Thrift in Tech: Streaming FREE Seminars on YouTube

How to Host a Webinar on YouTube for Free

Max Wales

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Promoting products, offering educational content or in-depth tutorials on virtually any subject through webinars will enable you to reach new audiences and offer your services on a worldwide market. There are thousands of webinar software products and online platforms, but most of them are quite expensive and they require you to have a considerable amount of experience with the process of setting up and recording webinars.

An alternative solution is available if your budget is tight, but you’d still like to produce a great webinar. We are going to take you through all the steps you’ll need to take if you’d like to host a webinar for free and help you spread the word about the products and services you’re offering.

The All-in-One Screen Recorder & Video Editor

• Record desktop screen, voiceover, and webcam simultaneously
• Edit recorded clips quickly with a wide range of professional tools
• Built-in plentiful templates and effects
• Export to MP4, MOV, MKV, GIF and multiple formats

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Secure Download

Hosting a Webinar for Free

The world’s largest video sharing platform also features broadcasting options that enable its users to schedule events and thus host webinars free of charge. Previously known as the Google Hangouts on Air, the YouTube Live feature is fairly simple to set up, but before you start your first webinar you will need to choose a landing page and a chatbox. If you already have a website you can simply copy and paste the embed link and create a landing page for your webinar, or you can use landing pages software products such as LeadPages or Unbounce if you don’t have your own online domain. For setting up chatboxes for your webinars we recommend using Chatroll or RumbleTalk platforms, although you’ll have to pay a fee if you choose to chat with your audience using these computer programs. So here’s how you can host your first webinar on YouTube for free.

Step 1. Create a YouTube Event

If you don’t already have an account on YouTube, you’ll have to create one before you can schedule your first live event. After making sure that you are logged in to your YouTube account head over to the Creator Studio, and click on the Live Streaming tab. Select the New Live Event option and proceed to insert the basic information about the event such as the title, date when the event should take place, tags or a short description of the webinar you’re planning.

The Advanced Settings tab will enable you the access to options that will allow you to assign the license and the owner of the webinar. You can also choose the language, set the location or select the category of the event.

Step 2. Copy the Embed Code and Paste it To Your Webinar’s Landing Page

When you adjust all the settings for your upcoming event, you should click on the Share button. This action will grant you access to the video’s embed link, so you can just copy it to your website, or to the landing page you’ve created with the appropriate software.

Step 3. Add the Chatbox to The Webinar’s Landing Page

Communicating with the audience during the webinar is important, and for that reason, embedding the chatbox link on the webinar’s landing page is a crucial step that will allow you to interact with the participants of your webinar. Chatbox platforms for live events such as Chatroll or RumbleTalk offer amazing features, but they cannot be used for free, which means that you’ll have to invest a certain amount of money in order to include a chatbox in your webinar.

Step 4. Publish the Webinar’s Landing Page and Get the URL

Making the event public a week or a few days before it takes place will provide you with enough time to promote it. Include the webinar’s landing page URL in the promotional social media posts and make sure to send out invites for your webinar to your friends and colleagues. Email marketing methods can help you get a larger number of attendees, which is the reason why investing time in the promotion of your webinar can prove to be extremely beneficial.

Step 5. Start your Webinar

Hit the Go Live Now button, when you are ready to start your first webinar and enjoy sharing your skills and knowledge with your audience. Even though YouTube offers a simple way to host webinars for free, it lacks the advanced options that enable you to use the prerecorded footage, keep track of the webinar’s analytics or create virtual whiteboards and polls.

Read More to Get : 10 Best Free Video Hosting Sites for Private/Business Online

Max Wales

Max Wales is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Max Wales

Max Wales

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Promoting products, offering educational content or in-depth tutorials on virtually any subject through webinars will enable you to reach new audiences and offer your services on a worldwide market. There are thousands of webinar software products and online platforms, but most of them are quite expensive and they require you to have a considerable amount of experience with the process of setting up and recording webinars.

An alternative solution is available if your budget is tight, but you’d still like to produce a great webinar. We are going to take you through all the steps you’ll need to take if you’d like to host a webinar for free and help you spread the word about the products and services you’re offering.

The All-in-One Screen Recorder & Video Editor

• Record desktop screen, voiceover, and webcam simultaneously
• Edit recorded clips quickly with a wide range of professional tools
• Built-in plentiful templates and effects
• Export to MP4, MOV, MKV, GIF and multiple formats

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Secure Download

Hosting a Webinar for Free

The world’s largest video sharing platform also features broadcasting options that enable its users to schedule events and thus host webinars free of charge. Previously known as the Google Hangouts on Air, the YouTube Live feature is fairly simple to set up, but before you start your first webinar you will need to choose a landing page and a chatbox. If you already have a website you can simply copy and paste the embed link and create a landing page for your webinar, or you can use landing pages software products such as LeadPages or Unbounce if you don’t have your own online domain. For setting up chatboxes for your webinars we recommend using Chatroll or RumbleTalk platforms, although you’ll have to pay a fee if you choose to chat with your audience using these computer programs. So here’s how you can host your first webinar on YouTube for free.

