. System thumbnails
These are the images that YouTube automatically selects for YouTube from your uploaded video during the upload process. When you publish the YouTube video, you’ll be required to choose the thumbnail image from these. If you don’t upload a thumbnail image to YouTube, the system will automatically choose an image thumbnail from the video and display it for the YouTube thumbnail. For example, see the image below, which shows three thumbnails automatically generated from the YouTube video.
2. Custom thumbnails
It is an image that you upload and create on YouTube. For most YouTubers, this is the preferred method for creating making a Youtube thumbnail. According to YouTube, 95% of most popular videos feature customized thumbnails. Technically speaking, a personalized thumbnail for each video isn’t required by YouTube conditions. However, if you wish to draw the attention of both your viewers and the YouTube algorithm, using a custom thumbnail image is a huge benefit.
Upload a customized thumbnail of an image to an uploaded video on YouTube using the steps listed in the following steps:
1: Within YouTube Studio, either on the YouTube Studio app or the YouTube website, click on the Menu button (3 vertical stripes), then click Videos.
2. Choose the video you want to modify the thumbnail of, and then hit the edit button.
3. If you haven’t added a custom thumbnail to your video, just go to thumbnails, and hit on the “custom thumbnail” button. You’ll then be able to browse for your custom thumbnail and choose the one you want to add. Then, simply select “Save,” and you’re done when you’re done.
4. After that, click next, click on the “Change” option and then browse your customized thumbnail to select the one you want to add. After that, hit “Save,” and you’re done.
Be aware that you might not notice the “customize thumbnail” or “customize thumbnail” button immediately after your video uploads. Your video must at least be uploaded at 50 percent to view the button.
Creating a YouTube thumbnails: the best methods
1. Use the correct dimensions for YouTube thumbnail
If you intend to invest the time and effort to create an attractive thumbnail, you must first establish the right dimensions and sizing.
According to YouTube’s guidelines, the thumbnail image you upload must be 1280×720 pixels with a maximum width of 640 pixels. A 16:9 aspect ratio is the best option since it is frequently used in YouTube previews and players.
A thumbnail image that’s too small can be a huge error. While thumbnails appear rather small in YouTube results, you should remember that YouTube videos can be embedded.
You should choose a larger size than you can scale down rather than smaller sizes that can be increased in size. This will ensure the highest quality.
2. Simple is best.
To make your thumbnail as simple as possible, do not include the full description of your film in the picture. The title of your video will be displayed just below the thumbnail. Make sure to reduce your title down to one or two words, or, if you can, it is possible to utilize a static image with the logo. Still, images are great as thumbnails since they provide a glimpse of what viewers will see in your video without needing to design an entire image from scratch.
3. Choose a beautiful photo to use as the background for your YouTube video thumbnail
Visuals that are strong and appealing will draw the attention of your viewers.
A high-quality image that serves as a teaser of the video won’t just provide context but also a chance for viewers to get familiar with your design.
4. Use contrasting color
Previously it’s happened to you the white text against an unlit background or black text with dark backgrounds. Yikes. As I said before, thumbnails are small, and there are plenty of them. Your thumbnail needs to be distinctive, and should a viewer be unable to understand the text of the thumbnail; your video will not be seen.
5. Avoid images that are misleading or irrelevant
No one loves clickbait. This is why it’s crucial to ensure you have a YouTube thumbnail that accurately represents what viewers are likely to see within your YouTube video. If not, then you risk damaging your brand’s reputation or reputation. Even more, YouTube could potentially stop showing your content when you search for them if the bounce rate is too high.
A thumbnail’s goal is to give context to the video; therefore, using a picture that doesn’t accurately represent what viewers are likely to see will not benefit you. It’s recommended to identify the most significant aspect of your video and highlight the main point by making thumbnails around the main point. It’s important to balance the creation of visually appealing teasers without divulging too many details. Make sure to reveal enough information that makes viewers want to click and find out what you’ve got to tell them.
Free YouTube thumbnail maker
1. Canva
It’s a Free thumbnail maker which can be downloaded through its official website at Canva.com. The Video Thumbnail Maker is useful for graphic designers since it comes with amazing features. The easy drag and drop functions are fantastic, and the effects that are available for the Thumbnail Creation are images, illustrations, free stock photos, Shapes, Lines and Shapes Grids, Frames, Backgrounds Text, etc. The quick customer assistance is appreciated. It is important to sign up in order to use these thumbnails.
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one, robust online graphic design tool that is accessible to everyone. It offers a variety of templates to create YouTube Thumbnails, Logos Posters, etc. It is possible to create an amazing design simply by dropping and dragging images and elements. The platform is completely free to download all templates. Simply click to download your design and upload them to Facebook, Instagram Story, YouTube Thumbnails, and more immediately.
3. PicMonkey
The web-based thumbnail creator provides various filters, special overlay frames, fonts, and extra beautifying touch-up tools for users who sign up for the premium PicMonkey membership. The exclusive effects such as Ombre Zombify, zombify, premium fonts, and Mirror is a great collection of this software. You can now easily create beautiful collages, modify your photos, and create professional thumbnails using Picmonkey.com.
With its vast array of options, it’s possibly the second most-used choice for YouTubers looking to create professional thumbnails following Canva. One of the major differences in comparison to Picmonkey as well as Canva is the fact that Picmonkey is not free anymore. It is $4 per month.
