:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/how-to-choose-your-ideal-phonecase-ca91460721b143b0b0ae61b5baf11b3c.jpg)
"2024 Approved Cutting-Edge Techniques A Guide to Next-Level Effectiveness in Your YouTube Ads"
Cutting-Edge Techniques: A Guide to Next-Level Effectiveness in Your YouTube Ads
The Ultimate Guide to Effective YouTube Banners
Richard Bennett
Dec 30, 2022• Proven solutions
The following is a complete guide to YouTube banners, including instructions, tips, and free resources.
Channel art isn’t hard. Making video viewers enjoy enough that they click on your channel page - that’s hard. Channel art is just about reinforcing the positive feelings viewers have come away from your videos. Anyone who’s looking at your channel art is already thinking about subscribing to you. Your banner should make viewers feel happy with the choice they’ve already half-made.
- YouTube Banner Size and Other Basics
- Free YouTube Banner Templates and Other Resources
- Free Channel Art Makers
- How to Make Good Channel Art
- Channel Art Inspiration
YouTube Banner Size and Other Basics
YouTube channel art should be 2560 x 1440px.
As long as you upload an image or background that is that size, viewers looking at your channel on any device will be able to see that you’ve taken the time to personalize your channel page.
If you want to make a bit more of an impression, you can start thinking about banner dimensions. Depending on what type of screen (laptop, mobile, television) a viewer is visiting your channel on, they will see a different crop of that 2560 x 1440px channel art. That cropped image is your banner.
Television will display the entire image, but it is significantly smaller on other devices.
Desktop or laptop computers can show a view as large as 2560 x 423px, or as small as 1546 x 423px.
Tablets show an area that’s 1855 x 423px.
Mobile phones show an area that’s 1546 x 423px. This size is also the smallest possible desktop/laptop view, and it is considered the ‘safe area.’ Any important text or graphics in your banner should fit within this section, or they could be awkwardly cut off in some views.
Here’s a visual guide to channel art dimensions:
Another important detail to consider is the size of your file. YouTube will allow your channel art to have a file size of up to 6MB, but no larger.
Free YouTube Banner Templates and Other Resources
There are a lot of free resources online, which can make the process of designing your channel art simple, including templates, stock images, backgrounds, and fonts.
Free YouTube Banner Templates
The easiest way to get great channel art might be to find something pre-built you can personalize. There are a few places online you can find something free that will suit both your style and the types of videos you make:
Here on filmora.io, we have a selection of 50 free channel art templates you can download. The banners are divided into 10 categories representing both different types of YouTube channels (i.e., gaming and beauty) and different popular styles (i.e., minimalist and galaxy), so there’s something for everybody. When you download the free templates, you can choose between PSD files, so you can customize your banner in Photoshop and PNG files you can use with a free online program like Canva (or even Paint on your computer).
On Visme, you’ll find another 50 free YouTube banners with themes like ‘Rock Star,’ ‘Makeup Tutorial,’ and ‘Cooking Lessons.’ The banners all make use of beautiful high-quality photographs (no patterned backgrounds). You can add your own channel name right on Visme and customize your font/color.
There is a massive amount of resources available on YourTube, which you can download for free. The category labeled templates only has 14 options, but there are really hundreds of options for YouTube channel art. ‘Templates’ just means downloads, which include PSD files where you can edit text. Under ‘All YouTube Channel Art,’ there are over 500 options. Some are patterned backgrounds, some are pictures, but all of them were designed to be channel art. It’s easy to look and imagine where your channel’s name will go.
There are also a lot of Channel Art Makers, which include templates!
Free Stock Images, Backgrounds, and Fonts
Sometimes all you need to do is add some text to a really great photo or background pattern. You can find awesome-looking and free options for all three of these things and piece together your own unique channel art.
Free Stock Photos for YouTube Channel Art
Unlike templates, stock photos will not already be the exact right size for uploading to YouTube. You’ll have to adjust them, but you don’t need expensive software to do this. You can use a banner maker, or just do some trimming in Paint. While you are making adjustments, keep the dimensions from the first part of this article in mind, so important details aren’t partially cut off on some devices.
There are a lot of beautiful photographs available online, and sites like Stocksy are great if you have the budget available to purchase images. If you need free options, then there are lots of those too, but you do sometimes need to be careful that the way you want to use an image is allowed within the license provided by the site or photographer.
We recommend these two sites for anybody who finds copyright rules confusing because both of these sites allow you to use their photos for free, for any purpose (commercial or personal), without attribution (although they do appreciate attribution).
Unsplash: This site has a huge selection, and more photos are being added all the time. Finding what you want is as easy as typing a keyword (i.e., ‘sunset’) into the search bar on the home page.
Pexels: you can find a wide variety of images on Pexels just by using the search bar on the main page, much like Unsplash. There is actually some overlap in the images available on the two sites, but they also each have photos the other doesn’t, so it’s worth looking at both.
Free Background Patterns for YouTube Banners
Photographs just don’t suit every type of channel. If you don’t think photos of scenery match the style of your channel, you might want to consider a background pattern. Because patterns repeat, you don’t need to worry much about things being cut off when you upload a pattern as channel art (although you’ll still need to make sure any text you add is in the safe area).
One thing you should watch for when using a background pattern is that text can sometimes be hard to read if it’s sitting on top of a busy pattern. You might want to put a box of solid color between your channel name and the pattern.
The patterns on the following two sites are free to use.
The Pattern Library: this truly is a library, and all the patterns were submitted by real graphic designers. When you first arrive on the site, all you’ll see is a randomly selected pattern filling your entire screen. Hovering over the designer’s name in the top left will allow you to download it for free.
Often, the download will not be as large as the image you see on the site. It will only be a few tiles (or just one tile), and you will need to copy/paste it a few times to create a background large enough to use as channel art.
You can use the navigation tools in the top right of the screen to see more patterns. Clicking the icon that looks like a bunch of squares will allow you to see multiple patterns at once.
Hero Patterns: the patterns on this site are editable before you download. You choose a foreground color, a background color, and the opacity of the design in the foreground. This means that you can make the pattern as subtle or vibrant as you want, which is a great thing to have control over when you’re creating channel art.
When you choose your custom colors and opacity, every pattern preview on the page will update. You can put in the colors you like for your channel first, and then find a pattern that looks good with them.
The only downside to Hero Patterns is that downloading your pattern is hard. You actually can’t just download it. Instead, the site generates a code you can embed on a website.
If you don’t have a website, the easiest thing is probably to use the Snipping Tool (included on all PCs since Vista) to save the preview and then just copy/paste it as a tile in a program like Paint or Photoshop.
Free Fonts for YouTube Channel Art
Whatever program you use to build your channel art will already have a selection of fonts. Finding the perfect font to use across your channel art, thumbnails, and for any text, you include in your videos isn’t something you need to think about until your channel is large enough that you’re thinking about your ‘brand’. If you feel like you’re at that stage, or want to get a jump start on it, here are a couple of sites where you can find free fonts and install them on your computer.
DaFont: there are categories on this site like fancy, gothic, and script, and there are even sub-categories like sci-fi and calligraphy. Licensing limits (whether the font is free and whether it is available for commercial use) will be clearly displayed next to every font. When browsing, you can even type your channel name in where it says ‘Preview’ and see what it will look like in all the different fonts.
Font Squirrel: the nice thing about this site is that everything is guaranteed to be free and available for commercial use. If you scroll down a bit on the main page, you’ll see a toolbar to the right of the screen, which will allow you to narrow down the fonts being displayed by selecting tags like grunge, headings, and casual.
Once you’ve got an image or images, and maybe even a font you want to use in your banner, you can create your channel art in either a software like Photoshop or a free banner maker (anchor) like the ones below.
Free Channel Art Makers
You don’t need an expensive program like Adobe Photoshop to make great channel art. There is a lot of photo editing and graphic design programs available for free online, and most of them are a lot easier to use.
All three of these sites will allow you to build your banner just by dragging images and text to where you want them, and they even provide premade templates (although those might not be free in some cases).
Canva is probably the most popular site for creating YouTube banners for free, for a good reason. It’s extremely intuitive for beginners who are making their first graphics, and it’s also a capable enough program to satisfy more intermediate-level users. Canva has stock images, banner templates, and other graphics available, but some of them cost $1 to use. You can also upload your own media instead of relying on Canva’s resources.
To build channel art in Canva, find ‘YouTube Channel Art’ as one of the options, and you’ll be working with a canvas that’s already the right size. You can also choose from a lot of different layout options, which will divide your canvas into different drop zones for images (pictures will be auto-sized to fit the zone).
One major benefit of Canva is the huge library of stock images, and one drawback is that you can’t have multiple images stretched to the end of your canvas.
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. This online platform empowers anyone to create a beautiful design within a few steps. No professional skills required! By simply dragging and dropping the creative elements and templates, you are capable to release your imagination and convert it to stunning artwork.
A major benefit of PixStudio is that it provides a feature to remove the image background, you can use the image more flexibility. One drawback is that the features will be used after payment of $7.99 per month.
This is another easy to use image editor with templates and stock images, like Canva. You just select YouTube Cover from the options in the Social Media menu (there are also options for YouTube Thumbnails and Profile Pics).
In Canva, images you drag into your layout will automatically shift to fit the area you put them into. This doesn’t happen in Design Wizard, which can either slow down or speed up your process, depending on which you prefer.
One major benefit of Design Wizard is that it provides you with a ‘safe zone box’ so you can see the smallest view of your channel art while you work. One drawback is that the photos in Design Wizard aren’t free, so you’ll either have to buy them or use your own.
Tip: the safe zone box costs $1, so the price of your download will always look like $1 until you delete it when you’re finished designing. Then your price will drop to $0 if you haven’t used any other paid elements.
Fotor works similarly to the other two programs on this list. Just look for ‘YouTube Channel Art’ in the Header & Cover section and click on it to start designing. It does not have layouts like Canva, but it is also a drag-and-drop program, and it is better than Canva if you like to edit with layers.
Fotor has more free templates than Canva or Design Wizard, although it does also have some premium options. Creating a paid account will allow you to access premium resources and get rid of ads (costs $39.99 for the year), but if all you want it for is to create channel art, a paid account probably isn’t worth it.
You can upload your own images to use in Fotor as well.
A major benefit of Fotor is that it has a lot of genuinely free channel art templates you can customize, and one drawback is that it doesn’t have as many stock photos.
How to Make Good Channel Art
Finding an image, cutting it to the right size, and uploading it to YouTube is easy, but how many of your favorite YouTubers use just an image for their channel art? Usually, there’s at least a little text stating the name of the channel.
In this section, we’ll give you a quick checklist of things to include in your banner (anchor), and some tips on making excellent channel art.
Channel Art Checklist
Here are some things you might want to include in your YouTube banner. Not all of these are right for every type of channel.
- Channel name
- What kinds of videos you make
- Your posting schedule
- Social media handles
- Your face
- A tagline
Top 5 Tips for Making Great YouTube Banners
Besides looking good, your channel art can help convince more of your viewers to become subscribers. Here are our top 5 tips for making channel art that looks impressive and supports the growth of your channel.
- Solid Background Behind Text
- Keep Text to a Minimum
- Use Images and Colors That Suit Your Channel
- Include Your Face
- Give Viewers a Reason To Subscribe
Solid Background Behind Text
When viewers look at your channel page, you want your name and any other information your banner conveys to jump out at them. It is hard for text to jump out at anybody when it’s competing with a busy background, especially if some of the colors in the background are similar to the color of the text.
If possible, you can place your text on the part of your background pattern or image where there isn’t much happening behind it. When that isn’t possible, it doesn’t mean you need to find a new background. Instead, insert a solid-colored shape between the text and your background image. Your text will look great, and you won’t have to compromise on a background you like.
Keep Text to a Minimum
There is a lot you might want to say in your banner. You’ll want to tell viewers the name of the channel, what kinds of videos you make, when you upload those different kinds of videos, and maybe even the general philosophy driving your channel (i.e., ‘to spread positivity’). That’s all great, but try to say it fast.
Realistically, viewers probably won’t read more than one line of text. Writing more than that could also force you to use smaller text that viewers will have trouble reading. Ideally, a viewer should absorb all the information in your banner at a glance without having to make the decision to read it.
