{"id":774,"date":"2019-06-25T07:21:10","date_gmt":"2019-06-25T07:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.animaker.com\/hub\/?p=774"},"modified":"2024-02-16T14:44:37","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T14:44:37","slug":"youtube-thumbnail-size","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.animaker.com\/hub\/youtube-thumbnail-size\/","title":{"rendered":"YouTube Thumbnail Size: Ideal Dimensions(In Pixels) & Best Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"

YouTube Thumbnail Size<\/h2>\n

Optimize your thumbnail image for the best dimensions: 1280 pixels wide<\/strong> and 720 pixels tall<\/strong>. The thumbnail should have a minimum width of 640 pixels<\/strong> and follow an aspect ratio of 16:9<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Ever feel like your YouTube videos aren\u2019t getting the attention they deserve?<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve spent hours making your videos entertaining and informative.<\/p>\n

But why are people ignoring them?<\/p>\n

It might be because your video thumbnails are failing to grab their attention or give the viewers a good first impression.<\/p>\n

Well, your thumbnail image is your video\u2019s first impression. Because of YouTube primarily being a visual platform, the thumbnail image is the first thing your viewers will see before they read the title of your video.<\/p>\n

For this reason, a thumbnail plays a huge part in deciding whether a person will watch or ignore a video. Moreover, it helps you improve your channel\u2019s brand recognition apart from attracting more eyeballs to your content.<\/p>\n

Because of thumbnails being pivotal in getting more views for your YouTube videos, we\u2019ve put together a guide on everything you need to know about custom thumbnails for YouTube, specifically, we\u2019ll look at:<\/p>\n

YouTube Thumbnail Dimensions: Everything You Need to Know<\/a><\/p>\n

How to Enable Custom Thumbnails on YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n

How to Create a YouTube Thumbnail with Picmaker<\/a><\/p>\n

YouTube Thumbnail Best Practices<\/a><\/p>\n

YouTube Thumbnail Dimensions: Everything You Need to Know<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"YouTube<\/strong><\/p>\n

Below is a list of technical requirements for a YouTube thumbnail image. All the following recommendations<\/a> come directly from google, so it\u2019s safe to say that they\u2019re reliable.<\/p>\n

Best YouTube Thumbnail Size<\/h3>\n

The best YouTube thumbnail size is 1280 x 720 pixels. The larger size has to do with the quality of the image.<\/p>\n

If you use low-resolution images, they\u2019ll look pixelated when used as a preview image in the embedded player, or a suggestion for the next watch.<\/p>\n

For this reason, you want a high-resolution image that won\u2019t look blurred when scaled up.<\/p>\n

Minimum Width<\/h3>\n

While 1280 pixels is the ideal width, the minimum recommended width of a thumbnail image is 640 pixels. An image with a width lower than 640 pixels cannot be set as a thumbnail for a video on YouTube.<\/p>\n

Recommended Aspect Ratio<\/h3>\n

Your thumbnail image should maintain an aspect ratio of 16:9. Aspect ratio is derived by comparing the width of the image to its height and expressing this comparison as a ratio.<\/p>\n

An aspect ratio of 16:9 means your thumbnail image should be 16 units wide and 9 units tall.<\/p>\n

Why 16:9 ratio? Because that\u2019s the ratio used most often in YouTube players and previews. You could use a simple aspect ratio calculator<\/a> to make sure your thumbnails follow this ratio.<\/p>\n

Maximum File Size Limit<\/h3>\n

The maximum upload size of a YouTube thumbnail image is 2MB. Keep the file size under 2MB to be able to successfully upload it to YouTube.<\/p>\n

Accepted File Formats<\/h3>\n

The file formats accepted by YouTube for a thumbnail image are jpg, png, gif, and bmp.<\/p>\n

Are you looking to set a custom thumbnail image for your YouTube video? To be able to set a custom thumbnail for a video on YouTube, you need to first enable this functionality on YouTube. Read on to learn how you could do that.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to Enable Custom Thumbnails On YouTube<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A standard YouTube account doesn\u2019t come with the ability to upload custom YouTube thumbnails. In order for your account to gain this ability, you need to verify it.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how you can verify your account and start uploading custom thumbnails:<\/p>\n

1. Log in to YouTube<\/p>\n

2. Click on your profile icon in the top right corner of the page<\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/p>\n

3. From the dropdown menu, select \u2018Settings\u2019<\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/p>\n

4. In the \u2018Your account\u2019 section, click on \u2018View additional features\u2019<\/p>\n

\"View<\/p>\n

5. Click on the blue button that says \u2018Verify\u2019 right below your channel name<\/p>\n

\"Verify<\/p>\n

6. Choose how you\u2019d like the verification code sent, either by text or call, then enter the phone number you\u2019d like to receive the verification code on and click \u2018Submit\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/p>\n

