{"id":1904,"date":"2021-04-30T11:28:18","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T11:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new-blog.artlist.io\/?p=1904"},"modified":"2025-09-02T06:51:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T06:51:57","slug":"how-to-make-a-youtube-thumbnail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new-blog.artlist.io\/blog\/how-to-make-a-youtube-thumbnail\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make a Thumb-Stopping YouTube Thumbnail"},"content":{"rendered":"

In our recent article covering some of the\u00a0best ways to improve your YouTube SEO performance<\/a>, we told you that, above all else, one thing matters most: the thumbnail. You may not have thought it was important, and who can blame you? Why would a small-sized, still JPEG image matter as much as the quality of the video itself? Here\u2019s the reasoning:<\/p>\n

Alongside the title and keywords (also covered in the article), the thumbnail is the first thing viewers see in their search results. Within 1 or 2 seconds, they decide whether they will click and watch your video just by looking at the thumbnail. Why? Because when someone comes to YouTube, they are in a mindset of viewing videos and visual content. They\u2019re judging with their eyes.<\/p>\n

This right here is known as the CTR (Click-Through-Rate). In other words, how many people have been exposed to your thumbnail and then clicked to watch? The higher your CTR, the better the thumbnail is.<\/p>\n

\"youtube<\/p>\n

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Figure:<\/strong>\u00a0Thumbnail – Author: Seobility – License:\u00a0CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018While YouTube does offer you auto-generated thumbnails from the video itself, we highly recommend making a custom image. By uploading a custom thumbnail that represents the content of your video well, you can attract people\u2019s attention and heighten intrigue (a keyword or two can\u2019t hurt either). Plus, you send a clear message to the viewer as to what your video is about and why they should click to watch it.\u2019<\/p>\n

Having better thumbnails means a better CTR, and a better CTR means more views. So, now that you understand\u00a0why<\/em>\u00a0they\u2019re so important, let\u2019s see exactly how to make a YouTube thumbnail.<\/p>\n

A few tips<\/h2>\n

When it comes to considering how to make a YouTube thumbnail, here are a few valuable pointers that you should always bear in mind:<\/p>\n

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  1. Your aim should be to stop people from scrolling. People are constantly scrolling through their feeds these days, exposed to all kinds of content. The YouTube platform can feel very saturated. You need to create something really eye-catching\u2014something that will truly grab people’s attention and compel them to stop for a moment.<\/li>\n
  2. Tell a story. Make sure that your thumbnail is actually relevant to your video content and its title and keywords. For example, if your video is about testing your new drone in Iceland, it\u2019s a great idea to clearly feature you flying your drone in Iceland. If you can set up the entire concept of the video in just one frame, you\u2019ll be doing very well.<\/li>\n
  3. Create a thumbnail that asks a question or suggests some sort of journey or transformation. If your thumbnail can generate real intrigue, it\u2019ll entice people in and encourage them to watch. We\u2019ll discuss this a little more when we cover how to use text in your YouTube thumbnail.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    YouTube thumbnail dimensions<\/h2>\n

    Before you get started on the creative, ensure that your YouTube thumbnail dimensions are optimized for YouTube. You should aim to have a resolution of 1280×720, with a minimum width of 640 pixels. Of course, you could also opt for a 1920×1080 design, but bear in mind that file sizes need to remain under 2MB. Overall, we\u2019ve found 1280×720 works best for YouTube thumbnail dimensions.<\/p>\n

    Online software options<\/h2>\n

    There are plenty of ways to create your YouTube thumbnail. If you want full creative control, using a powerful image-editing application such as Adobe Photoshop could be the way to go. However, this can be time-consuming if you\u2019re not entirely sure what you\u2019re doing. Creating a captivating YouTube thumbnail is important, but you don\u2019t want to spend all of your time on it at the expense of producing a great video or attending to other aspects of SEO.<\/p>\n

    We\u2019ve found some onlines platforms such as\u00a0Canva<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Snappa<\/a>\u00a0to be a brilliant way of streamlining the thumbnail-creation process. On these sites, you can find a variety of YouTube thumbnail template and preset options. Adding colors, text, imagery and whatever else you need has never been easier!<\/p>\n

    What\u2019s the background?<\/h2>\n

    First things first: Decide what your background is going to be. Much like laying the foundations of a house, you need a solid background to build upon. It can be a photo or a still that\u2019s drawn from or relevant to your video, or a block color (we\u2019ll discuss this further on).<\/p>\n

    For example, if you were thinking about how to make a YouTube thumbnail for a video about test-flying your new drone in Iceland, it\u2019d be a solid idea to make the background of the thumbnail an image from Iceland\u2014perhaps the infamous black-sand beach or an epic waterfall. Any feature from your video that stands out and grabs attention will make a great background. You can edit these images with\u00a0Lightroom<\/em>\u00a0or any other editing app to make them further stand out by boosting saturation, raising the highlights and increasing contrast.<\/p>\n

    Alternatively, if your video is more of a \u2018talk to camera\u2019 piece based in a studio where you discuss a certain topic, it may be better to use a base color as the background. You can overlay some of the following concepts and ideas on top of this background. We\u2019ll take a look at the use of color further on.<\/p>\n

    Take a look at these examples:<\/p>\n