"How to Size Your Videos  YouTube's Best Practices Unveiled"

"How to Size Your Videos YouTube's Best Practices Unveiled"

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How to Size Your Videos: YouTube’s Best Practices Unveiled

Best YouTube Thumbnail Size: How to Make a Thumbnail for YouTube in 2024

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

You must have heard the phrase, Never judge a book by its cover. But actually, we do judge everything by its cover. The same is the case with Youtube videos. No matter how good the content of your video is if you are unable to convey that with the thumbnail of your video, it will not bring any good to your channel. If you are looking forward to growing your channel and attracting more viewers, then having an appealing and eye-catching thumbnail is one of the most important factors. There are several things to be considered while creating a custom thumbnail if you want to make your videos look stunning and engaging. By following all these points, you can increase the chances of your channel’s growth.


In this article, we have 5 chapters for you:


Best YouTube Thumbnail Size

Being a content creator, you never know which device is being used by the viewer to watch your videos. It can be a smartphone, laptop, pc, or smart TV. It is very important to keep all these devices in mind while choosing a Youtube thumbnail size. For the best possible results, consider the following points while making a thumbnail for your Youtube videos.

  • To cover all the devices perfectly, set the thumbnail resolution to 1280x720
  • Save the thumbnail in JPG, GIF, or PNG format
  • Try not to cross the 2MB limit
  • Make sure to use a 16:9 aspect ratio for perfect results throughout the devices

youtube-thumbnail-size


How Important is a Custom Thumbnail?

Custom Thumbnail is a tool through which the viewers can understand everything about a video. It tells the viewers what to expect from a video, what not to expect, and what the video is all about. no matter if you create amazing content, if the thumbnail is not good enough to covey that to the viewers, all your hard work will be of no use and will not bring any good to your channel and its growth. According to Google ,90% of best-performing videos have custom thumbnails. It shows the importance of custom thumbnails.

piechart-importance-of-custom-thumbnail.png


Best Practice From Experiences

Now, since we know the importance of having a custom thumbnail, it is important to know how to make a thumbnail for Youtube look perfect, appealing, and eye-catching at the same time. There are some points to be considered while creating a thumbnail for Youtube. We will provide you with the best practices that we have learned throughout our journey of using Youtube and growing it from zero.

7 best practices can help you make your Youtube thumbnail stand out from the crowd and make its way out.

  1. Show your face

In a world full of machines and computers, people love to listen and interact with people instead of computer-generated voices and a voice without a face. Showing your face on a Youtube thumbnail makes it more appealing to users to click and listen to the person who is being shown in the thumbnail. Humans are more inclined towards faces. When there is a human element in a video, it increases its effectiveness. Check out the pics below, which one are you most likely to click through?

comparison-of-showing-face-or-not

  1. Use Simple Fonts

With your face, it is necessary to put some text on your Youtube thumbnail to let viewers know what this video is all about without clicking or watching it. Don’t use fancy fonts on Youtube thumbnail. It makes it hard for the viewers to read and understand what to expect in the video, especially for those watching YouTube on their 5 inches screen smartphone, ultimately decreasing the chances of your video being clicked and watched. I personally recommend you to use give these fonts a go while making YouTube thumbnail.

simple-fonts-recommended

  1. Use Phrases, not sentence

If you have ever noticed, Youtube thumbnails are very small in size, making it hard for viewers to notice any small elements. According to YouTube , more than 70% of Youtube watch time comes from mobile devices. While adding text in a thumbnail, instead of using sentences, make sure to use only words and make them large in size that can easily be noticed on small screens. Summurise your video in no more than 5 words.

piechart-youtube-watchtime-percentage

use-phrases-not-sentences

  1. Put every stuff on left side

When we navigate to a Youtube thumbnail and place the cursor on it, it shows us two icons, “Watch Later” and “Add to Queue,” located on its right size. Come on, you don’t want your beautiful thumbnail that cost you a few hours be covered. To avoid these icons from hiding your important stuff of thumbnail, make sure to put everything on the right side of your thumbnail.

put-stuff-on-left

  1. Have a unique and Consistent style

Try to make all your thumbnails follow the same style. Following the same style for all your Youtube thumbnails will make your channel look unique and all your videos identical. It will be easy for viewers to identify your videos when they see them. It gives your channel a touch of its unique brand.

unique-and-consistent-style

  1. Use elements to grab the attention

To make your Youtube thumbnail more appealing to the viewers, add circles and arrows to grab viewers’ attention to something very important in the video. It will increase the curiosity in the viewers and make them click your videos to learn more.

use-elements-to-grab-attention

  1. Choose the right tool

This whole process seems to be very hectic and time taking, but do you know, you can do everything on just one software? There is no need to edit a video in a different software then make a thumbnail in another software. With Filmora X, you can perform all these tasks on a single platform with so many amazing features. Whether you want to remove the background of your image or add attractive titles to it, Filmora X has got you covered.

  1. Avoid clickbait and irrelevant pics and title

It is one of the old tricks that so many people on Youtube use. It undoubtedly brings you clicks and more views, but once the viewer realizes that you have used irrelevant pictures or texts to attract them**. I**n reality, your video doesn’t contain any information related to it, you are going to lose their trust. They are never going to click on your videos again. Even if you don’t use such a trick anymore. Try to avoid such activities. Avoiding such activities can make your channel grow in the long term. Only use the text and images that are relevant to your content and stick to that.

  1. Choose your preview window wisely

Do you know that Youtube can show a 3-second preview of your video when someone hovers the cursor over it? It is one of the best ways to show the viewers the content of your video even when they don’t click on your video. These three seconds will help them decide whether to click on your video or not. This preview is selected by the system from the first half of your video according to its relevance and similarity with the topic. That’s why it is very important to add related information in the first half of the video, otherwise, Youtube will choose it randomly. If the preview is not selected for two days, it means your video is not eligible for it.

choose-preview-wisely


How to Make a Fortnite Thumbnail Super Fast and Free?

Many of you might be interested in how to make a fortnite thumbnail, so here it is. To make a Fortnite thumbnail for free, we are going to use Filmora X. Filmora X contains all kinds of features and elements that are required for a perfect and eye-catching thumbnail. To get started, make sure to download and install the latest version of Filmora X.

  1. Before we start making Fortnite Thumbnails, we have to take a screenshot of the gameplay. Open Fortnite and go to the Career tab. Here you will find Replays.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step1

  1. It contains all your recent gameplays. We can use it to take a screenshot. If you are using a console, you will find 10 recent gameplays here. But if you are a PC user, you can find the last 100 gameplays. Select the gameplay you want to take a screenshot from.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step2

  1. For our preferred angle, choose “Drone Free Camera” mode from the bottom right corner of the screen. It will allow us to use our preferred angle without any restriction. Choose an angle and take a screenshot.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step3

  1. Open Filmora X, make sure to select the 16:9 screen ratio. Import the screenshot that you have taken from Fortnite.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step4

  1. Place it into the timeline to start working on it.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step5

  1. Now to separate the character from the background, go to the Effects. Under effects, you can find a tab named AI Portraits. Click on AI Portrait. Now drag the Human Segmentation and drop it on the screenshot in the timeline.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step6

  1. It will ask you to purchase it. But there is no need to do that. Just hit Try It.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step7

  1. This effect will remove the background of your screenshot.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step8

  1. Now you can add a background of your choice. You can upload an image or choose a simple color from Filmora’s Media tab and drag it below the screenshot in the timeline.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step9

  1. To add text to the screenshot, go to Titles. Here you can find a wide range of different and unique titles to choose from for your Fortnite Thumbnail. Choose any of the titles and place them accordingly.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step10

  1. To make it more attractive, we can add icons and other elements from Filmora’s Element tab. You can also download the stickers from the internet and use them.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step11

  1. After completing the thumbnail, click on the Snapshot icon located below the preview tab of Filmora. Or press “CTRL+ALT+S”. It will save a screenshot into the media panel of Filmora.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step12

  1. Right-click on the screenshot and navigate to “Reveal in Explorer”. It will open the folder that contains all the screenshots taken from Filmora. Now you can use it as a Fortnite Thumbnail.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step13


How to Add a Custom YouTube Thumbnail to Your Video in YouTube

Once you have successfully created a custom thumbnail, you can use it in your videos on Youtube.

