Table of Contents
Using an improper display size or aspect ratio is a common mistake you will discover in web videos. In this article, we are going to be talking about how you can get better at uploading videos for your website.
A typical thing that happens when you visit someone’s website or check out some YouTube videos, is that you may notice black bars that appear on the left and right side of the video, as illustrated in the image below.
The image above shows an example of someone who recorded their video using a 4:3 aspect ratio, which is the ratio of the video’s width to video’s height. This means that for every 4 pixels that appear horizontally, there are 3 pixels that appear vertically.
The problem is that platforms such as YouTube do not use a 4:3 aspect ratio, instead they use a 16:9 aspect ratio. Hence, when you upload a video with a 4:3 aspect ratio on YouTube, it’s like trying to fit a square into a rectangle.
Hence, when someone uploads a video that is the wrong size, YouTube centers the video in the middle of the screen and then fill the empty parts with black bars (where the red arrows point) on the left and right side of the video.
You’ve probably come across such a case, and it is a very simple problem to avoid. In future to avoid this kind of problem, you must use a 16:9 aspect ratio! When you record almost
here is the PDF version to print Click Here
anything that is going to be used for web content, particularly YouTube content, make sure you are recording at an aspect ratio of 16:9.
Whether it’s your screen recorder software or video camera make sure its aspect ratio is set to a recording size that is compatible with an aspect ratio of 16:9. The following is a list of 5 recording ratios compatible with this ratio:
All these sizes will perfectly fit into YouTube’s default 16:9 video player because each of these ratios are just bigger multiples of 16 and 9. It is important to be very conversant with these sizes if you want to get good at video creation.
The second problem with the video is that the text in the video appears to be very small. What usually happens when you upload a video on YouTube is that it creates five different file sizes available: 240p, 360p, 480p, 720p and 1080p.
If you click on the little gear at the bottom of the YouTube video, you can view all the five different sizes available as long as the original video size was big enough. This is illustrated in the image below.
If the original video was not big enough, YouTube just creates as many possible sizes as they can. 640 X 360 is the default YouTube player size. It is a small window to work with, but YouTube keeps this window small because videos are often usually very large files. Considering that it is among the top 3 most visited websites in the world, they have to deliver a lot of data per second and most users are usually connected to a low bandwidth internet connection.
Therefore, if YouTube were to increase its video player file size, then this would result to increased waiting time. Waiting time increases as video file size increases, as shown in the image below.
A large video file size means that the users would have to wait longer for the video to queue up. For every second your users will have to wait, you will lose a number of customers. It is thus important to note that the vast majority of users will watch your videos through the default 640 x 360 YouTube player size.
Since this article is mainly targeted towards internet marketers and website owners, we are going to focus on the 3 video sizes that are suitable for these users.
Out of the 5 video sizes, we are going to eliminate 2 video sizes:
It is important to note that 640 x 360 (360p) is YouTube’s video player’s file size and the majority of our users will view your videos through this file size. Therefore, if your goal is to lure YouTube views, it is important to look acceptable at this size.
As internet marketers and website owners, it is crucial to maintain our videos at the following video file sizes:
There are many video recording software out there, but here is a list of the top 3 recording software that will give you the best results:
No matter which video recording software you decide to use, the message you should carry home is that you should always remember to type in the correct values of aspect ratios when you are recording.
Almost all video recording software will have little boxes where you can type in the width and height of the area you are about to record. Before clicking the record button, you have to make sure you type in one of the suggested values with a 16:9 aspect ratio, which are YouTube compliant sizes.
If you liked this article share it with friends and also leave your thoughts below.
Over the past few years, vloggers and marketers have realized that using video is one of the best ways to reach a wider audience as more people now prefer watching videos over reading written content, especially the younger generation.
YouTube is a very vital platform for anyone looking to share videos online and if you are planning on starting a YouTube channel having a well-designed banner is crucial. In this article, you will learn everything from YouTube channel art creation to uploading your art on YouTube.
According to YouTube, the recommended channel art dimensions are: 2560 x 1440 pixels.
