Spark Inspiration: Free, Premium Designs for Video Marketers

Free Banner Templates & Makers for YouTube

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Free Channel Art Templates are an important resource for creators. It can be extremely difficult challenging to build channel art from scratch if you don’t have any graphic design experience. aren’t an artist or a graphic designer.

We’ve listed two types of resources in this article: templates and backgrounds you can download, and banner makers which have templates you can customize.

• Free Channel Art Template Downloads
• 9 Banner Makers with Free Channel Art Templates

Touch Up YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface. You can use it to create YouTube thumbnail, or banner easily with the templates and then take a snapshot from the video .

---

Part 1: Free Channel Art Template Downloads

In this section you’ll find 3 sites where you can download free YouTube banners.

1. YouTube Channel Art Templates from Filmora

You can find 50 free YouTube banner templates right here on filmora.io. There are 10 different categories including popular channel types like makeup and gaming.

You have two options for every template: PSD and PNG. If you have Photoshop you’ll be able to edit the PSD file and, if you don’t, you can use the PNG as your banner background when you build your channel art in a free online program like Canva.

2. Behance

Behance is a gallery of creative visual works. There is a very large collection of art you could repurpose for your channel art, but some creators on the site have also created graphics specifically to be used as YouTube banners.

Here are some channel art galleries on Behance: Ej / Vritra , Austin Evans

You can download PSD files from Behance and edit them in Photoshop. There isn’t a PNG or JPG option for people who don’t have Photoshop, though.

In order to download the templates you’ll need to hover your cursor over the Photoshop icon, and then click ‘Download Now’ when it appears. You’ll need to make an account before you can download.

3. YourTube

With over 500 templates available, YourTube has the largest selection on this list. They have every style you can think of, from minimalist to video game themed.

The site is run by two web designers who make the money they need to maintain the site from the few premium/paid options available (although the vast majority of templates are free).

Most of the templates are JPG backgrounds which you will need to add your own text to.

Part 2: 9 Banner Makers with Free Templates

In this section you’ll find 9 YouTube channel art makers.

1. Wondershare PixStudio

Wondershare PixStudio has special features to remove the image background. With a single click, you can quickly remove the image background, and use your image with more flexibility. Just payment of $7.99 per month to use the features.

2. Adobe Spark

To edit the templates available through Adobe Spark, just click on the resources in the template and then click on the images/fonts/etc you want to substitute in. Resources like filters are also very accessible.

Everything you do in Spark starts with clicking on an element in the template. You won’t see all of the menus at once, just the ones related to the element you’ve selected (i.e. the background image or the text).

The only downside of Spark is that free downloads include a watermark. The silver lining is that that watermark is small and located in the bottom-right corner, meaning that it won’t show up for viewers watching your channel on either computers or mobile devices.

Note: for some reason when you click ‘Create your YouTube channel art’ it will load a thumbnail template instead of a banner template. Click Resize in the side menu to switch to channel art or your exported image won’t be big enough.

3. BeFunky

This is a graphics creator that doubles as a banner maker. You’ll need to enter BeFunky’s ‘Designer’ tool in order to find the channel art templates under ‘Social Media Headers’ and ‘YouTube’. There’s actually only 1 free channel art template, but it is a very standard channel art layout which you can customize with your own images.

4. Canva

Canva is one of the most popular free channel art makers. It is an easy to use, drag and drop, program that will automatically resize images to work in the spaces you drag them to. It has great free resources like stock photos. Some resources are paid ($1), but many are free.

The templates on Canva do tend to include paid resources, but it’s easy enough to swap them out with free resources or your own images.

5. Crello

Crello offers 10 examples free channel art templates through their blog, and you can even edit the templates right on the site.

Crello is an easy to use visual editor created for social media and marketing, meaning that it was made to be easy for non-designers to jump into. Beyond the free templates and text options, however, most of their stock photos and backgrounds cost $1. To use Crello for free you either need to use the default images, or upload your own.

6. Design Wizard

This is another program with a small number of free templates that you can make almost anything out of through customization. One of the most useful features of design wizard is that it will show you the ‘safe zone’ – the area of your banner that will show up on any device screen – so you can design with that in mind.

Remember to delete the safe zone marker before you export.