Step 1. Create a YouTube Event

If you don’t already have an account on YouTube, you’ll have to create one before you can schedule your first live event. After making sure that you are logged in to your YouTube account head over to the Creator Studio, and click on the Live Streaming tab. Select the New Live Event option and proceed to insert the basic information about the event such as the title, date when the event should take place, tags or a short description of the webinar you’re planning.

The Advanced Settings tab will enable you the access to options that will allow you to assign the license and the owner of the webinar. You can also choose the language, set the location or select the category of the event.

Step 2. Copy the Embed Code and Paste it To Your Webinar’s Landing Page

When you adjust all the settings for your upcoming event, you should click on the Share button. This action will grant you access to the video’s embed link, so you can just copy it to your website, or to the landing page you’ve created with the appropriate software.

Step 3. Add the Chatbox to The Webinar’s Landing Page

Communicating with the audience during the webinar is important, and for that reason, embedding the chatbox link on the webinar’s landing page is a crucial step that will allow you to interact with the participants of your webinar. Chatbox platforms for live events such as Chatroll or RumbleTalk offer amazing features, but they cannot be used for free, which means that you’ll have to invest a certain amount of money in order to include a chatbox in your webinar.

Step 4. Publish the Webinar’s Landing Page and Get the URL

Making the event public a week or a few days before it takes place will provide you with enough time to promote it. Include the webinar’s landing page URL in the promotional social media posts and make sure to send out invites for your webinar to your friends and colleagues. Email marketing methods can help you get a larger number of attendees, which is the reason why investing time in the promotion of your webinar can prove to be extremely beneficial.

Step 5. Start your Webinar

Hit the Go Live Now button, when you are ready to start your first webinar and enjoy sharing your skills and knowledge with your audience. Even though YouTube offers a simple way to host webinars for free, it lacks the advanced options that enable you to use the prerecorded footage, keep track of the webinar’s analytics or create virtual whiteboards and polls.

Read More to Get : 10 Best Free Video Hosting Sites for Private/Business Online

Max Wales

Max Wales is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Max Wales

Max Wales

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Promoting products, offering educational content or in-depth tutorials on virtually any subject through webinars will enable you to reach new audiences and offer your services on a worldwide market. There are thousands of webinar software products and online platforms, but most of them are quite expensive and they require you to have a considerable amount of experience with the process of setting up and recording webinars.

An alternative solution is available if your budget is tight, but you’d still like to produce a great webinar. We are going to take you through all the steps you’ll need to take if you’d like to host a webinar for free and help you spread the word about the products and services you’re offering.

The All-in-One Screen Recorder & Video Editor

• Record desktop screen, voiceover, and webcam simultaneously
• Edit recorded clips quickly with a wide range of professional tools
• Built-in plentiful templates and effects
• Export to MP4, MOV, MKV, GIF and multiple formats

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Secure Download

Hosting a Webinar for Free

The world’s largest video sharing platform also features broadcasting options that enable its users to schedule events and thus host webinars free of charge. Previously known as the Google Hangouts on Air, the YouTube Live feature is fairly simple to set up, but before you start your first webinar you will need to choose a landing page and a chatbox. If you already have a website you can simply copy and paste the embed link and create a landing page for your webinar, or you can use landing pages software products such as LeadPages or Unbounce if you don’t have your own online domain. For setting up chatboxes for your webinars we recommend using Chatroll or RumbleTalk platforms, although you’ll have to pay a fee if you choose to chat with your audience using these computer programs. So here’s how you can host your first webinar on YouTube for free.

Step 1. Create a YouTube Event

If you don’t already have an account on YouTube, you’ll have to create one before you can schedule your first live event. After making sure that you are logged in to your YouTube account head over to the Creator Studio, and click on the Live Streaming tab. Select the New Live Event option and proceed to insert the basic information about the event such as the title, date when the event should take place, tags or a short description of the webinar you’re planning.

The Advanced Settings tab will enable you the access to options that will allow you to assign the license and the owner of the webinar. You can also choose the language, set the location or select the category of the event.

Step 2. Copy the Embed Code and Paste it To Your Webinar’s Landing Page

When you adjust all the settings for your upcoming event, you should click on the Share button. This action will grant you access to the video’s embed link, so you can just copy it to your website, or to the landing page you’ve created with the appropriate software.

Step 3. Add the Chatbox to The Webinar’s Landing Page

Communicating with the audience during the webinar is important, and for that reason, embedding the chatbox link on the webinar’s landing page is a crucial step that will allow you to interact with the participants of your webinar. Chatbox platforms for live events such as Chatroll or RumbleTalk offer amazing features, but they cannot be used for free, which means that you’ll have to invest a certain amount of money in order to include a chatbox in your webinar.

