YouTube banner size [best practices for 2022]

A YouTube banner is the first thing that your audience will notice when they enter your YouTube channel. It is also called channel art.

A YouTube banner is basically the large image that goes across the top of your channel page.

YouTube banners are one of the newer components in the expansive social media landscape, and they can’t be ignored as an essential part of any brand’s marketing mix.

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Why are YouTube banners important?

High quality and well-designed channel art define your business priorities. If you have added your logo to the YouTube channel art, this makes you identifiable. Banner art conveys information such as upload schedules, media, tagline, accounts and many more.

YouTube banners are as essential part of your YouTube channel as they create an image of your channel to help the audience know you much better. In short, they help the audience know the topics that your channel mainly focuses on.

YouTube banner creates a strong first impression on the audience who visit your channel. YouTube banners give channels a steady growth rate. This expands your customer base too. The more people get engaged with your channel, the more conversion rates you will notice. Therefore, if you are thinking of using the platform to build your brand, it is very important to create a YouTube banner for your channel.

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Here are few more reasons why YouTube banners are important:

Clarity: Your YouTube banner gives a clear idea about you and the content you post on your channel. You can also add your social media accounts onto the banner but always make sure you don’t overwrite and keep it simple.

First impression: As mentioned above, your banner will create a first impression on your audience. So, make sure your banner describes your channel, the way you want your audience to know. Always remember the first impression is the last impression!

5 best practices for your YouTube banner

Consider adding a tagline to your banner: A tagline is a short and crisp description of your channel. A unique tag line will help your audience know the kind of content they can accept from your channel. It gives a straight forward hint to your audience.

Limit your words: To not over-flood your banner with a lot of texts. Always remember the most effective messages and always the simplest. Try not to tell your audience everything about your channel in the banner, after all, you want them to watch your content to know your channel better.

Use simple font: Use a font that is simple and not very tiny. Try using the same font that is used elsewhere in your banner to make it look a little more professional.

Do not go overboard with colors: A lot of YouTubers have the habit of adding a lot of light and colors to their banner. But this is not a good idea for your YouTube banner to look professional. Select photos, text and graphics with colors that match or coordinate with the colors of your website.

Consider adding your social media links on the banner: many audiences would like to stalk your social media profile once they start liking your content. So, make sure you mention your social media accounts like Instagram and twitter on the banner itself. Apart from adding your social media accounts you can also consider adding your links. By adding links it becomes easier for you to market and promote your brand. Additionally, a “subscribe” button could also really work well.

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YouTube channel art dimensions

The ideal size for a YouTube channel art image is 2560px by 1440px.

YouTube channel art banners experience a wide variety of cropping across different devices, so it’s imperative that you pay close attention to dimension sizes to create artwork that can communicate clearly at any size.

To avoid your banners images and texts from being cut off on certain devices, stay within the safe size of 1235p x 338p, where you can include text and other visual elements.

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YouTube banner size format

Accepted file types are JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG that are no larger than 6 MB.

If your banner exceeds the 6 MB limit, YouTube will not accept and upload the banner.

How to check your YouTube banner for different devices

Here’s how channel art appears on different devices;

Tablet display: 1855px by 423px

Mobile display: 1546px by 423px

TV display: 2560px by 1440px

Desktop: 2560px by 423px

Make sure your banner does not get cropped on different devices.

Best tools to design your YouTube banner:

1. People love YouTube because it allows them to connect with their favorite influencers. Make sure your YouTube banner is unique and draws an image in peoples mind about your YouTube channel.
2. Canva: Add a splash of personality to your YouTube channel with a customized channel art template from Canva. Canva is super easy for beginners. I highly suggest you try canva before going for any more complicated websites.
3. Photoshop:  As you create your banner document, remember that anyone using a phone will only see the middle of the banner. Don’t put any important design elements on the far right or left of the image when you make a YouTube banner because those might not be seen by all viewers. The software provides many image editing features for raster (pixel-based) images as well as vector graphics.
4. Crello: Crello is the easiest design service for making social media and web designs in a snap.
5. Fotor: Fotor Photo Editor can be used online or downloaded as a free mobile and computer application compatible with Windows, Android, and Apple. It is used to adjust and alter images, both photographic and non-photographic.
6. Snappa: It is a graphic design tool specifically created with web graphics in mind. They have pre-set image sizes to help you optimize your images for various social media channels. If you select the “YouTube Channel Art” option, their template will show you exactly where the minimum safety area is

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Which is better? Crello or Canva?

Crello and Canva both provide great features for making your YouTube banner look professional and winsome. Crello is better suited for designing animated graphics, while Canva is a great option for designing static graphics. Overall, Canva is the better option than Crello because it provides significantly more templates and has better features, tons of integrations, and editing capabilities.

Text or no text? Should you add text to your banner?

Too much is too bad! Do not over-flood your banner with a lot of text, after all there will be no fun if your audience gets to know you at once by looking at your banner. a YouTube banner should only give your audience an idea about you, the content you post and your social media handles.

How often should you change your YouTube banner?

you can change your channel art as many times as you want. In case you have changed the intro part of your video and the way you talk to your audience it’s better that you always go to the professional side. Also, use the same fonts that you use in your videos to make it look attractive.

What makes a good YouTube banner?

The right dimensions: make sure you check your banner dimensions. With a growing number of options to view YouTube videos in this way, you'll want to make sure your channel art is large enough to display with quality on larger screens.

Add the face of the creator on the banner image: This makes your banner look more attractive and approachable. A lot of people will start getting connected to you and it is important that you have the picture of who owns the channel on the banner. When you run a channel that basically features vlogs or is a personal brand, a shot of you in a pose which describes the work you do could give you the perfect image. Furthermore, you can also use your logo for your YouTube channel art.

Focus on the brand colors: do not add or mix up a lot of different colors on your banner. Try using a simple color contrast of your YouTube banner that matches with the colors of your video. Choose a background image that includes one or more of your brand colors.‍

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How to publish your banner on YouTube

Open your YouTube page. Click on my channel at the top-right of the page, then click customize channel.

Now click on branding and select branding image.

Then select your banner. YouTube will present a preview of how it will look on different devices.

If your banner looks the way you want it to, click Select. Otherwise, click Adjust the crop to crop your banner in YouTube, then click Select.

If you are not satisfied you can crop your banner the way you want

Once done, you can check your banner view across different devices like TV, laptop, tab, phone etc.

Once you’re satisfied, click on “done” to upload the banner image.

You are not all set, to create your own YouTube banner! Cheers!

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