Keep your text to your channel name and one additional line underneath, if you can. Make sure your additional line of text is smaller than your channel name, so they aren’t competing.
Use Images and Colors that Suit Your Channel
If you have an upbeat, positive, channel then a black and red banner with skulls on it might not be the best choice to convey that. Similarly, if you have a gaming channel, then a minimalist banner that includes an Instagram-worthy picture of you wearing the latest seasonal styles might send the wrong message. It will make the viewer that sees it think you have a lifestyle channel, and they may click away thinking the Let’s Play they just watched was a one-off.
Look at the kinds of colors and images other YouTubers in your niche are using for inspiration for what you should do, but also consider the unique message of your channel. If you consider yourself bold, use bolder colors. If your videos have a more relaxed vibe, something softer might make sense.
Here’s a guide to what people tend to associate with different colors:
Include Your Face
This isn’t essential for every type of channel. If you mostly post gaming content or screencast tutorials and you don’t appear much in your actual videos, there’s no need to appear in your banner.
However, if your channel is primarily about you as a personality, then including your face in your channel art can have a lot of benefits. People are automatically drawn in by eye contact and feel more connected when they can see a face. Besides just looking good, including your face in your banner can help build a relationship with new viewers and make them feel more comfortable subscribing. They’ll know they’re subscribing to a person, not just a channel.
Give Viewers a Reason to Subscribe
Someone who has chosen to check out your channel page is already thinking about subscribing, but they didn’t do it from the video page because they want to know a bit more about you. The things they are probably hoping to find out are:
- Do you have more videos like that one they just watched? Will you make more?
- Are you ever going to post again?
There are a lot of YouTubers that just give up at some point, or who have started a channel but don’t have time to post very often. That you might never post a new video again, or might not post one for so long that the new subscriber forgets who you are, is a real hesitation viewer can have about subscribing.
Viewers also want to know that when you do post again, the video you post will be something they like. If they liked the video, they found you through because it was funny, but there’s nothing on your channel page that suggests you do comedy videos regularly, then that can make someone think twice. If you subscribe because of a makeup tutorial, but then the creator only posts personal vlogs from then on, it can be disappointing.
By clearly stating what kinds of videos you make and when you post them in your banner, you are giving viewers a reason to subscribe.
Here are some examples:
“Vlogs & Comedy! New videos every Tuesday.”
“Two videos every week! Makeup Mondays and Fashion Fridays”
If you can create channel art that has a layout that makes sense and sends a clear message even at a glance, then that will help you look like a more experienced YouTuber.
Channel Art Inspiration
Sometimes your niche on YouTube will determine what kinds of channel art you should use. For example, it makes sense for gamers to include game-related graphics in their banners and for travel vloggers to use photos from the destinations they’ve visited.
However, for lots of YouTube niches, the channel art you make will be built around your personality. How do you know what fits your personality? Here’s some inspiration based on popular trends.
Minimalism
This is an example of a minimalist YouTube banner. This style typically uses only 2 or 3 colors and features clean lines, simple backgrounds, and not a lot of noise. If you want to project a calm, tidy, balanced vibe on your channel, then you should consider going in a minimalist direction with your banner.
This example is light and airy, but you can also create a minimalist look using brighter or darker colors. It just depends on your personality.
Galaxy Themed
Galaxy banners are exactly what they sound like: channel art featuring space scenes or photographs of the night sky. At first glance, you might think they belong with channels that talk about science or sci-fi, and they are great for that, but they’re also a fun choice for comedy, vlogging, or gaming.
The great thing about the galaxy style is that it’s cool and different, but it doesn’t take over and distract from your message. There is a lot of room for a space scene to be very personalized. The example above is bold and purple. You can find galaxy photos in just about any color, and they can be either bright like this one or quite dark.
Funky
There isn’t really one ‘funky’ style. A funky banner is anything that’s just a little off-beat but still makes sense while you’re looking at it. They tend to be bright and cheerful and are perfect for anyone who considers themselves a bit quirky.
If you’re looking for inspiration for a custom funky banner, go to your closet and find your favorite funny, cute, or ironic t-shirt. There’s probably something in its design you can bring into your channel art.
Comic
A banner featuring an actual comic book character probably belongs to a channel that discusses comics, but the style itself is great for just about anyone. It’s bold and communicates confidence. If your attitude towards YouTube is that you want to be fearless, why not go for something worthy of a superhuman?
Do you have any of your own tips to share about YouTube banners?
If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Dec 30, 2022• Proven solutions
The following is a complete guide to YouTube banners, including instructions, tips, and free resources.
Channel art isn’t hard. Making video viewers enjoy enough that they click on your channel page - that’s hard. Channel art is just about reinforcing the positive feelings viewers have come away from your videos. Anyone who’s looking at your channel art is already thinking about subscribing to you. Your banner should make viewers feel happy with the choice they’ve already half-made.
- YouTube Banner Size and Other Basics
- Free YouTube Banner Templates and Other Resources
- Free Channel Art Makers
- How to Make Good Channel Art
- Channel Art Inspiration
YouTube Banner Size and Other Basics
YouTube channel art should be 2560 x 1440px.
As long as you upload an image or background that is that size, viewers looking at your channel on any device will be able to see that you’ve taken the time to personalize your channel page.
If you want to make a bit more of an impression, you can start thinking about banner dimensions. Depending on what type of screen (laptop, mobile, television) a viewer is visiting your channel on, they will see a different crop of that 2560 x 1440px channel art. That cropped image is your banner.
Television will display the entire image, but it is significantly smaller on other devices.
Desktop or laptop computers can show a view as large as 2560 x 423px, or as small as 1546 x 423px.
Tablets show an area that’s 1855 x 423px.
Mobile phones show an area that’s 1546 x 423px. This size is also the smallest possible desktop/laptop view, and it is considered the ‘safe area.’ Any important text or graphics in your banner should fit within this section, or they could be awkwardly cut off in some views.
Here’s a visual guide to channel art dimensions:
Another important detail to consider is the size of your file. YouTube will allow your channel art to have a file size of up to 6MB, but no larger.
Free YouTube Banner Templates and Other Resources
There are a lot of free resources online, which can make the process of designing your channel art simple, including templates, stock images, backgrounds, and fonts.
Free YouTube Banner Templates
The easiest way to get great channel art might be to find something pre-built you can personalize. There are a few places online you can find something free that will suit both your style and the types of videos you make:
Here on filmora.io, we have a selection of 50 free channel art templates you can download. The banners are divided into 10 categories representing both different types of YouTube channels (i.e., gaming and beauty) and different popular styles (i.e., minimalist and galaxy), so there’s something for everybody. When you download the free templates, you can choose between PSD files, so you can customize your banner in Photoshop and PNG files you can use with a free online program like Canva (or even Paint on your computer).
On Visme, you’ll find another 50 free YouTube banners with themes like ‘Rock Star,’ ‘Makeup Tutorial,’ and ‘Cooking Lessons.’ The banners all make use of beautiful high-quality photographs (no patterned backgrounds). You can add your own channel name right on Visme and customize your font/color.
There is a massive amount of resources available on YourTube, which you can download for free. The category labeled templates only has 14 options, but there are really hundreds of options for YouTube channel art. ‘Templates’ just means downloads, which include PSD files where you can edit text. Under ‘All YouTube Channel Art,’ there are over 500 options. Some are patterned backgrounds, some are pictures, but all of them were designed to be channel art. It’s easy to look and imagine where your channel’s name will go.
There are also a lot of Channel Art Makers, which include templates!
Free Stock Images, Backgrounds, and Fonts
Sometimes all you need to do is add some text to a really great photo or background pattern. You can find awesome-looking and free options for all three of these things and piece together your own unique channel art.
Free Stock Photos for YouTube Channel Art
Unlike templates, stock photos will not already be the exact right size for uploading to YouTube. You’ll have to adjust them, but you don’t need expensive software to do this. You can use a banner maker, or just do some trimming in Paint. While you are making adjustments, keep the dimensions from the first part of this article in mind, so important details aren’t partially cut off on some devices.
There are a lot of beautiful photographs available online, and sites like Stocksy are great if you have the budget available to purchase images. If you need free options, then there are lots of those too, but you do sometimes need to be careful that the way you want to use an image is allowed within the license provided by the site or photographer.
We recommend these two sites for anybody who finds copyright rules confusing because both of these sites allow you to use their photos for free, for any purpose (commercial or personal), without attribution (although they do appreciate attribution).
Unsplash: This site has a huge selection, and more photos are being added all the time. Finding what you want is as easy as typing a keyword (i.e., ‘sunset’) into the search bar on the home page.
Pexels: you can find a wide variety of images on Pexels just by using the search bar on the main page, much like Unsplash. There is actually some overlap in the images available on the two sites, but they also each have photos the other doesn’t, so it’s worth looking at both.
Free Background Patterns for YouTube Banners
Photographs just don’t suit every type of channel. If you don’t think photos of scenery match the style of your channel, you might want to consider a background pattern. Because patterns repeat, you don’t need to worry much about things being cut off when you upload a pattern as channel art (although you’ll still need to make sure any text you add is in the safe area).
One thing you should watch for when using a background pattern is that text can sometimes be hard to read if it’s sitting on top of a busy pattern. You might want to put a box of solid color between your channel name and the pattern.
The patterns on the following two sites are free to use.
The Pattern Library: this truly is a library, and all the patterns were submitted by real graphic designers. When you first arrive on the site, all you’ll see is a randomly selected pattern filling your entire screen. Hovering over the designer’s name in the top left will allow you to download it for free.
Often, the download will not be as large as the image you see on the site. It will only be a few tiles (or just one tile), and you will need to copy/paste it a few times to create a background large enough to use as channel art.
You can use the navigation tools in the top right of the screen to see more patterns. Clicking the icon that looks like a bunch of squares will allow you to see multiple patterns at once.
Hero Patterns: the patterns on this site are editable before you download. You choose a foreground color, a background color, and the opacity of the design in the foreground. This means that you can make the pattern as subtle or vibrant as you want, which is a great thing to have control over when you’re creating channel art.
When you choose your custom colors and opacity, every pattern preview on the page will update. You can put in the colors you like for your channel first, and then find a pattern that looks good with them.
The only downside to Hero Patterns is that downloading your pattern is hard. You actually can’t just download it. Instead, the site generates a code you can embed on a website.
If you don’t have a website, the easiest thing is probably to use the Snipping Tool (included on all PCs since Vista) to save the preview and then just copy/paste it as a tile in a program like Paint or Photoshop.
Free Fonts for YouTube Channel Art
Whatever program you use to build your channel art will already have a selection of fonts. Finding the perfect font to use across your channel art, thumbnails, and for any text, you include in your videos isn’t something you need to think about until your channel is large enough that you’re thinking about your ‘brand’. If you feel like you’re at that stage, or want to get a jump start on it, here are a couple of sites where you can find free fonts and install them on your computer.
DaFont: there are categories on this site like fancy, gothic, and script, and there are even sub-categories like sci-fi and calligraphy. Licensing limits (whether the font is free and whether it is available for commercial use) will be clearly displayed next to every font. When browsing, you can even type your channel name in where it says ‘Preview’ and see what it will look like in all the different fonts.
Font Squirrel: the nice thing about this site is that everything is guaranteed to be free and available for commercial use. If you scroll down a bit on the main page, you’ll see a toolbar to the right of the screen, which will allow you to narrow down the fonts being displayed by selecting tags like grunge, headings, and casual.
Once you’ve got an image or images, and maybe even a font you want to use in your banner, you can create your channel art in either a software like Photoshop or a free banner maker (anchor) like the ones below.
Free Channel Art Makers
You don’t need an expensive program like Adobe Photoshop to make great channel art. There is a lot of photo editing and graphic design programs available for free online, and most of them are a lot easier to use.
All three of these sites will allow you to build your banner just by dragging images and text to where you want them, and they even provide premade templates (although those might not be free in some cases).
Canva is probably the most popular site for creating YouTube banners for free, for a good reason. It’s extremely intuitive for beginners who are making their first graphics, and it’s also a capable enough program to satisfy more intermediate-level users. Canva has stock images, banner templates, and other graphics available, but some of them cost $1 to use. You can also upload your own media instead of relying on Canva’s resources.
