So you’re a YouTube creator. What next?
Well, if you wish to grow a following quickly on YouTube, there are a couple of things you have to do to make your videos stand out on the platform. There’s so much competition for views and subscribers; even the tiniest adjustment to your YouTube video and channel can be what your viewers need to watch your video from the list of many options.
One way you can stand out on YouTube is with an eye-catching, attention-grabbing, crisp, and clear YouTube thumbnail on your video. Your YouTube thumbnail tells potential viewers whether your video is interesting enough to watch.
In this post, we’ll be sharing tips on how to make YouTube thumbnails look like the most interesting, engaging, and must-watch videos your viewers have ever seen. But first, let’s see what a video thumbnail is.
Very Quickly, What Is a YouTube Thumbnail?
If you must learn how to make YouTube thumbnails, you must know what it is. When you log on to YouTube to find a video, click the search bar and type in the video you want to watch. Next, YouTube gives you a list of YouTube videos that match the search results.
How do you know what to watch among all the videos? In addition to the video title, YouTube will show you a small-sized image beside the title. This small-sized image is known as the video thumbnail. Usually, YouTube auto-generates a thumbnail from your video if you don’t provide your own.
You can also add thumbnails from the YouTube Studio app. These options are not always the best.
A great YouTube thumbnail should depict what a viewer should expect to watch in the video before they click on it. It should attract viewers and look engaging enough for you to click on it.
Sometimes, the video may eventually not turn out to be as interesting as the thumbnail looks, but the attractiveness of the image causes you to click to watch the video.
If your YouTube thumbnails are not causing your desired audience to click, then it’s time for you to learn how to create YouTube thumbnails that are attractive enough to get more clicks on all your videos.
We’ll show you below the most accurate information for YouTube thumbnails.
How to Create YouTube Video Thumbnails
There are key things you need to make a YouTube thumbnail, and the best part is that you can make them completely free all on your own.
In addition to text and design elements, you’ll need a new image from your video or stock images for a crisp new thumbnail. You don’t have to edit photos or design a thumbnail from scratch professionally, there are ready-to-use thumbnail templates that you can customize on a YouTube thumbnail maker.
These YouTube thumbnail makers are accessible on any desktop or mobile device. Just modify the ready-made professionally designed templates to your taste, and you’ll get a visually appealing thumbnail that will entice viewers to watch.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to be an expert graphic designer to use this tool. A good thumbnail maker is created specifically to accommodate users who do not have prior design experience. Just drag and drop elements around, change the background image to any of your own images, and viola, your thumbnail image is ready!
Create Your Own Custom Thumbnail Pictures in 4 Steps
Here’s how to make your Custom YouTube thumbnails in 4 simple steps:
- Choose a Good YouTube Thumbnail Maker
There are many amazing, yet free YouTube thumbnail makers on the market. We’ll share some of the best ones in the section below, but these basic steps are the same across all of them. A good YouTube thumbnail maker will be easy to use with lots of thumbnail templates to choose from.
Even if it’s a paid platform, it should also have a free version that you can use for your own thumbnail without paying. It should provide a variety of other elements including text, icons, animations, crisp images, etc., that you can use to make your selected template attractive. It should be able to provide a blank canvas if you’re adept enough to design your template from scratch.
Finally, it should provide you with the opportunity to adjust your custom thumbnail image based on your preferred aspect ratio and size.
- Explore Templates and Choose the Best
After you’ve chosen the best YouTube thumbnail maker for the job, on the editor, search for “YouTube thumbnail” to generate a list of amazing YouTube thumbnail templates that you can customize.
On some tools like Canva, you can even narrow down your search by adding your specific niche to your search terms when searching for a YouTube thumbnail template. For instance, search “Food YouTube thumbnail” or “Dog YouTube thumbnail” and you’ll be wowed by the spot-on results.
Go through the options and select the one image that is most relevant to making your video stand out. Be sure to choose one that relates well with your brand identity as well, so that your video doesn’t look different from other videos on your YouTube channel.
We’ll advise that if you’re creating a thumbnail for a video that will be part of a video series, choose a unique one that you can create another similar thumbnail out of for the rest of the videos. It’ll give the series of videos a more cohesive look so viewers can identify them quickly.
- Edit the Thumbnail Maker Image to Your Taste
This is where you make your selected thumbnail picture align better with your taste. If, for instance, the thumbnail template you choose has a stock photo image, and you want to replace it with a picture of yourself, now is the time to do it.
On the editor, spice up your thumbnail image with high-quality images from the main video, or upload a really cool picture you have previously taken. Include large text on the screen because thumbnail text is well known to encourage viewers to click on your video.
As you create your thumbnail, be sure to review important details like color contrast on your image, ensuring that your text is visible on the background you have chosen. Also, add animation elements and visual icons on the image to help your thumbnail stand out among the others.
- Download Your Finished Design
Once you’re done editing to taste, do a final review before you click the download button. Verify that the design does not exceed the maximum file size for YouTube thumbnail pictures, as stipulated by YouTube.
The max file size for thumbnails is less than 2MB. The minimum width is 640px. Usually, the YouTube guidelines require you to upload 1280 x 720px, so create yours within that thumbnail size.
The preferred aspect ratio is 16:9 for YouTube thumbnails. Input all of these as you edit your YouTube thumbnail templates.
Save your file in the JPG, PNG, GIF, or BMP file format. This will give you the best quality when it appears on your YouTube channel. Once you have verified that all the above are in place, go ahead to download your custom thumbnails and use them for best results!
3 Extremely Good YouTube Thumbnail Makers to Use
Looking for a top-notch thumbnail maker to create your design? These are some of the best YouTube thumbnail makers on the planet:
Canva
Canva is a great design tool for newbies that provides a free account for you to create pleasant, engaging thumbnail designs. The app and desktop versions are easy to use and come with millions of templates and stock-free photos for you to create designs that pop!
FotoJet
Despite being a newbie on the block, this thumbnail maker comes with numerous templates and elements for creating eye-catching thumbnail designs. You can export in either PNG or JPG file format on this tool.
Visme
This YouTube thumbnail design tool was created specifically for this purpose. It comes fitted with all the settings you need for thumbnail designs in place. All you have to do is create, download your design, and upload it to YouTube. Easy as pie.
Why Do You Need a Custom Video Thumbnail?
Now that you know how to make YouTube thumbnails, you may be wondering if it’s necessary to go through all that trouble.
If you want to grow your YouTube channel quickly and gain a loyal following of die-hard subscribers who love what you do, then, it’s necessary for your video to have a unique video thumbnail.
- It’s great for building your brand’s identity, making you easily identifiable on YouTube.
- It helps you attract the right audience because they know your video has what they’re looking for.
- It helps the YouTube algorithm identify what your video is all about so that it can show it to the most relevant audience.
- It eventually leads to a boost in your watch time because more people will view your video if the thumbnail is attractive.
Sharon Howe is a creative person with diverse talents. She writes engaging articles for WonderWorldSpace.com, where she works as a content writer. Writing allows Sharon to inform and captivate readers. Additionally, Sharon pursues music as a hobby, which allows her to showcase her artistic abilities in another creative area.