  1. Open Youtube Studio and upload your video. While uploading the video, you can see a section named “Thumbnail”. Under this section, click on “Upload Thumbnail”.

how-to-add-custom-youtube-thumbnail-to-video-step1

  1. Select the thumbnail that you have made. Just like the one Fortnite thumbnail that we have created using Filmora X.

how-to-add-custom-youtube-thumbnail-to-video-step2

  1. The thumbnail will be uploaded and attached to the video. Now you can process all the settings and publish the video.

how-to-add-custom-youtube-thumbnail-to-video-step3

Conclusion

Thumbnail is the first thing that helps the viewer decide whether to click on a video or ignore it. Which increases the importance of having a well-structured and attractive thumbnail. By following the above guide, you can make an astonishing and clickable thumbnail in no time. For better and quick results, we recommend you using Filmora X. It allows you to perform all the tasks from video editing to thumbnail creation on a single platform.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

You must have heard the phrase, Never judge a book by its cover. But actually, we do judge everything by its cover. The same is the case with Youtube videos. No matter how good the content of your video is if you are unable to convey that with the thumbnail of your video, it will not bring any good to your channel. If you are looking forward to growing your channel and attracting more viewers, then having an appealing and eye-catching thumbnail is one of the most important factors. There are several things to be considered while creating a custom thumbnail if you want to make your videos look stunning and engaging. By following all these points, you can increase the chances of your channel’s growth.


In this article, we have 5 chapters for you:


Best YouTube Thumbnail Size

Being a content creator, you never know which device is being used by the viewer to watch your videos. It can be a smartphone, laptop, pc, or smart TV. It is very important to keep all these devices in mind while choosing a Youtube thumbnail size. For the best possible results, consider the following points while making a thumbnail for your Youtube videos.

  • To cover all the devices perfectly, set the thumbnail resolution to 1280x720
  • Save the thumbnail in JPG, GIF, or PNG format
  • Try not to cross the 2MB limit
  • Make sure to use a 16:9 aspect ratio for perfect results throughout the devices

youtube-thumbnail-size


How Important is a Custom Thumbnail?

Custom Thumbnail is a tool through which the viewers can understand everything about a video. It tells the viewers what to expect from a video, what not to expect, and what the video is all about. no matter if you create amazing content, if the thumbnail is not good enough to covey that to the viewers, all your hard work will be of no use and will not bring any good to your channel and its growth. According to Google ,90% of best-performing videos have custom thumbnails. It shows the importance of custom thumbnails.

piechart-importance-of-custom-thumbnail.png


Best Practice From Experiences

Now, since we know the importance of having a custom thumbnail, it is important to know how to make a thumbnail for Youtube look perfect, appealing, and eye-catching at the same time. There are some points to be considered while creating a thumbnail for Youtube. We will provide you with the best practices that we have learned throughout our journey of using Youtube and growing it from zero.

7 best practices can help you make your Youtube thumbnail stand out from the crowd and make its way out.

  1. Show your face

In a world full of machines and computers, people love to listen and interact with people instead of computer-generated voices and a voice without a face. Showing your face on a Youtube thumbnail makes it more appealing to users to click and listen to the person who is being shown in the thumbnail. Humans are more inclined towards faces. When there is a human element in a video, it increases its effectiveness. Check out the pics below, which one are you most likely to click through?

comparison-of-showing-face-or-not

  1. Use Simple Fonts

With your face, it is necessary to put some text on your Youtube thumbnail to let viewers know what this video is all about without clicking or watching it. Don’t use fancy fonts on Youtube thumbnail. It makes it hard for the viewers to read and understand what to expect in the video, especially for those watching YouTube on their 5 inches screen smartphone, ultimately decreasing the chances of your video being clicked and watched. I personally recommend you to use give these fonts a go while making YouTube thumbnail.

simple-fonts-recommended

  1. Use Phrases, not sentence

If you have ever noticed, Youtube thumbnails are very small in size, making it hard for viewers to notice any small elements. According to YouTube , more than 70% of Youtube watch time comes from mobile devices. While adding text in a thumbnail, instead of using sentences, make sure to use only words and make them large in size that can easily be noticed on small screens. Summurise your video in no more than 5 words.

piechart-youtube-watchtime-percentage

use-phrases-not-sentences

  1. Put every stuff on left side

When we navigate to a Youtube thumbnail and place the cursor on it, it shows us two icons, “Watch Later” and “Add to Queue,” located on its right size. Come on, you don’t want your beautiful thumbnail that cost you a few hours be covered. To avoid these icons from hiding your important stuff of thumbnail, make sure to put everything on the right side of your thumbnail.

put-stuff-on-left

  1. Have a unique and Consistent style

Try to make all your thumbnails follow the same style. Following the same style for all your Youtube thumbnails will make your channel look unique and all your videos identical. It will be easy for viewers to identify your videos when they see them. It gives your channel a touch of its unique brand.

unique-and-consistent-style

  1. Use elements to grab the attention

To make your Youtube thumbnail more appealing to the viewers, add circles and arrows to grab viewers’ attention to something very important in the video. It will increase the curiosity in the viewers and make them click your videos to learn more.

use-elements-to-grab-attention

  1. Choose the right tool

This whole process seems to be very hectic and time taking, but do you know, you can do everything on just one software? There is no need to edit a video in a different software then make a thumbnail in another software. With Filmora X, you can perform all these tasks on a single platform with so many amazing features. Whether you want to remove the background of your image or add attractive titles to it, Filmora X has got you covered.

  1. Avoid clickbait and irrelevant pics and title

It is one of the old tricks that so many people on Youtube use. It undoubtedly brings you clicks and more views, but once the viewer realizes that you have used irrelevant pictures or texts to attract them**. I**n reality, your video doesn’t contain any information related to it, you are going to lose their trust. They are never going to click on your videos again. Even if you don’t use such a trick anymore. Try to avoid such activities. Avoiding such activities can make your channel grow in the long term. Only use the text and images that are relevant to your content and stick to that.

  1. Choose your preview window wisely

Do you know that Youtube can show a 3-second preview of your video when someone hovers the cursor over it? It is one of the best ways to show the viewers the content of your video even when they don’t click on your video. These three seconds will help them decide whether to click on your video or not. This preview is selected by the system from the first half of your video according to its relevance and similarity with the topic. That’s why it is very important to add related information in the first half of the video, otherwise, Youtube will choose it randomly. If the preview is not selected for two days, it means your video is not eligible for it.

choose-preview-wisely


How to Make a Fortnite Thumbnail Super Fast and Free?