To build channel art in Canva, find ‘YouTube Channel Art’ as one of the options, and you’ll be working with a canvas that’s already the right size. You can also choose from a lot of different layout options, which will divide your canvas into different drop zones for images (pictures will be auto-sized to fit the zone).
One major benefit of Canva is the huge library of stock images, and one drawback is that you can’t have multiple images stretched to the end of your canvas.
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. This online platform empowers anyone to create a beautiful design within a few steps. No professional skills required! By simply dragging and dropping the creative elements and templates, you are capable to release your imagination and convert it to stunning artwork.
A major benefit of PixStudio is that it provides a feature to remove the image background, you can use the image more flexibility. One drawback is that the features will be used after payment of $7.99 per month.
This is another easy to use image editor with templates and stock images, like Canva. You just select YouTube Cover from the options in the Social Media menu (there are also options for YouTube Thumbnails and Profile Pics).
In Canva, images you drag into your layout will automatically shift to fit the area you put them into. This doesn’t happen in Design Wizard, which can either slow down or speed up your process, depending on which you prefer.
One major benefit of Design Wizard is that it provides you with a ‘safe zone box’ so you can see the smallest view of your channel art while you work. One drawback is that the photos in Design Wizard aren’t free, so you’ll either have to buy them or use your own.
Tip: the safe zone box costs $1, so the price of your download will always look like $1 until you delete it when you’re finished designing. Then your price will drop to $0 if you haven’t used any other paid elements.
Fotor works similarly to the other two programs on this list. Just look for ‘YouTube Channel Art’ in the Header & Cover section and click on it to start designing. It does not have layouts like Canva, but it is also a drag-and-drop program, and it is better than Canva if you like to edit with layers.
Fotor has more free templates than Canva or Design Wizard, although it does also have some premium options. Creating a paid account will allow you to access premium resources and get rid of ads (costs $39.99 for the year), but if all you want it for is to create channel art, a paid account probably isn’t worth it.
You can upload your own images to use in Fotor as well.
A major benefit of Fotor is that it has a lot of genuinely free channel art templates you can customize, and one drawback is that it doesn’t have as many stock photos.
How to Make Good Channel Art
Finding an image, cutting it to the right size, and uploading it to YouTube is easy, but how many of your favorite YouTubers use just an image for their channel art? Usually, there’s at least a little text stating the name of the channel.
In this section, we’ll give you a quick checklist of things to include in your banner (anchor), and some tips on making excellent channel art.
Channel Art Checklist
Here are some things you might want to include in your YouTube banner. Not all of these are right for every type of channel.
- Channel name
- What kinds of videos you make
- Your posting schedule
- Social media handles
- Your face
- A tagline
Top 5 Tips for Making Great YouTube Banners
Besides looking good, your channel art can help convince more of your viewers to become subscribers. Here are our top 5 tips for making channel art that looks impressive and supports the growth of your channel.
- Solid Background Behind Text
- Keep Text to a Minimum
- Use Images and Colors That Suit Your Channel
- Include Your Face
- Give Viewers a Reason To Subscribe
Solid Background Behind Text
When viewers look at your channel page, you want your name and any other information your banner conveys to jump out at them. It is hard for text to jump out at anybody when it’s competing with a busy background, especially if some of the colors in the background are similar to the color of the text.
If possible, you can place your text on the part of your background pattern or image where there isn’t much happening behind it. When that isn’t possible, it doesn’t mean you need to find a new background. Instead, insert a solid-colored shape between the text and your background image. Your text will look great, and you won’t have to compromise on a background you like.
Keep Text to a Minimum
There is a lot you might want to say in your banner. You’ll want to tell viewers the name of the channel, what kinds of videos you make, when you upload those different kinds of videos, and maybe even the general philosophy driving your channel (i.e., ‘to spread positivity’). That’s all great, but try to say it fast.
Realistically, viewers probably won’t read more than one line of text. Writing more than that could also force you to use smaller text that viewers will have trouble reading. Ideally, a viewer should absorb all the information in your banner at a glance without having to make the decision to read it.
Keep your text to your channel name and one additional line underneath, if you can. Make sure your additional line of text is smaller than your channel name, so they aren’t competing.
Use Images and Colors that Suit Your Channel
If you have an upbeat, positive, channel then a black and red banner with skulls on it might not be the best choice to convey that. Similarly, if you have a gaming channel, then a minimalist banner that includes an Instagram-worthy picture of you wearing the latest seasonal styles might send the wrong message. It will make the viewer that sees it think you have a lifestyle channel, and they may click away thinking the Let’s Play they just watched was a one-off.
Look at the kinds of colors and images other YouTubers in your niche are using for inspiration for what you should do, but also consider the unique message of your channel. If you consider yourself bold, use bolder colors. If your videos have a more relaxed vibe, something softer might make sense.
Here’s a guide to what people tend to associate with different colors:
Include Your Face
This isn’t essential for every type of channel. If you mostly post gaming content or screencast tutorials and you don’t appear much in your actual videos, there’s no need to appear in your banner.
However, if your channel is primarily about you as a personality, then including your face in your channel art can have a lot of benefits. People are automatically drawn in by eye contact and feel more connected when they can see a face. Besides just looking good, including your face in your banner can help build a relationship with new viewers and make them feel more comfortable subscribing. They’ll know they’re subscribing to a person, not just a channel.
Give Viewers a Reason to Subscribe
Someone who has chosen to check out your channel page is already thinking about subscribing, but they didn’t do it from the video page because they want to know a bit more about you. The things they are probably hoping to find out are:
- Do you have more videos like that one they just watched? Will you make more?
- Are you ever going to post again?
There are a lot of YouTubers that just give up at some point, or who have started a channel but don’t have time to post very often. That you might never post a new video again, or might not post one for so long that the new subscriber forgets who you are, is a real hesitation viewer can have about subscribing.
Viewers also want to know that when you do post again, the video you post will be something they like. If they liked the video, they found you through because it was funny, but there’s nothing on your channel page that suggests you do comedy videos regularly, then that can make someone think twice. If you subscribe because of a makeup tutorial, but then the creator only posts personal vlogs from then on, it can be disappointing.
By clearly stating what kinds of videos you make and when you post them in your banner, you are giving viewers a reason to subscribe.
Here are some examples:
“Vlogs & Comedy! New videos every Tuesday.”
“Two videos every week! Makeup Mondays and Fashion Fridays”
If you can create channel art that has a layout that makes sense and sends a clear message even at a glance, then that will help you look like a more experienced YouTuber.
Channel Art Inspiration
Sometimes your niche on YouTube will determine what kinds of channel art you should use. For example, it makes sense for gamers to include game-related graphics in their banners and for travel vloggers to use photos from the destinations they’ve visited.
However, for lots of YouTube niches, the channel art you make will be built around your personality. How do you know what fits your personality? Here’s some inspiration based on popular trends.
Minimalism
This is an example of a minimalist YouTube banner. This style typically uses only 2 or 3 colors and features clean lines, simple backgrounds, and not a lot of noise. If you want to project a calm, tidy, balanced vibe on your channel, then you should consider going in a minimalist direction with your banner.
This example is light and airy, but you can also create a minimalist look using brighter or darker colors. It just depends on your personality.
Galaxy Themed
Galaxy banners are exactly what they sound like: channel art featuring space scenes or photographs of the night sky. At first glance, you might think they belong with channels that talk about science or sci-fi, and they are great for that, but they’re also a fun choice for comedy, vlogging, or gaming.
The great thing about the galaxy style is that it’s cool and different, but it doesn’t take over and distract from your message. There is a lot of room for a space scene to be very personalized. The example above is bold and purple. You can find galaxy photos in just about any color, and they can be either bright like this one or quite dark.
Funky
There isn’t really one ‘funky’ style. A funky banner is anything that’s just a little off-beat but still makes sense while you’re looking at it. They tend to be bright and cheerful and are perfect for anyone who considers themselves a bit quirky.
If you’re looking for inspiration for a custom funky banner, go to your closet and find your favorite funny, cute, or ironic t-shirt. There’s probably something in its design you can bring into your channel art.
Comic
A banner featuring an actual comic book character probably belongs to a channel that discusses comics, but the style itself is great for just about anyone. It’s bold and communicates confidence. If your attitude towards YouTube is that you want to be fearless, why not go for something worthy of a superhuman?
Do you have any of your own tips to share about YouTube banners?
If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Dec 30, 2022• Proven solutions
The following is a complete guide to YouTube banners, including instructions, tips, and free resources.
Channel art isn’t hard. Making video viewers enjoy enough that they click on your channel page - that’s hard. Channel art is just about reinforcing the positive feelings viewers have come away from your videos. Anyone who’s looking at your channel art is already thinking about subscribing to you. Your banner should make viewers feel happy with the choice they’ve already half-made.
- YouTube Banner Size and Other Basics
- Free YouTube Banner Templates and Other Resources
- Free Channel Art Makers
- How to Make Good Channel Art
- Channel Art Inspiration
YouTube Banner Size and Other Basics
YouTube channel art should be 2560 x 1440px.
As long as you upload an image or background that is that size, viewers looking at your channel on any device will be able to see that you’ve taken the time to personalize your channel page.
If you want to make a bit more of an impression, you can start thinking about banner dimensions. Depending on what type of screen (laptop, mobile, television) a viewer is visiting your channel on, they will see a different crop of that 2560 x 1440px channel art. That cropped image is your banner.
Television will display the entire image, but it is significantly smaller on other devices.
Desktop or laptop computers can show a view as large as 2560 x 423px, or as small as 1546 x 423px.
Tablets show an area that’s 1855 x 423px.
Mobile phones show an area that’s 1546 x 423px. This size is also the smallest possible desktop/laptop view, and it is considered the ‘safe area.’ Any important text or graphics in your banner should fit within this section, or they could be awkwardly cut off in some views.
Here’s a visual guide to channel art dimensions:
Another important detail to consider is the size of your file. YouTube will allow your channel art to have a file size of up to 6MB, but no larger.
Free YouTube Banner Templates and Other Resources
There are a lot of free resources online, which can make the process of designing your channel art simple, including templates, stock images, backgrounds, and fonts.
Free YouTube Banner Templates
The easiest way to get great channel art might be to find something pre-built you can personalize. There are a few places online you can find something free that will suit both your style and the types of videos you make:
Here on filmora.io, we have a selection of 50 free channel art templates you can download. The banners are divided into 10 categories representing both different types of YouTube channels (i.e., gaming and beauty) and different popular styles (i.e., minimalist and galaxy), so there’s something for everybody. When you download the free templates, you can choose between PSD files, so you can customize your banner in Photoshop and PNG files you can use with a free online program like Canva (or even Paint on your computer).
On Visme, you’ll find another 50 free YouTube banners with themes like ‘Rock Star,’ ‘Makeup Tutorial,’ and ‘Cooking Lessons.’ The banners all make use of beautiful high-quality photographs (no patterned backgrounds). You can add your own channel name right on Visme and customize your font/color.
There is a massive amount of resources available on YourTube, which you can download for free. The category labeled templates only has 14 options, but there are really hundreds of options for YouTube channel art. ‘Templates’ just means downloads, which include PSD files where you can edit text. Under ‘All YouTube Channel Art,’ there are over 500 options. Some are patterned backgrounds, some are pictures, but all of them were designed to be channel art. It’s easy to look and imagine where your channel’s name will go.
There are also a lot of Channel Art Makers, which include templates!
Free Stock Images, Backgrounds, and Fonts
Sometimes all you need to do is add some text to a really great photo or background pattern. You can find awesome-looking and free options for all three of these things and piece together your own unique channel art.
Free Stock Photos for YouTube Channel Art
Unlike templates, stock photos will not already be the exact right size for uploading to YouTube. You’ll have to adjust them, but you don’t need expensive software to do this. You can use a banner maker, or just do some trimming in Paint. While you are making adjustments, keep the dimensions from the first part of this article in mind, so important details aren’t partially cut off on some devices.
