"Making an Impact  Integrating Individual Thumbnails in Videos"

"Making an Impact Integrating Individual Thumbnails in Videos"

Brian Lv12

Making an Impact: Integrating Individual Thumbnails in Videos

How To Add Custom Thumbnails to Your YouTube Videos

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

YouTube custom thumbnails are a great way to get people’s attention to your YouTube video. It’s a pretty simple process but if you are wondering how to create a thumbnail and add the thumbnail to YouTube video and customize it with the correct size. You have come to the right place. While in this article, I will show you how to create and add a thumbnail to a YouTube video and how to customize the YouTube video thumbnail. Follow these easy steps below and add eyecatching customed thumbnails to your YouTube videos in no time.


How To Add Custom Thumbnails to Your YouTube Videos [Steps, Tools and Tips]

We have just made a video tutorial about how to make a YouTube video thumbnail, check it below to find out the tips and tricks of making customized YouTube thumbnail.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

Part 1: How to Make a Thumbnail for YouTube and Add Custom Thumbnails to YouTube

After you’ve verified your account and made your thumbnail, it’s finally time to upload it to your video and make a custom thumbnail. To do this, go to Creator Studio and then Video Manager. You’ll see a button labeled “Edit” next to each video, and an arrow pointing down. Click Thumbnail Editor.

In Thumbnail Editor, you can use the still images in the video as a thumbnail, choose a solid background color for the thumbnail, or add other images from your computer. I will show you the steps of how to customize the video still as a video thumbnail.

1. Preview the video and choose the target video still. You can click the Playback button and check the video and pause it at the desired frame. Or, you can step through each frame by clicking the Preview Frame button and Next Frame icon. Click Next to continue.

YouTube Thumbnail

2. And now, you can add text, image and shape overlays to the thumbnail. You can change the text font, size, opacity and more.

YouTube Thumbnail

3. Click Next to save the thumbnail and you will see how the thumbnail displays on different platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Click Save to save the video thumbnail.

In this way, you can add a custom thumbnail to the new videos and change the video thumbnail of the previously uploaded videos.

Part 2: Thumbnail Makers to Create Custom YouTube Thumbnails

Of course, you can use some of the best tools to make a YouTube video thumbnail. In this part, we will show you some of the best tools to create custom YouTube thumbnails.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1. Create YouTube Thumbnail with Online solution - Canva

Canva is a free, powerful online image editing program with tons of great templates to get you started. One of their templates just happens to be YouTube thumbnails. Open Canva and select the “YouTube Thumbnail” design type. Use your own photo or choose from a huge library, then add text and effects to really make it stand out. Save and share — easy as that.

Check this video tutorial to see how to Make a Youtube Thumbnail using Canva.

You may also like: Best online Photo Editor

2. Design YouTube thumbnail with a Desktop solution - Gimp

Gimp is one of the most popular image editing programs around for one very simple reason: it’s powerful and free! Where Canva uses a lot of templates, Gimp gives you absolute, full control over how you want your image to look. Make a 1280x720 image and start putting together your eye-catching thumbnail exactly how you want to.

Check this video tutorial to see how to make professional Thumbnails for YouTube Videos with Gimp:

Part 3: How to Change A Thumbnail On YouTube

Note: YouTube allows verified YouTube accounts (accounts that provided YouTube with a working phone number) to upload custom thumbnail images and change them accordingly.

In this part, we’ll be going over how to change a thumbnail image on YouTube. There are pictures to make it easy to follow along.

  • After signing into YouTube with your Google account, click on your profile on the top right corner. Click on YouTube Studio from the drop-down menu.

 YouTube Studio button

  • On the left side of the page, click on Videos and then find your video and click on the details button.

Change YouTube Video Info

  • Find the Thumbnail section in the basic video details tab, and then click the Upload thumbnail to select the image that you want to upload.
  • Finally, click on the Save button on the right upper corner. And just like that, in seven easy steps, we’re done changing the thumbnail of a YouTube video.

Change YouTube Video Thumbnail

If you don’t have an image to upload but you want to check out some online resources to make your own, check out our Top YouTube Thumbnail Makers .

Part 4: Things You Need to Know Before Making a Custom Thumbnail

  • About the proper YouTube video thumbnail size: Your thumbnail should be 1280x720 pixels in size and be less than 2MB. The minimum width of the image is 640 pixels.
  • About the YouTube Image thumbnail format: Use .JPG, .PNG, .GIF or .BMP files for your thumbnail image.
  • You’ll want your thumbnails to stand out. Bright colored text is a simple, easy way to draw people’s attention. Red, white, yellow, or orange are all popular choices.
  • You can even do a little homework to see what colors others are using for similar videos to yours, and then choose different colors to stand out.

One word of warning: your thumbnail should be related to the content of your video. Misleading thumbnail images, if reported, will reflect poorly on your channel. You’ll get a negative rating in the community status part of your channel. This can actually remove your ability to use custom thumbnails, so keep it honest!

You may also like: How to Make YouTube Channel Art

To make a creative YouTube video, you may also need a powerful video editing software. Check how to edit a YouTube video in Filmora video editor and download it to try.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

You may also like: Best video editing software for YouTube

Part 5: Tips on How to Make Good YouTube Thumbnails - Get More Clicks

The thumbnails of your videos play a huge role in convincing people to watch them; a good YouTube thumbnail will get you more views and more potential subscribers. This part will give you 6 tips on creating thumbnails that help grow your channel. Now let’s learn how to make thumbnails using Wondershare PixStudio.

1. Stay On Topic

Your thumbnail should tell a story; it should be clear from looking at it what viewers will get out of watching the video, be it knowledge or entertainment. If your thumbnail sets expectations that your video doesn’t deliver on, people will click away quickly. You may get views quickly, but you won’t get much watch time. That will tell YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people aren’t getting what they want from this, rank it lower’. That leads to fewer views over time, and gives the people who do manage to find your video a negative opinion of your channel.

Very few people intentionally use thumbnails that have nothing to do with the content of their videos – i.e, most people understand not to use a picture of a kitten in the thumbnail for their tech review, unless maybe their kitten is the one doing the review (which would be adorable, someone should do that). People who want serious advice won’t click, and people who click to see a kitten will click away fast.

 YouTube Thumbnail Should be relevant

This thumbnail had better be for a kitten’s iPhone review video or people will click away. Fast.

A mistake a lot of creators do make is creating a thumbnail that is meant to evoke an emotion which the video itself does not justify. For example, if you see a picture of a YouTuber looking nervous alongside text that reads ‘My Secret’, you will think they are going to share something deeply personal. You will be curious, and you may even be worried about them. You’ll probably click. Then, if their secret is that they don’t like pineapple on pizza, you’ll probably be angry. This technique gets clicks, but not a lot of watch time and it will lose you subs in the long run.

2. Don’t Be Mysterious

A good thumbnail doesn’t make people guess. Your thumbnail should tell people what’s in your video, not make them wonder about it. People want to know what they’re being asked to spend time watching.

Often, they will be looking for the answer to a specific question and will completely ignore anything that doesn’t show – in the thumbnail – that it has their answer.

Sometimes big channels can get away with stuff like this, because large portions of their audiences are interested in them as people and will already be curious about anything they post. This technique will not bring in new viewers, though.

 YouTube Thumbnail:  Don’t Be Mysterious

If this came up in a search for ‘smoky eye tutorial’, would you click it?

When people want answers, they want to feel confident that they video they click on will have those answers. If you have great content, then let people know it!

3. People Like People

Viewers are more likely to click on a thumbnail if they feel a connection when they look at it. One of the best ways to create a feeling of connection is through eye contact, and you can apply that principle to your YouTube thumbnails easily.

Just make sure you’re in them.

You can either compose a photo to use as your thumbnail, or use a screenshot from your video. Ideally, the image of you will convey the emotional tone of the video and tell potential viewers what it is about, besides you.

So, if you want to post a funny video that is also about making brownies, maybe a picture of you smiling while holding up a tray of brownies would be a better direction than just showing the brownies?

4. Check Out The Competition

Before you post your video, type your topic into YouTube’s search engine and see what comes up. This will give you insight into what kinds of thumbnails are performing well for other people, as well as what you can do to stand out in comparison.

Phil starts talking about thumbnails at 6:09, and he has great tips on checking out your competition!

For example, if all five of the top-ranked videos for the search ‘how to build a cabinet’ show images of the YouTuber smiling while holding a power tool, then your thumbnail for a video on the same topic should also be a picture of you smiling and holding a power tool. You know that works, so why not do it?

5. Use Color in Interesting Ways

You want to use colors that will help you stand out from the other search results. While checking out your competition if you notice that all the people in the other thumbnails are wearing black or navy blue, it will be a good idea for you to wear a brighter color for your shoot to grab a bit more attention.

Beyond simply using colors that are different from other people’s colors, you should consider the emotions different colors trigger.