However, there are some other dimensions you need to keep in mind:
Minimum file dimensions: 2048 x 1152 pixels
Minimum safe area for text and logos: 1546 x 423 pixels, all text and images should be fit in this area
Maximum width: 2560 x 423 pixels, ensures the safe area is always visible despite the screen size
Maximum file size: 6 MB
The 2560 x 1440 pixels banner dimensions ensure that the channel art fits properly on TV screens. However, you need to be aware of how the channel art will appear on mobile phones, desktops, and tablets.
To give you a better understanding, suppose you wanted to use the image below for your YouTube channel art.
This is how the channel art will look across different devices.
As you can see, the image is only fully visible on a TV screen, on other devices it is cropped. This is why it is very important to keep all important text and images within the safe area of 1546 x 243 pixels to ensure it is visible on all devices.
A YouTube channel art is a banner displayed at the top of your YouTube Channel page. Since it is located at the top of your page and is large in size, it is usually the first thing that users see when they first visit your channel. It gives some branding to your channel, making it unique. A well-designed banner can encourage people to subscribe to your channel.
With one quick glimpse, visitors can tell what your business or videos are all about, this helps capture their interest. A good banner gives users the impression that your company is trustworthy and credible.
Your YouTube banner should be a representation of your brand. Therefore, the kind of text and image you put on your banner should tell a story about what you do or the kind of content you produce. Vital information such as a logo, tagline, social media and website link are some of the things you can include in your banner. Let’s look at a few examples:
Dan Lok is a self-made multi-millionaire who now spends most of his time educating people on how they can be more successful financially and improve in all areas of their lives. His banner has a professional photo of him in a suit at the center, and the background image is a picture of him speaking to an audience. Right away, you can tell that Dan Lok is the person behind his brand and his goal is to teach viewers how to better their lives. Note that the logo, tagline and colored photo are within the safe area.
Unbox Therapy is a popular YouTube channel by Lewis George. In his channel, Lewis reviews technological gadgets of all kinds that his viewers are interested in. The Unbox Therapy banner has a photo of Lewis, the channel logo and a tagline all at the center and within the safe area. The background image includes all kinds of technological gadgets that correlate to what the channel is about.
When it comes to creating your YouTube banner, there are no restrictions. However, in order to design a powerful banner, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. These include:
Use the recommended size: 2560 x 1440 pixels and keep all vital information (logo, tagline, etc) within the safe area: 1546 x 243 pixels. Using subtle background images like the ones in the examples above ensures that the banner will look great on all devices.
Keep in mind the action you want people to take when they view your channel. For example, if you want them to subscribe to your channel or visit your website to get more in-depth information, include a line or two encouraging this action.
Remember that users should be able to tell what your channel is about within the first few seconds of looking at your channel art. To achieve this, you need to use clear images and a few words to communicate your message. A complicated and cluttered channel art design will likely confuse users and they will likely not take the action you want them to take, especially if they are viewing the banner from a mobile device with a small screen.
In the examples above, I’m sure you’ve noticed the social sharing buttons that appear over the channel art on desktop. When creating your channel art, you want to choose a background image that will allow these buttons to be easily visible to users. Normally, these buttons appear at the bottom right corner, do not place any vital information in this corner.
The last thing you want is a banner with a low-resolution image that gets blurry when viewed from a TV screen. You can avoid this by using images that are in line with YouTube’s recommended size discussed above or by using only high-resolution images. You can get high-resolution images from sites like Pixabay, Unsplash, Pexels, and FoodiesFeed. Before using photos from any of these sites, make sure they do not have copyright restrictions to avoid any trouble.
Incorporate some visual elements in your banner that are representative of your brand or company values and vision. Include elements that are specific to your industry.
If your art file size exceeds 6MB, you will not be able to upload the art to your channel.
Now that you know the size, importance of a YouTube channel art and the best practices, let’s get into how to create one.
There are various tools you can use to create a YouTube channel art that works well on all devices. However, if you have no graphic design experience, using Snappa is probably the most convenient and effective way.
Snappa is a free online tool that handles the problems of YouTube banner size with ease. It provides you with images, icons and readymade templates you can use to create your banner straightaway.
To create your channel art using Snappa follow these steps:
Head over to Snappa.com and create your account. You will be asked to confirm your email address and once you do that, you can proceed to log in.
Enter your email and password you used to register your account then click on the “LOG IN” button.
Once logged in, scroll down to the headers section and click on the YouTube Channel art icon as shown below.