There are a lot of beautiful photographs available online, and sites like Stocksy are great if you have the budget available to purchase images. If you need free options, then there are lots of those too, but you do sometimes need to be careful that the way you want to use an image is allowed within the license provided by the site or photographer.
We recommend these two sites for anybody who finds copyright rules confusing because both of these sites allow you to use their photos for free, for any purpose (commercial or personal), without attribution (although they do appreciate attribution).
Unsplash: This site has a huge selection, and more photos are being added all the time. Finding what you want is as easy as typing a keyword (i.e., ‘sunset’) into the search bar on the home page.
Pexels: you can find a wide variety of images on Pexels just by using the search bar on the main page, much like Unsplash. There is actually some overlap in the images available on the two sites, but they also each have photos the other doesn’t, so it’s worth looking at both.
Free Background Patterns for YouTube Banners
Photographs just don’t suit every type of channel. If you don’t think photos of scenery match the style of your channel, you might want to consider a background pattern. Because patterns repeat, you don’t need to worry much about things being cut off when you upload a pattern as channel art (although you’ll still need to make sure any text you add is in the safe area).
One thing you should watch for when using a background pattern is that text can sometimes be hard to read if it’s sitting on top of a busy pattern. You might want to put a box of solid color between your channel name and the pattern.
The patterns on the following two sites are free to use.
The Pattern Library: this truly is a library, and all the patterns were submitted by real graphic designers. When you first arrive on the site, all you’ll see is a randomly selected pattern filling your entire screen. Hovering over the designer’s name in the top left will allow you to download it for free.
Often, the download will not be as large as the image you see on the site. It will only be a few tiles (or just one tile), and you will need to copy/paste it a few times to create a background large enough to use as channel art.
You can use the navigation tools in the top right of the screen to see more patterns. Clicking the icon that looks like a bunch of squares will allow you to see multiple patterns at once.
Hero Patterns: the patterns on this site are editable before you download. You choose a foreground color, a background color, and the opacity of the design in the foreground. This means that you can make the pattern as subtle or vibrant as you want, which is a great thing to have control over when you’re creating channel art.
When you choose your custom colors and opacity, every pattern preview on the page will update. You can put in the colors you like for your channel first, and then find a pattern that looks good with them.
The only downside to Hero Patterns is that downloading your pattern is hard. You actually can’t just download it. Instead, the site generates a code you can embed on a website.
If you don’t have a website, the easiest thing is probably to use the Snipping Tool (included on all PCs since Vista) to save the preview and then just copy/paste it as a tile in a program like Paint or Photoshop.
Free Fonts for YouTube Channel Art
Whatever program you use to build your channel art will already have a selection of fonts. Finding the perfect font to use across your channel art, thumbnails, and for any text, you include in your videos isn’t something you need to think about until your channel is large enough that you’re thinking about your ‘brand’. If you feel like you’re at that stage, or want to get a jump start on it, here are a couple of sites where you can find free fonts and install them on your computer.
DaFont: there are categories on this site like fancy, gothic, and script, and there are even sub-categories like sci-fi and calligraphy. Licensing limits (whether the font is free and whether it is available for commercial use) will be clearly displayed next to every font. When browsing, you can even type your channel name in where it says ‘Preview’ and see what it will look like in all the different fonts.
Font Squirrel: the nice thing about this site is that everything is guaranteed to be free and available for commercial use. If you scroll down a bit on the main page, you’ll see a toolbar to the right of the screen, which will allow you to narrow down the fonts being displayed by selecting tags like grunge, headings, and casual.
Once you’ve got an image or images, and maybe even a font you want to use in your banner, you can create your channel art in either a software like Photoshop or a free banner maker (anchor) like the ones below.
Free Channel Art Makers
You don’t need an expensive program like Adobe Photoshop to make great channel art. There is a lot of photo editing and graphic design programs available for free online, and most of them are a lot easier to use.
All three of these sites will allow you to build your banner just by dragging images and text to where you want them, and they even provide premade templates (although those might not be free in some cases).
Canva is probably the most popular site for creating YouTube banners for free, for a good reason. It’s extremely intuitive for beginners who are making their first graphics, and it’s also a capable enough program to satisfy more intermediate-level users. Canva has stock images, banner templates, and other graphics available, but some of them cost $1 to use. You can also upload your own media instead of relying on Canva’s resources.
To build channel art in Canva, find ‘YouTube Channel Art’ as one of the options, and you’ll be working with a canvas that’s already the right size. You can also choose from a lot of different layout options, which will divide your canvas into different drop zones for images (pictures will be auto-sized to fit the zone).
One major benefit of Canva is the huge library of stock images, and one drawback is that you can’t have multiple images stretched to the end of your canvas.
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. This online platform empowers anyone to create a beautiful design within a few steps. No professional skills required! By simply dragging and dropping the creative elements and templates, you are capable to release your imagination and convert it to stunning artwork.
A major benefit of PixStudio is that it provides a feature to remove the image background, you can use the image more flexibility. One drawback is that the features will be used after payment of $7.99 per month.
This is another easy to use image editor with templates and stock images, like Canva. You just select YouTube Cover from the options in the Social Media menu (there are also options for YouTube Thumbnails and Profile Pics).
In Canva, images you drag into your layout will automatically shift to fit the area you put them into. This doesn’t happen in Design Wizard, which can either slow down or speed up your process, depending on which you prefer.
One major benefit of Design Wizard is that it provides you with a ‘safe zone box’ so you can see the smallest view of your channel art while you work. One drawback is that the photos in Design Wizard aren’t free, so you’ll either have to buy them or use your own.
Tip: the safe zone box costs $1, so the price of your download will always look like $1 until you delete it when you’re finished designing. Then your price will drop to $0 if you haven’t used any other paid elements.
Fotor works similarly to the other two programs on this list. Just look for ‘YouTube Channel Art’ in the Header & Cover section and click on it to start designing. It does not have layouts like Canva, but it is also a drag-and-drop program, and it is better than Canva if you like to edit with layers.
Fotor has more free templates than Canva or Design Wizard, although it does also have some premium options. Creating a paid account will allow you to access premium resources and get rid of ads (costs $39.99 for the year), but if all you want it for is to create channel art, a paid account probably isn’t worth it.
You can upload your own images to use in Fotor as well.
A major benefit of Fotor is that it has a lot of genuinely free channel art templates you can customize, and one drawback is that it doesn’t have as many stock photos.
How to Make Good Channel Art
Finding an image, cutting it to the right size, and uploading it to YouTube is easy, but how many of your favorite YouTubers use just an image for their channel art? Usually, there’s at least a little text stating the name of the channel.
In this section, we’ll give you a quick checklist of things to include in your banner (anchor), and some tips on making excellent channel art.
Channel Art Checklist
Here are some things you might want to include in your YouTube banner. Not all of these are right for every type of channel.
- Channel name
- What kinds of videos you make
- Your posting schedule
- Social media handles
- Your face
- A tagline
Top 5 Tips for Making Great YouTube Banners
Besides looking good, your channel art can help convince more of your viewers to become subscribers. Here are our top 5 tips for making channel art that looks impressive and supports the growth of your channel.
- Solid Background Behind Text
- Keep Text to a Minimum
- Use Images and Colors That Suit Your Channel
- Include Your Face
- Give Viewers a Reason To Subscribe
Solid Background Behind Text
When viewers look at your channel page, you want your name and any other information your banner conveys to jump out at them. It is hard for text to jump out at anybody when it’s competing with a busy background, especially if some of the colors in the background are similar to the color of the text.
If possible, you can place your text on the part of your background pattern or image where there isn’t much happening behind it. When that isn’t possible, it doesn’t mean you need to find a new background. Instead, insert a solid-colored shape between the text and your background image. Your text will look great, and you won’t have to compromise on a background you like.
Keep Text to a Minimum
There is a lot you might want to say in your banner. You’ll want to tell viewers the name of the channel, what kinds of videos you make, when you upload those different kinds of videos, and maybe even the general philosophy driving your channel (i.e., ‘to spread positivity’). That’s all great, but try to say it fast.
Realistically, viewers probably won’t read more than one line of text. Writing more than that could also force you to use smaller text that viewers will have trouble reading. Ideally, a viewer should absorb all the information in your banner at a glance without having to make the decision to read it.
Keep your text to your channel name and one additional line underneath, if you can. Make sure your additional line of text is smaller than your channel name, so they aren’t competing.
Use Images and Colors that Suit Your Channel
If you have an upbeat, positive, channel then a black and red banner with skulls on it might not be the best choice to convey that. Similarly, if you have a gaming channel, then a minimalist banner that includes an Instagram-worthy picture of you wearing the latest seasonal styles might send the wrong message. It will make the viewer that sees it think you have a lifestyle channel, and they may click away thinking the Let’s Play they just watched was a one-off.
Look at the kinds of colors and images other YouTubers in your niche are using for inspiration for what you should do, but also consider the unique message of your channel. If you consider yourself bold, use bolder colors. If your videos have a more relaxed vibe, something softer might make sense.
Here’s a guide to what people tend to associate with different colors:
Include Your Face
This isn’t essential for every type of channel. If you mostly post gaming content or screencast tutorials and you don’t appear much in your actual videos, there’s no need to appear in your banner.
However, if your channel is primarily about you as a personality, then including your face in your channel art can have a lot of benefits. People are automatically drawn in by eye contact and feel more connected when they can see a face. Besides just looking good, including your face in your banner can help build a relationship with new viewers and make them feel more comfortable subscribing. They’ll know they’re subscribing to a person, not just a channel.
Give Viewers a Reason to Subscribe
Someone who has chosen to check out your channel page is already thinking about subscribing, but they didn’t do it from the video page because they want to know a bit more about you. The things they are probably hoping to find out are:
- Do you have more videos like that one they just watched? Will you make more?
- Are you ever going to post again?
There are a lot of YouTubers that just give up at some point, or who have started a channel but don’t have time to post very often. That you might never post a new video again, or might not post one for so long that the new subscriber forgets who you are, is a real hesitation viewer can have about subscribing.
Viewers also want to know that when you do post again, the video you post will be something they like. If they liked the video, they found you through because it was funny, but there’s nothing on your channel page that suggests you do comedy videos regularly, then that can make someone think twice. If you subscribe because of a makeup tutorial, but then the creator only posts personal vlogs from then on, it can be disappointing.
By clearly stating what kinds of videos you make and when you post them in your banner, you are giving viewers a reason to subscribe.
Here are some examples:
“Vlogs & Comedy! New videos every Tuesday.”
“Two videos every week! Makeup Mondays and Fashion Fridays”
If you can create channel art that has a layout that makes sense and sends a clear message even at a glance, then that will help you look like a more experienced YouTuber.
Channel Art Inspiration
Sometimes your niche on YouTube will determine what kinds of channel art you should use. For example, it makes sense for gamers to include game-related graphics in their banners and for travel vloggers to use photos from the destinations they’ve visited.
However, for lots of YouTube niches, the channel art you make will be built around your personality. How do you know what fits your personality? Here’s some inspiration based on popular trends.
Minimalism
This is an example of a minimalist YouTube banner. This style typically uses only 2 or 3 colors and features clean lines, simple backgrounds, and not a lot of noise. If you want to project a calm, tidy, balanced vibe on your channel, then you should consider going in a minimalist direction with your banner.
This example is light and airy, but you can also create a minimalist look using brighter or darker colors. It just depends on your personality.
Galaxy Themed
Galaxy banners are exactly what they sound like: channel art featuring space scenes or photographs of the night sky. At first glance, you might think they belong with channels that talk about science or sci-fi, and they are great for that, but they’re also a fun choice for comedy, vlogging, or gaming.
The great thing about the galaxy style is that it’s cool and different, but it doesn’t take over and distract from your message. There is a lot of room for a space scene to be very personalized. The example above is bold and purple. You can find galaxy photos in just about any color, and they can be either bright like this one or quite dark.
Funky
There isn’t really one ‘funky’ style. A funky banner is anything that’s just a little off-beat but still makes sense while you’re looking at it. They tend to be bright and cheerful and are perfect for anyone who considers themselves a bit quirky.
If you’re looking for inspiration for a custom funky banner, go to your closet and find your favorite funny, cute, or ironic t-shirt. There’s probably something in its design you can bring into your channel art.