Many of you might be interested in how to make a fortnite thumbnail, so here it is. To make a Fortnite thumbnail for free, we are going to use Filmora X. Filmora X contains all kinds of features and elements that are required for a perfect and eye-catching thumbnail. To get started, make sure to download and install the latest version of Filmora X.

  1. Before we start making Fortnite Thumbnails, we have to take a screenshot of the gameplay. Open Fortnite and go to the Career tab. Here you will find Replays.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step1

  1. It contains all your recent gameplays. We can use it to take a screenshot. If you are using a console, you will find 10 recent gameplays here. But if you are a PC user, you can find the last 100 gameplays. Select the gameplay you want to take a screenshot from.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step2

  1. For our preferred angle, choose “Drone Free Camera” mode from the bottom right corner of the screen. It will allow us to use our preferred angle without any restriction. Choose an angle and take a screenshot.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step3

  1. Open Filmora X, make sure to select the 16:9 screen ratio. Import the screenshot that you have taken from Fortnite.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step4

  1. Place it into the timeline to start working on it.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step5

  1. Now to separate the character from the background, go to the Effects. Under effects, you can find a tab named AI Portraits. Click on AI Portrait. Now drag the Human Segmentation and drop it on the screenshot in the timeline.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step6

  1. It will ask you to purchase it. But there is no need to do that. Just hit Try It.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step7

  1. This effect will remove the background of your screenshot.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step8

  1. Now you can add a background of your choice. You can upload an image or choose a simple color from Filmora’s Media tab and drag it below the screenshot in the timeline.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step9

  1. To add text to the screenshot, go to Titles. Here you can find a wide range of different and unique titles to choose from for your Fortnite Thumbnail. Choose any of the titles and place them accordingly.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step10

  1. To make it more attractive, we can add icons and other elements from Filmora’s Element tab. You can also download the stickers from the internet and use them.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step11

  1. After completing the thumbnail, click on the Snapshot icon located below the preview tab of Filmora. Or press “CTRL+ALT+S”. It will save a screenshot into the media panel of Filmora.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step12

  1. Right-click on the screenshot and navigate to “Reveal in Explorer”. It will open the folder that contains all the screenshots taken from Filmora. Now you can use it as a Fortnite Thumbnail.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step13


How to Add a Custom YouTube Thumbnail to Your Video in YouTube

Once you have successfully created a custom thumbnail, you can use it in your videos on Youtube.

  1. Open Youtube Studio and upload your video. While uploading the video, you can see a section named “Thumbnail”. Under this section, click on “Upload Thumbnail”.

how-to-add-custom-youtube-thumbnail-to-video-step1

  1. Select the thumbnail that you have made. Just like the one Fortnite thumbnail that we have created using Filmora X.

how-to-add-custom-youtube-thumbnail-to-video-step2

  1. The thumbnail will be uploaded and attached to the video. Now you can process all the settings and publish the video.

how-to-add-custom-youtube-thumbnail-to-video-step3

Conclusion

Thumbnail is the first thing that helps the viewer decide whether to click on a video or ignore it. Which increases the importance of having a well-structured and attractive thumbnail. By following the above guide, you can make an astonishing and clickable thumbnail in no time. For better and quick results, we recommend you using Filmora X. It allows you to perform all the tasks from video editing to thumbnail creation on a single platform.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

You must have heard the phrase, Never judge a book by its cover. But actually, we do judge everything by its cover. The same is the case with Youtube videos. No matter how good the content of your video is if you are unable to convey that with the thumbnail of your video, it will not bring any good to your channel. If you are looking forward to growing your channel and attracting more viewers, then having an appealing and eye-catching thumbnail is one of the most important factors. There are several things to be considered while creating a custom thumbnail if you want to make your videos look stunning and engaging. By following all these points, you can increase the chances of your channel’s growth.


In this article, we have 5 chapters for you:


Best YouTube Thumbnail Size

Being a content creator, you never know which device is being used by the viewer to watch your videos. It can be a smartphone, laptop, pc, or smart TV. It is very important to keep all these devices in mind while choosing a Youtube thumbnail size. For the best possible results, consider the following points while making a thumbnail for your Youtube videos.

  • To cover all the devices perfectly, set the thumbnail resolution to 1280x720
  • Save the thumbnail in JPG, GIF, or PNG format
  • Try not to cross the 2MB limit
  • Make sure to use a 16:9 aspect ratio for perfect results throughout the devices

youtube-thumbnail-size


How Important is a Custom Thumbnail?

Custom Thumbnail is a tool through which the viewers can understand everything about a video. It tells the viewers what to expect from a video, what not to expect, and what the video is all about. no matter if you create amazing content, if the thumbnail is not good enough to covey that to the viewers, all your hard work will be of no use and will not bring any good to your channel and its growth. According to Google ,90% of best-performing videos have custom thumbnails. It shows the importance of custom thumbnails.

piechart-importance-of-custom-thumbnail.png


Best Practice From Experiences

Now, since we know the importance of having a custom thumbnail, it is important to know how to make a thumbnail for Youtube look perfect, appealing, and eye-catching at the same time. There are some points to be considered while creating a thumbnail for Youtube. We will provide you with the best practices that we have learned throughout our journey of using Youtube and growing it from zero.

7 best practices can help you make your Youtube thumbnail stand out from the crowd and make its way out.

  1. Show your face

In a world full of machines and computers, people love to listen and interact with people instead of computer-generated voices and a voice without a face. Showing your face on a Youtube thumbnail makes it more appealing to users to click and listen to the person who is being shown in the thumbnail. Humans are more inclined towards faces. When there is a human element in a video, it increases its effectiveness. Check out the pics below, which one are you most likely to click through?

comparison-of-showing-face-or-not

  1. Use Simple Fonts

With your face, it is necessary to put some text on your Youtube thumbnail to let viewers know what this video is all about without clicking or watching it. Don’t use fancy fonts on Youtube thumbnail. It makes it hard for the viewers to read and understand what to expect in the video, especially for those watching YouTube on their 5 inches screen smartphone, ultimately decreasing the chances of your video being clicked and watched. I personally recommend you to use give these fonts a go while making YouTube thumbnail.

simple-fonts-recommended

  1. Use Phrases, not sentence

If you have ever noticed, Youtube thumbnails are very small in size, making it hard for viewers to notice any small elements. According to YouTube , more than 70% of Youtube watch time comes from mobile devices. While adding text in a thumbnail, instead of using sentences, make sure to use only words and make them large in size that can easily be noticed on small screens. Summurise your video in no more than 5 words.

piechart-youtube-watchtime-percentage

use-phrases-not-sentences

  1. Put every stuff on left side

When we navigate to a Youtube thumbnail and place the cursor on it, it shows us two icons, “Watch Later” and “Add to Queue,” located on its right size. Come on, you don’t want your beautiful thumbnail that cost you a few hours be covered. To avoid these icons from hiding your important stuff of thumbnail, make sure to put everything on the right side of your thumbnail.

put-stuff-on-left

  1. Have a unique and Consistent style

Try to make all your thumbnails follow the same style. Following the same style for all your Youtube thumbnails will make your channel look unique and all your videos identical. It will be easy for viewers to identify your videos when they see them. It gives your channel a touch of its unique brand.

unique-and-consistent-style

  1. Use elements to grab the attention

To make your Youtube thumbnail more appealing to the viewers, add circles and arrows to grab viewers’ attention to something very important in the video. It will increase the curiosity in the viewers and make them click your videos to learn more.

use-elements-to-grab-attention

  1. Choose the right tool

This whole process seems to be very hectic and time taking, but do you know, you can do everything on just one software? There is no need to edit a video in a different software then make a thumbnail in another software. With Filmora X, you can perform all these tasks on a single platform with so many amazing features. Whether you want to remove the background of your image or add attractive titles to it, Filmora X has got you covered.