Step 4. Publish the Webinar’s Landing Page and Get the URL

Making the event public a week or a few days before it takes place will provide you with enough time to promote it. Include the webinar’s landing page URL in the promotional social media posts and make sure to send out invites for your webinar to your friends and colleagues. Email marketing methods can help you get a larger number of attendees, which is the reason why investing time in the promotion of your webinar can prove to be extremely beneficial.

Step 5. Start your Webinar

Hit the Go Live Now button, when you are ready to start your first webinar and enjoy sharing your skills and knowledge with your audience. Even though YouTube offers a simple way to host webinars for free, it lacks the advanced options that enable you to use the prerecorded footage, keep track of the webinar’s analytics or create virtual whiteboards and polls.

Read More to Get : 10 Best Free Video Hosting Sites for Private/Business Online

Max Wales

Max Wales is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Max Wales

Max Wales

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Promoting products, offering educational content or in-depth tutorials on virtually any subject through webinars will enable you to reach new audiences and offer your services on a worldwide market. There are thousands of webinar software products and online platforms, but most of them are quite expensive and they require you to have a considerable amount of experience with the process of setting up and recording webinars.

An alternative solution is available if your budget is tight, but you’d still like to produce a great webinar. We are going to take you through all the steps you’ll need to take if you’d like to host a webinar for free and help you spread the word about the products and services you’re offering.

The All-in-One Screen Recorder & Video Editor

• Record desktop screen, voiceover, and webcam simultaneously
• Edit recorded clips quickly with a wide range of professional tools
• Built-in plentiful templates and effects
• Export to MP4, MOV, MKV, GIF and multiple formats

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Secure Download

Hosting a Webinar for Free

The world’s largest video sharing platform also features broadcasting options that enable its users to schedule events and thus host webinars free of charge. Previously known as the Google Hangouts on Air, the YouTube Live feature is fairly simple to set up, but before you start your first webinar you will need to choose a landing page and a chatbox. If you already have a website you can simply copy and paste the embed link and create a landing page for your webinar, or you can use landing pages software products such as LeadPages or Unbounce if you don’t have your own online domain. For setting up chatboxes for your webinars we recommend using Chatroll or RumbleTalk platforms, although you’ll have to pay a fee if you choose to chat with your audience using these computer programs. So here’s how you can host your first webinar on YouTube for free.

Step 1. Create a YouTube Event

If you don’t already have an account on YouTube, you’ll have to create one before you can schedule your first live event. After making sure that you are logged in to your YouTube account head over to the Creator Studio, and click on the Live Streaming tab. Select the New Live Event option and proceed to insert the basic information about the event such as the title, date when the event should take place, tags or a short description of the webinar you’re planning.

The Advanced Settings tab will enable you the access to options that will allow you to assign the license and the owner of the webinar. You can also choose the language, set the location or select the category of the event.

Step 2. Copy the Embed Code and Paste it To Your Webinar’s Landing Page

When you adjust all the settings for your upcoming event, you should click on the Share button. This action will grant you access to the video’s embed link, so you can just copy it to your website, or to the landing page you’ve created with the appropriate software.

Step 3. Add the Chatbox to The Webinar’s Landing Page

Communicating with the audience during the webinar is important, and for that reason, embedding the chatbox link on the webinar’s landing page is a crucial step that will allow you to interact with the participants of your webinar. Chatbox platforms for live events such as Chatroll or RumbleTalk offer amazing features, but they cannot be used for free, which means that you’ll have to invest a certain amount of money in order to include a chatbox in your webinar.

Step 4. Publish the Webinar’s Landing Page and Get the URL

Making the event public a week or a few days before it takes place will provide you with enough time to promote it. Include the webinar’s landing page URL in the promotional social media posts and make sure to send out invites for your webinar to your friends and colleagues. Email marketing methods can help you get a larger number of attendees, which is the reason why investing time in the promotion of your webinar can prove to be extremely beneficial.

Step 5. Start your Webinar

Hit the Go Live Now button, when you are ready to start your first webinar and enjoy sharing your skills and knowledge with your audience. Even though YouTube offers a simple way to host webinars for free, it lacks the advanced options that enable you to use the prerecorded footage, keep track of the webinar’s analytics or create virtual whiteboards and polls.

Read More to Get : 10 Best Free Video Hosting Sites for Private/Business Online

Max Wales

Max Wales is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Max Wales

Dazzle Viewers with Brightly Outlined YT Snapshots

Your YouTube video, or any other clip published on any forum, gets a larger number of hits if it has an attractive thumbnail. And, the fact is, a thumbnail becomes 10x more attractive when the main character that the image has have a neon border around it.

With that said, in the following sections, you will learn a couple of methods on how to add a YouTube thumbnail border around the main characters and/or objects that are significant to the clip.

