YouTube Banner Size Guide (2022) - Dimensions, Shapes ...

How to Add a YouTube Banner in the YouTube Mobile App Skiptocontent Menu Menu HomeSharing,Selling,&PublishingPhotosSocialMediaYouTubeBannerSizeGuide YouTubeBannerSizeGuide Inthispost,I’llgooverthebestYouTubebannersizetouse,includingsomesuggestionsforhowtomakeagreatchannelbanner. HomeSharing,Selling,&PublishingPhotosSocialMediaYouTubeBannerSizeGuide ByDavidColeman LastUpdated:July14,2022 FiledUnder:SocialMedia Topics:YouTube Thispostmayincludeaffiliatelinks.Readmore. WonderingwhattheidealYouTubebannersizeis?TheYouTubebannerisabitlikeabookcoverforyourchannelpage,soit’simportantforsettingtherightfirstimpression.Inthispost,I’llgooverthebestYouTubechannelartsizeandaddsomesuggestionsforhowtomakeagreatchannelbanner. YouTubeBannerSize:QuickGuide Here’sthequickversionfortheimagedimensionstouseforYouTubebannersizein2022. RecommendedYouTubeBannerSize:2560x1440pixels.ThesearethebannerdimensionsthatYouTuberecommends,andit’sinanaspectratioof16:9.It’simportanttoknowthatnotalloftheimagewillbedisplayedonallviewingplatforms.Youcanfindanexplanationforwhybelow.MinimumDimensions:2048x1152pixels,withanaspectratioof16:9.YouTubeBannerSafeAreaDimensions:1235x338pixels,centered.Notalloftheimageareaisdisplayedonallviewingplatforms.Thissafeareaisthepartthatwillshowonalldevices,soyoushouldplaceanyimportantinformationhere,suchaslogosortitles.Anythingoutsideofthisareamaygetcroppedonsomedevicesandviewingplatforms.MaximumFileSize:6MBfilesize.Thisisquiteageneroussizelimit,andifyou’reuploadingJPGsorPNGs,it’seasytostaybelowthatthreshold. YouTubeBannerSizeRecommendations:DetailedGuide YouTubehasthreemainareaswhereyoucanaddphotostoyourYouTubechannelpage.Thefirstisyourprofileimage,whichisusedacrossGoogleproperties.ThesecondiswhereyoucanassignspecificimagesasyourYouTubevideothumbnails. ThethirdpartofYouTubewhereyoucanaddphotos—andtheoneI’mfocusingonhere—iswhatYouTubecalls“ChannelArt.”Butit’smorecommonlyknownasthebanner,theheader,orbannerart.ThisisbasicallythesamethingasothersocialmediaserviceslikeFacebookandTwittercallthecoverphotoortheheaderimage.Onaregularwebsite,itcouldbecalledtheheroimage. YourchoiceofYouTubebannercanbeimportantforconveyingthekindoffirstimpressionyouwanttoshare.Whetherthat’sbranding,orhumor,oraparticularaesthetic,it’sthemostvisualelementthatviewersseewhentheyvisityourchannelpage. Butwherethingsgettrickyisthatyoucanuploadasingleimageasyourbannerimage,butit’snotgoingtodisplaythesamewayforeveryone.Soyou’llneedtocreateanimagethat’sflexibleenoughtoworkwellondifferenttypesofdisplays,notjustondesktopcomputers.Thatincludesanythingfrommobilephonestotabletstolarge-screenTVapps. Andhowthechannelart(orbanner)displaysisgoingtochangeaccordingtothedevice.Onadesktopwebbrowserandonamobiledevice,itshowsasanarrowhorizontalpanoramawithanaspectratioof6.2:1.Ifyou’reusingaTV,it’safull-screenbackgroundimageinanaspectratioof16:9.Butyoucanonlyspecifyoneimagetobeused,soyouneedtomakesureit’sonethatworksinboththehorizontalstrip(orpanorama)formataswellamoreconventionalfull-screenaspectratio. YouTubeCoverDimensions:Ideal,Minimum&MaximumDimensions BeforewegettohowtochangeandcustomizethechannelartforyourYouTubechannel,you’llneedtomakesureyou’reusinganimagethatmeetsthebasicrequirementsfortheYouTubebannerdimensions. TheIdealYouTubeBannerSize