When you upload a video to your YouTube channel, do you always like the thumbnail image that’s provided? Maybe it doesn’t indicate what your video is about or maybe you’d prefer a different image.

Use YouTube Studio, either the app or in a web browser, to choose from other frames from your video or upload a custom image to use as your thumbnail.

In YouTube Studio, choose the video you want to work on and get to the edit screen. From there, you’ll see a thumbnail section where you can select an auto-generated thumbnail or upload a custom one. Once you have settled on a thumbnail image that supports your video, save the thumbnail and your video is ready to go.

Custom Thumbnail Best Practices

To have your custom thumbnail function correctly, there are some items to check before uploading your image:

  • Your image should be as large as possible, ideally with a 1280×720 resolution and a minimum width of 640 pixels.
  • Use an acceptable image format: JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG.
  • The file size of the custom thumbnail should be under 2MB
  • The custom thumbnail should have a 16:9 aspect ratio

You can watch this YouTube video explaining more on how to use YouTube Studio and change a video’s thumbnail.