  1. Avoid clickbait and irrelevant pics and title

It is one of the old tricks that so many people on Youtube use. It undoubtedly brings you clicks and more views, but once the viewer realizes that you have used irrelevant pictures or texts to attract them**. I**n reality, your video doesn’t contain any information related to it, you are going to lose their trust. They are never going to click on your videos again. Even if you don’t use such a trick anymore. Try to avoid such activities. Avoiding such activities can make your channel grow in the long term. Only use the text and images that are relevant to your content and stick to that.

  1. Choose your preview window wisely

Do you know that Youtube can show a 3-second preview of your video when someone hovers the cursor over it? It is one of the best ways to show the viewers the content of your video even when they don’t click on your video. These three seconds will help them decide whether to click on your video or not. This preview is selected by the system from the first half of your video according to its relevance and similarity with the topic. That’s why it is very important to add related information in the first half of the video, otherwise, Youtube will choose it randomly. If the preview is not selected for two days, it means your video is not eligible for it.

choose-preview-wisely


How to Make a Fortnite Thumbnail Super Fast and Free?

Many of you might be interested in how to make a fortnite thumbnail, so here it is. To make a Fortnite thumbnail for free, we are going to use Filmora X. Filmora X contains all kinds of features and elements that are required for a perfect and eye-catching thumbnail. To get started, make sure to download and install the latest version of Filmora X.

  1. Before we start making Fortnite Thumbnails, we have to take a screenshot of the gameplay. Open Fortnite and go to the Career tab. Here you will find Replays.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step1

  1. It contains all your recent gameplays. We can use it to take a screenshot. If you are using a console, you will find 10 recent gameplays here. But if you are a PC user, you can find the last 100 gameplays. Select the gameplay you want to take a screenshot from.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step2

  1. For our preferred angle, choose “Drone Free Camera” mode from the bottom right corner of the screen. It will allow us to use our preferred angle without any restriction. Choose an angle and take a screenshot.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step3

  1. Open Filmora X, make sure to select the 16:9 screen ratio. Import the screenshot that you have taken from Fortnite.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step4

  1. Place it into the timeline to start working on it.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step5

  1. Now to separate the character from the background, go to the Effects. Under effects, you can find a tab named AI Portraits. Click on AI Portrait. Now drag the Human Segmentation and drop it on the screenshot in the timeline.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step6

  1. It will ask you to purchase it. But there is no need to do that. Just hit Try It.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step7

  1. This effect will remove the background of your screenshot.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step8

  1. Now you can add a background of your choice. You can upload an image or choose a simple color from Filmora’s Media tab and drag it below the screenshot in the timeline.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step9

  1. To add text to the screenshot, go to Titles. Here you can find a wide range of different and unique titles to choose from for your Fortnite Thumbnail. Choose any of the titles and place them accordingly.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step10

  1. To make it more attractive, we can add icons and other elements from Filmora’s Element tab. You can also download the stickers from the internet and use them.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step11

  1. After completing the thumbnail, click on the Snapshot icon located below the preview tab of Filmora. Or press “CTRL+ALT+S”. It will save a screenshot into the media panel of Filmora.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step12

  1. Right-click on the screenshot and navigate to “Reveal in Explorer”. It will open the folder that contains all the screenshots taken from Filmora. Now you can use it as a Fortnite Thumbnail.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step13


How to Add a Custom YouTube Thumbnail to Your Video in YouTube

Once you have successfully created a custom thumbnail, you can use it in your videos on Youtube.

  1. Open Youtube Studio and upload your video. While uploading the video, you can see a section named “Thumbnail”. Under this section, click on “Upload Thumbnail”.

how-to-add-custom-youtube-thumbnail-to-video-step1

  1. Select the thumbnail that you have made. Just like the one Fortnite thumbnail that we have created using Filmora X.

how-to-add-custom-youtube-thumbnail-to-video-step2

  1. The thumbnail will be uploaded and attached to the video. Now you can process all the settings and publish the video.

how-to-add-custom-youtube-thumbnail-to-video-step3

Conclusion

Thumbnail is the first thing that helps the viewer decide whether to click on a video or ignore it. Which increases the importance of having a well-structured and attractive thumbnail. By following the above guide, you can make an astonishing and clickable thumbnail in no time. For better and quick results, we recommend you using Filmora X. It allows you to perform all the tasks from video editing to thumbnail creation on a single platform.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

You must have heard the phrase, Never judge a book by its cover. But actually, we do judge everything by its cover. The same is the case with Youtube videos. No matter how good the content of your video is if you are unable to convey that with the thumbnail of your video, it will not bring any good to your channel. If you are looking forward to growing your channel and attracting more viewers, then having an appealing and eye-catching thumbnail is one of the most important factors. There are several things to be considered while creating a custom thumbnail if you want to make your videos look stunning and engaging. By following all these points, you can increase the chances of your channel’s growth.


In this article, we have 5 chapters for you:


Best YouTube Thumbnail Size

Being a content creator, you never know which device is being used by the viewer to watch your videos. It can be a smartphone, laptop, pc, or smart TV. It is very important to keep all these devices in mind while choosing a Youtube thumbnail size. For the best possible results, consider the following points while making a thumbnail for your Youtube videos.

  • To cover all the devices perfectly, set the thumbnail resolution to 1280x720
  • Save the thumbnail in JPG, GIF, or PNG format
  • Try not to cross the 2MB limit
  • Make sure to use a 16:9 aspect ratio for perfect results throughout the devices

youtube-thumbnail-size


How Important is a Custom Thumbnail?

Custom Thumbnail is a tool through which the viewers can understand everything about a video. It tells the viewers what to expect from a video, what not to expect, and what the video is all about. no matter if you create amazing content, if the thumbnail is not good enough to covey that to the viewers, all your hard work will be of no use and will not bring any good to your channel and its growth. According to Google ,90% of best-performing videos have custom thumbnails. It shows the importance of custom thumbnails.

piechart-importance-of-custom-thumbnail.png


Best Practice From Experiences

Now, since we know the importance of having a custom thumbnail, it is important to know how to make a thumbnail for Youtube look perfect, appealing, and eye-catching at the same time. There are some points to be considered while creating a thumbnail for Youtube. We will provide you with the best practices that we have learned throughout our journey of using Youtube and growing it from zero.

7 best practices can help you make your Youtube thumbnail stand out from the crowd and make its way out.