7. Fotor

Another graphics program with free templates for YouTube channel art. Fotor is easy to use – perhaps the easiest program on this list to use. In the ‘background’ tab you don’t even have to drag and drop, you just click on the element in your template and then click on what you want to replace it with. You can even load in your own images.

There are paid options in Fotor which will add a watermark to your design unless you upgrade to their paid service, but there are enough free options to satisfy most creators.

8. Snappa

If you want to get something made fast, Snappa can do that. Just find YouTube Channel Art under Headers and choose one of the free templates (there are a lot). Then it’s just a matter of swapping out the elements in the template with ones that suit your channel and clicking download.

Snappa shows you the safe areas for different devices while you edit.

9. Visme

Visme provides 50 free channel art templates you can edit through their online graphics service. The banner maker is a big more complicated than some of the other makers on this list (it has a lot of options that are more for marketers than YouTubers, which weighs it down a bit), but the free templates are great and you can upload your own images to use with them.

How did you make your banner? Did you use a channel art template?

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Free Channel Art Templates are an important resource for creators. It can be extremely difficult challenging to build channel art from scratch if you don’t have any graphic design experience. aren’t an artist or a graphic designer.

We’ve listed two types of resources in this article: templates and backgrounds you can download, and banner makers which have templates you can customize.

• Free Channel Art Template Downloads
• 9 Banner Makers with Free Channel Art Templates

Touch Up YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface. You can use it to create YouTube thumbnail, or banner easily with the templates and then take a snapshot from the video .

---

Part 1: Free Channel Art Template Downloads

In this section you’ll find 3 sites where you can download free YouTube banners.

1. YouTube Channel Art Templates from Filmora

You can find 50 free YouTube banner templates right here on filmora.io. There are 10 different categories including popular channel types like makeup and gaming.

You have two options for every template: PSD and PNG. If you have Photoshop you’ll be able to edit the PSD file and, if you don’t, you can use the PNG as your banner background when you build your channel art in a free online program like Canva.

2. Behance

Behance is a gallery of creative visual works. There is a very large collection of art you could repurpose for your channel art, but some creators on the site have also created graphics specifically to be used as YouTube banners.

Here are some channel art galleries on Behance: Ej / Vritra , Austin Evans

You can download PSD files from Behance and edit them in Photoshop. There isn’t a PNG or JPG option for people who don’t have Photoshop, though.

In order to download the templates you’ll need to hover your cursor over the Photoshop icon, and then click ‘Download Now’ when it appears. You’ll need to make an account before you can download.

3. YourTube

With over 500 templates available, YourTube has the largest selection on this list. They have every style you can think of, from minimalist to video game themed.

The site is run by two web designers who make the money they need to maintain the site from the few premium/paid options available (although the vast majority of templates are free).

Most of the templates are JPG backgrounds which you will need to add your own text to.

Part 2: 9 Banner Makers with Free Templates

In this section you’ll find 9 YouTube channel art makers.

1. Wondershare PixStudio

Wondershare PixStudio has special features to remove the image background. With a single click, you can quickly remove the image background, and use your image with more flexibility. Just payment of $7.99 per month to use the features.

2. Adobe Spark

To edit the templates available through Adobe Spark, just click on the resources in the template and then click on the images/fonts/etc you want to substitute in. Resources like filters are also very accessible.

Everything you do in Spark starts with clicking on an element in the template. You won’t see all of the menus at once, just the ones related to the element you’ve selected (i.e. the background image or the text).

The only downside of Spark is that free downloads include a watermark. The silver lining is that that watermark is small and located in the bottom-right corner, meaning that it won’t show up for viewers watching your channel on either computers or mobile devices.

Note: for some reason when you click ‘Create your YouTube channel art’ it will load a thumbnail template instead of a banner template. Click Resize in the side menu to switch to channel art or your exported image won’t be big enough.

3. BeFunky

This is a graphics creator that doubles as a banner maker. You’ll need to enter BeFunky’s ‘Designer’ tool in order to find the channel art templates under ‘Social Media Headers’ and ‘YouTube’. There’s actually only 1 free channel art template, but it is a very standard channel art layout which you can customize with your own images.

4. Canva

Canva is one of the most popular free channel art makers. It is an easy to use, drag and drop, program that will automatically resize images to work in the spaces you drag them to. It has great free resources like stock photos. Some resources are paid ($1), but many are free.

