Youtube Thumbnail Size and Best Practices for 2024

youtube thumbnail size and best pracitces

YouTube has gotten pretty crowded lately and it can be hard to capture the attention of the two billion users who visit this platform every month.

As with many things, first impressions matter. Even something as seemingly insignificant as the YouTube thumbnail size and best practices can drive or hinder views. Read on to learn how to get it just right.

Why Are YouTube Thumbnails Important?

The thumbnail is the first (or sometimes only) thing people will see of your video. If your goal is to get them to click “play”, you need to grab eyeballs as effectively as possible.

To do that, you’ll have to be able to fashion an intriguing and professional-looking thumbnail that will stand out and get them to look into the clip’s content. Otherwise, if it looks off somehow, viewers might gravitate towards a tidier aesthetic.

Furthermore, the thumbnail’s importance isn’t limited just to YouTube proper—custom ones are 21% more likely to be clicked on when sent in an email.

YouTube Thumbnails: The Fundamentals

Unsurprisingly, nailing the thumbnail size on YouTube is a bit of a science.

First and foremost, how big is a YouTube thumbnail?

The perfect dimensions are 1280 pixels wide by 720 pixels tall. The width mustn’t be less than 640 pixels.

The ideal thumbnail ratio is 16:9, while the size of the upload shouldn’t exceed 2MB.

The recommended image format for a YT thumbnail is .JPG, .PNG, .GIF or .BMP.

Creating a Custom Thumbnail: Best Practices, Tips and Tricks

Now that we’ve covered questions such as “what is the best resolution for a YouTube thumbnail?”, we’ll guide you through the creation process step by step.

Note: You can only upload your own thumbnail if your YouTube account has been verified, so do that first if you haven’t.

1.   Take a screenshot of a still image from your video (YT also automatically offers three static frames for you to choose from when the clip is done uploading).

2.   Create a custom logo graphic to go along with your image or add a relevant title directly onto it.

3.   Be mindful of the logo’s placement. Avoid putting it in the centre where it’d take over the entire image, but make sure it’s viewable (in a corner that isn’t the right bottom one since the timestamp goes there, with a different background colour, and not too big or too small).

4.   Combine the image with custom text. Alongside the logo, you can add a caption in a distinctive font. This approach is very popular with vlogs and how-to videos.

5.   Be on point—avoid misleading tags and topics.

6.   Avoid inappropriate content. Nudity or improper language can scare away audiences and might even get your account restricted.

7.   Use contrasting colours. If your background image is dark, the inserted logo and graphics should be light to make them stand out.

8.   Use whitespace/negative space. This is a pro tip to make the inserts in your thumbnail image really pop by adding extra shadings around the text and between the letters.

Bonus Tip: For a more professional and graphic-designer-made look, you can always use a free design tool to create your thumbnails like Canva, Adobe Spark Post, Snappa or FotoJet.

How to Add a Custom Thumbnail to a YouTube Video

Go to YouTube > click on the Create (camera+) icon > upload a new video > click Upload thumbnail > hit save.

You can always edit thumbnails, even on videos you’ve published long ago.Go to the YouTube Studio Dashboard > in the bottom menu click Content > select the video > click Edit. At the bottom there will be a lot of thumbnails alongside the button to Add Custom Thumbnail > select the custom image > click Upload.

Finally, Before You Post Your Video…

A clever thumbnail can yield views far beyond your wildest expectations, all for mere minutes of work. Therefore, you’d be remiss not to take advantage of this opportunity to increase viewer engagement. Just remember to keep it authentic and as unique as possible.

So, don’t be afraid to get creative with your thumbnails and enjoy watching your view count rise!

FAQs:

1. Does the YouTube thumbnail size really matter?

Thumbnails are the first thing your audience will see. Adjusting the size of your YouTube video thumbnail is just as crucial as coming up with the right title or tagline.

2. Are YouTube thumbnails 1920×1080?

No, this is the size of a high-resolution (HD) image, which isn’t recommended for a YouTube thumbnail.

3. What is the size of a YouTube thumbnail in pixels?

The minimum width shouldn’t be less than 640 pixels, though the ideal YouTube thumbnail size in 2021 was 1280 pixels wide and 720 pixels tall.

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