Comic
A banner featuring an actual comic book character probably belongs to a channel that discusses comics, but the style itself is great for just about anyone. It’s bold and communicates confidence. If your attitude towards YouTube is that you want to be fearless, why not go for something worthy of a superhuman?
Do you have any of your own tips to share about YouTube banners?
If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Dec 30, 2022• Proven solutions
The following is a complete guide to YouTube banners, including instructions, tips, and free resources.
Channel art isn’t hard. Making video viewers enjoy enough that they click on your channel page - that’s hard. Channel art is just about reinforcing the positive feelings viewers have come away from your videos. Anyone who’s looking at your channel art is already thinking about subscribing to you. Your banner should make viewers feel happy with the choice they’ve already half-made.
- YouTube Banner Size and Other Basics
- Free YouTube Banner Templates and Other Resources
- Free Channel Art Makers
- How to Make Good Channel Art
- Channel Art Inspiration
YouTube Banner Size and Other Basics
YouTube channel art should be 2560 x 1440px.
As long as you upload an image or background that is that size, viewers looking at your channel on any device will be able to see that you’ve taken the time to personalize your channel page.
If you want to make a bit more of an impression, you can start thinking about banner dimensions. Depending on what type of screen (laptop, mobile, television) a viewer is visiting your channel on, they will see a different crop of that 2560 x 1440px channel art. That cropped image is your banner.
Television will display the entire image, but it is significantly smaller on other devices.
Desktop or laptop computers can show a view as large as 2560 x 423px, or as small as 1546 x 423px.
Tablets show an area that’s 1855 x 423px.
Mobile phones show an area that’s 1546 x 423px. This size is also the smallest possible desktop/laptop view, and it is considered the ‘safe area.’ Any important text or graphics in your banner should fit within this section, or they could be awkwardly cut off in some views.
Here’s a visual guide to channel art dimensions:
Another important detail to consider is the size of your file. YouTube will allow your channel art to have a file size of up to 6MB, but no larger.
Free YouTube Banner Templates and Other Resources
There are a lot of free resources online, which can make the process of designing your channel art simple, including templates, stock images, backgrounds, and fonts.
Free YouTube Banner Templates
The easiest way to get great channel art might be to find something pre-built you can personalize. There are a few places online you can find something free that will suit both your style and the types of videos you make:
Here on filmora.io, we have a selection of 50 free channel art templates you can download. The banners are divided into 10 categories representing both different types of YouTube channels (i.e., gaming and beauty) and different popular styles (i.e., minimalist and galaxy), so there’s something for everybody. When you download the free templates, you can choose between PSD files, so you can customize your banner in Photoshop and PNG files you can use with a free online program like Canva (or even Paint on your computer).
On Visme, you’ll find another 50 free YouTube banners with themes like ‘Rock Star,’ ‘Makeup Tutorial,’ and ‘Cooking Lessons.’ The banners all make use of beautiful high-quality photographs (no patterned backgrounds). You can add your own channel name right on Visme and customize your font/color.
There is a massive amount of resources available on YourTube, which you can download for free. The category labeled templates only has 14 options, but there are really hundreds of options for YouTube channel art. ‘Templates’ just means downloads, which include PSD files where you can edit text. Under ‘All YouTube Channel Art,’ there are over 500 options. Some are patterned backgrounds, some are pictures, but all of them were designed to be channel art. It’s easy to look and imagine where your channel’s name will go.
There are also a lot of Channel Art Makers, which include templates!
Free Stock Images, Backgrounds, and Fonts
Sometimes all you need to do is add some text to a really great photo or background pattern. You can find awesome-looking and free options for all three of these things and piece together your own unique channel art.
Free Stock Photos for YouTube Channel Art
Unlike templates, stock photos will not already be the exact right size for uploading to YouTube. You’ll have to adjust them, but you don’t need expensive software to do this. You can use a banner maker, or just do some trimming in Paint. While you are making adjustments, keep the dimensions from the first part of this article in mind, so important details aren’t partially cut off on some devices.
There are a lot of beautiful photographs available online, and sites like Stocksy are great if you have the budget available to purchase images. If you need free options, then there are lots of those too, but you do sometimes need to be careful that the way you want to use an image is allowed within the license provided by the site or photographer.
We recommend these two sites for anybody who finds copyright rules confusing because both of these sites allow you to use their photos for free, for any purpose (commercial or personal), without attribution (although they do appreciate attribution).
Unsplash: This site has a huge selection, and more photos are being added all the time. Finding what you want is as easy as typing a keyword (i.e., ‘sunset’) into the search bar on the home page.
Pexels: you can find a wide variety of images on Pexels just by using the search bar on the main page, much like Unsplash. There is actually some overlap in the images available on the two sites, but they also each have photos the other doesn’t, so it’s worth looking at both.
Free Background Patterns for YouTube Banners
Photographs just don’t suit every type of channel. If you don’t think photos of scenery match the style of your channel, you might want to consider a background pattern. Because patterns repeat, you don’t need to worry much about things being cut off when you upload a pattern as channel art (although you’ll still need to make sure any text you add is in the safe area).
One thing you should watch for when using a background pattern is that text can sometimes be hard to read if it’s sitting on top of a busy pattern. You might want to put a box of solid color between your channel name and the pattern.
The patterns on the following two sites are free to use.
The Pattern Library: this truly is a library, and all the patterns were submitted by real graphic designers. When you first arrive on the site, all you’ll see is a randomly selected pattern filling your entire screen. Hovering over the designer’s name in the top left will allow you to download it for free.
Often, the download will not be as large as the image you see on the site. It will only be a few tiles (or just one tile), and you will need to copy/paste it a few times to create a background large enough to use as channel art.
You can use the navigation tools in the top right of the screen to see more patterns. Clicking the icon that looks like a bunch of squares will allow you to see multiple patterns at once.
Hero Patterns: the patterns on this site are editable before you download. You choose a foreground color, a background color, and the opacity of the design in the foreground. This means that you can make the pattern as subtle or vibrant as you want, which is a great thing to have control over when you’re creating channel art.
When you choose your custom colors and opacity, every pattern preview on the page will update. You can put in the colors you like for your channel first, and then find a pattern that looks good with them.
The only downside to Hero Patterns is that downloading your pattern is hard. You actually can’t just download it. Instead, the site generates a code you can embed on a website.
If you don’t have a website, the easiest thing is probably to use the Snipping Tool (included on all PCs since Vista) to save the preview and then just copy/paste it as a tile in a program like Paint or Photoshop.
Free Fonts for YouTube Channel Art
Whatever program you use to build your channel art will already have a selection of fonts. Finding the perfect font to use across your channel art, thumbnails, and for any text, you include in your videos isn’t something you need to think about until your channel is large enough that you’re thinking about your ‘brand’. If you feel like you’re at that stage, or want to get a jump start on it, here are a couple of sites where you can find free fonts and install them on your computer.
DaFont: there are categories on this site like fancy, gothic, and script, and there are even sub-categories like sci-fi and calligraphy. Licensing limits (whether the font is free and whether it is available for commercial use) will be clearly displayed next to every font. When browsing, you can even type your channel name in where it says ‘Preview’ and see what it will look like in all the different fonts.
Font Squirrel: the nice thing about this site is that everything is guaranteed to be free and available for commercial use. If you scroll down a bit on the main page, you’ll see a toolbar to the right of the screen, which will allow you to narrow down the fonts being displayed by selecting tags like grunge, headings, and casual.
Once you’ve got an image or images, and maybe even a font you want to use in your banner, you can create your channel art in either a software like Photoshop or a free banner maker (anchor) like the ones below.
Free Channel Art Makers
You don’t need an expensive program like Adobe Photoshop to make great channel art. There is a lot of photo editing and graphic design programs available for free online, and most of them are a lot easier to use.
All three of these sites will allow you to build your banner just by dragging images and text to where you want them, and they even provide premade templates (although those might not be free in some cases).
Canva is probably the most popular site for creating YouTube banners for free, for a good reason. It’s extremely intuitive for beginners who are making their first graphics, and it’s also a capable enough program to satisfy more intermediate-level users. Canva has stock images, banner templates, and other graphics available, but some of them cost $1 to use. You can also upload your own media instead of relying on Canva’s resources.
To build channel art in Canva, find ‘YouTube Channel Art’ as one of the options, and you’ll be working with a canvas that’s already the right size. You can also choose from a lot of different layout options, which will divide your canvas into different drop zones for images (pictures will be auto-sized to fit the zone).
One major benefit of Canva is the huge library of stock images, and one drawback is that you can’t have multiple images stretched to the end of your canvas.
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. This online platform empowers anyone to create a beautiful design within a few steps. No professional skills required! By simply dragging and dropping the creative elements and templates, you are capable to release your imagination and convert it to stunning artwork.
A major benefit of PixStudio is that it provides a feature to remove the image background, you can use the image more flexibility. One drawback is that the features will be used after payment of $7.99 per month.
This is another easy to use image editor with templates and stock images, like Canva. You just select YouTube Cover from the options in the Social Media menu (there are also options for YouTube Thumbnails and Profile Pics).
In Canva, images you drag into your layout will automatically shift to fit the area you put them into. This doesn’t happen in Design Wizard, which can either slow down or speed up your process, depending on which you prefer.
One major benefit of Design Wizard is that it provides you with a ‘safe zone box’ so you can see the smallest view of your channel art while you work. One drawback is that the photos in Design Wizard aren’t free, so you’ll either have to buy them or use your own.
Tip: the safe zone box costs $1, so the price of your download will always look like $1 until you delete it when you’re finished designing. Then your price will drop to $0 if you haven’t used any other paid elements.
Fotor works similarly to the other two programs on this list. Just look for ‘YouTube Channel Art’ in the Header & Cover section and click on it to start designing. It does not have layouts like Canva, but it is also a drag-and-drop program, and it is better than Canva if you like to edit with layers.
Fotor has more free templates than Canva or Design Wizard, although it does also have some premium options. Creating a paid account will allow you to access premium resources and get rid of ads (costs $39.99 for the year), but if all you want it for is to create channel art, a paid account probably isn’t worth it.
You can upload your own images to use in Fotor as well.
A major benefit of Fotor is that it has a lot of genuinely free channel art templates you can customize, and one drawback is that it doesn’t have as many stock photos.
How to Make Good Channel Art
Finding an image, cutting it to the right size, and uploading it to YouTube is easy, but how many of your favorite YouTubers use just an image for their channel art? Usually, there’s at least a little text stating the name of the channel.
In this section, we’ll give you a quick checklist of things to include in your banner (anchor), and some tips on making excellent channel art.
Channel Art Checklist
Here are some things you might want to include in your YouTube banner. Not all of these are right for every type of channel.
- Channel name
- What kinds of videos you make
- Your posting schedule
- Social media handles
- Your face
- A tagline
Top 5 Tips for Making Great YouTube Banners
Besides looking good, your channel art can help convince more of your viewers to become subscribers. Here are our top 5 tips for making channel art that looks impressive and supports the growth of your channel.
- Solid Background Behind Text
- Keep Text to a Minimum
- Use Images and Colors That Suit Your Channel
- Include Your Face
- Give Viewers a Reason To Subscribe
Solid Background Behind Text
When viewers look at your channel page, you want your name and any other information your banner conveys to jump out at them. It is hard for text to jump out at anybody when it’s competing with a busy background, especially if some of the colors in the background are similar to the color of the text.
If possible, you can place your text on the part of your background pattern or image where there isn’t much happening behind it. When that isn’t possible, it doesn’t mean you need to find a new background. Instead, insert a solid-colored shape between the text and your background image. Your text will look great, and you won’t have to compromise on a background you like.
Keep Text to a Minimum
There is a lot you might want to say in your banner. You’ll want to tell viewers the name of the channel, what kinds of videos you make, when you upload those different kinds of videos, and maybe even the general philosophy driving your channel (i.e., ‘to spread positivity’). That’s all great, but try to say it fast.
Realistically, viewers probably won’t read more than one line of text. Writing more than that could also force you to use smaller text that viewers will have trouble reading. Ideally, a viewer should absorb all the information in your banner at a glance without having to make the decision to read it.