  1. Show your face

In a world full of machines and computers, people love to listen and interact with people instead of computer-generated voices and a voice without a face. Showing your face on a Youtube thumbnail makes it more appealing to users to click and listen to the person who is being shown in the thumbnail. Humans are more inclined towards faces. When there is a human element in a video, it increases its effectiveness. Check out the pics below, which one are you most likely to click through?

comparison-of-showing-face-or-not

  1. Use Simple Fonts

With your face, it is necessary to put some text on your Youtube thumbnail to let viewers know what this video is all about without clicking or watching it. Don’t use fancy fonts on Youtube thumbnail. It makes it hard for the viewers to read and understand what to expect in the video, especially for those watching YouTube on their 5 inches screen smartphone, ultimately decreasing the chances of your video being clicked and watched. I personally recommend you to use give these fonts a go while making YouTube thumbnail.

simple-fonts-recommended

  1. Use Phrases, not sentence

If you have ever noticed, Youtube thumbnails are very small in size, making it hard for viewers to notice any small elements. According to YouTube , more than 70% of Youtube watch time comes from mobile devices. While adding text in a thumbnail, instead of using sentences, make sure to use only words and make them large in size that can easily be noticed on small screens. Summurise your video in no more than 5 words.

piechart-youtube-watchtime-percentage

use-phrases-not-sentences

  1. Put every stuff on left side

When we navigate to a Youtube thumbnail and place the cursor on it, it shows us two icons, “Watch Later” and “Add to Queue,” located on its right size. Come on, you don’t want your beautiful thumbnail that cost you a few hours be covered. To avoid these icons from hiding your important stuff of thumbnail, make sure to put everything on the right side of your thumbnail.

put-stuff-on-left

  1. Have a unique and Consistent style

Try to make all your thumbnails follow the same style. Following the same style for all your Youtube thumbnails will make your channel look unique and all your videos identical. It will be easy for viewers to identify your videos when they see them. It gives your channel a touch of its unique brand.

unique-and-consistent-style

  1. Use elements to grab the attention

To make your Youtube thumbnail more appealing to the viewers, add circles and arrows to grab viewers’ attention to something very important in the video. It will increase the curiosity in the viewers and make them click your videos to learn more.

use-elements-to-grab-attention

  1. Choose the right tool

This whole process seems to be very hectic and time taking, but do you know, you can do everything on just one software? There is no need to edit a video in a different software then make a thumbnail in another software. With Filmora X, you can perform all these tasks on a single platform with so many amazing features. Whether you want to remove the background of your image or add attractive titles to it, Filmora X has got you covered.

  1. Avoid clickbait and irrelevant pics and title

It is one of the old tricks that so many people on Youtube use. It undoubtedly brings you clicks and more views, but once the viewer realizes that you have used irrelevant pictures or texts to attract them**. I**n reality, your video doesn’t contain any information related to it, you are going to lose their trust. They are never going to click on your videos again. Even if you don’t use such a trick anymore. Try to avoid such activities. Avoiding such activities can make your channel grow in the long term. Only use the text and images that are relevant to your content and stick to that.

  1. Choose your preview window wisely

Do you know that Youtube can show a 3-second preview of your video when someone hovers the cursor over it? It is one of the best ways to show the viewers the content of your video even when they don’t click on your video. These three seconds will help them decide whether to click on your video or not. This preview is selected by the system from the first half of your video according to its relevance and similarity with the topic. That’s why it is very important to add related information in the first half of the video, otherwise, Youtube will choose it randomly. If the preview is not selected for two days, it means your video is not eligible for it.

choose-preview-wisely


How to Make a Fortnite Thumbnail Super Fast and Free?

Many of you might be interested in how to make a fortnite thumbnail, so here it is. To make a Fortnite thumbnail for free, we are going to use Filmora X. Filmora X contains all kinds of features and elements that are required for a perfect and eye-catching thumbnail. To get started, make sure to download and install the latest version of Filmora X.

  1. Before we start making Fortnite Thumbnails, we have to take a screenshot of the gameplay. Open Fortnite and go to the Career tab. Here you will find Replays.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step1

  1. It contains all your recent gameplays. We can use it to take a screenshot. If you are using a console, you will find 10 recent gameplays here. But if you are a PC user, you can find the last 100 gameplays. Select the gameplay you want to take a screenshot from.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step2

  1. For our preferred angle, choose “Drone Free Camera” mode from the bottom right corner of the screen. It will allow us to use our preferred angle without any restriction. Choose an angle and take a screenshot.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step3

  1. Open Filmora X, make sure to select the 16:9 screen ratio. Import the screenshot that you have taken from Fortnite.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step4

  1. Place it into the timeline to start working on it.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step5

  1. Now to separate the character from the background, go to the Effects. Under effects, you can find a tab named AI Portraits. Click on AI Portrait. Now drag the Human Segmentation and drop it on the screenshot in the timeline.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step6

  1. It will ask you to purchase it. But there is no need to do that. Just hit Try It.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step7

  1. This effect will remove the background of your screenshot.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step8

  1. Now you can add a background of your choice. You can upload an image or choose a simple color from Filmora’s Media tab and drag it below the screenshot in the timeline.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step9

  1. To add text to the screenshot, go to Titles. Here you can find a wide range of different and unique titles to choose from for your Fortnite Thumbnail. Choose any of the titles and place them accordingly.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step10

  1. To make it more attractive, we can add icons and other elements from Filmora’s Element tab. You can also download the stickers from the internet and use them.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step11

  1. After completing the thumbnail, click on the Snapshot icon located below the preview tab of Filmora. Or press “CTRL+ALT+S”. It will save a screenshot into the media panel of Filmora.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step12

  1. Right-click on the screenshot and navigate to “Reveal in Explorer”. It will open the folder that contains all the screenshots taken from Filmora. Now you can use it as a Fortnite Thumbnail.

 make-fortnite-thumbnail-step13


How to Add a Custom YouTube Thumbnail to Your Video in YouTube

Once you have successfully created a custom thumbnail, you can use it in your videos on Youtube.

  1. Open Youtube Studio and upload your video. While uploading the video, you can see a section named “Thumbnail”. Under this section, click on “Upload Thumbnail”.

how-to-add-custom-youtube-thumbnail-to-video-step1

  1. Select the thumbnail that you have made. Just like the one Fortnite thumbnail that we have created using Filmora X.

how-to-add-custom-youtube-thumbnail-to-video-step2

  1. The thumbnail will be uploaded and attached to the video. Now you can process all the settings and publish the video.

how-to-add-custom-youtube-thumbnail-to-video-step3

Conclusion

Thumbnail is the first thing that helps the viewer decide whether to click on a video or ignore it. Which increases the importance of having a well-structured and attractive thumbnail. By following the above guide, you can make an astonishing and clickable thumbnail in no time. For better and quick results, we recommend you using Filmora X. It allows you to perform all the tasks from video editing to thumbnail creation on a single platform.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Unlock Creativity in YouTube Production: An Intro to WMM

How to Edit YouTube videos in Windows Movie Maker

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

We all know YouTube is an important platform for sharing and watching videos. Are you a YouTuber looking for how to edit YouTube video with the best YouTube movie maker? You have come the right place if you wonder how to edit a video for YouTube on Windows. While, if you have free Windows Movie Maker already installed on your computer, you can edit YouTube videos in Windows Movie Maker and then upload to YouTube directly. In this article, I will show you all the information you need to know about how to edit a video for YouTube in Windows Movie Maker with step by step.

You may also like : The Ultimate Guide to YouTube Video Editing Tools


In case that you do not have free Windows Movie Maker in your computer, you may need to download it from other website since Microsoft has removed the downloading link after January 2017. Please pay attention when downloading the Movie Maker application from website and never download it from untrusted website.

A better way to edit YouTube Videos - Wondershare Filmora supports many formats including MP4, MOV, MKV, and FLV, which means that you will not need to convert the files before and after editing. Like Windows Movie Maker, Wondershare Filmora is easy to use but comes with many more features that allow for professional-grade videos. One of these features is the animated text. There are also built-in presets that you can use to quickly edit your videos. There is also the option to directly upload a video to YouTube from Filmora, so no time is wasted waiting for a video to process.

