Marketing & Social
YouTube Thumbnail Templates
A thumbnail is judged at about 200 pixels wide on a phone, so the only thing that matters is whether the words are legible at that size. Three or four words is the working limit, and these four are built around that rather than around decoration.
All four export at exactly 1280 by 720, which is what YouTube asks for. Keep the right-hand corner clear if you can - the duration badge sits there.
A duration badge sits over the bottom right of every thumbnail once it is uploaded, so nothing you need read belongs there - the interface sits on top of the design on every platform, in a different place each time.
Episode 12
I Rebuilt My Site In One Day
and it cost nothing
Watch now
@meridian
Episode 12
I Rebuilt My Site In One Day
and it cost nothing
Watch now
@meridian
Episode 12
I Rebuilt My Site In One Day
and it cost nothing
Watch now
@meridian
Episode 12
I Rebuilt My Site In One Day
and it cost nothing
Watch now
@meridian
Common questions
What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?
1280 by 720 pixels, 16:9, under 2MB. These export at exactly that size.
How many words should a thumbnail have?
Three or four. At the size most people see it, anything longer becomes a grey smudge - and the title is already written underneath it.
Should the thumbnail repeat the video title?
No. It should say the thing the title does not - the hook, the result, the number. The two are read together, so repeating one in the other wastes half the space.