Nail your thumbnail design: create click-worthy YouTube thumbnails
When you’re strolling through a bustling art gallery, what catches your eye first?
Is it the details of each painting or the eye-catching frames that surround them?
In the vast exhibition hall of YouTube, your YouTube video thumbnails are the frames that attract the crowd.
They’re the silent ambassadors of your content, whispering (or sometimes shouting) to potential viewers, “Hey, look at me!”
Are you the type of person who reads YouTube video titles before clicking or do you just click on the most attractive video thumbnails on your feed?
For me, even if a video has an attention-grabbing title, if the thumbnail does not look professionally made, I just skip and continue scrolling.
Now, I’m not saying the Mona Lisa wouldn’t be famous without her frame.
But let’s be honest, in a world where we’re constantly scrolling through social media, even Leonardo might struggle to get clicks without a catchy thumbnail.
Did you know that 90% of top-performing YouTube videos have custom thumbnails?
That’s not just a coincidence… It’s strategy.
Think of your thumbnail as a book cover in the world’s biggest library. It’s that first impression that makes someone pause their endless scrolling and think, “Hmm, maybe I’ll check this out.”
And your video title is just like that fine print on a movie poster.
It’s important, sure, especially for SEO, but it’s not what grabs your attention from across the street.
Compared to your bigger thumbnail, which creates a first impression on your audience, it’s just a detail.
I’ll admit it: I’m a thumbnail snob.
Show me a video with a slapdash thumbnail, and I’ll show you my scrolling finger in action. Harsh? Maybe. But I’m not alone.
We’re all judges in the “Court of First Impressions”.
And in YouTube Land (well, YouTube feed), your thumbnail is standing trial.
Now, I didn’t write this blog post to stress you out. I’m just trying to arm you with the knowledge to create thumbnails that don’t just catch eyes, but captivate them.
We’ll dive into what makes a YouTube thumbnail pop, sizzle, and ultimately, click. And we’ll tackle the age-old question: To text, or not to text on your thumbnail?
Ready to turn your video frames into masterpieces? Let’s paint this town red… or whatever color scheme best fits your brand!
The importance of an eye-catching thumbnail image
Over 720,000 YouTube videos get uploaded every day and currently, there are at least 800 million videos on the platform.
While it may seem impossible to stand out among that sheer number, users also watch a total of 5 billion videos every day.
Your YouTube thumbnail is like a mini-advertisement for your video to stand out among all the videos on the site.
Here are some ways your thumbnails affect the perception of your audience:
Your thumbnail design sets expectations for your video
A thumbnail gives viewers a preview of what to expect from your video.
If viewers see that you’re talking about something that interests them, they are more likely to click and watch.
Your thumbnail should accurately represent the content and tone of your video.
While it is tempting to create misleading thumbnails (we call this clickbait) just to get people to click on your video, this can still lead to viewer dissatisfaction and lower video engagement.
They might stay to watch for a few seconds, but they will click out when they realize you’re not talking about the thing you promised in the thumbnail.
YouTube has a statistic for engagement rates and if they see that your videos have low engagement rates despite the high amount of clicks, they may not recommend your video anymore.
Custom YouTube thumbnails help with brand identity
Consistent and well-designed thumbnails contribute to your brand identity.
When they constantly see your face, logo, brand font, or colors on the thumbnail, your audience will start to associate these styles of thumbnails with your brand.
They make your videos instantly recognizable and help build a loyal audience.
What makes a good YouTube thumbnail design?
If you scroll through the list of most-viewed YouTube channels, you will see a pattern in their YouTube thumbnails.
You can use these as inspiration or a formula to create your own thumbnails.
Here are some elements that make for great YouTube thumbnails:
Using high-quality images for your YouTube video
Blurry or pixelated images are a big no-no when it comes to thumbnails.
Use high-resolution images that are clear and visually appealing.
It helps to make sure you are using the right image size to avoid compression or stretching out.
The YouTube thumbnail size is 1280 x 720 pixels with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
Only use images in the JPG, PNG, GIF, or BMP formats, and limit the file size to 2 MB.
Colors matter when you create YouTube thumbnails
You want your thumbnail to have bright and contrasting colors to entice people scrolling through their feeds.
They catch the eye and stand out against YouTube’s white background.
But you also don’t want to use too many colors.
Use only three colors maximum and make sure you select colors with a strong color-contrast ratio.
You want the text and design elements in your thumbnail to stand out from the background.
This makes it easy to distinguish and read whether your viewers are on their phones, tabs, desktops, or living room TVs.
Add a face and emotions to your YouTube channel
It is proven that thumbnails with faces have better click-through rates.
Facial expressions can create a connection with potential viewers and provide a powerful visualization for the content of your video.
It also improves recognition and helps build trust for your brand.
If your video involves a reaction or review, it will do better if you show a clear, expressive face in the thumbnail.
Should you add easy-to-read text to your thumbnail?
This decision is more complex than you might think.
Some thumbnails are better off with text, while others are better off without it.
It’s all about the intentional use of text.
It is a good rule to limit your thumbnail text to six words if you do decide to add it.
This makes sure that it is easier to read even on smaller screens.