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

It is hard to list all the information of how to use Filmora to edit YouTube videos here, but we have composed an article about how to edit videos, you can check How to Edit Video in Filmora: Beginners’ Guide .


Windows Movie Maker YouTube: How to Edit YouTube Videos?

Before editing the video in Windows Movie Maker , you have to make sure that the video format is supported by free Windows Movie Maker. As you may know that Window Movie Maker only accept the following file formats at importing: .WMV/.ASF, .MPG (MPEG-1), .AVI (DV-AVI), .WMA, .WAV, and .MP3. Importing formats such as MP4/3GP, FLV and MOV, are also supported you are running Windows 7 or later and you have installed the necessary codec as well.

If your videos are not supported at importing in Windows Movie Maker, you may need to converter it first or choose a video editor like Filmora video editor which supports the almost all popular formats.

Step 1: Import Video Files Into Windows Movie Maker

youtube movie maker import video

To import video or photo into Windows Movie Maker, you can click on the button Add Videos or Photos located at the top of the program. A file window will open, and you can select the videos from any area of your computer. Once you have the files selected, click OK to import the files to the storyboard in the right hand panel.

You can also choose to record a webcam on your windows 10 or windows 7 computer and use it as the material.

free youtube movie maker recording

Step 2: Trim/Cut/Split/Combine videos in Windows Movie Maker

Preview the video clips in the preview box. You can always use the Previous Frame or Next Frame to preview video frame by frame. When editing a video for YouTube, you may need to trim to remove unwanted parts from the video , combine several clips into a new one or split the video into several smaller parts .

To remove any parts of the video that you do not want in the final version of the video, locate the start frame that you want to remove in the storyboard, and then click the Split button to get the starting point of the split segment, and then locate the end frame that you want to remove and click Split again. Right-click the split video clip you want to remove and select Remove from the context menu. This can be done as many times as you want.

free youtube movie maker cut/trim

Step 3: Apply Transitions and Visual Effects to YouTube Video

Once you have all the clips that you want in your video, you can then add transitions to the video. At the top of Windows Movie Maker, there is a button that says Animations. This will open a menu that has different options. You need to select the clip, and add the transition that you want. The program does the rest of the work. You can see how it looks by clicking play.

youtube movie maker to add transition

Applying visual effects, overlays and filters work in the same way, but you click on Visual Effects, which is located at the top of the window. You can apply effects to any clip as along as the clip is selected first.

Step 4: Edit/Mute Audio in Video or Add New Audio Sound

If you are planning on adding music to your video, you should think about muting the audio in video or decrease the audio volume in Video. Double click the video clip to enter the Edit panel, and then then click on Video Volume button. You can then mute the audio by drag the volume slider to the left end. Of course, you can adjust the video audio volume per your need. This will affect the all the sounds on that video clip. If you want to mute all the clips, you need to select all the clips, or you will end up with one clip with no sound, and the rest of the clips having sound.

video movie maker mute audio

Once the sound has been adjusted on the clips, you can add new audio sound to the video. You can record narrations for your YouTube video in Windows Movie Maker by clicking Record narration button in Home tab and add music to video by clicking Add music button and select the music to import it. You can add music from your computer or find new music sound from AudioMicro, Vimeo or Free Music Archive online.

video movie maker add audio

After importing the new audio file for your YouTube video, you can now adjust the music volume. In the Music Tools tab, there is an Option tab, you can control the volume and other options about the music.

video movie maker edit music

Step 5: Add Title and Text to Video for YouTube

Windows Movie Maker allows you to add different types of text freely. You will see 3 buttons that allow different types of text to video: stationary title, captions and rolling credits. Click on Title, you can add text before the video begins; select Caption, you will write text to the video frames; and click Credits will add end credits to the end of the video.

 free video movie maker add text

After selecting the type of text you want, you can enter your text and edit the text effects. You can change the text duration and apply text visual effects, and change the text outline size and more.

movie maker for youtube edit text

Check the detailed information of How to Add Text in Windows Movie Maker .

Step 6: Save and Publish

Once all the edits are done, you can save the video by clicking on File then clicking on Publish Movie. You will need to select where you want to save the file and the file type. Since we are editing videos for YouTube, choose YouTube to upload the edited video to YouTube. You can also save the video in computer with different formats, resolution or burn to DVD. Windows Movie Maker also allows you to save the Video for Email or for mobile devices.

movie maker for youtube edit video

Conclusion

That’s it. That’s how you can edit your YouTube video with Windows Movie Maker. It is a great YouTube video editor to make video with various features. However, you may consider other YouTube movie maker as it won’t updated. Why not try Filmora. It is one of the best movie editor for YouTube. Download it now to have a try!

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

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

We all know YouTube is an important platform for sharing and watching videos. Are you a YouTuber looking for how to edit YouTube video with the best YouTube movie maker? You have come the right place if you wonder how to edit a video for YouTube on Windows. While, if you have free Windows Movie Maker already installed on your computer, you can edit YouTube videos in Windows Movie Maker and then upload to YouTube directly. In this article, I will show you all the information you need to know about how to edit a video for YouTube in Windows Movie Maker with step by step.

You may also like : The Ultimate Guide to YouTube Video Editing Tools


In case that you do not have free Windows Movie Maker in your computer, you may need to download it from other website since Microsoft has removed the downloading link after January 2017. Please pay attention when downloading the Movie Maker application from website and never download it from untrusted website.

A better way to edit YouTube Videos - Wondershare Filmora supports many formats including MP4, MOV, MKV, and FLV, which means that you will not need to convert the files before and after editing. Like Windows Movie Maker, Wondershare Filmora is easy to use but comes with many more features that allow for professional-grade videos. One of these features is the animated text. There are also built-in presets that you can use to quickly edit your videos. There is also the option to directly upload a video to YouTube from Filmora, so no time is wasted waiting for a video to process.

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

It is hard to list all the information of how to use Filmora to edit YouTube videos here, but we have composed an article about how to edit videos, you can check How to Edit Video in Filmora: Beginners’ Guide .


Windows Movie Maker YouTube: How to Edit YouTube Videos?

Before editing the video in Windows Movie Maker , you have to make sure that the video format is supported by free Windows Movie Maker. As you may know that Window Movie Maker only accept the following file formats at importing: .WMV/.ASF, .MPG (MPEG-1), .AVI (DV-AVI), .WMA, .WAV, and .MP3. Importing formats such as MP4/3GP, FLV and MOV, are also supported you are running Windows 7 or later and you have installed the necessary codec as well.

If your videos are not supported at importing in Windows Movie Maker, you may need to converter it first or choose a video editor like Filmora video editor which supports the almost all popular formats.

Step 1: Import Video Files Into Windows Movie Maker

youtube movie maker import video

To import video or photo into Windows Movie Maker, you can click on the button Add Videos or Photos located at the top of the program. A file window will open, and you can select the videos from any area of your computer. Once you have the files selected, click OK to import the files to the storyboard in the right hand panel.

You can also choose to record a webcam on your windows 10 or windows 7 computer and use it as the material.

free youtube movie maker recording

Step 2: Trim/Cut/Split/Combine videos in Windows Movie Maker

Preview the video clips in the preview box. You can always use the Previous Frame or Next Frame to preview video frame by frame. When editing a video for YouTube, you may need to trim to remove unwanted parts from the video , combine several clips into a new one or split the video into several smaller parts .

