Best YouTube Thumbnail Creators Online

How important is having a good Youtube thumbnail? Well, besides the title of your video, the thumbnail is the most important determinant of whether or not someone will click on your video.

In other words, your video thumbnail is very important!

You can create the most value-packed video in the world, but if your thumbnail is low-quality, then your video won’t get the attention it deserves.

Luckily, you don’t have to be a graphic designer to create scroll-stopping thumbnails. In this article, we’ll be covering the 5 best Youtube thumbnail makers that will take your thumbnails to the next level.

But first, let’s cover the basics of creating professional and highly-clickable thumbnails.

Basics of Creating Highly Clickable Youtube Thumbnails

Make sure to follow Youtube’s sizing guidelines

The first rule of creating a professional thumbnail is to always ensure that it is the right size and shape or else your image will look distorted when you upload it to Youtube.

The recommended thumbnail size is 1280x720 pixels with an aspect ratio of 16:9. It should be at least 640 pixels wide and the file size should be less than 2MB. Additionally, acceptable file formats are JPG, GIF, or PNG.

If your design does not meet these criteria, it will seriously detract from the quality of your thumbnail so always be sure to follow these guidelines.

Keep it simple

The most important aspect of your thumbnail is that it’s readable and doesn’t look cluttered. Choose a high-quality image that best represents your video content with a clean and simple text overlay. Ideally, your thumbnail should have no more than six words, so keep it short and sweet!

You should also be sure to include a keyword in your thumbnail to convey what your video will be focused on.

Make sure it’s readable

When choosing your thumbnail font style and size, remember that your thumbnail with be viewed on smaller screens, such as mobile devices. Therefore, you want to choose a bold font that fit the theme of your video and is easy to read. Your thumbnail will lose serious impact if viewers can’t make out the text.

Use contrast to grab attention

Using contrasting colors in your thumbnail can go a long way in helping your image stand out.  Try using complementary colors (ie. Orange and blue, purple and yellow) for maximum impact.

Be consistent with your branding

Once you find a good design that you’re happy with, try to stick to the same style in each thumbnail to create a sense of familiarity. Use the same colors, fonts, and visual elements in each thumbnail to maintain brand consistency. That way, fans will instantly be able to recognize your thumbnail, helping you stand out from the crowd.

The 5 Best Youtube Thumbnail Makers

Now that we’ve covered the basics of how to create impactful thumbnails, let’s take a look at the best tools to help you create professional-looking Youtube thumbnails quickly and easily. Here’s a list of our top picks:

Canva

Canva is an incredibly user-friendly online graphic design tool. It offers hundreds of Youtube thumbnail templates, making it easy to create a polished thumbnail in minutes, even if you don’t have a background in graphic design.

This tool uses a drag-and-drop interface to allow for easy customization of your design. Plus, with Canva, you get millions (yes, millions!) of high-quality images, photos, fonts, and graphics at your disposal. Many of the elements are free to use, however, some templates and elements can only be accessed with the purchase of a Pro membership (roughly, $120 annually.)

Adobe Express

Adobe Express is a great option for beginners who aren’t fussed over all the bells and whistles of a graphic design tool. This option allows you to create professional, no-nonsense thumbnails fast with their selection of customizable templates. Plus, it’s free to use any of the pre-made Youtube thumbnail layouts in Adobe Express.

PicMonkey

PicMonkey has been around since the start of Youtube and is the original go-to thumbnail maker. This graphic design tool offers a wide range of professionally-designed thumbnail templates that can be easily customized to match your branding.

PicMonkey is a very affordable option, with their basic plan starting at $72 per year. As an added bonus, they offer informative tutorials on how to create scroll-stopping Youtube thumbnails.

Fotor

Fotor is another great option that’s completely free to use. With this graphic design platform, you have the option to start with a blank canvas or choose from their inspiring library of templates. Fotor lets you customize your thumbnail with a wide range of fonts, stickers, emojis, and other design elements to make it stand out from the crowd.

You also have the option to upgrade to their pro membership for just $40 a year which gives you access to even more features.

VistaCreate

VistaCreate is your one-stop-shop for Youtube channel art. The VistaCreate graphic design package comes with 20,000+ templates, 250 fonts, and a massive photo gallery. Not to mention, it has an entire section dedicated to creating Youtube graphics– from thumbnails to video intros!

No matter which Youtube thumbnail maker you choose, you’re sure to be in good hands. It might take some trial and error at first, but the sooner you master the art of an engaging thumbnail the faster you’ll start to see results!