In this article

01 Add Glowing Neon Border to YouTube Thumbnail with Filmora

02 Add a Glowing Neon Border in YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

03 Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Part 1: How to Add Neon Border to YouTube Thumbnail for Free with Filmora

Being one of the most versatile and intuitive post-production tools available in the market today, Wondershare Filmora X allows you to add a neon border to a YouTube thumbnail quite conveniently. You can learn how to get this done on Windows or Mac by following the steps given below.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add Image to the Timeline

Launch Wondershare Filmora X on your PC (a MacBook Pro M1 is used here), ensure that the project aspect ratio is set to 16:9 (Widescreen) on the splash screen, and click New Project. On the main interface, click the Preview quality and display settings icon from the upper-right area of the Timeline, click Change Project Aspect Ratio, click to select 1280 x 720 (HD) from the Resolution menu of the Project Settings box, and click OK to save the custom project settings.

Then select My Media from the menu bar if not already selected, click Project Media from the navigation pane, and click Import from the Media box to select and import the image of the main character or object that you want to use in the thumbnail.

Now, drag the image from the Media box to the Timeline at the bottom.

Step 2: Clear Image Background, Add Border, and Add Custom Background

Go to Effects from the menu bar, click to select the Default tab and then AI Portrait from the navigation pane, and click and drag the Human Segmentation preset from the right box, and place it over the image track in the Timeline.

Double-click the image layer, scroll down the upper-left box to the Video Effects section, and use the Edge Thickness and Edge Feather sliders to adjust the character’s edges to make them as realistic as possible. Click OK when done.

Next, click and drag the Human Border preset over the image track in the Timeline, and follow the same procedure to customize the border. This will give the character a neon border effect.

Now, use the method explained earlier to import a custom image for the background, and drag and place it under the previous track in the Timeline.

If you are running the latest version of Filmora, you will find there are some neon light effects available under AI Portrait as well.

Step 3: Add Titles to Thumbnail

Go to Titles from the menu bar, click to select the Default tab and then Lower 3rds from the navigation pane, and click and drag your preferred lower-third preset from the right window to a separate layer in the Timeline. Double-click the lower-third layer, and use the available options in the upper-left window to change the text, its color, etc., and drag the textbox to place it to your preferred position on the image as well. Click OK to save the changes.

Next, click to select Titles from the navigation pane, and drag your preferred title from the right window to the upper-most track in the Timeline. Now use the method explained earlier to edit the text, its color, position, etc. to make it look professional.

For more tips and tricks for creating YouTube thumbnail, you can check this You Tube thumbnail creating guide.

Step 4: Get the Neon Border Thumbnail

Click the Snapshot (Camera) icon from the upper-right area of the Timeline, go to My Media from the menu bar, right-click the thumbnail of the screenshot you captured, and click Reveal in Finder (on Mac) or Reveal in Explorer (on Windows) to get to the folder the YouTube thumbnail border is saved in.

Part 2: How to Add a Glowing Neon Border in Your YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

Canva is another intuitive editing program that works on the web interface rather than having you download and install an app on your PC. You can add a neon border for YouTube thumbnails using Canva by following the instructions given below:

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add a Background

After signing in to your Canva account, click Create a design from the top-right corner of the page, click Custom size from the bottom, define 1280 and 720 in the Width and Height fields on the box that appears respectively, and click Create new design.

Now, click to select Background from the navigation bar on the left (if the Background tool is not visible, click More and then choose Background from the expanded list), and click to select a background from the images available in the center pane.

Step 2: Upload an Image and Add Effects

Click Uploads from the navigation bar, click the More icon from the right of the Upload media button present at the top of the center pane, choose your preferred method to upload the image (with the transparent background) that you want to use, upload the image, and drag it from the center pane to the Canvas.

Note: You can use any of the tools available online to remove the background from your image for free.

To add a YouTube thumbnail border, make sure that the image that you added to the Canvas is selected, click the Duplicate icon from the upper-right area, and use the scaling handles of the copy of the image to increase its size a bit. Reposition the image back to its original location as well.

Then, click Edit image from the upper-left corner of the Canvas, click Duotone from the Edit image pane at the center, if need be, click See all, choose your preferred duotone effect to apply on the image, choose your preferred highlight and shadow colors from the box that appears next, and click Back from the top of the pane.

Next, click See all next to the Adjust section from the center pane, and drag the Blur slider to the right to increase the blur effect on the image.

Step 3: Position the Layers

While keeping the duplicate image selected, click the Position button from the upper-right area of the Canvas, and click Background to send the second image behind the first one to get the neon border effect for the photo.

Part 3: How to Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Because YouTube thumbnails are nothing but static images, creating YouTube thumbnail border with Adobe Photoshop is comparatively easier. The process of doing this is given below:

Step 1: Define Document Preferences and Import an Image

Launch Adobe Photoshop on your PC, click Create new, and on the New Document customization box, define the width and height values to 1280 and 720 pixels respectively. Select Transparent from the Background Contents menu as well if not already selected. Click Create from the bottom to create a new Photoshop document with the specified document settings. Next, open the folder that contains the source image, drag the photo to Photoshop, and press Enter to place the photo.

