When you watch YouTube, what’s the first thing you see in the video? If you answer the display of the image or the initial writing in the video, you are viewing the youtube thumbnail. Well, many don’t understand what a YouTube thumbnail is? Even though what you see in the video, there is no youtube thumbnail written. In short, a youtube thumbnail is a flash of a video in the form of an image or photo and appears as a cover video. YouTube thumbnails have an important role for YouTubers or content creators because they can invite many viewers to watch the video. From there, the coffers of rupiah began to come. This time Qoala will explain in more detail about youtube thumbnails and how to make eye-catching and clickable Youtube thumbnails.
A Brief About What Is Youtube Thumbnail
Youtube thumbnails are small images that are attached to the beginning of the video. The image is called a thumbnail because of its small size, almost the size of a human thumbnail. But, even so, thumbnails have an important role in your Youtube videos. The benefits of having thumbnails are very important for video content uploaded to Youtube. This thumbnail can also be called a cover video.
The YouTube thumbnail is the first thing viewers see when browsing a YouTube channel. Thumbnails are considered as a glimpse of the entire content of the video and become the main factor in determining whether the viewer will watch it or not. So in its manufacture, thumbnails must also be made as attractive as possible.
For example, if you go to a bookstore, what’s the first thing that makes you pull up and take a book off the shelf? The cover of the book, right? Well, that’s the Youtube Thumbnail, just like the cover of the book. Thumbnails that will be noticed by the audience first before he decides to continue watching or not.
According to a Youtube report, 90% of the best-performing videos will have a custom and attractive thumbnail. So, when the creators or video creators don’t use youtube thumbnails, they will miss a great opportunity to get the audience’s attention.
Please note, there are two types of thumbnails that you can choose from—first, the default or automatic thumbnail. The default thumbnail will appear when you finish uploading the video, and you will get three thumbnail options that are automatically taken from the part of the video you uploaded. Second, custom thumbnails are images that you create yourself and upload to replace the custom thumbnail options.
Youtube Thumbnail Size 2023
For Youtube, thumbnail size itself is indeed small. So, for those of you interested in creating custom thumbnails, you also need to pay attention to the size to match the Youtube standards given. Referring to the recommendations from the Youtube Studio App Help Center, the following is a detailed explanation of the youtube thumbnail size 2023.
- Image resolution 1280×720 with a minimum width of 640 pixels
- The only image formats that can be uploaded are JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG
- The maximum image file size is 2MB
- Image has an aspect ratio of 16:9
- Forbidden to contain SARA
Youtube Thumbnail Functions and Benefits
When it comes to the functions and benefits of YouTube Thumbnails, of course, to attract the audience to watch the videos you upload. Because basically, youtube thumbnails make viewers curious. What exactly is the content of this video? Especially when you choose a youtube thumbnail with an expressive face or face. Of course, that facial expression could make people curious about the reason behind the expression emitted, so what happened? This will inspire viewers to play the video you uploaded.
In addition, you can add text to the Youtube thumbnail. Not only are images displayed, but the text also has a role in describing the content of your video to the audience. You can choose and use words that are easy to remember or even contain the video’s title. Viewers are more likely to read the text in the thumbnail image than the text in the Description column, which is usually below the Youtube video you upload.
Then, in addition to attracting viewers, Youtube thumbnails can also help viewers to understand at a glance about the video you uploaded. Those who are lazy to read or watch videos for too long will prefer to see the youtube thumbnail first.
How to Make Youtube Thumbnails
Are you ready to attract more audiences? But, before that, let’s take a peek at how to make youtube thumbnails that aren’t boring and make viewers click right away when they see it for the first time? Well, here’s how!
1. Try to Use Expressive Face Images
The audience will be more interested when they see the image of the face seen on their cell phone or laptop screen. Moreover, the faces that appear full of expressions, surely the audience is very intrigued to see them. Besides being curious, this facial expression can make viewers ‘fall in love at first sight with the videos you upload. Usually, this method of making youtube thumbnails is widely used by some Youtubers who want to get a lot of clicks on their videos.
It should be noted that for those of you who want to provide an expressive face image for Youtube thumbnails, the background image does not have to be a close-up face. You can use appropriate and interesting images based on the videos you make, for example, the type of video web series.
2. Add Interesting Text and Background
To make a youtube thumbnail that you shouldn’t miss in making YouTube thumbnail is to add an interesting text and background. You can choose bold fonts and contrasting colours from the photos that you will use later.
For example, the photo in your thumbnail is predominantly white. Therefore, you can choose a yellow colour for the text. In addition, the text should also not be too long because the shorter it will be, the better. However, if you choose to use a photo without a background, you can add it yourself with an interesting colour or pattern.
3. Make sure the text is easy to read
This step can be considered important because when the text you make is difficult to read, the audience will be lazy to see it. You can choose a text font that is not too complicated or gives a too long text with convoluted word choices.
Another best way to make youtube thumbnails is to be consistent with the same font style and colours that give an interesting impression.
4. Add Sticker Effects To Make It More Attractive
The next way to make youtube thumbnails is that you can add sticker effects. Its function is to make the thumbnails stand out more so that it looks as if the effect is a sticker. It also creates a robust design for youtube thumbnails in your uploaded videos.
How to? You can remove the original background from the photo or image you want to use for the youtube thumbnail. You can use the Automatic Background Removal tool available in Pacemaker. Then add a white border or outline. It turns out that many content creators use this effect to make themselves appear to pop up in the video thumbnail.
5. Apply Contrast Techniques When Creating Youtube Thumbnails
As explained above, it is important to provide text as a video title. But what if the audience can’t read it? So is it still useful? This is where the technical contrast in thumbnail design plays an important role.
There are many different types of contrast. The main one to consider is colour contrast. For example, black and white have fairly high contrast, while red and orange have low contrast. This basic technique works effectively and is used by many YouTubers or content creators when creating clickable thumbnails.
Application to Create Youtube Thumbnails
If your video is ready to be broadcast on Youtube and you already know how to make thumbnails, now you can use the following application to help you beautify Youtube thumbnails. Here are seven applications for creating Qoala’s version of YouTube thumbnails.
1. How to Create Youtube Thumbnails Using Canva
Surely you have never heard of the Canva application? Yep, Canva is often a recommendation to make graphic design easier. You can also use Canva to create Youtube thumbnails. There are many simple and attractive templates that Canva provides. You can choose the Youtube Thumbnail category if you want to create one in Canva. Not only that, but the colour combination is also comfortable for the eyes, so you will never run out of references.
In Canva, you can also change some parts of the template the way you want. But if you run out of ideas, you don’t need to worry because Canva provides many template references.
2. How to Create Youtube Thumbnails Using the Background Eraser
This application is very useful, especially for removing the background from an image. You can easily delete and hover over it to delete it. In addition, this application provides a distance between your finger and the eraser cursor so that your finger does not cover the part you want to erase.
Or, if you need a small part of the image, you can also use a background eraser. For example, you can be neater when cutting the background of your photo to insert it in the youtube thumbnail.
3. How to Create Youtube Thumbnails Using PicsArt
The next recommended application for making youtube thumbnails is PicsArt. This application has been widely used, of course. But, especially in making youtube thumbnails, PicsArt makes it easy. In PicsArt, you can set the ratio as you wish or the standard from Youtube, which is 16:9.
You can also add as many photos as you want, set thumbnail backgrounds, and add text or a short, interesting description about the video you will upload. Oh yeah, there are also features like stickers that you can add to your thumbnail design.
4. How to Create Youtube Thumbnails Using Photoshop
You can use Photoshop to create youtube thumbnails for those of you who often use a laptop or computer for the editing process because you don’t need to move the finished youtube thumbnail file from your smartphone or cellphone to your computer.
The trick is to make sure you have installed any version of Photoshop, click a file, select new, and insert the size of 1280×720 pixels with a resolution of 300. Then finally you can click OK. Now you can add a photo or image that you want to make a youtube thumbnail.
5. How to Make Youtube Thumbnails Using Cover Photo Maker
Cover Photo Maker is also known as an application that can create youtube thumbnails. When you open this application, the display screen of your gadget or smartphone will change to horizontal or landscape.
This application is fairly simple because the menu options are clear. There is a menu of creating cover photos, my designs, my covers, and many others. My designs and covers are almost the same for their use, namely to store designs or covers that you have made.
To make your youtube thumbnail, click the cover photo maker menu and select background. The background or background can also be selected from the images you have. Next, choose the size according to your needs. Cover Photo Maker provides design sizes that can be used for Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Twitch, and more. After selecting the size, you can customize the appearance of the thumbnail with additional text, stickers, effects or other additional images.
6. How to Make Youtube Thumbnails Using Thumbnail Maker For Youtube Videos
The next application is Thumbnail Maker for Youtube Videos. You don’t have to bother to get this application because you can download it on your Android phone. This application has a choice of paid features. You will get menus such as thumbnail maker, channel art maker, cover maker, and my projects when you open the application.
If you want to make a youtube thumbnail, you have to select it and click on thumbnail maker. Later there will be two options, the first to use one background and the second to use two backgrounds shaped like a collage. After selecting the background, additional features will appear which are more or less the same as Cover Photo Maker. An additional feature is a brush consisting of various colours of choice to beautify your youtube thumbnail.
7. How to Make Youtube Thumbnails Using Ultimate Thumbnail Maker For Youtube
Finally, the recommended application for creating youtube thumbnails is Ultimate Thumbnail Maker For Youtube. This application is often used to create banners. When we open this application, we will find the design is quite simple to look at, and there are several menus such as create a thumbnail, readymade thumbnail, my save image, my edit thumbnail and guide for add thumbnail.
Ultimate Thumbnail Maker has a menu guide for adding thumbnails to remind us what the basic requirements are when creating thumbnails. For example, the thumbnail resolution must be 1280×720, JPG or PNG format, the size is under 2MB, and has a 16:9 ratio. When you choose to create a thumbnail, you must first choose the size you want, and after that, you can add other things to beautify your youtube thumbnail.
That’s how to make youtube thumbnails that you must understand before becoming a famous Youtuber. But, beforehand you also need to prepare the main things, such as a cellphone, camera, laptop or computer, and a tripod to make the video.
Usually, in making videos, some problems occur. From a dead camera, a broken tripod, or a cellphone that suddenly falls and cracks. You don’t need to worry if your camera and tripod can’t be used. Instead, it would help if you used a cellphone.