 YouTube Thumbnail Making Tips

Maybe don’t use a lot of green and yellow in the thumbnail for your angry video rant?

6. Make Your Text Huge

Usually, you’ll want to use a bit of text in your thumbnail. It might be the full title of your video, or just a keyword or phrase. You don’t want to use a full sentence because you won’t have room for it if you’re using huge text.

The reason you should use huge text is so that people can read it. Remember that when people see your thumbnail in their search results, it will be much smaller than it will look while you are creating it. Text that looks big enough while you are creating your thumbnail will be much smaller when people are actually trying to read it, and that goes double for viewers watching on their small smartphone screens.

Frequently Asked Questions about YouTube Thumbnail

1. What is YouTube Thumbnail?

When you upload a video on YouTube, YouTube gives you three images to choose from in the selection of your video’s thumbnail image. These three images are just freeze-frame snapshots from different parts of your video, which may not tell your viewers what your video is really all about.

2. Can You Change YouTube Thumbnail After Publishing?

Yes, you can replace the auto-generated thumbnail with the customized thumbnail you like. But YouTube only allows verified YouTube accounts to upload custom thumbnail images.

3. How Long Does It Take for a Thumbnail to Change on YouTube?

Normally, if you have a good internet connection, you can see the thumbnail is changed within 10 seconds.

4. Why YouTube Thumbnail is Important?

When you get more people watching your video for longer, it increases your watch time and tells YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people like this, rank it higher’. Being ranked higher gets you more views, and even more watch time. It’s a wonderful cycle that all begins with a great thumbnail (paired with a good title and the right tags).

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

YouTube custom thumbnails are a great way to get people’s attention to your YouTube video. It’s a pretty simple process but if you are wondering how to create a thumbnail and add the thumbnail to YouTube video and customize it with the correct size. You have come to the right place. While in this article, I will show you how to create and add a thumbnail to a YouTube video and how to customize the YouTube video thumbnail. Follow these easy steps below and add eyecatching customed thumbnails to your YouTube videos in no time.


How To Add Custom Thumbnails to Your YouTube Videos [Steps, Tools and Tips]

We have just made a video tutorial about how to make a YouTube video thumbnail, check it below to find out the tips and tricks of making customized YouTube thumbnail.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

Part 1: How to Make a Thumbnail for YouTube and Add Custom Thumbnails to YouTube

After you’ve verified your account and made your thumbnail, it’s finally time to upload it to your video and make a custom thumbnail. To do this, go to Creator Studio and then Video Manager. You’ll see a button labeled “Edit” next to each video, and an arrow pointing down. Click Thumbnail Editor.

In Thumbnail Editor, you can use the still images in the video as a thumbnail, choose a solid background color for the thumbnail, or add other images from your computer. I will show you the steps of how to customize the video still as a video thumbnail.

1. Preview the video and choose the target video still. You can click the Playback button and check the video and pause it at the desired frame. Or, you can step through each frame by clicking the Preview Frame button and Next Frame icon. Click Next to continue.

YouTube Thumbnail

2. And now, you can add text, image and shape overlays to the thumbnail. You can change the text font, size, opacity and more.

YouTube Thumbnail

3. Click Next to save the thumbnail and you will see how the thumbnail displays on different platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Click Save to save the video thumbnail.

In this way, you can add a custom thumbnail to the new videos and change the video thumbnail of the previously uploaded videos.

Part 2: Thumbnail Makers to Create Custom YouTube Thumbnails

Of course, you can use some of the best tools to make a YouTube video thumbnail. In this part, we will show you some of the best tools to create custom YouTube thumbnails.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1. Create YouTube Thumbnail with Online solution - Canva

Canva is a free, powerful online image editing program with tons of great templates to get you started. One of their templates just happens to be YouTube thumbnails. Open Canva and select the “YouTube Thumbnail” design type. Use your own photo or choose from a huge library, then add text and effects to really make it stand out. Save and share — easy as that.

Check this video tutorial to see how to Make a Youtube Thumbnail using Canva.

You may also like: Best online Photo Editor

2. Design YouTube thumbnail with a Desktop solution - Gimp

Gimp is one of the most popular image editing programs around for one very simple reason: it’s powerful and free! Where Canva uses a lot of templates, Gimp gives you absolute, full control over how you want your image to look. Make a 1280x720 image and start putting together your eye-catching thumbnail exactly how you want to.

Check this video tutorial to see how to make professional Thumbnails for YouTube Videos with Gimp:

Part 3: How to Change A Thumbnail On YouTube

Note: YouTube allows verified YouTube accounts (accounts that provided YouTube with a working phone number) to upload custom thumbnail images and change them accordingly.

In this part, we’ll be going over how to change a thumbnail image on YouTube. There are pictures to make it easy to follow along.

  • After signing into YouTube with your Google account, click on your profile on the top right corner. Click on YouTube Studio from the drop-down menu.

 YouTube Studio button

  • On the left side of the page, click on Videos and then find your video and click on the details button.

Change YouTube Video Info

  • Find the Thumbnail section in the basic video details tab, and then click the Upload thumbnail to select the image that you want to upload.
  • Finally, click on the Save button on the right upper corner. And just like that, in seven easy steps, we’re done changing the thumbnail of a YouTube video.

Change YouTube Video Thumbnail

If you don’t have an image to upload but you want to check out some online resources to make your own, check out our Top YouTube Thumbnail Makers .

Part 4: Things You Need to Know Before Making a Custom Thumbnail

  • About the proper YouTube video thumbnail size: Your thumbnail should be 1280x720 pixels in size and be less than 2MB. The minimum width of the image is 640 pixels.
  • About the YouTube Image thumbnail format: Use .JPG, .PNG, .GIF or .BMP files for your thumbnail image.
  • You’ll want your thumbnails to stand out. Bright colored text is a simple, easy way to draw people’s attention. Red, white, yellow, or orange are all popular choices.
  • You can even do a little homework to see what colors others are using for similar videos to yours, and then choose different colors to stand out.

One word of warning: your thumbnail should be related to the content of your video. Misleading thumbnail images, if reported, will reflect poorly on your channel. You’ll get a negative rating in the community status part of your channel. This can actually remove your ability to use custom thumbnails, so keep it honest!

You may also like: How to Make YouTube Channel Art

To make a creative YouTube video, you may also need a powerful video editing software. Check how to edit a YouTube video in Filmora video editor and download it to try.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

You may also like: Best video editing software for YouTube

Part 5: Tips on How to Make Good YouTube Thumbnails - Get More Clicks

The thumbnails of your videos play a huge role in convincing people to watch them; a good YouTube thumbnail will get you more views and more potential subscribers. This part will give you 6 tips on creating thumbnails that help grow your channel. Now let’s learn how to make thumbnails using Wondershare PixStudio.

1. Stay On Topic

Your thumbnail should tell a story; it should be clear from looking at it what viewers will get out of watching the video, be it knowledge or entertainment. If your thumbnail sets expectations that your video doesn’t deliver on, people will click away quickly. You may get views quickly, but you won’t get much watch time. That will tell YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people aren’t getting what they want from this, rank it lower’. That leads to fewer views over time, and gives the people who do manage to find your video a negative opinion of your channel.

Very few people intentionally use thumbnails that have nothing to do with the content of their videos – i.e, most people understand not to use a picture of a kitten in the thumbnail for their tech review, unless maybe their kitten is the one doing the review (which would be adorable, someone should do that). People who want serious advice won’t click, and people who click to see a kitten will click away fast.

 YouTube Thumbnail Should be relevant

This thumbnail had better be for a kitten’s iPhone review video or people will click away. Fast.

A mistake a lot of creators do make is creating a thumbnail that is meant to evoke an emotion which the video itself does not justify. For example, if you see a picture of a YouTuber looking nervous alongside text that reads ‘My Secret’, you will think they are going to share something deeply personal. You will be curious, and you may even be worried about them. You’ll probably click. Then, if their secret is that they don’t like pineapple on pizza, you’ll probably be angry. This technique gets clicks, but not a lot of watch time and it will lose you subs in the long run.

2. Don’t Be Mysterious

A good thumbnail doesn’t make people guess. Your thumbnail should tell people what’s in your video, not make them wonder about it. People want to know what they’re being asked to spend time watching.

Often, they will be looking for the answer to a specific question and will completely ignore anything that doesn’t show – in the thumbnail – that it has their answer.

Sometimes big channels can get away with stuff like this, because large portions of their audiences are interested in them as people and will already be curious about anything they post. This technique will not bring in new viewers, though.

 YouTube Thumbnail:  Don’t Be Mysterious

If this came up in a search for ‘smoky eye tutorial’, would you click it?

When people want answers, they want to feel confident that they video they click on will have those answers. If you have great content, then let people know it!