You now have a page with pre-made channel art templates you can use straight away. If you wish to create your design from scratch, click on the first icon with the title “Create From Scratch”
A clean page with a simple template to help you stick to the recommended dimensions will appear. To add a background, click on the background icon at the top left corner of the page as shown below.
You will be presented with a wide selection of images you can use for your background. You can scroll down to reveal even more images.
Alternatively, you can choose patterns, colors or even upload your own images and use them for your background. To do this, click on the patterns, uploads or color buttons located next to the images icon depending on what you need.
If you choose to use a plain color for your background, click on the small box to pick a color of your choice. If you know the color code you’d like to use, type the code it in the color code text box to access your specific color.
Choose graphics for your design by clicking on the graphics button highlighted in the image below. You will be presented with random graphics you can use in your design.
Use the search bar to find graphics and images related to your industry. For our example, we need graphics art related to digital marketing, so we’ll type in “digital marketing”.
Click on the graphic art you like to place it over your background.
To change the position of the graphic, use the four corner anchor points to adjust the size of the art. You can also rotate the graphic, using the top middle anchor.
By default the graphic will be placed at the center of the template. To move the graphic, click and drag it to your preferred location. The same steps apply when working with text and shapes.
Add text, effects and shapes using the buttons shown in the image below.
If you wish to remove graphics, text or shapes select the element and click on the delete icon at the top of the page.
You can also change the font type or color by clicking on the buttons highlighted below.
Other adjustments such as line spacing, opacity and line height can also be made using the sliders.
Try out different graphics, images, effects and fonts until you have a channel art you like. Ensure that all vital information is clearly visible against the background.
Once you have your perfect channel art, click on the save button to save the design for later use. Click on the download button to store the design on your computer for easy upload to YouTube.
PhotoShop is a great tool for creating your channel art. It allows you to manipulate images, add special effects and text in any way you like. However, for beginners it can be a bit complicated to use and there is a learning curve involved before you are able to use it seamlessly. Photoshop requires a monthly subscription like many other Adobe products and is designed for professionals.
Canva is an online design tool that works the same way as Snappa. It offers a number of pre-made templates that simplify the YouTube banner design process. You have the option to customize templates or use them as they are. You can also design other social media graphics with this tool. To use Canva, all you need to do is create an account with your email address.
Similar to Canva, PicMonkey offers various templates that allow you to create an eye-catching banner within a matter of minutes. You can use stock photos, upload your own images or use readymade templates to create an ideal banner. You are also able to do photo editing using this tool.
Now that you know how to design your channel art and the various design tools you can use, let’s look at the step by step process of adding your channel art. The steps are easy to follow and only take a few seconds.
Sign in to your YouTube account and in the upper right corner of your page, find your profile icon. The icon will be the image you have chosen for your Google account.
Click on the icon to reveal a drop-down menu. Select “My Channel”.
At the top of your page click on the blue button that says “CUSTOMIZE CHANNEL”.
Next, click on the button “Add channel art” button. A pop-up window will appear.
This is the part where you choose the channel art you want to upload to your channel. There are two ways you can do this; you can either drag your channel art into the rectangular area or click on the button that says “select a photo from your computer” and directly choose a channel art from your computer’s drive.
For our example, we’ll select the channel art we created using Snappa from our computer.
Locate and select your image then click the “open” button. Note: Your interface and storage location may be different depending on your computer’s operating system.
This will automatically start the upload process as shown below. Remember, YouTube will not upload your channel art if it exceeds 6MB or does not meet the required standards.
You will see a preview of how your channel art photo will appear when viewed across different devices. Click on the “adjust the crop” button if you wish to make changes to the placement location of the image.
Once you are happy with the placement, click on the “select” button.
Your channel art now appears on your channel and you can start getting people to subscribe to your channel. That’s it!
A well-designed and engaging YouTube channel art design can help your business grow by converting visitors into subscribers. From time to time it is advisable to update your channel art to keep it modern and fresh. Using the above-mentioned guidelines ensures you have an appealing design that is in line with YouTube’s guidelines.
Was this guide helpful? Leave your comments below.
View Comments
There's a minor type at the info: 854 x 720 (480p) . The correct is: 854 x 480 (480p)
Hi Warley,
You are right, the content has been updated. Thanks for pointing that out.