A Youtube Banner and Channel Art are different names for the same thing. Here we look at what a YouTube Banner is, why it’s important, its size and where you can get a template.
What is a YouTube Banner/ Channel Art?
Over the years YouTube has grown and become the
To help the
Why is YouTube Channel Art Important?
This is your chance to make an impact and show your viewers what you are all about.
It also conveys your brand identity and is one of the requirements to claiming a custom URL for your Youtube Channel
Here’s an example of Channel Art from The Spice Guy
But what is the ideal banner size?
YouTube Banner Sizes
On most social media platforms its quite simple. You have one image that is displayed pretty much the same across all devices.
But youtube likes to do things differently.
The recommended dimensions for YouTube Channel Art is 2560 x 1440 px which is a 16:9 ratio image, this is the same size as a widescreen TV. But the banner we see above is only 423 px high making it appear a lot longer.
This is because the YouTube Banner is shown very differently depending on what device you are viewing the channel on.
As you can see, the TV version of Channel Art uses the whole image. The desktop version uses a smaller 423px high section from the middle to make the banner. The mobile version is similar to the desktop version but the ends are cropped off.
To be clear, you can only upload one image that YouTube processes and crops automatically giving consistency but you cannot adjust the way each version is cropped.
Which can be a bit confusing first time you make your new banner at the recommended resolution. Upload it, then scratch your head as to why it hasn’t worked.
So it is important to keep your logo and any text in the centre area of the YouTube Banner image.
Template
You might be thinking this is all a bit confusing, luckily YouTube publish guidelines and a Channel Art Template for Photoshop making it really easy to make an image to the required sizes.
Keep in simple
Less is more so keep the design simple, crisp and sharp.
If you have new videos coming out at the same time every week then you can add that in there. “New episodes Wednesday at
Make your own
Once you have downloaded the YouTube Banner template you can open it in Photoshop and use it as a template to be sure that the important text is within the safe area.
If you don’t have Photoshop there are a host of free image editing tools out there including canva.com.
Canva does have a large selection of
To check the image fits the template you can download the Channel Art Template and upload the .png file as a new layer in Canva. Make sure it’s behind the logo and text and turn the opacity down to make the template semi-transparent. Although, in our tests this is easier said than done.
Get one designed for you
If all of this makes you head spin then do get in touch and we’ll be glad to create a banner for you for £40