The templates on Canva do tend to include paid resources, but it’s easy enough to swap them out with free resources or your own images.

5. Crello

Crello offers 10 examples free channel art templates through their blog, and you can even edit the templates right on the site.

Crello is an easy to use visual editor created for social media and marketing, meaning that it was made to be easy for non-designers to jump into. Beyond the free templates and text options, however, most of their stock photos and backgrounds cost $1. To use Crello for free you either need to use the default images, or upload your own.

6. Design Wizard

This is another program with a small number of free templates that you can make almost anything out of through customization. One of the most useful features of design wizard is that it will show you the ‘safe zone’ – the area of your banner that will show up on any device screen – so you can design with that in mind.

Remember to delete the safe zone marker before you export.

7. Fotor

Another graphics program with free templates for YouTube channel art. Fotor is easy to use – perhaps the easiest program on this list to use. In the ‘background’ tab you don’t even have to drag and drop, you just click on the element in your template and then click on what you want to replace it with. You can even load in your own images.

There are paid options in Fotor which will add a watermark to your design unless you upgrade to their paid service, but there are enough free options to satisfy most creators.

8. Snappa

If you want to get something made fast, Snappa can do that. Just find YouTube Channel Art under Headers and choose one of the free templates (there are a lot). Then it’s just a matter of swapping out the elements in the template with ones that suit your channel and clicking download.

Snappa shows you the safe areas for different devices while you edit.

9. Visme

Visme provides 50 free channel art templates you can edit through their online graphics service. The banner maker is a big more complicated than some of the other makers on this list (it has a lot of options that are more for marketers than YouTubers, which weighs it down a bit), but the free templates are great and you can upload your own images to use with them.

How did you make your banner? Did you use a channel art template?

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Free Channel Art Templates are an important resource for creators. It can be extremely difficult challenging to build channel art from scratch if you don’t have any graphic design experience. aren’t an artist or a graphic designer.

We’ve listed two types of resources in this article: templates and backgrounds you can download, and banner makers which have templates you can customize.

• Free Channel Art Template Downloads
• 9 Banner Makers with Free Channel Art Templates

Touch Up YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface. You can use it to create YouTube thumbnail, or banner easily with the templates and then take a snapshot from the video .

---

Part 1: Free Channel Art Template Downloads

In this section you’ll find 3 sites where you can download free YouTube banners.

1. YouTube Channel Art Templates from Filmora

You can find 50 free YouTube banner templates right here on filmora.io. There are 10 different categories including popular channel types like makeup and gaming.

You have two options for every template: PSD and PNG. If you have Photoshop you’ll be able to edit the PSD file and, if you don’t, you can use the PNG as your banner background when you build your channel art in a free online program like Canva.

2. Behance

Behance is a gallery of creative visual works. There is a very large collection of art you could repurpose for your channel art, but some creators on the site have also created graphics specifically to be used as YouTube banners.

Here are some channel art galleries on Behance: Ej / Vritra , Austin Evans

You can download PSD files from Behance and edit them in Photoshop. There isn’t a PNG or JPG option for people who don’t have Photoshop, though.

In order to download the templates you’ll need to hover your cursor over the Photoshop icon, and then click ‘Download Now’ when it appears. You’ll need to make an account before you can download.

3. YourTube

With over 500 templates available, YourTube has the largest selection on this list. They have every style you can think of, from minimalist to video game themed.

The site is run by two web designers who make the money they need to maintain the site from the few premium/paid options available (although the vast majority of templates are free).

Most of the templates are JPG backgrounds which you will need to add your own text to.

Part 2: 9 Banner Makers with Free Templates

In this section you’ll find 9 YouTube channel art makers.

1. Wondershare PixStudio

Wondershare PixStudio has special features to remove the image background. With a single click, you can quickly remove the image background, and use your image with more flexibility. Just payment of $7.99 per month to use the features.

2. Adobe Spark

To edit the templates available through Adobe Spark, just click on the resources in the template and then click on the images/fonts/etc you want to substitute in. Resources like filters are also very accessible.

Everything you do in Spark starts with clicking on an element in the template. You won’t see all of the menus at once, just the ones related to the element you’ve selected (i.e. the background image or the text).

The only downside of Spark is that free downloads include a watermark. The silver lining is that that watermark is small and located in the bottom-right corner, meaning that it won’t show up for viewers watching your channel on either computers or mobile devices.

