What Makes a YouTube Thumbnail Get Chosen?

You are probably trying all sorts of things to grow your views and subscribers on YouTube.

This article covers the thumbnail, which matters a great deal both for views and for the subscription that may follow. Use what is here to make a thumbnail people choose.

We have also written a column titledNine measures to watch if you want to grow on YouTube, so do read that alongside this one.

1. Why the thumbnail matters

The thumbnail is one of the things that matter most in growing views and subscribers on YouTube.

Think about it offline rather than online.
When choosing a restaurant, don’t you choose by the look of the place, the atmosphere, the sign, the menu and the prices?
The menu and prices matter, of course, but so do the look of the place, the atmosphere and the sign.
In the same way, online the thumbnail is the look of the place, the atmosphere and the sign.

The thumbnail is the entrance to the shop.
It is the way in to having the food eaten (the video watched),
and the way in to the other dishes as well (people moving through your channel). That is why it matters so much.

2. Five things that make a thumbnail people choose

What kind of thumbnail catches the eye?
Start by understanding what a thumbnail is made of.

2.1 Composition

There is no single right answer for the illustration or background photograph, where the text sits and how large it is, but here are some compositions worth trying.
What follows are the tendencies in thumbnails on videos whose subscriber and view counts run into the tens of thousands.

Build the composition to suit the point of the video, the atmosphere you want and the photographs or illustrations you are using.

Centre of the thumbnail, smaller text

A composition often used on routine videos, cooking videos and videos by stylish creators. It is also the one to use when you want the photograph to lead, as it does not cover it.
Setting the text in white to suit the background photograph looks smarter still, and is worth trying.

Upper left of centre, larger text

This composition works where you want a character or a presenter in shot and still want impact.
Making the text larger still stands out, but keep it balanced against the presenter.
Where you want impact alongside other thumbnails, try filling the frame with the text.

Left side of the thumbnail, medium to small text

A composition for when you want the text and the illustration or photograph to carry equal weight.
Where the text has to be small for the illustration or photograph to show, try a speech bubble or a highlight to make the text stand out.

Right side of the thumbnail, large or medium text

Similar to the composition above, but often used where you want both the text and the illustration or photograph to lead.
On YouTube the text tends to sit on the left, so this composition is worth trying where you want to stand apart from the videos around you.
And if, looking across your own channel, most thumbnails have the text on the left, putting it on the right for some balances the channel as a whole. A little playfulness matters on YouTube, so do vary where the text sits.

Centre of the thumbnail, large text in mixed sizes

The most common composition among thumbnails with real impact fills the frame with text. The text leads, with people or illustrations placed in the gaps. Emphasis through colour and size makes it very easy to read and gives a bold, lively impression.
If you want to soften that boldness, adjust it through the typeface.

2.2 How much text

Thumbnails are shown small, on both computers and phones.
Too much text therefore makes each character small and hard to read.
Around 10 to 15 characters is ideal.

Where you need more than 20, keep the main part to 10 to 15 and add the rest in a speech bubble or similar.
Once the video is clicked the thumbnail is barely looked at; its whole job is to get the click.
How much text there is matters a great deal in making a viewer think this looks interesting, or this is exactly what I was looking for.

For how to write titles that raise the click rate, see below.

Seven ways to write YouTube titles that raise clicks and views

2.3 Typeface

Here are the typefaces often used on thumbnails.
Most are free, so do try them.
Choose according to the impression you want: bold, feminine and friendly, stylish, or light-hearted.

Typefaces often used

・Rounded M+
Gilgo U
Ranobe POP
Keifont
Checkpoint font
Tanuki Permanent Marker
Source Han Sans Heavy (Adobe Fonts)
Source Han Serif Heavy (Adobe Fonts)
TB Calligra Gothic Std E (Adobe Fonts)

2.4 Colour

Ideally keep a thumbnail to around three colours.
For the proportions, use the following as a guide.

• Base colour (70%)
• Main colour (25%)
• Accent colour (5%)

The base colour is the one covering most of the background.
The main colour sets the direction of the thumbnail’s colour.
The accent colour is used on the one thing you want to stand out.
Four or five colours is not forbidden, but if the proportions are even, 20% base, 20% main, 20% accent, 20% other, with many colours and no difference in weight, the colours do not hold together and the eye is left dazzled.

A good example

A poor example

If you do use four or more colours, choosing ones close to the base or main colour keeps the whole in balance.

2.5 Space

Space matters in making a thumbnail.
Designs that look good and read easily, on websites, landing pages and Instagram images, always have space in them.
Compare the two business cards below.
A has space throughout: between the characters, and between the edge and the text and logo.
B is not quite without space, but the characters sit so close together that it is very hard to read.
Space between the edge and the illustration or text, and the spacing between characters, matter a great deal in making a thumbnail easy to read.

A: with space

B: without space

We have now covered composition, how much text, typeface, colour and space.
With those in mind, aim for a balanced thumbnail that catches the viewer’s eye.
No thumbnail is perfect first time. Improving and adjusting it day by day is what makes it a thumbnail people choose, so do try things.

3. What size should a thumbnail be?

A thumbnail you have worked on is very often shown small, on both computers and phones.
At a low resolution, then, the text cannot be read.
The sizes YouTube recommends are below. Use them as a guide.

4. In closing

We hope that was useful.
This article has covered why the thumbnail matters and what makes a good one.

To summarise what we have covered:

1. The thumbnail is the entrance to the shop. It decides whether you are chosen.
2. Mind the composition, how much text, the typeface, the colour and the space.
3. The size matters too, if viewers are to find you.

That is the whole of it. Thank you for reading.