How to create or optimize the cover of your youtube channel: discover all the secrets for perfect and converting bodies!
The YouTube cover photo is an essential aspect to take care of because it immediately communicates your brand message, the channel’s topic, and the subject of the clip. The cover and the thumbnail (i.e., the preview thumbnail) are elements you can spend time in the design.
As far as the practical aspect is concerned, which is what we explore in this post, there are no particular difficulties: it will be enough to implement some simple tricks to raise the graphic appeal of your channel and draw users’ attention to the contents in it. Published.
YouTube Channel Cover And Thumbnail: Dimensions And Formats
Let’s start with the miniature and why it is essential to design and build it in an optimized way. The YouTube thumbnail is the image found in the Google SERP and social sharing: a necessary tool for increasing your video’s click-through rate. Let’s imagine the preview as a book cover or a movie poster: it is the image that captures the attention, and that must be able to convince users to click to see the video on your YouTube channel.
These are more than valid reasons to create a professional-type miniature with an acceptable format and consistent with the company brand or your product/service. Here are some practical guidelines to keep in mind:
- YouTube video thumbnail size: 1280 x 720 px (= 16: 9 aspect ratio), weight no more than 2 MB.
- Accepted files for YouTube thumbnails: JPG, GIF, and PNG.
As for the YouTube channel profile picture, it is displayed as a circle throughout the channel. This feature must be kept in mind when choosing the profile image, which will be responsible for communicating the brand and corporate image.
The correct size for the YouTube channel profile picture is 800 x 800 px. Consider that the platform will automatically resize the profile photo, which will be displayed as 98 x 98 px. Also, in this case, the allowed file types are JPG, GIF, PNG, and BMP.
Also Read: Genyoutube
Tools To Edit YouTube Cover Images
There are several photo editing programs available to edit your YouTube cover images. For the advanced features proposed, the main one is Photoshop, which allows professional interventions and adjustments. There is no shortage of alternatives for those unfamiliar with Pro editing tools.
Of the online tools, Canva is undoubtedly the most flexible. Several ready-made templates with the correct dimensions are available to users in the free version. In addition, the profile photo and thumbnail can be customized with various graphics and writings, for optimal results in a short time and without the need for specific skills.
Adobe Spark YouTube Thumbnail Generator also performs the same function for the preview image. The operation of these tools is more or less similar and can be summarized as follows:
- Choose the model you prefer.
- Decide which theme to use.
- Select (or upload) images, text and / or graphics.
- Download the image for the video.
The advantage of using tools such as those indicated above is the possibility of creating personalized and impactful images for YouTube and organizing your own predefined set of templates (always available in the Cloud ). This allows you to create a coherent production line: each preview will recall the others in the elements chosen for the branding, differing only in the image or the writings.
What Are The Right Images For The YouTube Channel?
Among the best practices related to creating a YouTube video cover, here are some that can be important for your branding strategy and to increase the visibility of your channel:
- Create a well-defined format, paying attention to the colors and the brand’s message.
- Add the logo in the thumbnail to make yourself recognizable.
- Choose engaging images for the cover.
- Optimize format and size.
- Create an impactful copy to introduce the video’s topic.
As you can see, with a few simple tricks, it is possible to have a functional and practical YouTube cover that will help you grow your online visibility and will support you in the marketing strategy for your product/service.
Also Read: Creating Professional YouTube Videos: How To Do It Right