Note: for some reason when you click ‘Create your YouTube channel art’ it will load a thumbnail template instead of a banner template. Click Resize in the side menu to switch to channel art or your exported image won’t be big enough.

3. BeFunky

This is a graphics creator that doubles as a banner maker. You’ll need to enter BeFunky’s ‘Designer’ tool in order to find the channel art templates under ‘Social Media Headers’ and ‘YouTube’. There’s actually only 1 free channel art template, but it is a very standard channel art layout which you can customize with your own images.

4. Canva

Canva is one of the most popular free channel art makers. It is an easy to use, drag and drop, program that will automatically resize images to work in the spaces you drag them to. It has great free resources like stock photos. Some resources are paid ($1), but many are free.

The templates on Canva do tend to include paid resources, but it’s easy enough to swap them out with free resources or your own images.

5. Crello

Crello offers 10 examples free channel art templates through their blog, and you can even edit the templates right on the site.

Crello is an easy to use visual editor created for social media and marketing, meaning that it was made to be easy for non-designers to jump into. Beyond the free templates and text options, however, most of their stock photos and backgrounds cost $1. To use Crello for free you either need to use the default images, or upload your own.

6. Design Wizard

This is another program with a small number of free templates that you can make almost anything out of through customization. One of the most useful features of design wizard is that it will show you the ‘safe zone’ – the area of your banner that will show up on any device screen – so you can design with that in mind.

Remember to delete the safe zone marker before you export.

7. Fotor

Another graphics program with free templates for YouTube channel art. Fotor is easy to use – perhaps the easiest program on this list to use. In the ‘background’ tab you don’t even have to drag and drop, you just click on the element in your template and then click on what you want to replace it with. You can even load in your own images.

There are paid options in Fotor which will add a watermark to your design unless you upgrade to their paid service, but there are enough free options to satisfy most creators.

8. Snappa

If you want to get something made fast, Snappa can do that. Just find YouTube Channel Art under Headers and choose one of the free templates (there are a lot). Then it’s just a matter of swapping out the elements in the template with ones that suit your channel and clicking download.

Snappa shows you the safe areas for different devices while you edit.

9. Visme

Visme provides 50 free channel art templates you can edit through their online graphics service. The banner maker is a big more complicated than some of the other makers on this list (it has a lot of options that are more for marketers than YouTubers, which weighs it down a bit), but the free templates are great and you can upload your own images to use with them.

How did you make your banner? Did you use a channel art template?

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Free Channel Art Templates are an important resource for creators. It can be extremely difficult challenging to build channel art from scratch if you don’t have any graphic design experience. aren’t an artist or a graphic designer.

We’ve listed two types of resources in this article: templates and backgrounds you can download, and banner makers which have templates you can customize.

• Free Channel Art Template Downloads
• 9 Banner Makers with Free Channel Art Templates

Touch Up YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface. You can use it to create YouTube thumbnail, or banner easily with the templates and then take a snapshot from the video .

---

Part 1: Free Channel Art Template Downloads

In this section you’ll find 3 sites where you can download free YouTube banners.

1. YouTube Channel Art Templates from Filmora

You can find 50 free YouTube banner templates right here on filmora.io. There are 10 different categories including popular channel types like makeup and gaming.

You have two options for every template: PSD and PNG. If you have Photoshop you’ll be able to edit the PSD file and, if you don’t, you can use the PNG as your banner background when you build your channel art in a free online program like Canva.

2. Behance

Behance is a gallery of creative visual works. There is a very large collection of art you could repurpose for your channel art, but some creators on the site have also created graphics specifically to be used as YouTube banners.

Here are some channel art galleries on Behance: Ej / Vritra , Austin Evans

You can download PSD files from Behance and edit them in Photoshop. There isn’t a PNG or JPG option for people who don’t have Photoshop, though.

In order to download the templates you’ll need to hover your cursor over the Photoshop icon, and then click ‘Download Now’ when it appears. You’ll need to make an account before you can download.

3. YourTube

With over 500 templates available, YourTube has the largest selection on this list. They have every style you can think of, from minimalist to video game themed.

The site is run by two web designers who make the money they need to maintain the site from the few premium/paid options available (although the vast majority of templates are free).

Most of the templates are JPG backgrounds which you will need to add your own text to.