3. People Like People

Viewers are more likely to click on a thumbnail if they feel a connection when they look at it. One of the best ways to create a feeling of connection is through eye contact, and you can apply that principle to your YouTube thumbnails easily.

Just make sure you’re in them.

You can either compose a photo to use as your thumbnail, or use a screenshot from your video. Ideally, the image of you will convey the emotional tone of the video and tell potential viewers what it is about, besides you.

So, if you want to post a funny video that is also about making brownies, maybe a picture of you smiling while holding up a tray of brownies would be a better direction than just showing the brownies?

4. Check Out The Competition

Before you post your video, type your topic into YouTube’s search engine and see what comes up. This will give you insight into what kinds of thumbnails are performing well for other people, as well as what you can do to stand out in comparison.

Phil starts talking about thumbnails at 6:09, and he has great tips on checking out your competition!

For example, if all five of the top-ranked videos for the search ‘how to build a cabinet’ show images of the YouTuber smiling while holding a power tool, then your thumbnail for a video on the same topic should also be a picture of you smiling and holding a power tool. You know that works, so why not do it?

5. Use Color in Interesting Ways

You want to use colors that will help you stand out from the other search results. While checking out your competition if you notice that all the people in the other thumbnails are wearing black or navy blue, it will be a good idea for you to wear a brighter color for your shoot to grab a bit more attention.

Beyond simply using colors that are different from other people’s colors, you should consider the emotions different colors trigger.

 YouTube Thumbnail Making Tips

Maybe don’t use a lot of green and yellow in the thumbnail for your angry video rant?

6. Make Your Text Huge

Usually, you’ll want to use a bit of text in your thumbnail. It might be the full title of your video, or just a keyword or phrase. You don’t want to use a full sentence because you won’t have room for it if you’re using huge text.

The reason you should use huge text is so that people can read it. Remember that when people see your thumbnail in their search results, it will be much smaller than it will look while you are creating it. Text that looks big enough while you are creating your thumbnail will be much smaller when people are actually trying to read it, and that goes double for viewers watching on their small smartphone screens.

Frequently Asked Questions about YouTube Thumbnail

1. What is YouTube Thumbnail?

When you upload a video on YouTube, YouTube gives you three images to choose from in the selection of your video’s thumbnail image. These three images are just freeze-frame snapshots from different parts of your video, which may not tell your viewers what your video is really all about.

2. Can You Change YouTube Thumbnail After Publishing?

Yes, you can replace the auto-generated thumbnail with the customized thumbnail you like. But YouTube only allows verified YouTube accounts to upload custom thumbnail images.

3. How Long Does It Take for a Thumbnail to Change on YouTube?

Normally, if you have a good internet connection, you can see the thumbnail is changed within 10 seconds.

4. Why YouTube Thumbnail is Important?

When you get more people watching your video for longer, it increases your watch time and tells YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people like this, rank it higher’. Being ranked higher gets you more views, and even more watch time. It’s a wonderful cycle that all begins with a great thumbnail (paired with a good title and the right tags).

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

YouTube custom thumbnails are a great way to get people’s attention to your YouTube video. It’s a pretty simple process but if you are wondering how to create a thumbnail and add the thumbnail to YouTube video and customize it with the correct size. You have come to the right place. While in this article, I will show you how to create and add a thumbnail to a YouTube video and how to customize the YouTube video thumbnail. Follow these easy steps below and add eyecatching customed thumbnails to your YouTube videos in no time.


How To Add Custom Thumbnails to Your YouTube Videos [Steps, Tools and Tips]

We have just made a video tutorial about how to make a YouTube video thumbnail, check it below to find out the tips and tricks of making customized YouTube thumbnail.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

Part 1: How to Make a Thumbnail for YouTube and Add Custom Thumbnails to YouTube

After you’ve verified your account and made your thumbnail, it’s finally time to upload it to your video and make a custom thumbnail. To do this, go to Creator Studio and then Video Manager. You’ll see a button labeled “Edit” next to each video, and an arrow pointing down. Click Thumbnail Editor.

In Thumbnail Editor, you can use the still images in the video as a thumbnail, choose a solid background color for the thumbnail, or add other images from your computer. I will show you the steps of how to customize the video still as a video thumbnail.

1. Preview the video and choose the target video still. You can click the Playback button and check the video and pause it at the desired frame. Or, you can step through each frame by clicking the Preview Frame button and Next Frame icon. Click Next to continue.

YouTube Thumbnail

2. And now, you can add text, image and shape overlays to the thumbnail. You can change the text font, size, opacity and more.

YouTube Thumbnail

3. Click Next to save the thumbnail and you will see how the thumbnail displays on different platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Click Save to save the video thumbnail.

In this way, you can add a custom thumbnail to the new videos and change the video thumbnail of the previously uploaded videos.

Part 2: Thumbnail Makers to Create Custom YouTube Thumbnails

Of course, you can use some of the best tools to make a YouTube video thumbnail. In this part, we will show you some of the best tools to create custom YouTube thumbnails.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1. Create YouTube Thumbnail with Online solution - Canva

Canva is a free, powerful online image editing program with tons of great templates to get you started. One of their templates just happens to be YouTube thumbnails. Open Canva and select the “YouTube Thumbnail” design type. Use your own photo or choose from a huge library, then add text and effects to really make it stand out. Save and share — easy as that.

Check this video tutorial to see how to Make a Youtube Thumbnail using Canva.

You may also like: Best online Photo Editor

2. Design YouTube thumbnail with a Desktop solution - Gimp

Gimp is one of the most popular image editing programs around for one very simple reason: it’s powerful and free! Where Canva uses a lot of templates, Gimp gives you absolute, full control over how you want your image to look. Make a 1280x720 image and start putting together your eye-catching thumbnail exactly how you want to.

Check this video tutorial to see how to make professional Thumbnails for YouTube Videos with Gimp:

Part 3: How to Change A Thumbnail On YouTube

Note: YouTube allows verified YouTube accounts (accounts that provided YouTube with a working phone number) to upload custom thumbnail images and change them accordingly.

In this part, we’ll be going over how to change a thumbnail image on YouTube. There are pictures to make it easy to follow along.

  • After signing into YouTube with your Google account, click on your profile on the top right corner. Click on YouTube Studio from the drop-down menu.

 YouTube Studio button

  • On the left side of the page, click on Videos and then find your video and click on the details button.

Change YouTube Video Info

  • Find the Thumbnail section in the basic video details tab, and then click the Upload thumbnail to select the image that you want to upload.
  • Finally, click on the Save button on the right upper corner. And just like that, in seven easy steps, we’re done changing the thumbnail of a YouTube video.

Change YouTube Video Thumbnail

If you don’t have an image to upload but you want to check out some online resources to make your own, check out our Top YouTube Thumbnail Makers .

Part 4: Things You Need to Know Before Making a Custom Thumbnail

  • About the proper YouTube video thumbnail size: Your thumbnail should be 1280x720 pixels in size and be less than 2MB. The minimum width of the image is 640 pixels.
  • About the YouTube Image thumbnail format: Use .JPG, .PNG, .GIF or .BMP files for your thumbnail image.
  • You’ll want your thumbnails to stand out. Bright colored text is a simple, easy way to draw people’s attention. Red, white, yellow, or orange are all popular choices.
  • You can even do a little homework to see what colors others are using for similar videos to yours, and then choose different colors to stand out.

One word of warning: your thumbnail should be related to the content of your video. Misleading thumbnail images, if reported, will reflect poorly on your channel. You’ll get a negative rating in the community status part of your channel. This can actually remove your ability to use custom thumbnails, so keep it honest!

You may also like: How to Make YouTube Channel Art

To make a creative YouTube video, you may also need a powerful video editing software. Check how to edit a YouTube video in Filmora video editor and download it to try.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

You may also like: Best video editing software for YouTube

Part 5: Tips on How to Make Good YouTube Thumbnails - Get More Clicks

The thumbnails of your videos play a huge role in convincing people to watch them; a good YouTube thumbnail will get you more views and more potential subscribers. This part will give you 6 tips on creating thumbnails that help grow your channel. Now let’s learn how to make thumbnails using Wondershare PixStudio.

1. Stay On Topic

Your thumbnail should tell a story; it should be clear from looking at it what viewers will get out of watching the video, be it knowledge or entertainment. If your thumbnail sets expectations that your video doesn’t deliver on, people will click away quickly. You may get views quickly, but you won’t get much watch time. That will tell YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people aren’t getting what they want from this, rank it lower’. That leads to fewer views over time, and gives the people who do manage to find your video a negative opinion of your channel.

Very few people intentionally use thumbnails that have nothing to do with the content of their videos – i.e, most people understand not to use a picture of a kitten in the thumbnail for their tech review, unless maybe their kitten is the one doing the review (which would be adorable, someone should do that). People who want serious advice won’t click, and people who click to see a kitten will click away fast.