Step 2: Remove Background from the Image

Make sure that the image layer is selected in the Layers panel on the right, go to Select from the menu bar at the top, and click Subject. From the bottom of the Layers panel, click the Add a mask icon to get rid of the background, leaving only the human on the Canvas.

Step 3: Add a Custom Background and an Outline Around the Subject

Use the method explained earlier to import a background image of your choice to Photoshop. Drag the background image layer to the bottom in the Layers panel. Double-click the masked layer, click to select Stroke from the left pane of the Layer Style box, and use the options available on the right to manage the size, color, position, etc. of the stroke that has been added around the human subject. Click OK when done, and then export the image normally to use it as a YouTube thumbnail border.

Summary

It is important to know that the default resolution of a YouTube thumbnail is 1280 x 720 pixels that is usually written and referred to as 720p. While adding a YouTube thumbnail border, it is also imperative to have a good sense of color combination and fonts. Furthermore, a decent tool like Wondershare Filmora X must be used to add an appealing neon border around the main subject in the thumbnail image easily and quickly.

02 Add a Glowing Neon Border in YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

03 Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Part 1: How to Add Neon Border to YouTube Thumbnail for Free with Filmora

Being one of the most versatile and intuitive post-production tools available in the market today, Wondershare Filmora X allows you to add a neon border to a YouTube thumbnail quite conveniently. You can learn how to get this done on Windows or Mac by following the steps given below.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add Image to the Timeline

Launch Wondershare Filmora X on your PC (a MacBook Pro M1 is used here), ensure that the project aspect ratio is set to 16:9 (Widescreen) on the splash screen, and click New Project. On the main interface, click the Preview quality and display settings icon from the upper-right area of the Timeline, click Change Project Aspect Ratio, click to select 1280 x 720 (HD) from the Resolution menu of the Project Settings box, and click OK to save the custom project settings.

Then select My Media from the menu bar if not already selected, click Project Media from the navigation pane, and click Import from the Media box to select and import the image of the main character or object that you want to use in the thumbnail.

Now, drag the image from the Media box to the Timeline at the bottom.

Step 2: Clear Image Background, Add Border, and Add Custom Background

Go to Effects from the menu bar, click to select the Default tab and then AI Portrait from the navigation pane, and click and drag the Human Segmentation preset from the right box, and place it over the image track in the Timeline.

Double-click the image layer, scroll down the upper-left box to the Video Effects section, and use the Edge Thickness and Edge Feather sliders to adjust the character’s edges to make them as realistic as possible. Click OK when done.

Next, click and drag the Human Border preset over the image track in the Timeline, and follow the same procedure to customize the border. This will give the character a neon border effect.

Now, use the method explained earlier to import a custom image for the background, and drag and place it under the previous track in the Timeline.

If you are running the latest version of Filmora, you will find there are some neon light effects available under AI Portrait as well.

Step 3: Add Titles to Thumbnail

Go to Titles from the menu bar, click to select the Default tab and then Lower 3rds from the navigation pane, and click and drag your preferred lower-third preset from the right window to a separate layer in the Timeline. Double-click the lower-third layer, and use the available options in the upper-left window to change the text, its color, etc., and drag the textbox to place it to your preferred position on the image as well. Click OK to save the changes.

Next, click to select Titles from the navigation pane, and drag your preferred title from the right window to the upper-most track in the Timeline. Now use the method explained earlier to edit the text, its color, position, etc. to make it look professional.

For more tips and tricks for creating YouTube thumbnail, you can check this You Tube thumbnail creating guide.

Step 4: Get the Neon Border Thumbnail

Click the Snapshot (Camera) icon from the upper-right area of the Timeline, go to My Media from the menu bar, right-click the thumbnail of the screenshot you captured, and click Reveal in Finder (on Mac) or Reveal in Explorer (on Windows) to get to the folder the YouTube thumbnail border is saved in.

Part 2: How to Add a Glowing Neon Border in Your YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

Canva is another intuitive editing program that works on the web interface rather than having you download and install an app on your PC. You can add a neon border for YouTube thumbnails using Canva by following the instructions given below:

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add a Background

After signing in to your Canva account, click Create a design from the top-right corner of the page, click Custom size from the bottom, define 1280 and 720 in the Width and Height fields on the box that appears respectively, and click Create new design.

Now, click to select Background from the navigation bar on the left (if the Background tool is not visible, click More and then choose Background from the expanded list), and click to select a background from the images available in the center pane.

Step 2: Upload an Image and Add Effects

Click Uploads from the navigation bar, click the More icon from the right of the Upload media button present at the top of the center pane, choose your preferred method to upload the image (with the transparent background) that you want to use, upload the image, and drag it from the center pane to the Canvas.