Part 2: 9 Banner Makers with Free Templates

In this section you’ll find 9 YouTube channel art makers.

1. Wondershare PixStudio

Wondershare PixStudio has special features to remove the image background. With a single click, you can quickly remove the image background, and use your image with more flexibility. Just payment of $7.99 per month to use the features.

2. Adobe Spark

To edit the templates available through Adobe Spark, just click on the resources in the template and then click on the images/fonts/etc you want to substitute in. Resources like filters are also very accessible.

Everything you do in Spark starts with clicking on an element in the template. You won’t see all of the menus at once, just the ones related to the element you’ve selected (i.e. the background image or the text).

The only downside of Spark is that free downloads include a watermark. The silver lining is that that watermark is small and located in the bottom-right corner, meaning that it won’t show up for viewers watching your channel on either computers or mobile devices.

Note: for some reason when you click ‘Create your YouTube channel art’ it will load a thumbnail template instead of a banner template. Click Resize in the side menu to switch to channel art or your exported image won’t be big enough.

3. BeFunky

This is a graphics creator that doubles as a banner maker. You’ll need to enter BeFunky’s ‘Designer’ tool in order to find the channel art templates under ‘Social Media Headers’ and ‘YouTube’. There’s actually only 1 free channel art template, but it is a very standard channel art layout which you can customize with your own images.

4. Canva

Canva is one of the most popular free channel art makers. It is an easy to use, drag and drop, program that will automatically resize images to work in the spaces you drag them to. It has great free resources like stock photos. Some resources are paid ($1), but many are free.

The templates on Canva do tend to include paid resources, but it’s easy enough to swap them out with free resources or your own images.

5. Crello

Crello offers 10 examples free channel art templates through their blog, and you can even edit the templates right on the site.

Crello is an easy to use visual editor created for social media and marketing, meaning that it was made to be easy for non-designers to jump into. Beyond the free templates and text options, however, most of their stock photos and backgrounds cost $1. To use Crello for free you either need to use the default images, or upload your own.

6. Design Wizard

This is another program with a small number of free templates that you can make almost anything out of through customization. One of the most useful features of design wizard is that it will show you the ‘safe zone’ – the area of your banner that will show up on any device screen – so you can design with that in mind.

Remember to delete the safe zone marker before you export.

7. Fotor

Another graphics program with free templates for YouTube channel art. Fotor is easy to use – perhaps the easiest program on this list to use. In the ‘background’ tab you don’t even have to drag and drop, you just click on the element in your template and then click on what you want to replace it with. You can even load in your own images.

There are paid options in Fotor which will add a watermark to your design unless you upgrade to their paid service, but there are enough free options to satisfy most creators.

8. Snappa

If you want to get something made fast, Snappa can do that. Just find YouTube Channel Art under Headers and choose one of the free templates (there are a lot). Then it’s just a matter of swapping out the elements in the template with ones that suit your channel and clicking download.

Snappa shows you the safe areas for different devices while you edit.

9. Visme

Visme provides 50 free channel art templates you can edit through their online graphics service. The banner maker is a big more complicated than some of the other makers on this list (it has a lot of options that are more for marketers than YouTubers, which weighs it down a bit), but the free templates are great and you can upload your own images to use with them.

How did you make your banner? Did you use a channel art template?

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Unlocking Views with Optimal Thumbnail Design

What’s the Best YouTube Thumbnail Size?

Richard Bennett

Dec 30, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Making better YouTube thumbnails will help you get more views, and knowing the best YouTube thumbnail size is part of that. There are millions of videos on YouTube, so if you want the audience to click on yours, then you need to make a great first impression.

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?
2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails
3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?

An essential thing that every YouTube video developer needs to know is about the selection of the right side of the thumbnail for any video. As per the guidelines circulated by Google itself, the most appropriate size for the thumbnail image is 1280x720 pixels, where the recommended minimal pixel width is 640 pixels. Generally, the 16:9 ratio is considered as an ideal choice for Most of YouTube previews and players.

Here is one interesting thing that you need to know; the thumbnail of videos appears smaller during searches, but it naturally grows to the full size of a video during suggestions. Now the fact is that upscaling of images often loses the quality of content, whereas it is much easier to downscale larger images into smaller ones. Hence, the best idea is to use large size images so that this search and suggestion based scaling needs can be well accomplished.