Keep your text to your channel name and one additional line underneath, if you can. Make sure your additional line of text is smaller than your channel name, so they aren’t competing.
Use Images and Colors that Suit Your Channel
If you have an upbeat, positive, channel then a black and red banner with skulls on it might not be the best choice to convey that. Similarly, if you have a gaming channel, then a minimalist banner that includes an Instagram-worthy picture of you wearing the latest seasonal styles might send the wrong message. It will make the viewer that sees it think you have a lifestyle channel, and they may click away thinking the Let’s Play they just watched was a one-off.
Look at the kinds of colors and images other YouTubers in your niche are using for inspiration for what you should do, but also consider the unique message of your channel. If you consider yourself bold, use bolder colors. If your videos have a more relaxed vibe, something softer might make sense.
Here’s a guide to what people tend to associate with different colors:
Include Your Face
This isn’t essential for every type of channel. If you mostly post gaming content or screencast tutorials and you don’t appear much in your actual videos, there’s no need to appear in your banner.
However, if your channel is primarily about you as a personality, then including your face in your channel art can have a lot of benefits. People are automatically drawn in by eye contact and feel more connected when they can see a face. Besides just looking good, including your face in your banner can help build a relationship with new viewers and make them feel more comfortable subscribing. They’ll know they’re subscribing to a person, not just a channel.
Give Viewers a Reason to Subscribe
Someone who has chosen to check out your channel page is already thinking about subscribing, but they didn’t do it from the video page because they want to know a bit more about you. The things they are probably hoping to find out are:
- Do you have more videos like that one they just watched? Will you make more?
- Are you ever going to post again?
There are a lot of YouTubers that just give up at some point, or who have started a channel but don’t have time to post very often. That you might never post a new video again, or might not post one for so long that the new subscriber forgets who you are, is a real hesitation viewer can have about subscribing.
Viewers also want to know that when you do post again, the video you post will be something they like. If they liked the video, they found you through because it was funny, but there’s nothing on your channel page that suggests you do comedy videos regularly, then that can make someone think twice. If you subscribe because of a makeup tutorial, but then the creator only posts personal vlogs from then on, it can be disappointing.
By clearly stating what kinds of videos you make and when you post them in your banner, you are giving viewers a reason to subscribe.
Here are some examples:
“Vlogs & Comedy! New videos every Tuesday.”
“Two videos every week! Makeup Mondays and Fashion Fridays”
If you can create channel art that has a layout that makes sense and sends a clear message even at a glance, then that will help you look like a more experienced YouTuber.
Channel Art Inspiration
Sometimes your niche on YouTube will determine what kinds of channel art you should use. For example, it makes sense for gamers to include game-related graphics in their banners and for travel vloggers to use photos from the destinations they’ve visited.
However, for lots of YouTube niches, the channel art you make will be built around your personality. How do you know what fits your personality? Here’s some inspiration based on popular trends.
Minimalism
This is an example of a minimalist YouTube banner. This style typically uses only 2 or 3 colors and features clean lines, simple backgrounds, and not a lot of noise. If you want to project a calm, tidy, balanced vibe on your channel, then you should consider going in a minimalist direction with your banner.
This example is light and airy, but you can also create a minimalist look using brighter or darker colors. It just depends on your personality.
Galaxy Themed
Galaxy banners are exactly what they sound like: channel art featuring space scenes or photographs of the night sky. At first glance, you might think they belong with channels that talk about science or sci-fi, and they are great for that, but they’re also a fun choice for comedy, vlogging, or gaming.
The great thing about the galaxy style is that it’s cool and different, but it doesn’t take over and distract from your message. There is a lot of room for a space scene to be very personalized. The example above is bold and purple. You can find galaxy photos in just about any color, and they can be either bright like this one or quite dark.
Funky
There isn’t really one ‘funky’ style. A funky banner is anything that’s just a little off-beat but still makes sense while you’re looking at it. They tend to be bright and cheerful and are perfect for anyone who considers themselves a bit quirky.
If you’re looking for inspiration for a custom funky banner, go to your closet and find your favorite funny, cute, or ironic t-shirt. There’s probably something in its design you can bring into your channel art.
Comic
A banner featuring an actual comic book character probably belongs to a channel that discusses comics, but the style itself is great for just about anyone. It’s bold and communicates confidence. If your attitude towards YouTube is that you want to be fearless, why not go for something worthy of a superhuman?
Do you have any of your own tips to share about YouTube banners?
If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Crafting High Impact Video Marketing Content on YouTube
While there are a lot of ways you could advertise your business online, YouTube video ads are quickly becoming the most popular advertising solution. This is because more and more people choose to watch videos than any other form of video.
But to make sure that you are putting your best foot forward when it comes to video ads, you need to invest in a YouTube ad creator that is easy to use and effective. Here, we will be looking at the best YouTube video creators that you can use.
Why Use YouTube Video Ads
Before we look at some of the tools you can use to create YouTube video ads, it is important to mention some of the reasons why you may want to choose YouTube ads over other solutions. YouTube ads when compared to PPC are relatively cheaper and you also choose how much you are willing to pay when a user clicks on the ads. This makes it unlikely that you could spend more than you intended to.
YouTube ads are also more targeted than any other form of advertising. You have a lot of options when choosing who you want to target including metrics such as demographics, topics, similar audiences, customer matches, life events, and more.
Since the ad is a video, it generates far more engagement than a text ad on any other platform. Even though it is an ad, the video is still a great way for your brand to connect with potential audiences.
Types of Video Ads for YouTube
The following are the different types of YouTube ads that you can create;
**Video Discovery
Video discover ads appear on the search page results and are usually composed of a thumbnail image and a few lines of text. They also have a very recognizable “Ad” in the box to let all users know that this is sponsored content.
**In-Stream Ads
In-stream video ads can be skippable or non-skippable. Skippable in-stream video ads will often play for a minimum of 5 seconds before allowing the user to skip to the video content. Non-skippable in-stream video ads do not have the “skip” button and the user has to watch the video to the end.
**Pre-roll Ads
A pre-roll ad is just an in-stream ad that is not skippable. It doesn’t give the user the option of skipping the app and they have to watch the entire ad before they can watch the video. The pre-roll video ad is usually 15 to 60 seconds long.
**Bumper Ads
Bumper ads are tiny non-skippable 6-second ads that will play right before the video content loads. They can be an ideal way to promote an event or a new brand. Since they are only 6 seconds long, they can be very easy to make.
Best YouTube Ad Creators
The following are the best YouTube ad creators that you can use to make your YouTube video ad;
Filmora
Best For: All Types of YouTube Video ads
Price: Free Trial Available with plans starting from $54.99 a year.
Rating: 4.8/5
Wondershare Filmora is one of the best video creation software in the market and therefore can be very useful when creating YouTube video ads of any kind. It has powerful features that can benefit both beginner and professional users, allowing users to create stunning videos of any length.
For Win 7 or later (64-bit)
For macOS 10.12 or later
It comes with a library of more than 300 templates, filters, overlays, and numerous other effects that you can use to create your video. You can even add audio and music to the video to make your ad stand out more.
Animoto
Best For: All Types of YouTube Video Ads
Price: A free plan is available with paid plans starting from $15 a month
User Rating: 4.3/5
Animoto is another great solution that you can use to create YouTube ads of all kinds and publish them directly on the video-sharing platform. It has a very simple drag-and-drop operation that can allow you to create your YouTube video ad in just a few minutes.
It offers you a lot of resources that you can use to create the video including a huge library of up to one million photos and video clips as well as licensed audio tracks that you can use freely. This is on top of the numerous effects that you can use to make your video ad stand out more.
Promo.com
Best For: All Types of YouTube Video Ads
Price: Free plan is available with paid plans starting at $39 a month
User Rating: 4.4/5
Promo.com is another great solution that you can use to create YouTube video ads to give your brand the upper hand. It simplifies the video creation process by providing you with pre-made templates that you can add elements to create the video. You also get a library of music, photos, and video clips that you can choose to add to the video.
It also allows you to publish the video directly on social media apps. Since it doesn’t limit the size of the video that you can create, it is also an ideal solution for creating other types of videos.
Biteable
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: Free Plan is available with paid plans starting at $19 a month
User Rating: 4.3/5
Biteable is also a great choice when you want to create YouTube ad videos. It is a professional solution that gives you a lot of options when it comes to video creation with a rich resource of over 1.8 million photos, clips, and pre-made animations to choose from.
The videos that you create with Biteable are of very high resolution and you have unlimited exports so you can use the same video over and over again. It also doesn’t limit the size or length of the video that you can create making it an ideal solution to create all types of videos.
InVideo
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: Free plan is available with paid plans from $10 a month
User Rating: 4.7/5
This is an online solution that is very easy to use and that creates stunning videos. The interface allows you to upload your images, video clips, and audio and then use one of the many templates to create the video. The templates are also customizable, giving you additional options to customize your video in many ways.
InVideo allows you to upload the video that you create directly to social media platforms. It also has a very large library of resources that you can use to create the video including more than 3000 professionally made templates and more than a million premium photos and videos to choose from.
Adobe Spark
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ad Videos
Price: Free Plan available with paid plans starting at $9.99 a month
User Rating: 4.5/5
If you are looking for a solution that will allow you to make unique and very high-quality video ads, then Adobe Spark is a great choice. It has a ton of resources that you can use to make your video ad stand out including multiple themes, layouts, storyboards, and unique fonts.
You also have access to thousands of free images to spice up your creation and exclusive templates that you will not find anywhere else. But like most Adobe software, it can be hard to get started with Adobe Spark, especially for beginner users.
Animaker
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ad videos
Price: It doesn’t offer a free plan. Paid plans start at $10 per month.
User Rating: 4.6/5
Animaker is a professional video editing tool that can create very high-quality and unique videos. It is also one of the only tools that you can use to add subtitles to a video. You get to choose from a lot of professionally made templates and choose from a large library of images and videos to add to your project.
It also allows you to add audio to the video in the form of voiceover or music. You can also use the live editing feature to make changes to a video that is already uploaded to YouTube.
Powtoon
Best For: Animated YouTube Ads
Price: It doesn’t offer a free plan. Paid plans start at $20 a month
User Rating: 4/5
Powtoon is a great solution when the YouTube ad video that you want to create is an animated video. It has numerous features designed to help you create the most interactive animated videos. You have a lot of resources to choose from including various animation styles, whiteboards, and infographics.
It also has a very large library of templates, videos, images, and audio to choose from. But Powtoon doesn’t offer a free plan and hence there is no way for you to test its function before purchasing it.
Magisto
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: It doesn’t offer a free plan. Paid plans start at $34.99 a month
User Rating: 4.4/5
Magisto is an online video editing tool that you can use to create video ads very quickly. It is completely deployed on the cloud which means that you don’t have to download any software on your computer. The user interface is very easy to use, allowing users to create professional-quality videos in a matter of minutes.
If you are using it to create longer videos, you can edit the scenes of the video individually and add as many effects as are relevant to your project. It can also be used to create and edit videos on Android and iOS devices.
Creatopy
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: A free plan is available. Paid plans start at $17 a month
User Rating: 4.3/5
Creatopy is a simple to use and highly effective video editor that can come in handy when creating YouTube video ads. It offers you the chance to create videos of any size, making it an ideal choice not just for video ads but all types of video ads.
You can upload your images and audio files to add to the video project, or you can choose from the built-in library. Then you can use one or more of the many effects to add the finishing touch.
Tips for Creating YouTube Ads
The following are just some tips to help you create effective and profitable YouTube Video ads;
- Choose the type of ad you would like to create wisely. Learn the different types of YouTube ads and select one based on your brand, advertising budget, and projected reach.
- Use the YouTube targeting options to give your ads the best chance at success. Ensure that you are choosing the right targets to avoid spending money on targets that will not engage with your ad.
- You may also want to use your videos in a remarketing campaign. Remarketing targets the same audience that you targeted before, increasing your chances of getting more engagement.
- When creating the ad, ensure that the content in the ad is compelling and feels natural. Even though the audience will be watching sponsored content it should feel just like any other video.
- You can also drive more engagement by adding interactive elements to the video. These can be calls-to-action, auto-end screens, and cards to showcase your products.