7. Enter the verification code and click \u2019Submit\u2019<\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/p>\n

You should now see a confirmation message saying that your account has been verified.<\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/p>\n

Now that we have enabled this feature, let’s look at how to make a custom thumbnail with the perfect YouTube thumbnail size.<\/p>\n

How to Create a YouTube Thumbnail with Picmaker<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Making a thumbnail for YouTube can seem daunting, especially when you consider making one using full-blown graphic design tools that have complex interfaces and features.<\/p>\n

While they provide you with flexibility, these tools have steeper learning curves and make it time-consuming to create even a simple image.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for an easy way to create eye-catching YouTube thumbnail images in a snap, you\u2019re in luck. Picmaker<\/a> is a free tool exclusively made for the purpose of creating YouTube graphics.<\/p>\n

Being the one of a kind tool that it is, it\u2019s been built with speed and ease of use in mind. The best part, Picmaker has over 700 pre-made YouTube thumbnail templates that are entirely customizable and have been made with conversions in mind so you don\u2019t have to worry about creating an attention-grabbing thumbnail from scratch.<\/p>\n

To start off simple, we\u2019d be using a pre-made template as our foundation to create a YouTube thumbnail image in less than a minute. If you want to create a YouTube thumbnail from scratch using Picmaker, our article on How to make a smashing YouTube thumbnail in 5 mins!<\/a> has got you covered.<\/p>\n

First, sign up<\/a> for a free Picmaker account(Picmaker is absolutely free, forever).<\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/p>\n

In the next screen that appears, click on the \u201cYOUTUBE THUMBNAILS\u201d button to create your own custom YouTube thumbnail.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Select<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Once you\u2019re in the app\u2019s dashboard, you\u2019ll see that the \u2018Prebuilt\u2019 tab in the main menu is already open. The \u201cPrebuilt\u201d tab in the main menu has a wide collection of pre-made templates to get you going in seconds.<\/p>\n

\"Picmaker<\/p>\n

Templates have been categorized to help you find the desired template fast. Choose a category by clicking on the \u2018All Prebuilts\u2019 dropdown and select the template of your choice.<\/p>\n

\"Picmaker<\/p>\n

Everything about the chosen template can be customized, from the background, text, font to the graphics and placement of design elements.<\/p>\n

\"Picmaker<\/p>\n

\"Picmaker<\/p>\n

The image is automatically set to a YouTube thumbnail\u2019s ideal dimensions (1280 x 720 pixels), if you wish to change this, simply click on the gear icon in the top left corner of the dashboard to set the custom dimensions.<\/p>\n

\"Picmaker<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019re done customizing the template, click on the \u2018Preview\u2019 button in the top-right corner to get a sneak peek of how the thumbnail image would look like in different places on YouTube.<\/p>\n

\"Picmaker<\/p>\n

\"Picmaker<\/p>\n

Finally, click on the \u2018Download\u2019 button in the top-right corner to download the YouTube thumbnail image onto your computer.<\/p>\n

\"Picmaker<\/p>\n

Great, that\u2019s about it! You can now easily design your own custom thumbnails for your YouTube videos.<\/p>\n

YouTube Thumbnail Best Practices<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve identified a few best practices that will help you design effective YouTube thumbnails. Here are four best practices to get you started.<\/span><\/p>\n

Use Good Color Contrast<\/span><\/h3>\n

If you use text in your thumbnails, you need to make sure that the text is readable and draws the eye in. <\/span><\/p>\n

How do you do that? By achieving a high contrast between the text and the background.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two different colors have high contrast (for instance, black and yellow) while two similar colors (say, orange and yellow) have low contrast.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the image below, the text on the left is more readable than the text on the left. This is because the color of the text on the left contrasts well with the color of the background.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Fortunately, Picmaker\u2019s pre-made templates have been designed with this best practice in mind. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Picmakers<\/p>\n

If it helps, you could also use a <\/span>color contrast analyzer<\/span><\/a> to make sure that the two colors contrast effectively.<\/span><\/p>\n

Use Engaging Pictures<\/span><\/h3>\n

If you want to grab the attention of your viewers and <\/span>get more views<\/span><\/a> for your videos, you need to have strong visuals that make your viewers eager to watch your video. <\/span><\/p>\n

The high-quality picture should act as a teaser by giving the viewer a glimpse of what they could expect from the video.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the example below, the thumbnail image makes you want to see these adorable puppies in action.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Engaging<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for free high-quality stock photos to use in your thumbnail images, <\/span>check out this list of resources<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Follow the YouTube Community Guidelines<\/span><\/h3>\n

You need to be aware of <\/span>YouTube\u2019s guidelines<\/span><\/a> when designing thumbnails for your videos. Specifically, it\u2019s against YouTube\u2019s policies to post thumbnails that: <\/span><\/p>\n