Content Attributes
Thumbnails and titles are like billboards that help viewers decide to watch your videos. If they are well designed, they attract more fans to your channel, encourage viewers to watch your videos because they already know what they will find, and make the content more attractive to get a large number of visits. The thumbnails on YouTube are useful for demonstrating video content.
Many different online platforms can help you to make videos. In the case of thumbnails, they are an image with some text that allows you to describe very briefly what your video is going to be about. It is recommended that it be in an attractive color and that the text be very short and concise.
What is a YouTube thumbnail?
YouTube thumbnails are generally a kind of cover that includes images and text. The primary function is to visually summarize the content of each of the videos on your channel.
Therefore it is essential to combine a good title that seduces the audience and an attractive thumbnail that visually stands out from the competition.
With this, you will increase the CTR (Click Rate) of your videos, and you will be able to position them quickly, getting hours of viewing, and better income.
Thumbnail size for YouTube
The size of the thumbnails for YouTube in 2020, according to Google’s recommendations are the following:
- Size: 1280 px wide x 720 px high.
- Format: JPG, PNG, BMP, or GIF (My recommendation would be the first two)
- 2 MB maximum file size
- If possible, use an image with a 16: 9 aspect ratio.
How to create YouTube thumbnails?
If you are a jack of all trades in graphic design, it is recommended that based on Google’s recommendations to create YouTube thumbnails is that you use one of the following programs:
- GIMP
- Photoshop
- Affinity Photo
If you want something more accessible, and no less professional, there are a large number of online applications to create your YouTube thumbnails without having to download any program. Here is a list of the best pages to make your YouTube videos’ thumbnails with practically no effort and with outstanding results:
1. DesignCap
DesignCap YouTube Thumbnail Maker has a collection of templates to customize. So if you don’t have many ideas about colors or how to combine elements, you can start with one of DesignCap’s templates and customize it by adding some representative details of your channel videos.
DesignCap also has handy photo editors and many resources to create an impressive thumbnail. You can add texts, backgrounds, and elements, or change the design of the template.
And as with the rest of the options we mentioned, the template is already the right size of a YouTube thumbnail, so you won’t have to worry about that detail.
2. PicMonkey
Another great online application to create YouTube thumbnails is PicMonkey. It has a large number of filters, layers, fonts, and many more tools that will allow you to create YouTube thumbnails in a speedy, simple, and efficient way.
The only downside is that it is a paid online application, and it does not have a free version, only has a 7-day free trial and paid plans.
3. Landscape
Don’t let the name fool you. No, Landscape is not a landscape-only tool for your social media creations. It is an application that resizes images to sizes explicitly tailored to the social media platform, including YouTube thumbnails. And the process, well, it couldn’t be simpler. Seriously. You just need to upload your photo, then it’s just a click away, and that’s basically it. After downloading, choose the social network you need the graphic for and have it resized for you.
Landscape by Sprout Social covers everything, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and more, and even lets you choose your custom size. Each option then has a few more sizes to choose from if you want the image to be a profile photo, header, message, or any other platform-exclusive size. All you have to do is upload the resized image and update your social account with it.
4. Panzoid
Panzoid is a great YouTube thumbnail maker with professional and attractive designs that will make users click on your videos when searching.
Its interface is simple, interactive, and easy to use—ideal for both professionals and beginners.
5. Pixlr
Pixlr is another editing application widely recognized worldwide for its great ability to edit any type of photography. It is how this app has become one of the best mobile alternatives when you want to create thumbnails for your YouTube videos. Here you will get the opportunity to apply many filters and themes that you can easily select.
All this will allow you to achieve excellent quality and completely original results. For this, it offers you smart tools that will make your work much easier. It is not only available for smartphones, but you can also use it through computer software. In the case of mobiles, it is available for both Android and iOS.
How to upload a thumbnail to YouTube?
Below I will sum up the steps you must take to upload your thumbnails to YouTube:
- Sign in to YouTube Studio.
- Then, select Videos at the left in the menu section.
- Click a video’s thumbnail or title to select it.
- In the ” Thumbnail ” section, select Upload thumbnail.
- Choose the file you want to use as a custom thumbnail.
- Select Save.
Tips for creating attractive YouTube thumbnails
When making your thumbnails for YouTube, you must take into account a series of factors if you really want them to be eye-catching and invite the user to click on your videos.
For this, I have prepared a short summary that is vital to succeeding on YouTube:
- Try to use bright colors and, if possible similar to those of your corporate image.
- Use an image of yourself with gestures and expressions that summarize your video’s content within the thumbnails.
- The size of the font should be as large as possible, although proportional so that it is legible on mobile devices mainly since they have small screens.
- It incorporates some arrows that force the user’s gaze to go to the video title. It is pure psychology.
- Try to maintain harmony in the thumbnails so that they all have a particular style for the topic you talk about in those videos.
- Analyze the YouTube thumbnails of other users. It will serve as a source of inspiration.
If you apply these tips, you will get greater visibility within YouTube searches, and you will get many more views than the competition.
Keep in mind
Many of the thumbnail makers we mentioned in the article already create just-sized templates for you to upload your designs to YouTube. But if you are going to create them by other means, you must consider some details so that they are visualized in the best possible way and fulfill their purpose.
For example, make sure they have a resolution of 1280 x 720, that they do not exceed 2 MB and that they are in PNG, JPG, BMP, or GIF format. And if possible, that the image has a 16: 9 aspect ratio.
And don’t forget that the thumbnails you create must also comply with YouTube policies. If you ignore this point, YouTube may take away the ability to create custom thumbnails and even censor your account.