Related FAQs About YouTube Ads
**How do you create a YouTube Ad?
You can easily create a YouTube ad using one of the video editing tools that we have outlined above. Choose the type of YouTube video ad you want to create as it will inform the length of the video you will create.
**Is it Free to Make YouTube Ads?
It can be free. If you choose to use a free video editor, you can create a YouTube ad for free. But you should know that you will still have to pay for YouTube to serve the ad.
**What is a YouTube Ad Specialist?
A YouTube Ads Specialist is a professional who is responsible for creating a YouTube ads strategy and implementing the strategy by creating the YouTube video ads.
**Can I Put My Ads on YouTube?
Yes. YouTube allows you to run your ads and even choose the placement of the ads and target the audiences you want YouTube to serve the ads to.
YouTube video ads can be a great way to reach as many people as you can with your products and services. Now you have several options that you can use to create the ads.
For macOS 10.12 or later
It comes with a library of more than 300 templates, filters, overlays, and numerous other effects that you can use to create your video. You can even add audio and music to the video to make your ad stand out more.
Animoto
Best For: All Types of YouTube Video Ads
Price: A free plan is available with paid plans starting from $15 a month
User Rating: 4.3/5
Animoto is another great solution that you can use to create YouTube ads of all kinds and publish them directly on the video-sharing platform. It has a very simple drag-and-drop operation that can allow you to create your YouTube video ad in just a few minutes.
It offers you a lot of resources that you can use to create the video including a huge library of up to one million photos and video clips as well as licensed audio tracks that you can use freely. This is on top of the numerous effects that you can use to make your video ad stand out more.
Promo.com
Best For: All Types of YouTube Video Ads
Price: Free plan is available with paid plans starting at $39 a month
User Rating: 4.4/5
Promo.com is another great solution that you can use to create YouTube video ads to give your brand the upper hand. It simplifies the video creation process by providing you with pre-made templates that you can add elements to create the video. You also get a library of music, photos, and video clips that you can choose to add to the video.
It also allows you to publish the video directly on social media apps. Since it doesn’t limit the size of the video that you can create, it is also an ideal solution for creating other types of videos.
Biteable
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: Free Plan is available with paid plans starting at $19 a month
User Rating: 4.3/5
Biteable is also a great choice when you want to create YouTube ad videos. It is a professional solution that gives you a lot of options when it comes to video creation with a rich resource of over 1.8 million photos, clips, and pre-made animations to choose from.
The videos that you create with Biteable are of very high resolution and you have unlimited exports so you can use the same video over and over again. It also doesn’t limit the size or length of the video that you can create making it an ideal solution to create all types of videos.
InVideo
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: Free plan is available with paid plans from $10 a month
User Rating: 4.7/5
This is an online solution that is very easy to use and that creates stunning videos. The interface allows you to upload your images, video clips, and audio and then use one of the many templates to create the video. The templates are also customizable, giving you additional options to customize your video in many ways.
InVideo allows you to upload the video that you create directly to social media platforms. It also has a very large library of resources that you can use to create the video including more than 3000 professionally made templates and more than a million premium photos and videos to choose from.
Adobe Spark
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ad Videos
Price: Free Plan available with paid plans starting at $9.99 a month
User Rating: 4.5/5
If you are looking for a solution that will allow you to make unique and very high-quality video ads, then Adobe Spark is a great choice. It has a ton of resources that you can use to make your video ad stand out including multiple themes, layouts, storyboards, and unique fonts.
You also have access to thousands of free images to spice up your creation and exclusive templates that you will not find anywhere else. But like most Adobe software, it can be hard to get started with Adobe Spark, especially for beginner users.
Animaker
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ad videos
Price: It doesn’t offer a free plan. Paid plans start at $10 per month.
User Rating: 4.6/5
Animaker is a professional video editing tool that can create very high-quality and unique videos. It is also one of the only tools that you can use to add subtitles to a video. You get to choose from a lot of professionally made templates and choose from a large library of images and videos to add to your project.
It also allows you to add audio to the video in the form of voiceover or music. You can also use the live editing feature to make changes to a video that is already uploaded to YouTube.
Powtoon
Best For: Animated YouTube Ads
Price: It doesn’t offer a free plan. Paid plans start at $20 a month
User Rating: 4/5
Powtoon is a great solution when the YouTube ad video that you want to create is an animated video. It has numerous features designed to help you create the most interactive animated videos. You have a lot of resources to choose from including various animation styles, whiteboards, and infographics.
It also has a very large library of templates, videos, images, and audio to choose from. But Powtoon doesn’t offer a free plan and hence there is no way for you to test its function before purchasing it.
Magisto
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: It doesn’t offer a free plan. Paid plans start at $34.99 a month
User Rating: 4.4/5
Magisto is an online video editing tool that you can use to create video ads very quickly. It is completely deployed on the cloud which means that you don’t have to download any software on your computer. The user interface is very easy to use, allowing users to create professional-quality videos in a matter of minutes.
If you are using it to create longer videos, you can edit the scenes of the video individually and add as many effects as are relevant to your project. It can also be used to create and edit videos on Android and iOS devices.
Creatopy
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: A free plan is available. Paid plans start at $17 a month
User Rating: 4.3/5
Creatopy is a simple to use and highly effective video editor that can come in handy when creating YouTube video ads. It offers you the chance to create videos of any size, making it an ideal choice not just for video ads but all types of video ads.
You can upload your images and audio files to add to the video project, or you can choose from the built-in library. Then you can use one or more of the many effects to add the finishing touch.
Tips for Creating YouTube Ads
The following are just some tips to help you create effective and profitable YouTube Video ads;
- Choose the type of ad you would like to create wisely. Learn the different types of YouTube ads and select one based on your brand, advertising budget, and projected reach.
- Use the YouTube targeting options to give your ads the best chance at success. Ensure that you are choosing the right targets to avoid spending money on targets that will not engage with your ad.
- You may also want to use your videos in a remarketing campaign. Remarketing targets the same audience that you targeted before, increasing your chances of getting more engagement.
- When creating the ad, ensure that the content in the ad is compelling and feels natural. Even though the audience will be watching sponsored content it should feel just like any other video.
- You can also drive more engagement by adding interactive elements to the video. These can be calls-to-action, auto-end screens, and cards to showcase your products.
Related FAQs About YouTube Ads
**How do you create a YouTube Ad?
You can easily create a YouTube ad using one of the video editing tools that we have outlined above. Choose the type of YouTube video ad you want to create as it will inform the length of the video you will create.
**Is it Free to Make YouTube Ads?
It can be free. If you choose to use a free video editor, you can create a YouTube ad for free. But you should know that you will still have to pay for YouTube to serve the ad.
**What is a YouTube Ad Specialist?
A YouTube Ads Specialist is a professional who is responsible for creating a YouTube ads strategy and implementing the strategy by creating the YouTube video ads.
**Can I Put My Ads on YouTube?
Yes. YouTube allows you to run your ads and even choose the placement of the ads and target the audiences you want YouTube to serve the ads to.
YouTube video ads can be a great way to reach as many people as you can with your products and services. Now you have several options that you can use to create the ads.
For macOS 10.12 or later
It comes with a library of more than 300 templates, filters, overlays, and numerous other effects that you can use to create your video. You can even add audio and music to the video to make your ad stand out more.
Animoto
Best For: All Types of YouTube Video Ads
Price: A free plan is available with paid plans starting from $15 a month
User Rating: 4.3/5
Animoto is another great solution that you can use to create YouTube ads of all kinds and publish them directly on the video-sharing platform. It has a very simple drag-and-drop operation that can allow you to create your YouTube video ad in just a few minutes.
It offers you a lot of resources that you can use to create the video including a huge library of up to one million photos and video clips as well as licensed audio tracks that you can use freely. This is on top of the numerous effects that you can use to make your video ad stand out more.
Promo.com
Best For: All Types of YouTube Video Ads
Price: Free plan is available with paid plans starting at $39 a month
User Rating: 4.4/5
Promo.com is another great solution that you can use to create YouTube video ads to give your brand the upper hand. It simplifies the video creation process by providing you with pre-made templates that you can add elements to create the video. You also get a library of music, photos, and video clips that you can choose to add to the video.
It also allows you to publish the video directly on social media apps. Since it doesn’t limit the size of the video that you can create, it is also an ideal solution for creating other types of videos.
Biteable
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: Free Plan is available with paid plans starting at $19 a month
User Rating: 4.3/5
Biteable is also a great choice when you want to create YouTube ad videos. It is a professional solution that gives you a lot of options when it comes to video creation with a rich resource of over 1.8 million photos, clips, and pre-made animations to choose from.
The videos that you create with Biteable are of very high resolution and you have unlimited exports so you can use the same video over and over again. It also doesn’t limit the size or length of the video that you can create making it an ideal solution to create all types of videos.
InVideo
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: Free plan is available with paid plans from $10 a month
User Rating: 4.7/5
This is an online solution that is very easy to use and that creates stunning videos. The interface allows you to upload your images, video clips, and audio and then use one of the many templates to create the video. The templates are also customizable, giving you additional options to customize your video in many ways.
InVideo allows you to upload the video that you create directly to social media platforms. It also has a very large library of resources that you can use to create the video including more than 3000 professionally made templates and more than a million premium photos and videos to choose from.
Adobe Spark
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ad Videos
Price: Free Plan available with paid plans starting at $9.99 a month
User Rating: 4.5/5
If you are looking for a solution that will allow you to make unique and very high-quality video ads, then Adobe Spark is a great choice. It has a ton of resources that you can use to make your video ad stand out including multiple themes, layouts, storyboards, and unique fonts.
You also have access to thousands of free images to spice up your creation and exclusive templates that you will not find anywhere else. But like most Adobe software, it can be hard to get started with Adobe Spark, especially for beginner users.
Animaker
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ad videos
Price: It doesn’t offer a free plan. Paid plans start at $10 per month.
User Rating: 4.6/5
Animaker is a professional video editing tool that can create very high-quality and unique videos. It is also one of the only tools that you can use to add subtitles to a video. You get to choose from a lot of professionally made templates and choose from a large library of images and videos to add to your project.
It also allows you to add audio to the video in the form of voiceover or music. You can also use the live editing feature to make changes to a video that is already uploaded to YouTube.
Powtoon
Best For: Animated YouTube Ads
Price: It doesn’t offer a free plan. Paid plans start at $20 a month
User Rating: 4/5
Powtoon is a great solution when the YouTube ad video that you want to create is an animated video. It has numerous features designed to help you create the most interactive animated videos. You have a lot of resources to choose from including various animation styles, whiteboards, and infographics.
It also has a very large library of templates, videos, images, and audio to choose from. But Powtoon doesn’t offer a free plan and hence there is no way for you to test its function before purchasing it.
Magisto
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: It doesn’t offer a free plan. Paid plans start at $34.99 a month
User Rating: 4.4/5
Magisto is an online video editing tool that you can use to create video ads very quickly. It is completely deployed on the cloud which means that you don’t have to download any software on your computer. The user interface is very easy to use, allowing users to create professional-quality videos in a matter of minutes.
If you are using it to create longer videos, you can edit the scenes of the video individually and add as many effects as are relevant to your project. It can also be used to create and edit videos on Android and iOS devices.
Creatopy
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: A free plan is available. Paid plans start at $17 a month
User Rating: 4.3/5
Creatopy is a simple to use and highly effective video editor that can come in handy when creating YouTube video ads. It offers you the chance to create videos of any size, making it an ideal choice not just for video ads but all types of video ads.
You can upload your images and audio files to add to the video project, or you can choose from the built-in library. Then you can use one or more of the many effects to add the finishing touch.
Tips for Creating YouTube Ads
The following are just some tips to help you create effective and profitable YouTube Video ads;
- Choose the type of ad you would like to create wisely. Learn the different types of YouTube ads and select one based on your brand, advertising budget, and projected reach.
- Use the YouTube targeting options to give your ads the best chance at success. Ensure that you are choosing the right targets to avoid spending money on targets that will not engage with your ad.
- You may also want to use your videos in a remarketing campaign. Remarketing targets the same audience that you targeted before, increasing your chances of getting more engagement.