To remove any parts of the video that you do not want in the final version of the video, locate the start frame that you want to remove in the storyboard, and then click the Split button to get the starting point of the split segment, and then locate the end frame that you want to remove and click Split again. Right-click the split video clip you want to remove and select Remove from the context menu. This can be done as many times as you want.

free youtube movie maker cut/trim

Step 3: Apply Transitions and Visual Effects to YouTube Video

Once you have all the clips that you want in your video, you can then add transitions to the video. At the top of Windows Movie Maker, there is a button that says Animations. This will open a menu that has different options. You need to select the clip, and add the transition that you want. The program does the rest of the work. You can see how it looks by clicking play.

youtube movie maker to add transition

Applying visual effects, overlays and filters work in the same way, but you click on Visual Effects, which is located at the top of the window. You can apply effects to any clip as along as the clip is selected first.

Step 4: Edit/Mute Audio in Video or Add New Audio Sound

If you are planning on adding music to your video, you should think about muting the audio in video or decrease the audio volume in Video. Double click the video clip to enter the Edit panel, and then then click on Video Volume button. You can then mute the audio by drag the volume slider to the left end. Of course, you can adjust the video audio volume per your need. This will affect the all the sounds on that video clip. If you want to mute all the clips, you need to select all the clips, or you will end up with one clip with no sound, and the rest of the clips having sound.

video movie maker mute audio

Once the sound has been adjusted on the clips, you can add new audio sound to the video. You can record narrations for your YouTube video in Windows Movie Maker by clicking Record narration button in Home tab and add music to video by clicking Add music button and select the music to import it. You can add music from your computer or find new music sound from AudioMicro, Vimeo or Free Music Archive online.

video movie maker add audio

After importing the new audio file for your YouTube video, you can now adjust the music volume. In the Music Tools tab, there is an Option tab, you can control the volume and other options about the music.

video movie maker edit music

Step 5: Add Title and Text to Video for YouTube

Windows Movie Maker allows you to add different types of text freely. You will see 3 buttons that allow different types of text to video: stationary title, captions and rolling credits. Click on Title, you can add text before the video begins; select Caption, you will write text to the video frames; and click Credits will add end credits to the end of the video.

 free video movie maker add text

After selecting the type of text you want, you can enter your text and edit the text effects. You can change the text duration and apply text visual effects, and change the text outline size and more.

movie maker for youtube edit text

Check the detailed information of How to Add Text in Windows Movie Maker .

Step 6: Save and Publish

Once all the edits are done, you can save the video by clicking on File then clicking on Publish Movie. You will need to select where you want to save the file and the file type. Since we are editing videos for YouTube, choose YouTube to upload the edited video to YouTube. You can also save the video in computer with different formats, resolution or burn to DVD. Windows Movie Maker also allows you to save the Video for Email or for mobile devices.

movie maker for youtube edit video

Conclusion

That’s it. That’s how you can edit your YouTube video with Windows Movie Maker. It is a great YouTube video editor to make video with various features. However, you may consider other YouTube movie maker as it won’t updated. Why not try Filmora. It is one of the best movie editor for YouTube. Download it now to have a try!

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

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

We all know YouTube is an important platform for sharing and watching videos. Are you a YouTuber looking for how to edit YouTube video with the best YouTube movie maker? You have come the right place if you wonder how to edit a video for YouTube on Windows. While, if you have free Windows Movie Maker already installed on your computer, you can edit YouTube videos in Windows Movie Maker and then upload to YouTube directly. In this article, I will show you all the information you need to know about how to edit a video for YouTube in Windows Movie Maker with step by step.

You may also like : The Ultimate Guide to YouTube Video Editing Tools


In case that you do not have free Windows Movie Maker in your computer, you may need to download it from other website since Microsoft has removed the downloading link after January 2017. Please pay attention when downloading the Movie Maker application from website and never download it from untrusted website.

A better way to edit YouTube Videos - Wondershare Filmora supports many formats including MP4, MOV, MKV, and FLV, which means that you will not need to convert the files before and after editing. Like Windows Movie Maker, Wondershare Filmora is easy to use but comes with many more features that allow for professional-grade videos. One of these features is the animated text. There are also built-in presets that you can use to quickly edit your videos. There is also the option to directly upload a video to YouTube from Filmora, so no time is wasted waiting for a video to process.

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

It is hard to list all the information of how to use Filmora to edit YouTube videos here, but we have composed an article about how to edit videos, you can check How to Edit Video in Filmora: Beginners’ Guide .


Windows Movie Maker YouTube: How to Edit YouTube Videos?

Before editing the video in Windows Movie Maker , you have to make sure that the video format is supported by free Windows Movie Maker. As you may know that Window Movie Maker only accept the following file formats at importing: .WMV/.ASF, .MPG (MPEG-1), .AVI (DV-AVI), .WMA, .WAV, and .MP3. Importing formats such as MP4/3GP, FLV and MOV, are also supported you are running Windows 7 or later and you have installed the necessary codec as well.

If your videos are not supported at importing in Windows Movie Maker, you may need to converter it first or choose a video editor like Filmora video editor which supports the almost all popular formats.

Step 1: Import Video Files Into Windows Movie Maker

youtube movie maker import video

To import video or photo into Windows Movie Maker, you can click on the button Add Videos or Photos located at the top of the program. A file window will open, and you can select the videos from any area of your computer. Once you have the files selected, click OK to import the files to the storyboard in the right hand panel.

You can also choose to record a webcam on your windows 10 or windows 7 computer and use it as the material.

free youtube movie maker recording

Step 2: Trim/Cut/Split/Combine videos in Windows Movie Maker

Preview the video clips in the preview box. You can always use the Previous Frame or Next Frame to preview video frame by frame. When editing a video for YouTube, you may need to trim to remove unwanted parts from the video , combine several clips into a new one or split the video into several smaller parts .

To remove any parts of the video that you do not want in the final version of the video, locate the start frame that you want to remove in the storyboard, and then click the Split button to get the starting point of the split segment, and then locate the end frame that you want to remove and click Split again. Right-click the split video clip you want to remove and select Remove from the context menu. This can be done as many times as you want.

free youtube movie maker cut/trim

Step 3: Apply Transitions and Visual Effects to YouTube Video

Once you have all the clips that you want in your video, you can then add transitions to the video. At the top of Windows Movie Maker, there is a button that says Animations. This will open a menu that has different options. You need to select the clip, and add the transition that you want. The program does the rest of the work. You can see how it looks by clicking play.

youtube movie maker to add transition

Applying visual effects, overlays and filters work in the same way, but you click on Visual Effects, which is located at the top of the window. You can apply effects to any clip as along as the clip is selected first.

Step 4: Edit/Mute Audio in Video or Add New Audio Sound

If you are planning on adding music to your video, you should think about muting the audio in video or decrease the audio volume in Video. Double click the video clip to enter the Edit panel, and then then click on Video Volume button. You can then mute the audio by drag the volume slider to the left end. Of course, you can adjust the video audio volume per your need. This will affect the all the sounds on that video clip. If you want to mute all the clips, you need to select all the clips, or you will end up with one clip with no sound, and the rest of the clips having sound.

video movie maker mute audio

Once the sound has been adjusted on the clips, you can add new audio sound to the video. You can record narrations for your YouTube video in Windows Movie Maker by clicking Record narration button in Home tab and add music to video by clicking Add music button and select the music to import it. You can add music from your computer or find new music sound from AudioMicro, Vimeo or Free Music Archive online.

video movie maker add audio

After importing the new audio file for your YouTube video, you can now adjust the music volume. In the Music Tools tab, there is an Option tab, you can control the volume and other options about the music.

video movie maker edit music

Step 5: Add Title and Text to Video for YouTube

Windows Movie Maker allows you to add different types of text freely. You will see 3 buttons that allow different types of text to video: stationary title, captions and rolling credits. Click on Title, you can add text before the video begins; select Caption, you will write text to the video frames; and click Credits will add end credits to the end of the video.

 free video movie maker add text

After selecting the type of text you want, you can enter your text and edit the text effects. You can change the text duration and apply text visual effects, and change the text outline size and more.

movie maker for youtube edit text

Check the detailed information of How to Add Text in Windows Movie Maker .