TheidealsizetouseforyourYouTubebannerimageis2560pixelswideby1440pixelstall. That’stheidealtoaimfor,buttherearealsosomeotherlimitstobeawareofsothatitwilldisplayreliablyonvariousviewingdevices,fromdesktopstomobilephonestoTVapps. YouTubeBannerDimensions:MinimumSize Inpractice,youmightalwayshaveanimagewiththoseprecisedimensions.Youcanstillgetgoodresultsfromothersizes,buttherearesomebasicrequirementsyouhavetoworkwith. Thefirstistheminimumimagesize.WhileYouTuberecommendsthatyouuseanimageatleast2048pixelswideby1152pixelstallforbestresults,inreality,youcangetawaywithone-halfthatsizeifyoureallyneedto.(Butalargerimagewilldisplaysharper.)Butifyoutrytouploadonesmallerthan1024x576,you’llgetanerrormessagelikethis: Ifyoutrytouseanimagethat’salreadyuploadedtotheYourPhotostab,you’llnoticethatanythataretoosmallaregrayedout,andyoucan’tselectthem. YouTubeBannerDimensions:MaximumSize Themaximumsizeisn’tlimitedbypixeldimensions,butitislimitedbyfilesizeto6megabytes.Inpractice,that’sprettygenerousandwilleasilyaccommodateevenquitehigh-resolutionJPGimages. ButplentyofcamerasandevensmartphonescreateJPGsthataremuchlargerthanthat.Inthosecases,you’llhavetoreducethesizetobelow6MBbeforeuploading.Youcandothatbyreducingtheresolutionorincreasingthecompression.Mostofthetime,you’rebetteroffreducingtheresolution(whilestillaimingfortheidealsize,ofcourse). Therearetwomainwaystoreducethesizeofanimage.Thesimplestistoreducethepixeldimensions.Soyoucanreducetheimageto2560pixelswideby1440pixelshigh. Anotheralternativeistoreducetheoutputfilesize,whichhastheeffectofincreasingcompression.Notallresizingappsprovidethisoption,butiftheappyou’reusinghasitbuilt-in,it’saneffectivewaytodoit.Justtargetunder6MB.That’seasiertodoondesktopimageeditingsoftwarelikeLightroom,XnConvert,orIrfanView.Ofcourse,moreadvancedimageeditingappscanalsodothisintheirsleep–appslikePhotoshop,GIMP,andAffinityPhoto,butthoseareallheavy-hittingeditingappsthatareoverkillforthiseasyjob(thatsaid,ifyoualreadyhavethemonhand,byallmeans,goaheadandusethem). Thereareothergoodoptionsifyou’reusingamobiledeviceorjustdon’twanttoinstallanapponyourcomputer.Foraquickwaytoresizeanindividualimage,youcanuseafreeonlineservicelikethisone.Ifit’ssomethingyouwanttodowithmoreimagesormoreoften,anynumberofimageeditingappscandoit.AgoodoptionthatIusuallyusewhenmakingwebgraphicsisCanva,whicheitherworksentirelyonlinethroughawebbrowserorthroughamobileordesktopapp. HowtoAddaYouTubeChannelBanner Ifyou’rejuststartingupyourYouTubechannel,thechannelartspaceisblankbydefault.Soyou’llneedtoaddsometogetthingsstarted.Ifyoualreadyhaveanexistingbanner,themethodforchangingtheimageisessentiallythesame. ThisissomethingyoucandoeitherinawebbrowserortheYouTubemobileapp.Sincetherearesomedifferences,albeitminor,betweenthem,I’llwalkthrougheachseparately. ChangingYouTubeBannerUsingaWebBrowser