- When creating the ad, ensure that the content in the ad is compelling and feels natural. Even though the audience will be watching sponsored content it should feel just like any other video.
- You can also drive more engagement by adding interactive elements to the video. These can be calls-to-action, auto-end screens, and cards to showcase your products.
Related FAQs About YouTube Ads
**How do you create a YouTube Ad?
You can easily create a YouTube ad using one of the video editing tools that we have outlined above. Choose the type of YouTube video ad you want to create as it will inform the length of the video you will create.
**Is it Free to Make YouTube Ads?
It can be free. If you choose to use a free video editor, you can create a YouTube ad for free. But you should know that you will still have to pay for YouTube to serve the ad.
**What is a YouTube Ad Specialist?
A YouTube Ads Specialist is a professional who is responsible for creating a YouTube ads strategy and implementing the strategy by creating the YouTube video ads.
**Can I Put My Ads on YouTube?
Yes. YouTube allows you to run your ads and even choose the placement of the ads and target the audiences you want YouTube to serve the ads to.
YouTube video ads can be a great way to reach as many people as you can with your products and services. Now you have several options that you can use to create the ads.
For macOS 10.12 or later
It comes with a library of more than 300 templates, filters, overlays, and numerous other effects that you can use to create your video. You can even add audio and music to the video to make your ad stand out more.
Animoto
Best For: All Types of YouTube Video Ads
Price: A free plan is available with paid plans starting from $15 a month
User Rating: 4.3/5
Animoto is another great solution that you can use to create YouTube ads of all kinds and publish them directly on the video-sharing platform. It has a very simple drag-and-drop operation that can allow you to create your YouTube video ad in just a few minutes.
It offers you a lot of resources that you can use to create the video including a huge library of up to one million photos and video clips as well as licensed audio tracks that you can use freely. This is on top of the numerous effects that you can use to make your video ad stand out more.
Promo.com
Best For: All Types of YouTube Video Ads
Price: Free plan is available with paid plans starting at $39 a month
User Rating: 4.4/5
Promo.com is another great solution that you can use to create YouTube video ads to give your brand the upper hand. It simplifies the video creation process by providing you with pre-made templates that you can add elements to create the video. You also get a library of music, photos, and video clips that you can choose to add to the video.
It also allows you to publish the video directly on social media apps. Since it doesn’t limit the size of the video that you can create, it is also an ideal solution for creating other types of videos.
Biteable
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: Free Plan is available with paid plans starting at $19 a month
User Rating: 4.3/5
Biteable is also a great choice when you want to create YouTube ad videos. It is a professional solution that gives you a lot of options when it comes to video creation with a rich resource of over 1.8 million photos, clips, and pre-made animations to choose from.
The videos that you create with Biteable are of very high resolution and you have unlimited exports so you can use the same video over and over again. It also doesn’t limit the size or length of the video that you can create making it an ideal solution to create all types of videos.
InVideo
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: Free plan is available with paid plans from $10 a month
User Rating: 4.7/5
This is an online solution that is very easy to use and that creates stunning videos. The interface allows you to upload your images, video clips, and audio and then use one of the many templates to create the video. The templates are also customizable, giving you additional options to customize your video in many ways.
InVideo allows you to upload the video that you create directly to social media platforms. It also has a very large library of resources that you can use to create the video including more than 3000 professionally made templates and more than a million premium photos and videos to choose from.
Adobe Spark
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ad Videos
Price: Free Plan available with paid plans starting at $9.99 a month
User Rating: 4.5/5
If you are looking for a solution that will allow you to make unique and very high-quality video ads, then Adobe Spark is a great choice. It has a ton of resources that you can use to make your video ad stand out including multiple themes, layouts, storyboards, and unique fonts.
You also have access to thousands of free images to spice up your creation and exclusive templates that you will not find anywhere else. But like most Adobe software, it can be hard to get started with Adobe Spark, especially for beginner users.
Animaker
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ad videos
Price: It doesn’t offer a free plan. Paid plans start at $10 per month.
User Rating: 4.6/5
Animaker is a professional video editing tool that can create very high-quality and unique videos. It is also one of the only tools that you can use to add subtitles to a video. You get to choose from a lot of professionally made templates and choose from a large library of images and videos to add to your project.
It also allows you to add audio to the video in the form of voiceover or music. You can also use the live editing feature to make changes to a video that is already uploaded to YouTube.
Powtoon
Best For: Animated YouTube Ads
Price: It doesn’t offer a free plan. Paid plans start at $20 a month
User Rating: 4/5
Powtoon is a great solution when the YouTube ad video that you want to create is an animated video. It has numerous features designed to help you create the most interactive animated videos. You have a lot of resources to choose from including various animation styles, whiteboards, and infographics.
It also has a very large library of templates, videos, images, and audio to choose from. But Powtoon doesn’t offer a free plan and hence there is no way for you to test its function before purchasing it.
Magisto
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: It doesn’t offer a free plan. Paid plans start at $34.99 a month
User Rating: 4.4/5
Magisto is an online video editing tool that you can use to create video ads very quickly. It is completely deployed on the cloud which means that you don’t have to download any software on your computer. The user interface is very easy to use, allowing users to create professional-quality videos in a matter of minutes.
If you are using it to create longer videos, you can edit the scenes of the video individually and add as many effects as are relevant to your project. It can also be used to create and edit videos on Android and iOS devices.
Creatopy
Best For: All Types of YouTube Ads
Price: A free plan is available. Paid plans start at $17 a month
User Rating: 4.3/5
Creatopy is a simple to use and highly effective video editor that can come in handy when creating YouTube video ads. It offers you the chance to create videos of any size, making it an ideal choice not just for video ads but all types of video ads.
You can upload your images and audio files to add to the video project, or you can choose from the built-in library. Then you can use one or more of the many effects to add the finishing touch.
Tips for Creating YouTube Ads
The following are just some tips to help you create effective and profitable YouTube Video ads;
- Choose the type of ad you would like to create wisely. Learn the different types of YouTube ads and select one based on your brand, advertising budget, and projected reach.
- Use the YouTube targeting options to give your ads the best chance at success. Ensure that you are choosing the right targets to avoid spending money on targets that will not engage with your ad.
- You may also want to use your videos in a remarketing campaign. Remarketing targets the same audience that you targeted before, increasing your chances of getting more engagement.
- When creating the ad, ensure that the content in the ad is compelling and feels natural. Even though the audience will be watching sponsored content it should feel just like any other video.
- You can also drive more engagement by adding interactive elements to the video. These can be calls-to-action, auto-end screens, and cards to showcase your products.
Related FAQs About YouTube Ads
**How do you create a YouTube Ad?
You can easily create a YouTube ad using one of the video editing tools that we have outlined above. Choose the type of YouTube video ad you want to create as it will inform the length of the video you will create.
**Is it Free to Make YouTube Ads?
It can be free. If you choose to use a free video editor, you can create a YouTube ad for free. But you should know that you will still have to pay for YouTube to serve the ad.
**What is a YouTube Ad Specialist?
A YouTube Ads Specialist is a professional who is responsible for creating a YouTube ads strategy and implementing the strategy by creating the YouTube video ads.
**Can I Put My Ads on YouTube?
Yes. YouTube allows you to run your ads and even choose the placement of the ads and target the audiences you want YouTube to serve the ads to.
YouTube video ads can be a great way to reach as many people as you can with your products and services. Now you have several options that you can use to create the ads.
Also read:
- [New] Enter Immersive Realms Top 10 YouTube's Most Captivating VR Videos
- [Updated] Deciding on the Best Videography Camera Type DSLR or Mirrorless?
- 2024 Approved Best Cameras to Amplify Your YT Presence
- In 2024, Amplify Engagement A Compilation of Powerful 30 FreeGame Tags
- Best YouTube Video Reverser Online [+Howtos]
- [Updated] Auditory Artistry Access to Excellent DJ Video Samples
- [New] Collaborative Listening Made Simple on YouTube
- Elevating Video Sharing From YouTube to Insta for 2024
- Strategies to Swiftly Remove Unwanted Video Post-Comments
- In 2024, Detailed Guide Crafting Powerful Video Thumbnails for Content Marketing
- Experience the Future of Learning with These Channels
- [Updated] Ecological Architecture Merging Nature and City Planning
- Youngest Millionaire on YouTube Ryan's Unprecedented Wealth Accumulation
- [Updated] Content Creation Crossroads IGTV Vs. YouTube - Which One Fits Best?
- Elevate Video Consumption Constructing an Ideal 'Watch Later' List on YouTube for 2024
- Expert Tips for Removing Persistent Youtube Channels (Mobile/PC)
- How to Become a YouTube Partner - You Need 10,000 Views Now!
- Mastering the Art of YouTube Creating Accessible Video Ideas
- Optimize Your Video Library YouTubes to Dailymotion Directly
- Next-Gen Gamers' Wealth Wave Predictions
- Maximizing Video Impact Selecting the Best Rank Trackers for YouTubers
- In 2024, DIY Video Mastery 10 Straightforward Concepts Everyone Should Try
- [New] Efficient Tactics for Viewing Subscribers on YT
- Best Free Video Editing Programs You Should Know for 2024
- Boost Views Through Effective YouTube Thumbnail Selection
- [Updated] Elevate Your YouTube Presence Filmmaking with Filmora
- The Blueprint for Building an Iconic Online Identity on YouTube
- Self-Animated Wonders Cutting Edge Techniques for You
- [New] Elevate Video Flair Advanced Techniques in YouTube Studio Editor
- 10 Recording Tips to Record Audio in High Quality
- In 2024, Daily Digest Guidelines Tips for Successful Vlogs
- In 2024, Business Beginnings Easier Than Ever Top 10 YouTube Channel Ideas
- Syncing Your Twitch Channels A YouTube-Focused Strategy Guide
- [Updated] 10 Best History YouTube Channels for Students & History Lovers
- 2024 Approved Easy OBS YouTube Live Streaming Guide
- [New] Beginner's Blueprint to YouTube Streaming Games
- 80+ Creative Cooking Channel Names to Attract More Audience for 2024
- How to Effortlessly Convert YouTube Videos Online
- Best Camera Stabilizers for YouTube for 2024
- Prevent AI-Driven YouTube Video Selections
- [Updated] Channel Titling 101 The Quest for an Original Label
- Decoding YouTube's Economics How to Quantify Watches and Earnings for 2024
- [New] Aesthetic Alignment for Online Glamour Content
- Audio Visual Caption Builder
- The Definitive Guide to Choosing the Best Webcam for Your YouTube Channel
- 2024 Approved Behind the Scenes of YouTube Income Generation
- [Updated] Discover the Best Yoga Workout Videos Online
- Leading Three Cameras for Ultra-Detailed Videography
- In 2024, Twitter's Viral Spotlight Top 10 TikToks of the Week
- [New] Affordable Video Grabbing Tools Tested on PCs
- [New] In 2024, Capture Cinema Mobile & Desktop Device Movie Recording
- How to Reset Gmail Password on Nokia G310 Devices
- [New] 2024 Approved Mastering the Art of Saving Twitter Jokes (GIFs)
- What Pokémon Evolve with A Dawn Stone For Vivo Y27s? | Dr.fone
- Resolve Your Apple iPhone SE (2022) Keeps Asking for Outlook Password
- [New] 2024 Approved Integrate Twitter Videos Into Your Instagram Feed
- 2024 Approved Pro-Grade Mac Video + Audiophile Recorder
- Solved Photos Disappeared from iPhone Suddenly | Stellar
- How to Reset your Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Lock Screen Password
- In 2024, Unlock New Possibilities Filmora X Adds ARM Support
- 2024 Approved Memes Unite Reddit & Twitter's Top Twenty
- [Updated] 2024 Approved Unveiling New Ways to Record Presentations
- Title: "2024 Approved Cutting-Edge Techniques A Guide to Next-Level Effectiveness in Your YouTube Ads"
- Author: Steven
- Created at : 2024-05-25 18:33:10
- Updated at : 2024-05-26 18:33:10
- Link: https://youtube-clips.techidaily.com/2024-approved-cutting-edge-techniques-a-guide-to-next-level-effectiveness-in-your-youtube-ads/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