 YouTube Thumbnail Should be relevant

This thumbnail had better be for a kitten’s iPhone review video or people will click away. Fast.

A mistake a lot of creators do make is creating a thumbnail that is meant to evoke an emotion which the video itself does not justify. For example, if you see a picture of a YouTuber looking nervous alongside text that reads ‘My Secret’, you will think they are going to share something deeply personal. You will be curious, and you may even be worried about them. You’ll probably click. Then, if their secret is that they don’t like pineapple on pizza, you’ll probably be angry. This technique gets clicks, but not a lot of watch time and it will lose you subs in the long run.

2. Don’t Be Mysterious

A good thumbnail doesn’t make people guess. Your thumbnail should tell people what’s in your video, not make them wonder about it. People want to know what they’re being asked to spend time watching.

Often, they will be looking for the answer to a specific question and will completely ignore anything that doesn’t show – in the thumbnail – that it has their answer.

Sometimes big channels can get away with stuff like this, because large portions of their audiences are interested in them as people and will already be curious about anything they post. This technique will not bring in new viewers, though.

 YouTube Thumbnail:  Don’t Be Mysterious

If this came up in a search for ‘smoky eye tutorial’, would you click it?

When people want answers, they want to feel confident that they video they click on will have those answers. If you have great content, then let people know it!

3. People Like People

Viewers are more likely to click on a thumbnail if they feel a connection when they look at it. One of the best ways to create a feeling of connection is through eye contact, and you can apply that principle to your YouTube thumbnails easily.

Just make sure you’re in them.

You can either compose a photo to use as your thumbnail, or use a screenshot from your video. Ideally, the image of you will convey the emotional tone of the video and tell potential viewers what it is about, besides you.

So, if you want to post a funny video that is also about making brownies, maybe a picture of you smiling while holding up a tray of brownies would be a better direction than just showing the brownies?

4. Check Out The Competition

Before you post your video, type your topic into YouTube’s search engine and see what comes up. This will give you insight into what kinds of thumbnails are performing well for other people, as well as what you can do to stand out in comparison.

Phil starts talking about thumbnails at 6:09, and he has great tips on checking out your competition!

For example, if all five of the top-ranked videos for the search ‘how to build a cabinet’ show images of the YouTuber smiling while holding a power tool, then your thumbnail for a video on the same topic should also be a picture of you smiling and holding a power tool. You know that works, so why not do it?

5. Use Color in Interesting Ways

You want to use colors that will help you stand out from the other search results. While checking out your competition if you notice that all the people in the other thumbnails are wearing black or navy blue, it will be a good idea for you to wear a brighter color for your shoot to grab a bit more attention.

Beyond simply using colors that are different from other people’s colors, you should consider the emotions different colors trigger.

 YouTube Thumbnail Making Tips

Maybe don’t use a lot of green and yellow in the thumbnail for your angry video rant?

6. Make Your Text Huge

Usually, you’ll want to use a bit of text in your thumbnail. It might be the full title of your video, or just a keyword or phrase. You don’t want to use a full sentence because you won’t have room for it if you’re using huge text.

The reason you should use huge text is so that people can read it. Remember that when people see your thumbnail in their search results, it will be much smaller than it will look while you are creating it. Text that looks big enough while you are creating your thumbnail will be much smaller when people are actually trying to read it, and that goes double for viewers watching on their small smartphone screens.

Frequently Asked Questions about YouTube Thumbnail

1. What is YouTube Thumbnail?

When you upload a video on YouTube, YouTube gives you three images to choose from in the selection of your video’s thumbnail image. These three images are just freeze-frame snapshots from different parts of your video, which may not tell your viewers what your video is really all about.

2. Can You Change YouTube Thumbnail After Publishing?

Yes, you can replace the auto-generated thumbnail with the customized thumbnail you like. But YouTube only allows verified YouTube accounts to upload custom thumbnail images.

3. How Long Does It Take for a Thumbnail to Change on YouTube?

Normally, if you have a good internet connection, you can see the thumbnail is changed within 10 seconds.

4. Why YouTube Thumbnail is Important?

When you get more people watching your video for longer, it increases your watch time and tells YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people like this, rank it higher’. Being ranked higher gets you more views, and even more watch time. It’s a wonderful cycle that all begins with a great thumbnail (paired with a good title and the right tags).

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

YouTube custom thumbnails are a great way to get people’s attention to your YouTube video. It’s a pretty simple process but if you are wondering how to create a thumbnail and add the thumbnail to YouTube video and customize it with the correct size. You have come to the right place. While in this article, I will show you how to create and add a thumbnail to a YouTube video and how to customize the YouTube video thumbnail. Follow these easy steps below and add eyecatching customed thumbnails to your YouTube videos in no time.


How To Add Custom Thumbnails to Your YouTube Videos [Steps, Tools and Tips]

We have just made a video tutorial about how to make a YouTube video thumbnail, check it below to find out the tips and tricks of making customized YouTube thumbnail.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

Part 1: How to Make a Thumbnail for YouTube and Add Custom Thumbnails to YouTube

After you’ve verified your account and made your thumbnail, it’s finally time to upload it to your video and make a custom thumbnail. To do this, go to Creator Studio and then Video Manager. You’ll see a button labeled “Edit” next to each video, and an arrow pointing down. Click Thumbnail Editor.

In Thumbnail Editor, you can use the still images in the video as a thumbnail, choose a solid background color for the thumbnail, or add other images from your computer. I will show you the steps of how to customize the video still as a video thumbnail.

1. Preview the video and choose the target video still. You can click the Playback button and check the video and pause it at the desired frame. Or, you can step through each frame by clicking the Preview Frame button and Next Frame icon. Click Next to continue.

YouTube Thumbnail

2. And now, you can add text, image and shape overlays to the thumbnail. You can change the text font, size, opacity and more.

YouTube Thumbnail

3. Click Next to save the thumbnail and you will see how the thumbnail displays on different platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Click Save to save the video thumbnail.

In this way, you can add a custom thumbnail to the new videos and change the video thumbnail of the previously uploaded videos.

Part 2: Thumbnail Makers to Create Custom YouTube Thumbnails

Of course, you can use some of the best tools to make a YouTube video thumbnail. In this part, we will show you some of the best tools to create custom YouTube thumbnails.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1. Create YouTube Thumbnail with Online solution - Canva

Canva is a free, powerful online image editing program with tons of great templates to get you started. One of their templates just happens to be YouTube thumbnails. Open Canva and select the “YouTube Thumbnail” design type. Use your own photo or choose from a huge library, then add text and effects to really make it stand out. Save and share — easy as that.

Check this video tutorial to see how to Make a Youtube Thumbnail using Canva.

You may also like: Best online Photo Editor

2. Design YouTube thumbnail with a Desktop solution - Gimp

Gimp is one of the most popular image editing programs around for one very simple reason: it’s powerful and free! Where Canva uses a lot of templates, Gimp gives you absolute, full control over how you want your image to look. Make a 1280x720 image and start putting together your eye-catching thumbnail exactly how you want to.

Check this video tutorial to see how to make professional Thumbnails for YouTube Videos with Gimp:

Part 3: How to Change A Thumbnail On YouTube

Note: YouTube allows verified YouTube accounts (accounts that provided YouTube with a working phone number) to upload custom thumbnail images and change them accordingly.

In this part, we’ll be going over how to change a thumbnail image on YouTube. There are pictures to make it easy to follow along.

  • After signing into YouTube with your Google account, click on your profile on the top right corner. Click on YouTube Studio from the drop-down menu.

 YouTube Studio button

  • On the left side of the page, click on Videos and then find your video and click on the details button.

Change YouTube Video Info

  • Find the Thumbnail section in the basic video details tab, and then click the Upload thumbnail to select the image that you want to upload.
  • Finally, click on the Save button on the right upper corner. And just like that, in seven easy steps, we’re done changing the thumbnail of a YouTube video.

Change YouTube Video Thumbnail

If you don’t have an image to upload but you want to check out some online resources to make your own, check out our Top YouTube Thumbnail Makers .

Part 4: Things You Need to Know Before Making a Custom Thumbnail

  • About the proper YouTube video thumbnail size: Your thumbnail should be 1280x720 pixels in size and be less than 2MB. The minimum width of the image is 640 pixels.
  • About the YouTube Image thumbnail format: Use .JPG, .PNG, .GIF or .BMP files for your thumbnail image.
  • You’ll want your thumbnails to stand out. Bright colored text is a simple, easy way to draw people’s attention. Red, white, yellow, or orange are all popular choices.
  • You can even do a little homework to see what colors others are using for similar videos to yours, and then choose different colors to stand out.

One word of warning: your thumbnail should be related to the content of your video. Misleading thumbnail images, if reported, will reflect poorly on your channel. You’ll get a negative rating in the community status part of your channel. This can actually remove your ability to use custom thumbnails, so keep it honest!