Whenyougotoyourchannelpage,clickontheprofileimageatthetoprightandthenchooseYourChannel. You’llthengettwobuttons:CustomizeChannelandManageVideos. (Note:Thisisslightlydifferentifyou’rereplacingexistingchannelart—clickonthesmallcameraiconatthetoprightoftheimageinstead–itappearswhenyourollthecursorovertheimage.) ClickonCustomizeChannel.ThiswillopenYouTubeStudio’sChannelCustomizationscreen.Fromthetabsatthetop,chooseBranding.Thisbringsupthescreenwhereyoucanchangeyourprofilepicture,applyavideowatermark,andchangeyourbannerimage. Here,youcanchoosetochangeorremovetheexistingbannerimage. Youcanthenselecttheimagetoupload.YoucanuseJPG,PNG,orWebPimages. Thenextscreenwillloadyourimageinapopupviewportthathasanoverlaythatshowsthesafearea(designatedas“viewableonalldevices”).Ifyou’veuploadedanimagethathasanaspectratioofanythingotherthan16:9,you’llbeabletodragthatviewporttofocusonadifferentareaoftheimage.Youcanalsousethesmallsquaresatthecornerstoresizetheviewport. Inthisexample,I’vedraggedtheviewportdownsothatthekayakersarewithinthesafearea. Onceyou’vedonethat,you’llbebackattheChannelCustomizationpanel.TapthebluePublishbuttonatthetoprightcornerofthescreen. AdjustingtheCropoftheYouTubeCover Bydefault,theviewportiscenteredonthescreen.Sothepanoramiccropswillshowthefullwidthoftheimagethroughanarrowpartofthemiddle.Youcan,however,adjustthecroptomoveittoadifferentpartoftheimage.JusthittheAdjusttheCropbuttonatthebottomleft. Thecropscreenworksabitunusuallyinthatitincludestwoareas.Theclearestsection,inthemiddle,isthehorizontalpanoramaareathatwillbeusedondesktopandmobiledevices.ThelargerareawiththegrabhandlesistheareausedonYouTube-enabledTVs. Youcanonlyadjustthelargercrop—thenarrowareawillmovealongproportionallywithit.Unfortunately,there’snowaytoshiftthepanoramasectionrelativetothelargerTVcrop—it’salwaysinthemiddle.Soifyouwanttousesomethinglikealogoortext,you’llwanttomakesureit’ssafelywithinthatinnerarea.Thatareameasures1235x338pixels(itusedtobeslightlylarger). Howmuchwiggleroomyouhaveverticallywillbebasedontheaspectratiooftheimageyouuploaded.Ifyouuploadeda16:9image,youwouldn’thavemuchroomtomoveatfullwidth.Butwhatyoucandoisreducethewidthaswelltofocusonasmallerpartoftheimage. Tomovethecrop,youjustclickanddrag.Ifyouwanttoresizeit,usethewhitesquarehandlesonthecorners. Onceyou’veselectedthefocusarea,clickontheDevicesPreviewbuttonatthebottomlefttoseehowthechangeswilllook. YoucanalsousetheAutoEnhancebuttonatthebottomrighttohelpimprovetheimage.Howmucheffectithas—ifany—dependsontheindividualimage. Onceyou’rehappywiththeselection,hittheSelectbutton.You’llthengobacktoyourregularChannelview,andyournewYouTubebannerwillbedisplayedatthetop. HowtoChangeanExistingYouTubeBanner Ifyoudecideyouwanttochangeexistingchannelart,logintoyourYouTubeandgotoyourchannel’shomepage.Thenmovethemouseoverthecoverart.Asmalleditbuttonwillappearoverthetoprightcornerofthechannelart.Onceyouclickonthat,you’llgetapopupmenuthatincludesChangeChannelArt. HowtoAddaYouTubeBannerintheYouTubeMobileApp Youcanalsoaddandchangethebannerimageusingthemobileapp.It’sfundamentallythesameprocess,althoughitlooksdifferentenoughthatI’llincludeaquickwalk-thruofithere. YouwanttogotoHomeinboththetopmenuandthebottomone.Thenclickonthesmallgearicon. IntheChannelSettingsscreen,clickonthecameraiconattheright.