Note: You can use any of the tools available online to remove the background from your image for free.

To add a YouTube thumbnail border, make sure that the image that you added to the Canvas is selected, click the Duplicate icon from the upper-right area, and use the scaling handles of the copy of the image to increase its size a bit. Reposition the image back to its original location as well.

Then, click Edit image from the upper-left corner of the Canvas, click Duotone from the Edit image pane at the center, if need be, click See all, choose your preferred duotone effect to apply on the image, choose your preferred highlight and shadow colors from the box that appears next, and click Back from the top of the pane.

Next, click See all next to the Adjust section from the center pane, and drag the Blur slider to the right to increase the blur effect on the image.

Step 3: Position the Layers

While keeping the duplicate image selected, click the Position button from the upper-right area of the Canvas, and click Background to send the second image behind the first one to get the neon border effect for the photo.

Part 3: How to Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Because YouTube thumbnails are nothing but static images, creating YouTube thumbnail border with Adobe Photoshop is comparatively easier. The process of doing this is given below:

Step 1: Define Document Preferences and Import an Image

Launch Adobe Photoshop on your PC, click Create new, and on the New Document customization box, define the width and height values to 1280 and 720 pixels respectively. Select Transparent from the Background Contents menu as well if not already selected. Click Create from the bottom to create a new Photoshop document with the specified document settings. Next, open the folder that contains the source image, drag the photo to Photoshop, and press Enter to place the photo.

Step 2: Remove Background from the Image

Make sure that the image layer is selected in the Layers panel on the right, go to Select from the menu bar at the top, and click Subject. From the bottom of the Layers panel, click the Add a mask icon to get rid of the background, leaving only the human on the Canvas.

Step 3: Add a Custom Background and an Outline Around the Subject

Use the method explained earlier to import a background image of your choice to Photoshop. Drag the background image layer to the bottom in the Layers panel. Double-click the masked layer, click to select Stroke from the left pane of the Layer Style box, and use the options available on the right to manage the size, color, position, etc. of the stroke that has been added around the human subject. Click OK when done, and then export the image normally to use it as a YouTube thumbnail border.

Summary

It is important to know that the default resolution of a YouTube thumbnail is 1280 x 720 pixels that is usually written and referred to as 720p. While adding a YouTube thumbnail border, it is also imperative to have a good sense of color combination and fonts. Furthermore, a decent tool like Wondershare Filmora X must be used to add an appealing neon border around the main subject in the thumbnail image easily and quickly.

02 Add a Glowing Neon Border in YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

03 Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Part 1: How to Add Neon Border to YouTube Thumbnail for Free with Filmora

Being one of the most versatile and intuitive post-production tools available in the market today, Wondershare Filmora X allows you to add a neon border to a YouTube thumbnail quite conveniently. You can learn how to get this done on Windows or Mac by following the steps given below.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add Image to the Timeline

Launch Wondershare Filmora X on your PC (a MacBook Pro M1 is used here), ensure that the project aspect ratio is set to 16:9 (Widescreen) on the splash screen, and click New Project. On the main interface, click the Preview quality and display settings icon from the upper-right area of the Timeline, click Change Project Aspect Ratio, click to select 1280 x 720 (HD) from the Resolution menu of the Project Settings box, and click OK to save the custom project settings.

Then select My Media from the menu bar if not already selected, click Project Media from the navigation pane, and click Import from the Media box to select and import the image of the main character or object that you want to use in the thumbnail.

Now, drag the image from the Media box to the Timeline at the bottom.

Step 2: Clear Image Background, Add Border, and Add Custom Background

Go to Effects from the menu bar, click to select the Default tab and then AI Portrait from the navigation pane, and click and drag the Human Segmentation preset from the right box, and place it over the image track in the Timeline.

Double-click the image layer, scroll down the upper-left box to the Video Effects section, and use the Edge Thickness and Edge Feather sliders to adjust the character’s edges to make them as realistic as possible. Click OK when done.

Next, click and drag the Human Border preset over the image track in the Timeline, and follow the same procedure to customize the border. This will give the character a neon border effect.

Now, use the method explained earlier to import a custom image for the background, and drag and place it under the previous track in the Timeline.

If you are running the latest version of Filmora, you will find there are some neon light effects available under AI Portrait as well.

Step 3: Add Titles to Thumbnail

Go to Titles from the menu bar, click to select the Default tab and then Lower 3rds from the navigation pane, and click and drag your preferred lower-third preset from the right window to a separate layer in the Timeline. Double-click the lower-third layer, and use the available options in the upper-left window to change the text, its color, etc., and drag the textbox to place it to your preferred position on the image as well. Click OK to save the changes.

Next, click to select Titles from the navigation pane, and drag your preferred title from the right window to the upper-most track in the Timeline. Now use the method explained earlier to edit the text, its color, position, etc. to make it look professional.

For more tips and tricks for creating YouTube thumbnail, you can check this You Tube thumbnail creating guide.