Here are some cases when you should and shouldn’t use text on your thumbnails:
Clarify content: add text
If the visual alone doesn’t clearly convey the video’s content, text can help.
For example, a thumbnail of a view from a scenic place might not explain where the location is or what the video is about.
You can clarify this by adding text like “5-day trip to Venice itinerary” to make it more attractive to an interested audience.
It gives context to your image and intrigues people better.
Highlight key points: add text
Text can be used to emphasize important aspects of your video that you included on the thumbnail.
For example, if you’re creating a video breaking down an interaction between two prominent people, you can add text to indicate it.
A thumbnail with Queen Elizabeth II and Michelle Obama will stand out even more if you add text that highlights a key point you’re going to talk about, like “They shook hands!” with an arrow to their hands in the photo.
This way, your potential viewers know that you are going to talk about that specific part of their interaction.
Likewise, you can also ask a question that hints at a key point that you talk about.
With the same example, you can add text like “Did they violate etiquette rules?”
Self-explanatory images: skip the text
At times, the visual creates a better impact on its own without text.
This is especially true for symbolic images and illustrations.
Adding text will just clutter the image and tone down the already strong image.
Instead, you can just create a strong title to back it up and build engagement.
Videos that tease with mystery: skip the text
If you’re trying to make a suspenseful video, you’re better off with a strong visual without text.
Bold text with silly fonts can take away from the impact of a good thriller image.
Should you use templates like Canva to create thumbnails?
The first things that pop up when you search for “how to design a YouTube thumbnail” are the long list of YouTube thumbnail templates and thumbnail makers.
There are plenty of online thumbnail makers, including Canva, Picsart, and even Adobe Express.
But should you really use these for your YouTube video thumbnail?
Similar to our tip about text, it’s all about deliberate use when it comes to design elements and templates.
There are still a bunch of YouTube videos that do well even when they’re just using design templates.
It’s all about understanding why certain elements are on the template and customizing these designs to become your own.
If you’re just using a template as it is, odds are that many other people are using the same template as you.
Remember the 720,000 videos getting uploaded to the site daily mentioned earlier?
A good chunk of those have thumbnails made from templates too.
If you want to stand out, you have to tweak these templates a bit and make them match your own brand.
Ways to create the best YouTube thumbnails and test them
Don’t just take the tips from us.
We don’t have a successful YouTube channel (just yet).
There are various ways for you to test different designs and analyze their performance so you can understand for yourself which types of thumbnails work best for your audience.
Grow your YouTube channel with your analytics
The YouTube analytics page is your best friend if you’re trying to grow your channel.
It allows you to track the performance of your videos.
Look at metrics like click-through rate (CTR) and watch time to see how different thumbnails impact viewer engagement.
Consider what types of thumbnails people clicked on more and what types of videos held their attention longer.
You can use the data from your analytics to optimize your content for better engagement and clicks.
A/B testing
YouTube recently added a thumbnail A/B testing feature, which helps you test different thumbnails more easily.
This allows you to try different thumbnail styles and see which ones your audience will click on more.
You can upload two versions of the same video with different thumbnails and compare their click-through rates.
Vary options with colors, text or no text, face or no face, and see which ones do better for your audience.
The best YouTube thumbnail examples
Check out these YouTube channel thumbnails.
These are some of the top performers on the site.
Do you see something they have in common?
As you can see, these are all following the tips we mentioned earlier:
- Simple designs with high contrast
- Faces and emotions
- Limited yet deliberate use of text
Simply follow these tips, constantly test for different thumbnail styles, and improve your content and you’re all set to grow your YouTube channel!
Grow your YouTube channel with custom YouTube thumbnails
A well-designed YouTube thumbnail is a powerful tool for attracting viewers and increasing engagement.
By focusing on high-quality images and following the tips we listed in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to growing a successful YouTube channel.
That’s if you have engaging content, at least.
Remember to test different designs and analyze their performance to continually improve your thumbnails.
These tips are not set in stone.
After all, YouTube might just change its algorithm and add a certain element that makes thumbnails stand out more.
Do you need help with your YouTube thumbnails?
Our professional designers can take care of your graphic design needs!
Just send us a request and we’ll handle it for you.
Key takeaways
- Your YouTube thumbnail image affects the first impressions of viewers and encourages them to watch your video. It’s always a good idea to have well-designed custom thumbnails.
- Given that you’re competing with over 720,000 people who create a YouTube video daily, you want to create enticing thumbnails to get more viewers.
- High-quality thumbnails in a consistent style also help you improve your YouTube brand identity and eventually build an audience that trusts you.
- Viewers also check out your thumbnail to get an idea of what your video is about, along with its tone. You want to grab people’s attention without overpromising to avoid lowering your engagement rate.
- Create eye-catching YouTube thumbnails with high-quality images, contrasting colors, and a face.
- Using text and images on your thumbnails can help you get more views only if you consider the context of your video and use them deliberately. It is best to keep text to a minimum.
- While different design tools now offer templates you can use for free, your thumbnails need to offer something unique to attract more viewers.
- You can test different types of YouTube thumbnails through A/B testing and checking your analytics.