(Theoneinthemiddleistochangeyourprofilepicture.) You’llthengettheoptiontochoosefromthephotosthatareonyourphoneortablet. You’llthenautomaticallybeshotthecroppreviewscreenwhereyoucanseewhichpartoftheimagewillbethebasisfortheviewportforthedesktopbrowserandmobileviews.Youdon’tgetaseparatepreviewofthefull-screenTVviewthistime. Onceyou’rehappywithhowitlooks,taponUsePhoto. HowtoAddLogos&TexttoaYouTubeChannelCover YoucanaddlogosandtexttoyourYouTubechannelbannerbeforeyouuploadit,butyou’regoingtohaveaverynarrowbandtoworkwith.AndbecauseofthewayinwhichYouTube’scroptoolworks,preciselywhereontheoriginalimageitshouldbeplacedwilldependontheaspectratiooftheoriginalimage.So,unfortunately,inmanycases,it’samatteroftrialanderror. Butifyouhappentobeusinganoriginalimagethatis2560x1440pixels,there’sasafe-zonerectanglepreciselyinthecenterthat’s1235x338pixels.1 Itwilldisplaylikethis: Inpractice,youendupwithsomethinglikethis: Youcan,ofcourse,superimposethelogoorothertextoverthetopofabackgroundimage.I’vejustusedaplainwhitebackgroundheretomakeitclearerforillustrationpurposes. ExamplesofSuccessfulYouTubeBannerDesign HerearesomeexamplesfromsuccessfulYouTubechannelswheretheirYouTubebannerimagedesignworkswelltocomplementandenhancetheirchannel. GoProYouTubeChannelArt GoProusesacombinationofascreengrabfromactionfilmedwithaGoProcameraasthebackgroundimageandsomeforegroundtext.Butyou’llnoticetheforegroundtextisn’teventhecompanynameorlogo–it’sactuallythelatestmodeloftheircamera,whichthey’reusinghereasanicewaytofeaturetheircurrentflagshipproductandcommunicatethatthere’sanewmodelout. RestorationHardwareYouTubeChannelCoverArt TheRestorationHardwareChannelgoesforarefined,simpleapproachthat’sagreatfitfortheiroverallaesthetic.It’sagoodexamplewherefancyandbusyisn’tnecessary. LonelyPlanetYouTubeChannelArt LonelyPlanetisallaboutpackingupandgoing.Andthey’vebuiltupanincrediblearchiveoftravelphotosovertheyears.Inthiscase,they’relettingtheexoticlocationdothetalkingwithjustasimplelogosuperimposedoverthetop. YoungHouseLoveYouTubeBannerArt Thisisagoodexamplewheresimplejustworks.Thebannerimageisreallyworkingasatitle,butthechoiceofcolorsandfontandoveralllookmeldsperfectlywiththeirbrandandthevideothumbnailstheyuse. AnaWhiteYouTubeChannelArt Thisisdeceptivelysimple.Itdoesn’ttellyouanythingaboutthebrand,andifyouwereunfamiliarwithAnaWhite,thiswouldn’tshedanylight.Butitdoesconveysomeimportantinformationinaverysimpleway.Byincludingasimplecall-to-actioninthebanneritself,itsneaksinthereevenwithoutreadinganyoftheotherpagetext. JenniferMakerYouTubeChannelCoverArt Thisisagoodillustrationofwhyacorporatebrandingdepartmentisn’trequiredtocreateagreatbannerimage.It’sbusyandclutteredandhomey,butthat’saperfectfitforwhatthechannelfocuseson. ThingsWorthKnowing WhatImageFormatsCanYouUploadforYouTubeBannerArt? Ihavebeenabletosuccessfullyuploadfilesintheseimageformats: JPG.Byfarthemostcommonimageformatforphotosandwebgraphics.PNG.Theyarecommonlyusedforgraphics,logos,andillustrations.WebP.Thisonesurprisedmealittle,butitmakessense.WebPisanewertypeofimageformatthat’sspecificallydesignedforwebuse.Themostcommonplacethatyou’llcomeacrossitisifyoudownloadanimagefromawebsitethathasbeenoptimizedtouseWebP.Normally,WebPisn’twidelycompatibleforthistypeofthing,butinthiscase,WebPwasdevelopedbyGoogle,sotheymusthavedecidedtoimplementcompatibility.TIF.Anotherimageformatthathasbeenaroundalongtime.Oftenusedforhigh-resolutionmastercopiesofphotos.Thefilestendtobequitelarge.Alsocommonlyusedbygraphicdesigners,soyoumighthavebeensentoneofthesefromyourgraphicdesignerteam. Ifyoutrytouploadanimageformatthatitwon’taccept,thefilewillbegrayedout,andyouwon’tbeabletoselectit.Forinstance,youcan’tuploadPSD,HEIC,orRAWfiles–itwon’tletyou. HowtoAddCustomLinksOnTopoftheBanner