Step 4: Get the Neon Border Thumbnail

Click the Snapshot (Camera) icon from the upper-right area of the Timeline, go to My Media from the menu bar, right-click the thumbnail of the screenshot you captured, and click Reveal in Finder (on Mac) or Reveal in Explorer (on Windows) to get to the folder the YouTube thumbnail border is saved in.

Part 2: How to Add a Glowing Neon Border in Your YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

Canva is another intuitive editing program that works on the web interface rather than having you download and install an app on your PC. You can add a neon border for YouTube thumbnails using Canva by following the instructions given below:

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add a Background

After signing in to your Canva account, click Create a design from the top-right corner of the page, click Custom size from the bottom, define 1280 and 720 in the Width and Height fields on the box that appears respectively, and click Create new design.

Now, click to select Background from the navigation bar on the left (if the Background tool is not visible, click More and then choose Background from the expanded list), and click to select a background from the images available in the center pane.

Step 2: Upload an Image and Add Effects

Click Uploads from the navigation bar, click the More icon from the right of the Upload media button present at the top of the center pane, choose your preferred method to upload the image (with the transparent background) that you want to use, upload the image, and drag it from the center pane to the Canvas.

Note: You can use any of the tools available online to remove the background from your image for free.

To add a YouTube thumbnail border, make sure that the image that you added to the Canvas is selected, click the Duplicate icon from the upper-right area, and use the scaling handles of the copy of the image to increase its size a bit. Reposition the image back to its original location as well.

Then, click Edit image from the upper-left corner of the Canvas, click Duotone from the Edit image pane at the center, if need be, click See all, choose your preferred duotone effect to apply on the image, choose your preferred highlight and shadow colors from the box that appears next, and click Back from the top of the pane.

Next, click See all next to the Adjust section from the center pane, and drag the Blur slider to the right to increase the blur effect on the image.

Step 3: Position the Layers

While keeping the duplicate image selected, click the Position button from the upper-right area of the Canvas, and click Background to send the second image behind the first one to get the neon border effect for the photo.

Part 3: How to Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Because YouTube thumbnails are nothing but static images, creating YouTube thumbnail border with Adobe Photoshop is comparatively easier. The process of doing this is given below:

Step 1: Define Document Preferences and Import an Image

Launch Adobe Photoshop on your PC, click Create new, and on the New Document customization box, define the width and height values to 1280 and 720 pixels respectively. Select Transparent from the Background Contents menu as well if not already selected. Click Create from the bottom to create a new Photoshop document with the specified document settings. Next, open the folder that contains the source image, drag the photo to Photoshop, and press Enter to place the photo.

Step 2: Remove Background from the Image

Make sure that the image layer is selected in the Layers panel on the right, go to Select from the menu bar at the top, and click Subject. From the bottom of the Layers panel, click the Add a mask icon to get rid of the background, leaving only the human on the Canvas.

Step 3: Add a Custom Background and an Outline Around the Subject

Use the method explained earlier to import a background image of your choice to Photoshop. Drag the background image layer to the bottom in the Layers panel. Double-click the masked layer, click to select Stroke from the left pane of the Layer Style box, and use the options available on the right to manage the size, color, position, etc. of the stroke that has been added around the human subject. Click OK when done, and then export the image normally to use it as a YouTube thumbnail border.

Summary

It is important to know that the default resolution of a YouTube thumbnail is 1280 x 720 pixels that is usually written and referred to as 720p. While adding a YouTube thumbnail border, it is also imperative to have a good sense of color combination and fonts. Furthermore, a decent tool like Wondershare Filmora X must be used to add an appealing neon border around the main subject in the thumbnail image easily and quickly.

02 Add a Glowing Neon Border in YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

03 Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Part 1: How to Add Neon Border to YouTube Thumbnail for Free with Filmora

Being one of the most versatile and intuitive post-production tools available in the market today, Wondershare Filmora X allows you to add a neon border to a YouTube thumbnail quite conveniently. You can learn how to get this done on Windows or Mac by following the steps given below.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add Image to the Timeline

Launch Wondershare Filmora X on your PC (a MacBook Pro M1 is used here), ensure that the project aspect ratio is set to 16:9 (Widescreen) on the splash screen, and click New Project. On the main interface, click the Preview quality and display settings icon from the upper-right area of the Timeline, click Change Project Aspect Ratio, click to select 1280 x 720 (HD) from the Resolution menu of the Project Settings box, and click OK to save the custom project settings.

Then select My Media from the menu bar if not already selected, click Project Media from the navigation pane, and click Import from the Media box to select and import the image of the main character or object that you want to use in the thumbnail.

Now, drag the image from the Media box to the Timeline at the bottom.

Step 2: Clear Image Background, Add Border, and Add Custom Background

Go to Effects from the menu bar, click to select the Default tab and then AI Portrait from the navigation pane, and click and drag the Human Segmentation preset from the right box, and place it over the image track in the Timeline.