You May Also Like:
Top 12 Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers >>
How to Download YouTube Thumbnail in 3 Ways [Online/Win/Mac] >>

2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails

So, if you are ready to add thumbnails to your videos, then it is time to learn a few essential tips to do this task with improved impact. You need to ignore the blurry details and boost the eye-catching ones. Here are a few essential tips for developing the best videos with an impressive selection of thumbnail images:

YouTube’s Default Thumbnails

When you upload your video on YouTube, the platform itself gives you suggestions about thumbnails, and they are directly picked up from your own video. Although the idea is good and original, these thumbnails use to be of low quality with blur details. Hope! You don’t want to lose your audience with this bad selection.

Custom Thumbnails

This is probably the best choice for your customized videos, and the interesting thing is that here you can control everything manually with lots of useful effects.

First of all, you need to open your video on YouTube and then scrub a useful still from your video that you wish to use as a thumbnail.

Now, you need to take a screenshot of this particular instance of your video file. The best part is that most of the operating systems allow users to enjoy several shortcuts to complete this task. For example:

Mac users need to press Command+Shift+4 and then simply highlight the area that you want to include in your screenshot with the help of a frame. The system will automatically save your selected area to your desktop in the form of an image.

Window users are advised to access Windows Key with Print Screen option to get their desired screenshot.

Once you are ready with your video specific still image, then simply get it uploaded on YouTube using the edit video page.

3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

The best part is to access some photo editing software tool to edit your image the way you like. You can use an advanced tool like Photoshop or a free online tool like Canva.

• Focus on Size:

It is always advised to create thumbnail images with standard video file size; the most commonly used standard size range is 1980x1080 or 1280x720. Images having a size smaller than this range may often appear blurry.

• Add Text:

The best idea is to use text-based editing for your thumbnail images and preferably add the title of your video to this image. It will naturally attract more viewers.

• Borders matter:

Professionals recommend adding borders around thumbnail images but do not try to make it too thick rather, try to make it noticeable with fine details.

• Background editing:

Most of the expert video thumbnail developers prefer to change the impact of thumbnail background by simply replacing the background color with solid colors. It will definitely attract more viewers and will bring major attention to the major subject.

• Test it before uploading:

Before uploading your customized thumbnail to your YouTube channel, prefer to check its final view. Zoom in to check the appearance of the thumbnail image on the larger screen, and it should also look fine when sized down.

Now that you know the best YouTube thumbnail size and how to design better thumbnails, do you think you’ll revisit the thumbnails of your existing YouTube videos?

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Dec 30, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Making better YouTube thumbnails will help you get more views, and knowing the best YouTube thumbnail size is part of that. There are millions of videos on YouTube, so if you want the audience to click on yours, then you need to make a great first impression.

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?
2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails
3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?

An essential thing that every YouTube video developer needs to know is about the selection of the right side of the thumbnail for any video. As per the guidelines circulated by Google itself, the most appropriate size for the thumbnail image is 1280x720 pixels, where the recommended minimal pixel width is 640 pixels. Generally, the 16:9 ratio is considered as an ideal choice for Most of YouTube previews and players.

Here is one interesting thing that you need to know; the thumbnail of videos appears smaller during searches, but it naturally grows to the full size of a video during suggestions. Now the fact is that upscaling of images often loses the quality of content, whereas it is much easier to downscale larger images into smaller ones. Hence, the best idea is to use large size images so that this search and suggestion based scaling needs can be well accomplished.

You May Also Like:
Top 12 Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers >>
How to Download YouTube Thumbnail in 3 Ways [Online/Win/Mac] >>

2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails

So, if you are ready to add thumbnails to your videos, then it is time to learn a few essential tips to do this task with improved impact. You need to ignore the blurry details and boost the eye-catching ones. Here are a few essential tips for developing the best videos with an impressive selection of thumbnail images:

YouTube’s Default Thumbnails

When you upload your video on YouTube, the platform itself gives you suggestions about thumbnails, and they are directly picked up from your own video. Although the idea is good and original, these thumbnails use to be of low quality with blur details. Hope! You don’t want to lose your audience with this bad selection.

Custom Thumbnails

This is probably the best choice for your customized videos, and the interesting thing is that here you can control everything manually with lots of useful effects.