Youcanoverlayclickablelinksatthebottomrightcornerofthebannerimage.Butyoudothisinaseparatesectionofthesettings.They’reundertheBasicInfotableoftheChannelCustomizationscreen. I’veputtogetheraguideonhowtoaddYouTubebannerlinksandsocialmediaicons. FAQsAboutYouTubeCoverDimensions WhatisaYouTubebanner? AYouTubebannerreferstothemainimageatthetopofthepagethatdisplaysonyourchannelpage.Itissometimescalledchannelart. WhatisthebestimagesizetouseforYouTubeBanners? TheidealYouTubebannersizeis2560x1440pixels. WhatisthebestimageaspectratiotouseforYouTubeBanners? YouTubebannerimagesshouldbeintheaspectratioof16:9.That’swiderthanitistallandinthehorizontalorlandscapeorientation(i.e.,notvertical). WhataretheminimumimagedimensionsforaYouTubeBannerimage? TheminimumpixeldimensionsforaYouTubebannerare2048x1152pixels. WhatistheYouTubeBannersafearea? ThesafeareainaYouTubeBannerisasectioninthemiddlethatwillremainvisibleonalldevices.Itiscenteredonthemainimageandmeasures1235x338pixels. WhatisthemaximumfilesizeyoucanuploadforYouTubebannerimages? ForYouTubebanners,theimagemustbeunder6megabytes. Recap HerearethoseYouTubebannersizerecommendationsagain: RecommendedYouTubeBannerSize:2560x1440pixelsMinimumDimensions:2048x1152pixelsSafeAreaDimensions:1235x338pixels,centeredMaximumFileSize:6MBfilesize EventhebestYouTubebannerartisn’tgoingtomakeforasuccessfulyoutubechannelbyitself,ofcourse.You’realsogoingtoneedcompelling,high-qualityvideos,regularcontent,and,ideally,integrationwithothersourcesoftraffic.Butcarefullychoosingaspectslikebannerartandthumbnailimagescanhelpjustthatlittlebit. Youmightseesomementionselsewhere(aswellasonolderversionsofthispage)thattheYouTubebannersafeareameasures1546x423.Thosearethedimensionsthatitusedtobe,butYouTubehassinceupdateditto1235x338pixels.[↩] byDavidColeman I'maprofessionalfreelancetravelphotographerbasedinWashingtonDC.Sevencontinents,upmountains,underwater,andabunchofplacesinbetween.Myimageshaveappearedinnumerouspublications,andyoucancheckoutsomeofmytravelphotographyhere.More» YouTubeBannerSizeGuide YouTubeBannerSize:QuickGuideYouTubeBannerSizeRecommendations:DetailedGuideYouTubeCoverDimensions:Ideal,Minimum&MaximumDimensionsTheIdealYouTubeBannerSizeYouTubeBannerDimensions:MinimumSizeYouTubeBannerDimensions:MaximumSizeHowtoAddaYouTubeChannelBannerChangingYouTubeBannerUsingaWebBrowserAdjustingtheCropoftheYouTubeCoverHowtoChangeanExistingYouTubeBannerHowtoAddaYouTubeBannerintheYouTubeMobileAppHowtoAddLogos&TexttoaYouTubeChannelCoverExamplesofSuccessfulYouTubeBannerDesignGoProYouTubeChannelArtRestorationHardwareYouTubeChannelCoverArtLonelyPlanetYouTubeChannelArtYoungHouseLoveYouTubeBannerArtAnaWhiteYouTubeChannelArtJenniferMakerYouTubeChannelCoverArtThingsWorthKnowingWhatImageFormatsCanYouUploadforYouTubeBannerArt?HowtoAddCustomLinksOnTopoftheBannerFAQsAboutYouTubeCoverDimensionsWhatisaYouTubebanner?WhatisthebestimagesizetouseforYouTubeBanners?WhatisthebestimageaspectratiotouseforYouTubeBanners?WhataretheminimumimagedimensionsforaYouTubeBannerimage?WhatistheYouTubeBannersafearea?WhatisthemaximumfilesizeyoucanuploadforYouTubebannerimages?Recap Itakephotosandtravel.Idoitforaliving.Sevencontinents.Dozensofcountries.Upmountains.Underwater.Andabunchofplacesinbetween.BasedinWashingtonDC. 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