Step 6: Save and Publish

Once all the edits are done, you can save the video by clicking on File then clicking on Publish Movie. You will need to select where you want to save the file and the file type. Since we are editing videos for YouTube, choose YouTube to upload the edited video to YouTube. You can also save the video in computer with different formats, resolution or burn to DVD. Windows Movie Maker also allows you to save the Video for Email or for mobile devices.

movie maker for youtube edit video

Conclusion

That’s it. That’s how you can edit your YouTube video with Windows Movie Maker. It is a great YouTube video editor to make video with various features. However, you may consider other YouTube movie maker as it won’t updated. Why not try Filmora. It is one of the best movie editor for YouTube. Download it now to have a try!

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

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

We all know YouTube is an important platform for sharing and watching videos. Are you a YouTuber looking for how to edit YouTube video with the best YouTube movie maker? You have come the right place if you wonder how to edit a video for YouTube on Windows. While, if you have free Windows Movie Maker already installed on your computer, you can edit YouTube videos in Windows Movie Maker and then upload to YouTube directly. In this article, I will show you all the information you need to know about how to edit a video for YouTube in Windows Movie Maker with step by step.

You may also like : The Ultimate Guide to YouTube Video Editing Tools


In case that you do not have free Windows Movie Maker in your computer, you may need to download it from other website since Microsoft has removed the downloading link after January 2017. Please pay attention when downloading the Movie Maker application from website and never download it from untrusted website.

A better way to edit YouTube Videos - Wondershare Filmora supports many formats including MP4, MOV, MKV, and FLV, which means that you will not need to convert the files before and after editing. Like Windows Movie Maker, Wondershare Filmora is easy to use but comes with many more features that allow for professional-grade videos. One of these features is the animated text. There are also built-in presets that you can use to quickly edit your videos. There is also the option to directly upload a video to YouTube from Filmora, so no time is wasted waiting for a video to process.

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

It is hard to list all the information of how to use Filmora to edit YouTube videos here, but we have composed an article about how to edit videos, you can check How to Edit Video in Filmora: Beginners’ Guide .


Windows Movie Maker YouTube: How to Edit YouTube Videos?

Before editing the video in Windows Movie Maker , you have to make sure that the video format is supported by free Windows Movie Maker. As you may know that Window Movie Maker only accept the following file formats at importing: .WMV/.ASF, .MPG (MPEG-1), .AVI (DV-AVI), .WMA, .WAV, and .MP3. Importing formats such as MP4/3GP, FLV and MOV, are also supported you are running Windows 7 or later and you have installed the necessary codec as well.

If your videos are not supported at importing in Windows Movie Maker, you may need to converter it first or choose a video editor like Filmora video editor which supports the almost all popular formats.

Step 1: Import Video Files Into Windows Movie Maker

youtube movie maker import video

To import video or photo into Windows Movie Maker, you can click on the button Add Videos or Photos located at the top of the program. A file window will open, and you can select the videos from any area of your computer. Once you have the files selected, click OK to import the files to the storyboard in the right hand panel.

You can also choose to record a webcam on your windows 10 or windows 7 computer and use it as the material.

free youtube movie maker recording

Step 2: Trim/Cut/Split/Combine videos in Windows Movie Maker

Preview the video clips in the preview box. You can always use the Previous Frame or Next Frame to preview video frame by frame. When editing a video for YouTube, you may need to trim to remove unwanted parts from the video , combine several clips into a new one or split the video into several smaller parts .

To remove any parts of the video that you do not want in the final version of the video, locate the start frame that you want to remove in the storyboard, and then click the Split button to get the starting point of the split segment, and then locate the end frame that you want to remove and click Split again. Right-click the split video clip you want to remove and select Remove from the context menu. This can be done as many times as you want.

free youtube movie maker cut/trim

Step 3: Apply Transitions and Visual Effects to YouTube Video

Once you have all the clips that you want in your video, you can then add transitions to the video. At the top of Windows Movie Maker, there is a button that says Animations. This will open a menu that has different options. You need to select the clip, and add the transition that you want. The program does the rest of the work. You can see how it looks by clicking play.

youtube movie maker to add transition

Applying visual effects, overlays and filters work in the same way, but you click on Visual Effects, which is located at the top of the window. You can apply effects to any clip as along as the clip is selected first.

Step 4: Edit/Mute Audio in Video or Add New Audio Sound

If you are planning on adding music to your video, you should think about muting the audio in video or decrease the audio volume in Video. Double click the video clip to enter the Edit panel, and then then click on Video Volume button. You can then mute the audio by drag the volume slider to the left end. Of course, you can adjust the video audio volume per your need. This will affect the all the sounds on that video clip. If you want to mute all the clips, you need to select all the clips, or you will end up with one clip with no sound, and the rest of the clips having sound.

video movie maker mute audio

Once the sound has been adjusted on the clips, you can add new audio sound to the video. You can record narrations for your YouTube video in Windows Movie Maker by clicking Record narration button in Home tab and add music to video by clicking Add music button and select the music to import it. You can add music from your computer or find new music sound from AudioMicro, Vimeo or Free Music Archive online.

video movie maker add audio

After importing the new audio file for your YouTube video, you can now adjust the music volume. In the Music Tools tab, there is an Option tab, you can control the volume and other options about the music.

video movie maker edit music

Step 5: Add Title and Text to Video for YouTube

Windows Movie Maker allows you to add different types of text freely. You will see 3 buttons that allow different types of text to video: stationary title, captions and rolling credits. Click on Title, you can add text before the video begins; select Caption, you will write text to the video frames; and click Credits will add end credits to the end of the video.

 free video movie maker add text

After selecting the type of text you want, you can enter your text and edit the text effects. You can change the text duration and apply text visual effects, and change the text outline size and more.

movie maker for youtube edit text

Check the detailed information of How to Add Text in Windows Movie Maker .

Step 6: Save and Publish

Once all the edits are done, you can save the video by clicking on File then clicking on Publish Movie. You will need to select where you want to save the file and the file type. Since we are editing videos for YouTube, choose YouTube to upload the edited video to YouTube. You can also save the video in computer with different formats, resolution or burn to DVD. Windows Movie Maker also allows you to save the Video for Email or for mobile devices.

movie maker for youtube edit video

Conclusion

That’s it. That’s how you can edit your YouTube video with Windows Movie Maker. It is a great YouTube video editor to make video with various features. However, you may consider other YouTube movie maker as it won’t updated. Why not try Filmora. It is one of the best movie editor for YouTube. Download it now to have a try!

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

author avatar

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Also read:

  • Title: "How to Size Your Videos YouTube's Best Practices Unveiled"
  • Author: Kevin
  • Created at : 2024-05-25 15:20:19
  • Updated at : 2024-05-26 15:20:19
  • Link: https://youtube-videos.techidaily.com/how-to-size-your-videos-youtubes-best-practices-unveiled/
  • License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.