Double-click the image layer, scroll down the upper-left box to the Video Effects section, and use the Edge Thickness and Edge Feather sliders to adjust the character’s edges to make them as realistic as possible. Click OK when done.

Next, click and drag the Human Border preset over the image track in the Timeline, and follow the same procedure to customize the border. This will give the character a neon border effect.

Now, use the method explained earlier to import a custom image for the background, and drag and place it under the previous track in the Timeline.

If you are running the latest version of Filmora, you will find there are some neon light effects available under AI Portrait as well.

Step 3: Add Titles to Thumbnail

Go to Titles from the menu bar, click to select the Default tab and then Lower 3rds from the navigation pane, and click and drag your preferred lower-third preset from the right window to a separate layer in the Timeline. Double-click the lower-third layer, and use the available options in the upper-left window to change the text, its color, etc., and drag the textbox to place it to your preferred position on the image as well. Click OK to save the changes.

Next, click to select Titles from the navigation pane, and drag your preferred title from the right window to the upper-most track in the Timeline. Now use the method explained earlier to edit the text, its color, position, etc. to make it look professional.

For more tips and tricks for creating YouTube thumbnail, you can check this You Tube thumbnail creating guide.

Step 4: Get the Neon Border Thumbnail

Click the Snapshot (Camera) icon from the upper-right area of the Timeline, go to My Media from the menu bar, right-click the thumbnail of the screenshot you captured, and click Reveal in Finder (on Mac) or Reveal in Explorer (on Windows) to get to the folder the YouTube thumbnail border is saved in.

Part 2: How to Add a Glowing Neon Border in Your YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

Canva is another intuitive editing program that works on the web interface rather than having you download and install an app on your PC. You can add a neon border for YouTube thumbnails using Canva by following the instructions given below:

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add a Background

After signing in to your Canva account, click Create a design from the top-right corner of the page, click Custom size from the bottom, define 1280 and 720 in the Width and Height fields on the box that appears respectively, and click Create new design.

Now, click to select Background from the navigation bar on the left (if the Background tool is not visible, click More and then choose Background from the expanded list), and click to select a background from the images available in the center pane.

Step 2: Upload an Image and Add Effects

Click Uploads from the navigation bar, click the More icon from the right of the Upload media button present at the top of the center pane, choose your preferred method to upload the image (with the transparent background) that you want to use, upload the image, and drag it from the center pane to the Canvas.

Note: You can use any of the tools available online to remove the background from your image for free.

To add a YouTube thumbnail border, make sure that the image that you added to the Canvas is selected, click the Duplicate icon from the upper-right area, and use the scaling handles of the copy of the image to increase its size a bit. Reposition the image back to its original location as well.

Then, click Edit image from the upper-left corner of the Canvas, click Duotone from the Edit image pane at the center, if need be, click See all, choose your preferred duotone effect to apply on the image, choose your preferred highlight and shadow colors from the box that appears next, and click Back from the top of the pane.

Next, click See all next to the Adjust section from the center pane, and drag the Blur slider to the right to increase the blur effect on the image.

Step 3: Position the Layers

While keeping the duplicate image selected, click the Position button from the upper-right area of the Canvas, and click Background to send the second image behind the first one to get the neon border effect for the photo.

Part 3: How to Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Because YouTube thumbnails are nothing but static images, creating YouTube thumbnail border with Adobe Photoshop is comparatively easier. The process of doing this is given below:

Step 1: Define Document Preferences and Import an Image

Launch Adobe Photoshop on your PC, click Create new, and on the New Document customization box, define the width and height values to 1280 and 720 pixels respectively. Select Transparent from the Background Contents menu as well if not already selected. Click Create from the bottom to create a new Photoshop document with the specified document settings. Next, open the folder that contains the source image, drag the photo to Photoshop, and press Enter to place the photo.

Step 2: Remove Background from the Image

Make sure that the image layer is selected in the Layers panel on the right, go to Select from the menu bar at the top, and click Subject. From the bottom of the Layers panel, click the Add a mask icon to get rid of the background, leaving only the human on the Canvas.

Step 3: Add a Custom Background and an Outline Around the Subject

Use the method explained earlier to import a background image of your choice to Photoshop. Drag the background image layer to the bottom in the Layers panel. Double-click the masked layer, click to select Stroke from the left pane of the Layer Style box, and use the options available on the right to manage the size, color, position, etc. of the stroke that has been added around the human subject. Click OK when done, and then export the image normally to use it as a YouTube thumbnail border.

Summary

It is important to know that the default resolution of a YouTube thumbnail is 1280 x 720 pixels that is usually written and referred to as 720p. While adding a YouTube thumbnail border, it is also imperative to have a good sense of color combination and fonts. Furthermore, a decent tool like Wondershare Filmora X must be used to add an appealing neon border around the main subject in the thumbnail image easily and quickly.

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