Have you ever heard about thumbnails? A thumbnail is a representation of the image or video with a small picture or text. They are an effective way to manage a set of large photos or videos and also promote them. Nowadays, many marketers, photographers, and designers take advantage of thumbnails to manage a lot of images effectively.

So, in simple words, if you have many videos or pictures, thumbnails help you find your desired photo or video easily, and also grab more attention. For example, thumbnails can help you quickly find your wanted video and suggest them to your subscribers if you are a blogger with many video folders. So, in this guide, you can find several valuable ideas to make good thumbnails for your YouTube videos and use them based on necessity.

The Importance Of Knowing How To Make Good Thumbnails

Good thumbnails help you have the perfect preview for your videos, grab more attention, and therefore have a lot of views on your videos. We may say that YouTube thumbnails look like book covers, which indeed affects the decision of reading a book or not and watching a video or not, in this case.

Depending on the thumbnails, people can choose to watch a video or not. Actually, YouTube allows you to create personalized thumbnails and motivate subscribers to view your videos and this is great. So, next, let’s understand the primary purpose of YouTube thumbnails in more detail.

The Main Purpose Of Thumbnails

Thumbnails has some specific goals. The first is to get maximum views if it is used for videos and also grab more attention. There are many crucial elements you need to include in thumbnails to have a successful video.

According to statistics, over 90% of successful videos have thumbnails, so you must be motivated to create a good one for yourself. With a great snapshot of your video, subscribers will understand what your YouTube videos are about and will decide to watch them or not. We may say that thumbnails are the first impression your videos leave for subscribers, and they must be excellent. So, thumbnails are a critical part of your videos.

10 Ideas To Make Good Thumbnails

It is time to explore several ideas of how to make good thumbnails for your YouTube videos. Exploring the benefits and goals of thumbnails encourages us to create excellent thumbnails for our videos, yeah?

So, there are a lot of ways and ideas to make good thumbnails, and in the following paragraphs, we will discuss over ten of them. We will discuss all elements of a good thumbnail, starting from the size to thumbnail templates and thumbnail maker software. Yeah, all these components are necessary to have an excellent thumbnail and motivate users to watch your videos on YouTube. Let’s explore several of them together.

Use The Right YouTube Thumbnail Size

First, you must choose and use the right YouTube thumbnail size for your videos. Size is the main essential component of a YouTube thumbnail, and you must pay attention to this carefully. Actually, the ideal video thumbnail size will be 1280 x 720 pixels. And the width of the thumbnail must be a minimum of 640. To create a professional YouTube thumbnail, it is essential to be careful in sizing and choose the right one for your videos.

What refers to the ratio, in perfect, it will be 16:9, which is a common practice on YouTube. It would also be best that the thumbnail image you upload on YouTube must be a minimum of 2MB and have a JPG, PNG, GIF, or BMP format.

Include Title Text To Introduce Context

Another great idea for a perfect YouTube thumbnail is the title text which is the consistent introduction of your video. Catchy title text is one of the essential parts of YouTube videos that promise to grab attention and views. The primary benefit of the thumbnail title text is that it provides YouTube users with some details about the video content, and they can understand if it is interesting for them or not.

For example, the famous brand Apple includes effective and concise title texts on their YouTube thumbnails, like iPhone-Security-Apple or How To Shoot A Bold And Simple Image On iPhone-Apple. These title texts are excellent examples that you can follow to create a similar one for your videos.

Create a Branded YouTube Thumbnail Template

The following idea of the topic of how to make good thumbnails is about a template. Yeah, branded YouTube templates are essential, and you need to pay attention to this to have a good thumbnail. Branded templates are necessary to keep your brand tone and voice also in the YouTube platform and keep a consistent style.

So, start to choose a similar font, colors, and graphics based on your branding elements and create a branded YouTube thumbnail with the help of designers or internet alternatives. It is good practice to upload your own photo or brand logo design as a thumbnail background and keep it also for your next videos. Or you can create a unique branded image for your thumbnail and introduce your brand identity. Everything in your thumbnail must match your brand tone and voice.

Write Eye-Catching Titles

Previously, we talked about how it is necessary to include titles in your thumbnails and how to write effective and eye-catching titles for your videos. Let’s understand it in more detail together.

Eye-catching titles mean writing a concise preview for your videos that will allow your users to focus on the context of your content and motivate them to view it. For example, if you share a video about mountaineering or hiking, your title could be “Everything About Mountaineering” or “ Top Places To Take A Hike.” The more your thumbnail title is catchy; the more people will view your videos and recognize your brand. So, think creatively and write an amazing and catchy title for your videos to grab more attention. Also, don’t forget to explore your audience deeper and provide them with content they are really interested in.

Test Various Thumbnail Designs

Testing is good practice everywhere and also when it comes to thumbnails. To have a good video thumbnail, it would be great to take advantage of testing and test various thumbnail designs to choose the best fit for your videos.

Testing means tracking results and understanding which design performs better. So, you can change the thumbnail design and track results. With the tracking, you will understand when your video click-rate boosts and will choose the thumbnail based on these results. Testing also gives an excellent chance to collect various thumbnail designs and use them in your future videos.

Take A Relevant And Beautiful Photo

The goal of the thumbnail is one; to grab more attention and encourage users to watch your video. So, it is really crucial to know how to make good thumbnails. For this, it is crucial to take a relevant and beautiful picture. Actually, the image introduces the demo of your video. Regardless of the video's purpose, the thumbnail image is the most crucial factor in having a successful video. If you are a blogger, it would be best to also include an image with your own photo and keep eye contact with users. So, carefully choose or design the picture of your thumbnail because it is the best factor in the success of your video.

Use The Good Font Style

Fonts are an essential part of every thumbnail, and you must use a good font style to have a compelling YouTube thumbnail. For starters, you can check out different types of font styles and figure out which ones will look the best. Fonts will provide your thumbnail consistency and keep your brand tone and voice. So, if you already have a chosen branding style, use your font style in your video thumbnails, and if you have not, it's time to choose a unique font style for your video thumbnails. You can identify the best fonts for your thumbnails by using many useful tools or hiring a designer to create professional branding elements.

Keep Fine Contrast With Bright Background

The following idea to make a good thumbnail is to keep a contrast with a bright background. Color contrast is the most crucial factor in having an effective video thumbnail. So, when choosing colors for your thumbnail, it is essential to keep a contrast with a bright background. Actually, there are two types of color contrast; if you have two colors and they are different from each other, it defines a high contrast, and if they are similar, they have a low contrast. So, your thumbnail must perfectly keep contrast with the bright background to grab more attention.

Optimize Thumbnails For Different Devices

Another essential thing you need to consider when thinking about how to make good thumbnails is optimizing them for different devices. Yeah, it is really important that your thumbnail be optimized for mobile devices because nowadays, people most likely watch videos and photos with mobile devices; smartphones, tablets, etc. So, remember to optimize your thumbnail for mobile devices.

Use The Best Thumbnail Maker Tools

Nowadays, you can create the best thumbnails with the help of thumbnail maker tools, and you need to choose the best one for you. Thumbnail maker tools allow you to make a thumbnail easily and quickly. They have a lot of thumbnail templates and sizes to create a great thumbnail. Also, thumbnail-maker tools suggest different fonts and images to create an excellent thumbnail and attract more visitors.

Wrap-Up

Well, now you have an effective guide to creating good thumbnails for your videos. The importance of thumbnails is great both for your videos and also for images. Take advantage of thumbnails and enjoy the benefits. With a good thumbnail, you will look more professional and have a perfect preview for your videos. So, start creating thumbnails for your videos.