First of all, you need to open your video on YouTube and then scrub a useful still from your video that you wish to use as a thumbnail.

Now, you need to take a screenshot of this particular instance of your video file. The best part is that most of the operating systems allow users to enjoy several shortcuts to complete this task. For example:

Mac users need to press Command+Shift+4 and then simply highlight the area that you want to include in your screenshot with the help of a frame. The system will automatically save your selected area to your desktop in the form of an image.

Window users are advised to access Windows Key with Print Screen option to get their desired screenshot.

Once you are ready with your video specific still image, then simply get it uploaded on YouTube using the edit video page.

3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

The best part is to access some photo editing software tool to edit your image the way you like. You can use an advanced tool like Photoshop or a free online tool like Canva.

• Focus on Size:

It is always advised to create thumbnail images with standard video file size; the most commonly used standard size range is 1980x1080 or 1280x720. Images having a size smaller than this range may often appear blurry.

• Add Text:

The best idea is to use text-based editing for your thumbnail images and preferably add the title of your video to this image. It will naturally attract more viewers.

• Borders matter:

Professionals recommend adding borders around thumbnail images but do not try to make it too thick rather, try to make it noticeable with fine details.

• Background editing:

Most of the expert video thumbnail developers prefer to change the impact of thumbnail background by simply replacing the background color with solid colors. It will definitely attract more viewers and will bring major attention to the major subject.

• Test it before uploading:

Before uploading your customized thumbnail to your YouTube channel, prefer to check its final view. Zoom in to check the appearance of the thumbnail image on the larger screen, and it should also look fine when sized down.

Now that you know the best YouTube thumbnail size and how to design better thumbnails, do you think you’ll revisit the thumbnails of your existing YouTube videos?

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Dec 30, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Making better YouTube thumbnails will help you get more views, and knowing the best YouTube thumbnail size is part of that. There are millions of videos on YouTube, so if you want the audience to click on yours, then you need to make a great first impression.

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?
2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails
3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?

An essential thing that every YouTube video developer needs to know is about the selection of the right side of the thumbnail for any video. As per the guidelines circulated by Google itself, the most appropriate size for the thumbnail image is 1280x720 pixels, where the recommended minimal pixel width is 640 pixels. Generally, the 16:9 ratio is considered as an ideal choice for Most of YouTube previews and players.

Here is one interesting thing that you need to know; the thumbnail of videos appears smaller during searches, but it naturally grows to the full size of a video during suggestions. Now the fact is that upscaling of images often loses the quality of content, whereas it is much easier to downscale larger images into smaller ones. Hence, the best idea is to use large size images so that this search and suggestion based scaling needs can be well accomplished.

You May Also Like:
Top 12 Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers >>
How to Download YouTube Thumbnail in 3 Ways [Online/Win/Mac] >>

2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails

So, if you are ready to add thumbnails to your videos, then it is time to learn a few essential tips to do this task with improved impact. You need to ignore the blurry details and boost the eye-catching ones. Here are a few essential tips for developing the best videos with an impressive selection of thumbnail images:

YouTube’s Default Thumbnails

When you upload your video on YouTube, the platform itself gives you suggestions about thumbnails, and they are directly picked up from your own video. Although the idea is good and original, these thumbnails use to be of low quality with blur details. Hope! You don’t want to lose your audience with this bad selection.

Custom Thumbnails

This is probably the best choice for your customized videos, and the interesting thing is that here you can control everything manually with lots of useful effects.

First of all, you need to open your video on YouTube and then scrub a useful still from your video that you wish to use as a thumbnail.

Now, you need to take a screenshot of this particular instance of your video file. The best part is that most of the operating systems allow users to enjoy several shortcuts to complete this task. For example:

Mac users need to press Command+Shift+4 and then simply highlight the area that you want to include in your screenshot with the help of a frame. The system will automatically save your selected area to your desktop in the form of an image.

Window users are advised to access Windows Key with Print Screen option to get their desired screenshot.

Once you are ready with your video specific still image, then simply get it uploaded on YouTube using the edit video page.

3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

The best part is to access some photo editing software tool to edit your image the way you like. You can use an advanced tool like Photoshop or a free online tool like Canva.

• Focus on Size:

It is always advised to create thumbnail images with standard video file size; the most commonly used standard size range is 1980x1080 or 1280x720. Images having a size smaller than this range may often appear blurry.