You may also like: How to Make YouTube Channel Art

To make a creative YouTube video, you may also need a powerful video editing software. Check how to edit a YouTube video in Filmora video editor and download it to try.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

You may also like: Best video editing software for YouTube

Part 5: Tips on How to Make Good YouTube Thumbnails - Get More Clicks

The thumbnails of your videos play a huge role in convincing people to watch them; a good YouTube thumbnail will get you more views and more potential subscribers. This part will give you 6 tips on creating thumbnails that help grow your channel. Now let’s learn how to make thumbnails using Wondershare PixStudio.

1. Stay On Topic

Your thumbnail should tell a story; it should be clear from looking at it what viewers will get out of watching the video, be it knowledge or entertainment. If your thumbnail sets expectations that your video doesn’t deliver on, people will click away quickly. You may get views quickly, but you won’t get much watch time. That will tell YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people aren’t getting what they want from this, rank it lower’. That leads to fewer views over time, and gives the people who do manage to find your video a negative opinion of your channel.

Very few people intentionally use thumbnails that have nothing to do with the content of their videos – i.e, most people understand not to use a picture of a kitten in the thumbnail for their tech review, unless maybe their kitten is the one doing the review (which would be adorable, someone should do that). People who want serious advice won’t click, and people who click to see a kitten will click away fast.

 YouTube Thumbnail Should be relevant

This thumbnail had better be for a kitten’s iPhone review video or people will click away. Fast.

A mistake a lot of creators do make is creating a thumbnail that is meant to evoke an emotion which the video itself does not justify. For example, if you see a picture of a YouTuber looking nervous alongside text that reads ‘My Secret’, you will think they are going to share something deeply personal. You will be curious, and you may even be worried about them. You’ll probably click. Then, if their secret is that they don’t like pineapple on pizza, you’ll probably be angry. This technique gets clicks, but not a lot of watch time and it will lose you subs in the long run.

2. Don’t Be Mysterious

A good thumbnail doesn’t make people guess. Your thumbnail should tell people what’s in your video, not make them wonder about it. People want to know what they’re being asked to spend time watching.

Often, they will be looking for the answer to a specific question and will completely ignore anything that doesn’t show – in the thumbnail – that it has their answer.

Sometimes big channels can get away with stuff like this, because large portions of their audiences are interested in them as people and will already be curious about anything they post. This technique will not bring in new viewers, though.

 YouTube Thumbnail:  Don’t Be Mysterious

If this came up in a search for ‘smoky eye tutorial’, would you click it?

When people want answers, they want to feel confident that they video they click on will have those answers. If you have great content, then let people know it!

3. People Like People

Viewers are more likely to click on a thumbnail if they feel a connection when they look at it. One of the best ways to create a feeling of connection is through eye contact, and you can apply that principle to your YouTube thumbnails easily.

Just make sure you’re in them.

You can either compose a photo to use as your thumbnail, or use a screenshot from your video. Ideally, the image of you will convey the emotional tone of the video and tell potential viewers what it is about, besides you.

So, if you want to post a funny video that is also about making brownies, maybe a picture of you smiling while holding up a tray of brownies would be a better direction than just showing the brownies?

4. Check Out The Competition

Before you post your video, type your topic into YouTube’s search engine and see what comes up. This will give you insight into what kinds of thumbnails are performing well for other people, as well as what you can do to stand out in comparison.

Phil starts talking about thumbnails at 6:09, and he has great tips on checking out your competition!

For example, if all five of the top-ranked videos for the search ‘how to build a cabinet’ show images of the YouTuber smiling while holding a power tool, then your thumbnail for a video on the same topic should also be a picture of you smiling and holding a power tool. You know that works, so why not do it?

5. Use Color in Interesting Ways

You want to use colors that will help you stand out from the other search results. While checking out your competition if you notice that all the people in the other thumbnails are wearing black or navy blue, it will be a good idea for you to wear a brighter color for your shoot to grab a bit more attention.

Beyond simply using colors that are different from other people’s colors, you should consider the emotions different colors trigger.

 YouTube Thumbnail Making Tips

Maybe don’t use a lot of green and yellow in the thumbnail for your angry video rant?

6. Make Your Text Huge

Usually, you’ll want to use a bit of text in your thumbnail. It might be the full title of your video, or just a keyword or phrase. You don’t want to use a full sentence because you won’t have room for it if you’re using huge text.

The reason you should use huge text is so that people can read it. Remember that when people see your thumbnail in their search results, it will be much smaller than it will look while you are creating it. Text that looks big enough while you are creating your thumbnail will be much smaller when people are actually trying to read it, and that goes double for viewers watching on their small smartphone screens.

Frequently Asked Questions about YouTube Thumbnail

1. What is YouTube Thumbnail?

When you upload a video on YouTube, YouTube gives you three images to choose from in the selection of your video’s thumbnail image. These three images are just freeze-frame snapshots from different parts of your video, which may not tell your viewers what your video is really all about.

2. Can You Change YouTube Thumbnail After Publishing?

Yes, you can replace the auto-generated thumbnail with the customized thumbnail you like. But YouTube only allows verified YouTube accounts to upload custom thumbnail images.

3. How Long Does It Take for a Thumbnail to Change on YouTube?

Normally, if you have a good internet connection, you can see the thumbnail is changed within 10 seconds.

4. Why YouTube Thumbnail is Important?

When you get more people watching your video for longer, it increases your watch time and tells YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people like this, rank it higher’. Being ranked higher gets you more views, and even more watch time. It’s a wonderful cycle that all begins with a great thumbnail (paired with a good title and the right tags).

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Directly Infuse YouTube Music Into Any iMovie Project

How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?

author avatar

Marion Dubois

Nov 07, 2023• Proven solutions

Adding background music to videos makes the video more unique and interesting to see. iMovie is a professional video editing tool that lets you pimp your videos the way you want it with your desired music and other sound effects. With the introduction of background music, your video would become unique and stand out.

Though it is not easy to find the right music for your background music, YouTube is a good place to search for good sounds. That’s why in this article, we’ll see how to add music to iMovie from YouTube.

Part 1. Is It Possible to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?

iMovie is a tool developed by Apple for video editing designed to help users create unique, fun videos quickly. This outstanding video editor works only on Apple devices which includes macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. It embodies excellent tools for a media organization, color grading, soundtracks, and green-screen effects for your videos. To crown it all, it supports a few media formats.

If your media source is unavailable on your device, it could be since iMovie doesn’t support the format, or it may be under the protection of Digital Rights Management.

Now, even though you’ve downloaded the songs from YouTube to listen to them offline, you are allowed to stream them within the music player only and not apply them to other media forms.

So, if you want to add YouTube music to iMovie, you must remove the DRM restrictions first before converting the YouTube song to a format supported by iMovie. A professional YouTube music downloader can help you with all of this.

Part 2. Add YouTube Music to iMovie from iPhone & Mac

Here is an all-in-one method that to add a YouTube song to iMovie whether through iPhone or Mac. First, record the YouTube music, then add extracted audio files to iMovie.

Step 1: First download and install Filmora Video Editor from the button below and use the built-in ‘Screen Recorder‘ tool to record the YouTube video/music that you want to rip the audio from.

Record YouTube Music

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Filmora secure download Secure Download

Record YouTube Music

For macOS 10.14 or later

Filmora secure download Secure Download

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

Step 2: Import the recorded video to Filmora, right click on the video track and select ‘Detach Audio‘ to seperate the audio track and the video track. Select the audio track and click the ‘Export‘ button to save ripped audio files.

Step 3: And now, you can use the extracted YouTube audio files to iMovie for forther editing. Plus, Filmora Video Editor provides with a music library, where you can choose background music or sound effect for your project according to your needs. It is also an expert in creating videos, worth to have a try!

Tips You May Not Want to Miss

Filmora is the best iMovie alternative on the market, which provides the best methods, tools, and techniques to add music to videos, video cutting easily, joining, inversion, and editing. It allows you to easily make movies, edit audio, apply effects and share your new movies on YouTube, Vimeo, DVD, TV, iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.

Therefore, if you are using Filmora, adding music to videos is just a piece of cake. Just select the audio clip in the timeline, click the “Video and Audio Effects” button, and go to the “Audio Effects” option. Now you can freely choose any audio effect.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Filmora secure download Secure Download

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For macOS 10.14 or later

Filmora secure download Secure Download

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

Part 3. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on iPhone?

In this part, let us read the most straightforward tutorial on how to add music from YouTube to iMovie on iPhone.

First Download Music from YouTube on iPhone

Downloading YouTube videos on your iPhone is confusing since Apple provides the apps available in the App store. If you jailbreak your phone, there are various other options, but here’s the simplest way if you don’t want to go that route.

Step 1: Download the app Documents by Readdle.

Step 2: Select the compass icon and go to https://www.videosolo.com/online-video-downloader/

download youtube music from videosolo

Step 3: Paste a YouTube video link in the text box and select “Download”. After some seconds, the video will decode and produce a list of different output quality and format options.

Step 4: Hit the “Download” on the preferred output option.

Step 5: Enter a name and download location for the video.

Step 6: Hit the Downloads tab in the bottom navigation bar to view your downloaded videos within the Documents app.

Step 7: Go back to the Documents app home screen to save your downloaded video and open your Downloads folder.

Step 8: Look for the video you wish to edit and tap the three dots icon on it.

Step 9: Hit the Share button and then Save Video.

Step 10: You can search the downloaded YouTube videos in the Photos app.

Add Downloaded Music to iMovie

Step 1: Launch iMovie and Create a Project

Open the iMovie app and pick the “+” icon to create a project. Then, select a movie file from the media to which you want to add the music and add it to the created project.

Step2: Create Movie

Immediately the movie is added to the project, click on the “Create Movie”, enhance the quality of your video using any of iMovie’s many themes, and add the correct ambiance. Click on the icon like a gear and toggle “Theme Music”. Now you have to choose the theme you desire for your video.

Step 3: Select My Music

Now, it’s time to add audio of your choice, and if you don’t want to select from your existing collection, tap on the “+” icon below on the left side of your screen. Next, choose “Audio” and then select “My Music”.

Step 4: Select Audio from Playlist

Select from the playlist, artist, individual songs, or select from the albums you already have on your device and click on the “+” icon to add to your video. It is important to note that you cannot add multiple songs at once. Just add and adjust the sound as desired.

Finally, after the song has been added to the video successfully, export it to your gallery using the “Export” button and save it on your phone.

filmora box

Filmora Video Editor

Best iMovie Alternative - Filmora Video Editor

Filmora Video Editor is an expert in creating and editing videos, it offers a ChatGPT plug-in and AI tools to enhance your creative vision. Make your idea into reality.

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

Part 4. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on Mac?

It is elementary to use YouTube songs in iMovie on Mac. You can easily drag the YouTube music file into your project from the Finder and the desktop. The YouTube music added into the project timeline behaves differently depending on the place you added them.

Download Music from YouTube on Mac

Various programs and tools can assist you in downloading YouTube videos on a Mac.

A straightforward way is to use the inbuilt screen capture tool of macOS. Hit the Command + Shift + 5 tabs to bring up the screen recording options.

You can either record an entire screen or choose a window and alter the options to add audio from your Mac’s internal microphone.

screen record on mac

The ideal tool or app for downloading YouTube videos on Mac in high-tech quality is a 4K Video Downloader.

It’s free for a max of 30 downloads per day, or you can upgrade to one of its premium plans. The software can also download videos in around 8K quality and various other high-tech formats. And 4K Video Downloader can also grab whole playlists of YouTube.

Here’s how to use it:

Step 1: Launch the 4K Video Downloader and open the program.

Step 2: Find a YouTube video and copy the link.

Step 3: Hit the Paste Link button in the menu.

Step 4: Select the Download button after choosing from the list of quality and format options.

Step 5: Download the video and then click the three-dot icon, so you can play.

How to Add Music to iMovie

Step 1: Add YouTube Music to the Clip

To add a YouTube music file to a particular video clip, drag the YouTube music file under the video clip so that a bar appears. Next, release the button when you see the green “Add” symbol to set the music as a background song in your iMovie project.

To add a YouTube music file to the iMovie project: drag and drop the YouTube music file to your project, release the mouse button once you see the green color. Add a symbol to add a YouTube song to the iMovie project as background music.

Step 2: Add YouTube Music File to the iMovie Project

Just drag and drop the YouTube video file to your project. Then, release the button once you see the green “Add” sign to add background music from the YouTube file to your project.

Conclusion

So, guys, now, can you add music from YouTube to iMovie? I’m pretty sure you have a positive answer as you saw how to add music to iMovie from YouTube using a simple step method. Moreover, have fun and create magic with your discovery of Filmora Video Editor , as it allows you to explore its numerous features to make a movie.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Filmora secure download Secure Download

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For macOS 10.14 or later

Filmora secure download Secure Download

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

author avatar

Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois

Nov 07, 2023• Proven solutions

Adding background music to videos makes the video more unique and interesting to see. iMovie is a professional video editing tool that lets you pimp your videos the way you want it with your desired music and other sound effects. With the introduction of background music, your video would become unique and stand out.

Though it is not easy to find the right music for your background music, YouTube is a good place to search for good sounds. That’s why in this article, we’ll see how to add music to iMovie from YouTube.

Part 1. Is It Possible to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?

iMovie is a tool developed by Apple for video editing designed to help users create unique, fun videos quickly. This outstanding video editor works only on Apple devices which includes macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. It embodies excellent tools for a media organization, color grading, soundtracks, and green-screen effects for your videos. To crown it all, it supports a few media formats.

If your media source is unavailable on your device, it could be since iMovie doesn’t support the format, or it may be under the protection of Digital Rights Management.

Now, even though you’ve downloaded the songs from YouTube to listen to them offline, you are allowed to stream them within the music player only and not apply them to other media forms.

So, if you want to add YouTube music to iMovie, you must remove the DRM restrictions first before converting the YouTube song to a format supported by iMovie. A professional YouTube music downloader can help you with all of this.

Part 2. Add YouTube Music to iMovie from iPhone & Mac

Here is an all-in-one method that to add a YouTube song to iMovie whether through iPhone or Mac. First, record the YouTube music, then add extracted audio files to iMovie.

Step 1: First download and install Filmora Video Editor from the button below and use the built-in ‘Screen Recorder‘ tool to record the YouTube video/music that you want to rip the audio from.

Record YouTube Music

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Filmora secure download Secure Download

Record YouTube Music

For macOS 10.14 or later

Filmora secure download Secure Download

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

Step 2: Import the recorded video to Filmora, right click on the video track and select ‘Detach Audio‘ to seperate the audio track and the video track. Select the audio track and click the ‘Export‘ button to save ripped audio files.

Step 3: And now, you can use the extracted YouTube audio files to iMovie for forther editing. Plus, Filmora Video Editor provides with a music library, where you can choose background music or sound effect for your project according to your needs. It is also an expert in creating videos, worth to have a try!

Tips You May Not Want to Miss

Filmora is the best iMovie alternative on the market, which provides the best methods, tools, and techniques to add music to videos, video cutting easily, joining, inversion, and editing. It allows you to easily make movies, edit audio, apply effects and share your new movies on YouTube, Vimeo, DVD, TV, iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.

Therefore, if you are using Filmora, adding music to videos is just a piece of cake. Just select the audio clip in the timeline, click the “Video and Audio Effects” button, and go to the “Audio Effects” option. Now you can freely choose any audio effect.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Filmora secure download Secure Download

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For macOS 10.14 or later

Filmora secure download Secure Download

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

Part 3. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on iPhone?

In this part, let us read the most straightforward tutorial on how to add music from YouTube to iMovie on iPhone.

First Download Music from YouTube on iPhone

Downloading YouTube videos on your iPhone is confusing since Apple provides the apps available in the App store. If you jailbreak your phone, there are various other options, but here’s the simplest way if you don’t want to go that route.

Step 1: Download the app Documents by Readdle.

Step 2: Select the compass icon and go to https://www.videosolo.com/online-video-downloader/

download youtube music from videosolo

Step 3: Paste a YouTube video link in the text box and select “Download”. After some seconds, the video will decode and produce a list of different output quality and format options.

Step 4: Hit the “Download” on the preferred output option.

Step 5: Enter a name and download location for the video.

Step 6: Hit the Downloads tab in the bottom navigation bar to view your downloaded videos within the Documents app.

Step 7: Go back to the Documents app home screen to save your downloaded video and open your Downloads folder.

Step 8: Look for the video you wish to edit and tap the three dots icon on it.

Step 9: Hit the Share button and then Save Video.

Step 10: You can search the downloaded YouTube videos in the Photos app.

Add Downloaded Music to iMovie

Step 1: Launch iMovie and Create a Project

Open the iMovie app and pick the “+” icon to create a project. Then, select a movie file from the media to which you want to add the music and add it to the created project.

Step2: Create Movie

Immediately the movie is added to the project, click on the “Create Movie”, enhance the quality of your video using any of iMovie’s many themes, and add the correct ambiance. Click on the icon like a gear and toggle “Theme Music”. Now you have to choose the theme you desire for your video.

Step 3: Select My Music

Now, it’s time to add audio of your choice, and if you don’t want to select from your existing collection, tap on the “+” icon below on the left side of your screen. Next, choose “Audio” and then select “My Music”.

Step 4: Select Audio from Playlist

Select from the playlist, artist, individual songs, or select from the albums you already have on your device and click on the “+” icon to add to your video. It is important to note that you cannot add multiple songs at once. Just add and adjust the sound as desired.

Finally, after the song has been added to the video successfully, export it to your gallery using the “Export” button and save it on your phone.

filmora box

Filmora Video Editor

Best iMovie Alternative - Filmora Video Editor

Filmora Video Editor is an expert in creating and editing videos, it offers a ChatGPT plug-in and AI tools to enhance your creative vision. Make your idea into reality.

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

Part 4. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on Mac?

It is elementary to use YouTube songs in iMovie on Mac. You can easily drag the YouTube music file into your project from the Finder and the desktop. The YouTube music added into the project timeline behaves differently depending on the place you added them.

Download Music from YouTube on Mac

Various programs and tools can assist you in downloading YouTube videos on a Mac.

A straightforward way is to use the inbuilt screen capture tool of macOS. Hit the Command + Shift + 5 tabs to bring up the screen recording options.

You can either record an entire screen or choose a window and alter the options to add audio from your Mac’s internal microphone.

screen record on mac

The ideal tool or app for downloading YouTube videos on Mac in high-tech quality is a 4K Video Downloader.

It’s free for a max of 30 downloads per day, or you can upgrade to one of its premium plans. The software can also download videos in around 8K quality and various other high-tech formats. And 4K Video Downloader can also grab whole playlists of YouTube.

Here’s how to use it:

Step 1: Launch the 4K Video Downloader and open the program.

Step 2: Find a YouTube video and copy the link.

Step 3: Hit the Paste Link button in the menu.

Step 4: Select the Download button after choosing from the list of quality and format options.

Step 5: Download the video and then click the three-dot icon, so you can play.

How to Add Music to iMovie

Step 1: Add YouTube Music to the Clip

To add a YouTube music file to a particular video clip, drag the YouTube music file under the video clip so that a bar appears. Next, release the button when you see the green “Add” symbol to set the music as a background song in your iMovie project.

To add a YouTube music file to the iMovie project: drag and drop the YouTube music file to your project, release the mouse button once you see the green color. Add a symbol to add a YouTube song to the iMovie project as background music.

Step 2: Add YouTube Music File to the iMovie Project

Just drag and drop the YouTube video file to your project. Then, release the button once you see the green “Add” sign to add background music from the YouTube file to your project.

Conclusion

So, guys, now, can you add music from YouTube to iMovie? I’m pretty sure you have a positive answer as you saw how to add music to iMovie from YouTube using a simple step method. Moreover, have fun and create magic with your discovery of Filmora Video Editor , as it allows you to explore its numerous features to make a movie.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Filmora secure download Secure Download

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For macOS 10.14 or later

Filmora secure download Secure Download

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

author avatar

Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois

Nov 07, 2023• Proven solutions

Adding background music to videos makes the video more unique and interesting to see. iMovie is a professional video editing tool that lets you pimp your videos the way you want it with your desired music and other sound effects. With the introduction of background music, your video would become unique and stand out.

Though it is not easy to find the right music for your background music, YouTube is a good place to search for good sounds. That’s why in this article, we’ll see how to add music to iMovie from YouTube.

Part 1. Is It Possible to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?

iMovie is a tool developed by Apple for video editing designed to help users create unique, fun videos quickly. This outstanding video editor works only on Apple devices which includes macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. It embodies excellent tools for a media organization, color grading, soundtracks, and green-screen effects for your videos. To crown it all, it supports a few media formats.

If your media source is unavailable on your device, it could be since iMovie doesn’t support the format, or it may be under the protection of Digital Rights Management.

Now, even though you’ve downloaded the songs from YouTube to listen to them offline, you are allowed to stream them within the music player only and not apply them to other media forms.

So, if you want to add YouTube music to iMovie, you must remove the DRM restrictions first before converting the YouTube song to a format supported by iMovie. A professional YouTube music downloader can help you with all of this.

Part 2. Add YouTube Music to iMovie from iPhone & Mac

Here is an all-in-one method that to add a YouTube song to iMovie whether through iPhone or Mac. First, record the YouTube music, then add extracted audio files to iMovie.

Step 1: First download and install Filmora Video Editor from the button below and use the built-in ‘Screen Recorder‘ tool to record the YouTube video/music that you want to rip the audio from.

Record YouTube Music

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Filmora secure download Secure Download

Record YouTube Music

For macOS 10.14 or later

Filmora secure download Secure Download

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

Step 2: Import the recorded video to Filmora, right click on the video track and select ‘Detach Audio‘ to seperate the audio track and the video track. Select the audio track and click the ‘Export‘ button to save ripped audio files.

Step 3: And now, you can use the extracted YouTube audio files to iMovie for forther editing. Plus, Filmora Video Editor provides with a music library, where you can choose background music or sound effect for your project according to your needs. It is also an expert in creating videos, worth to have a try!

Tips You May Not Want to Miss

Filmora is the best iMovie alternative on the market, which provides the best methods, tools, and techniques to add music to videos, video cutting easily, joining, inversion, and editing. It allows you to easily make movies, edit audio, apply effects and share your new movies on YouTube, Vimeo, DVD, TV, iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.

Therefore, if you are using Filmora, adding music to videos is just a piece of cake. Just select the audio clip in the timeline, click the “Video and Audio Effects” button, and go to the “Audio Effects” option. Now you can freely choose any audio effect.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Filmora secure download Secure Download

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For macOS 10.14 or later

Filmora secure download Secure Download

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

Part 3. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on iPhone?

In this part, let us read the most straightforward tutorial on how to add music from YouTube to iMovie on iPhone.

First Download Music from YouTube on iPhone

Downloading YouTube videos on your iPhone is confusing since Apple provides the apps available in the App store. If you jailbreak your phone, there are various other options, but here’s the simplest way if you don’t want to go that route.

Step 1: Download the app Documents by Readdle.

Step 2: Select the compass icon and go to https://www.videosolo.com/online-video-downloader/

download youtube music from videosolo

Step 3: Paste a YouTube video link in the text box and select “Download”. After some seconds, the video will decode and produce a list of different output quality and format options.

Step 4: Hit the “Download” on the preferred output option.

Step 5: Enter a name and download location for the video.

Step 6: Hit the Downloads tab in the bottom navigation bar to view your downloaded videos within the Documents app.

Step 7: Go back to the Documents app home screen to save your downloaded video and open your Downloads folder.

Step 8: Look for the video you wish to edit and tap the three dots icon on it.

Step 9: Hit the Share button and then Save Video.

Step 10: You can search the downloaded YouTube videos in the Photos app.

Add Downloaded Music to iMovie

Step 1: Launch iMovie and Create a Project

Open the iMovie app and pick the “+” icon to create a project. Then, select a movie file from the media to which you want to add the music and add it to the created project.

Step2: Create Movie

Immediately the movie is added to the project, click on the “Create Movie”, enhance the quality of your video using any of iMovie’s many themes, and add the correct ambiance. Click on the icon like a gear and toggle “Theme Music”. Now you have to choose the theme you desire for your video.

Step 3: Select My Music

Now, it’s time to add audio of your choice, and if you don’t want to select from your existing collection, tap on the “+” icon below on the left side of your screen. Next, choose “Audio” and then select “My Music”.

Step 4: Select Audio from Playlist

Select from the playlist, artist, individual songs, or select from the albums you already have on your device and click on the “+” icon to add to your video. It is important to note that you cannot add multiple songs at once. Just add and adjust the sound as desired.

Finally, after the song has been added to the video successfully, export it to your gallery using the “Export” button and save it on your phone.

filmora box

Filmora Video Editor

Best iMovie Alternative - Filmora Video Editor

Filmora Video Editor is an expert in creating and editing videos, it offers a ChatGPT plug-in and AI tools to enhance your creative vision. Make your idea into reality.

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

Part 4. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on Mac?

It is elementary to use YouTube songs in iMovie on Mac. You can easily drag the YouTube music file into your project from the Finder and the desktop. The YouTube music added into the project timeline behaves differently depending on the place you added them.

Download Music from YouTube on Mac

Various programs and tools can assist you in downloading YouTube videos on a Mac.

A straightforward way is to use the inbuilt screen capture tool of macOS. Hit the Command + Shift + 5 tabs to bring up the screen recording options.

You can either record an entire screen or choose a window and alter the options to add audio from your Mac’s internal microphone.

screen record on mac

The ideal tool or app for downloading YouTube videos on Mac in high-tech quality is a 4K Video Downloader.

It’s free for a max of 30 downloads per day, or you can upgrade to one of its premium plans. The software can also download videos in around 8K quality and various other high-tech formats. And 4K Video Downloader can also grab whole playlists of YouTube.

Here’s how to use it:

Step 1: Launch the 4K Video Downloader and open the program.

Step 2: Find a YouTube video and copy the link.

Step 3: Hit the Paste Link button in the menu.

Step 4: Select the Download button after choosing from the list of quality and format options.

Step 5: Download the video and then click the three-dot icon, so you can play.

How to Add Music to iMovie

Step 1: Add YouTube Music to the Clip

To add a YouTube music file to a particular video clip, drag the YouTube music file under the video clip so that a bar appears. Next, release the button when you see the green “Add” symbol to set the music as a background song in your iMovie project.

To add a YouTube music file to the iMovie project: drag and drop the YouTube music file to your project, release the mouse button once you see the green color. Add a symbol to add a YouTube song to the iMovie project as background music.

Step 2: Add YouTube Music File to the iMovie Project

Just drag and drop the YouTube video file to your project. Then, release the button once you see the green “Add” sign to add background music from the YouTube file to your project.

Conclusion

So, guys, now, can you add music from YouTube to iMovie? I’m pretty sure you have a positive answer as you saw how to add music to iMovie from YouTube using a simple step method. Moreover, have fun and create magic with your discovery of Filmora Video Editor , as it allows you to explore its numerous features to make a movie.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Filmora secure download Secure Download

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For macOS 10.14 or later

Filmora secure download Secure Download

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

author avatar

Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois

Nov 07, 2023• Proven solutions

Adding background music to videos makes the video more unique and interesting to see. iMovie is a professional video editing tool that lets you pimp your videos the way you want it with your desired music and other sound effects. With the introduction of background music, your video would become unique and stand out.

Though it is not easy to find the right music for your background music, YouTube is a good place to search for good sounds. That’s why in this article, we’ll see how to add music to iMovie from YouTube.

Part 1. Is It Possible to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?

iMovie is a tool developed by Apple for video editing designed to help users create unique, fun videos quickly. This outstanding video editor works only on Apple devices which includes macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. It embodies excellent tools for a media organization, color grading, soundtracks, and green-screen effects for your videos. To crown it all, it supports a few media formats.

If your media source is unavailable on your device, it could be since iMovie doesn’t support the format, or it may be under the protection of Digital Rights Management.

Now, even though you’ve downloaded the songs from YouTube to listen to them offline, you are allowed to stream them within the music player only and not apply them to other media forms.

So, if you want to add YouTube music to iMovie, you must remove the DRM restrictions first before converting the YouTube song to a format supported by iMovie. A professional YouTube music downloader can help you with all of this.

Part 2. Add YouTube Music to iMovie from iPhone & Mac

Here is an all-in-one method that to add a YouTube song to iMovie whether through iPhone or Mac. First, record the YouTube music, then add extracted audio files to iMovie.

Step 1: First download and install Filmora Video Editor from the button below and use the built-in ‘Screen Recorder‘ tool to record the YouTube video/music that you want to rip the audio from.

Record YouTube Music

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Filmora secure download Secure Download

Record YouTube Music

For macOS 10.14 or later

Filmora secure download Secure Download

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

Step 2: Import the recorded video to Filmora, right click on the video track and select ‘Detach Audio‘ to seperate the audio track and the video track. Select the audio track and click the ‘Export‘ button to save ripped audio files.

Step 3: And now, you can use the extracted YouTube audio files to iMovie for forther editing. Plus, Filmora Video Editor provides with a music library, where you can choose background music or sound effect for your project according to your needs. It is also an expert in creating videos, worth to have a try!

Tips You May Not Want to Miss

Filmora is the best iMovie alternative on the market, which provides the best methods, tools, and techniques to add music to videos, video cutting easily, joining, inversion, and editing. It allows you to easily make movies, edit audio, apply effects and share your new movies on YouTube, Vimeo, DVD, TV, iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.

Therefore, if you are using Filmora, adding music to videos is just a piece of cake. Just select the audio clip in the timeline, click the “Video and Audio Effects” button, and go to the “Audio Effects” option. Now you can freely choose any audio effect.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Filmora secure download Secure Download

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For macOS 10.14 or later

Filmora secure download Secure Download

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

Part 3. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on iPhone?

In this part, let us read the most straightforward tutorial on how to add music from YouTube to iMovie on iPhone.

First Download Music from YouTube on iPhone

Downloading YouTube videos on your iPhone is confusing since Apple provides the apps available in the App store. If you jailbreak your phone, there are various other options, but here’s the simplest way if you don’t want to go that route.

Step 1: Download the app Documents by Readdle.

Step 2: Select the compass icon and go to https://www.videosolo.com/online-video-downloader/

download youtube music from videosolo

Step 3: Paste a YouTube video link in the text box and select “Download”. After some seconds, the video will decode and produce a list of different output quality and format options.

Step 4: Hit the “Download” on the preferred output option.

Step 5: Enter a name and download location for the video.

Step 6: Hit the Downloads tab in the bottom navigation bar to view your downloaded videos within the Documents app.

Step 7: Go back to the Documents app home screen to save your downloaded video and open your Downloads folder.

Step 8: Look for the video you wish to edit and tap the three dots icon on it.

Step 9: Hit the Share button and then Save Video.

Step 10: You can search the downloaded YouTube videos in the Photos app.

Add Downloaded Music to iMovie

Step 1: Launch iMovie and Create a Project

Open the iMovie app and pick the “+” icon to create a project. Then, select a movie file from the media to which you want to add the music and add it to the created project.

Step2: Create Movie

Immediately the movie is added to the project, click on the “Create Movie”, enhance the quality of your video using any of iMovie’s many themes, and add the correct ambiance. Click on the icon like a gear and toggle “Theme Music”. Now you have to choose the theme you desire for your video.

Step 3: Select My Music

Now, it’s time to add audio of your choice, and if you don’t want to select from your existing collection, tap on the “+” icon below on the left side of your screen. Next, choose “Audio” and then select “My Music”.

Step 4: Select Audio from Playlist

Select from the playlist, artist, individual songs, or select from the albums you already have on your device and click on the “+” icon to add to your video. It is important to note that you cannot add multiple songs at once. Just add and adjust the sound as desired.

Finally, after the song has been added to the video successfully, export it to your gallery using the “Export” button and save it on your phone.

filmora box

Filmora Video Editor

Best iMovie Alternative - Filmora Video Editor

Filmora Video Editor is an expert in creating and editing videos, it offers a ChatGPT plug-in and AI tools to enhance your creative vision. Make your idea into reality.

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

Part 4. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on Mac?

It is elementary to use YouTube songs in iMovie on Mac. You can easily drag the YouTube music file into your project from the Finder and the desktop. The YouTube music added into the project timeline behaves differently depending on the place you added them.

Download Music from YouTube on Mac

Various programs and tools can assist you in downloading YouTube videos on a Mac.

A straightforward way is to use the inbuilt screen capture tool of macOS. Hit the Command + Shift + 5 tabs to bring up the screen recording options.

You can either record an entire screen or choose a window and alter the options to add audio from your Mac’s internal microphone.

screen record on mac

The ideal tool or app for downloading YouTube videos on Mac in high-tech quality is a 4K Video Downloader.

It’s free for a max of 30 downloads per day, or you can upgrade to one of its premium plans. The software can also download videos in around 8K quality and various other high-tech formats. And 4K Video Downloader can also grab whole playlists of YouTube.

Here’s how to use it:

Step 1: Launch the 4K Video Downloader and open the program.

Step 2: Find a YouTube video and copy the link.

Step 3: Hit the Paste Link button in the menu.

Step 4: Select the Download button after choosing from the list of quality and format options.

Step 5: Download the video and then click the three-dot icon, so you can play.

How to Add Music to iMovie

Step 1: Add YouTube Music to the Clip

To add a YouTube music file to a particular video clip, drag the YouTube music file under the video clip so that a bar appears. Next, release the button when you see the green “Add” symbol to set the music as a background song in your iMovie project.

To add a YouTube music file to the iMovie project: drag and drop the YouTube music file to your project, release the mouse button once you see the green color. Add a symbol to add a YouTube song to the iMovie project as background music.

Step 2: Add YouTube Music File to the iMovie Project

Just drag and drop the YouTube video file to your project. Then, release the button once you see the green “Add” sign to add background music from the YouTube file to your project.

Conclusion

So, guys, now, can you add music from YouTube to iMovie? I’m pretty sure you have a positive answer as you saw how to add music to iMovie from YouTube using a simple step method. Moreover, have fun and create magic with your discovery of Filmora Video Editor , as it allows you to explore its numerous features to make a movie.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Filmora secure download Secure Download

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For macOS 10.14 or later

Filmora secure download Secure Download

iOS Android

Try It Free >>

author avatar

Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Marion Dubois

Also read:

  • Title: "Making an Impact Integrating Individual Thumbnails in Videos"
  • Author: Brian
  • Created at : 2024-05-25 12:20:05
  • Updated at : 2024-05-26 12:20:05
  • Link: https://youtube-video-recordings.techidaily.com/making-an-impact-integrating-individual-thumbnails-in-videos/
  • License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
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"Making an Impact Integrating Individual Thumbnails in Videos"