• Add Text:

The best idea is to use text-based editing for your thumbnail images and preferably add the title of your video to this image. It will naturally attract more viewers.

• Borders matter:

Professionals recommend adding borders around thumbnail images but do not try to make it too thick rather, try to make it noticeable with fine details.

• Background editing:

Most of the expert video thumbnail developers prefer to change the impact of thumbnail background by simply replacing the background color with solid colors. It will definitely attract more viewers and will bring major attention to the major subject.

• Test it before uploading:

Before uploading your customized thumbnail to your YouTube channel, prefer to check its final view. Zoom in to check the appearance of the thumbnail image on the larger screen, and it should also look fine when sized down.

Now that you know the best YouTube thumbnail size and how to design better thumbnails, do you think you’ll revisit the thumbnails of your existing YouTube videos?

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Dec 30, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Making better YouTube thumbnails will help you get more views, and knowing the best YouTube thumbnail size is part of that. There are millions of videos on YouTube, so if you want the audience to click on yours, then you need to make a great first impression.

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?
2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails
3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?

An essential thing that every YouTube video developer needs to know is about the selection of the right side of the thumbnail for any video. As per the guidelines circulated by Google itself, the most appropriate size for the thumbnail image is 1280x720 pixels, where the recommended minimal pixel width is 640 pixels. Generally, the 16:9 ratio is considered as an ideal choice for Most of YouTube previews and players.

Here is one interesting thing that you need to know; the thumbnail of videos appears smaller during searches, but it naturally grows to the full size of a video during suggestions. Now the fact is that upscaling of images often loses the quality of content, whereas it is much easier to downscale larger images into smaller ones. Hence, the best idea is to use large size images so that this search and suggestion based scaling needs can be well accomplished.

You May Also Like:
Top 12 Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers >>
How to Download YouTube Thumbnail in 3 Ways [Online/Win/Mac] >>

2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails

So, if you are ready to add thumbnails to your videos, then it is time to learn a few essential tips to do this task with improved impact. You need to ignore the blurry details and boost the eye-catching ones. Here are a few essential tips for developing the best videos with an impressive selection of thumbnail images:

YouTube’s Default Thumbnails

When you upload your video on YouTube, the platform itself gives you suggestions about thumbnails, and they are directly picked up from your own video. Although the idea is good and original, these thumbnails use to be of low quality with blur details. Hope! You don’t want to lose your audience with this bad selection.

Custom Thumbnails

This is probably the best choice for your customized videos, and the interesting thing is that here you can control everything manually with lots of useful effects.

First of all, you need to open your video on YouTube and then scrub a useful still from your video that you wish to use as a thumbnail.

Now, you need to take a screenshot of this particular instance of your video file. The best part is that most of the operating systems allow users to enjoy several shortcuts to complete this task. For example:

Mac users need to press Command+Shift+4 and then simply highlight the area that you want to include in your screenshot with the help of a frame. The system will automatically save your selected area to your desktop in the form of an image.

Window users are advised to access Windows Key with Print Screen option to get their desired screenshot.

Once you are ready with your video specific still image, then simply get it uploaded on YouTube using the edit video page.

3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

The best part is to access some photo editing software tool to edit your image the way you like. You can use an advanced tool like Photoshop or a free online tool like Canva.

• Focus on Size:

It is always advised to create thumbnail images with standard video file size; the most commonly used standard size range is 1980x1080 or 1280x720. Images having a size smaller than this range may often appear blurry.

• Add Text:

The best idea is to use text-based editing for your thumbnail images and preferably add the title of your video to this image. It will naturally attract more viewers.

• Borders matter:

Professionals recommend adding borders around thumbnail images but do not try to make it too thick rather, try to make it noticeable with fine details.

• Background editing:

Most of the expert video thumbnail developers prefer to change the impact of thumbnail background by simply replacing the background color with solid colors. It will definitely attract more viewers and will bring major attention to the major subject.

• Test it before uploading:

Before uploading your customized thumbnail to your YouTube channel, prefer to check its final view. Zoom in to check the appearance of the thumbnail image on the larger screen, and it should also look fine when sized down.

Now that you know the best YouTube thumbnail size and how to design better thumbnails, do you think you’ll revisit the thumbnails of your existing YouTube videos?

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett