Create Click-Worthy YouTube Thumbnails In Under 60 Seconds With Snappa

You aren’t a graphic designer...

...but you still need to whip up YouTube thumbnails that stand a chance of being clicked when pitted against adorable kittens and epic fails. Otherwise, you spend hours creating and editing videos only your friends and family will see.

Unfortunately, most alternatives come with major shortcomings.

Photoshop makes YouTube thumbnail design a chore.

You need to scour the web for images that are free but not cheesy, figure out the proper dimensions for your graphic then navigate through a maze of features you don’t even know how to use!

Graphic designers are expensive and slow.

When you finally finish your video, you need to wait for your request to reach the top of your designer’s to-do list (if you can afford one). And discount designer sites like Fiverr come with similar wait times and inconsistent quality.

When you finish a video you’re excited to share, making your YouTube thumbnail shouldn’t be a buzz kill. It should be quick and easy.

Now there's a better way...

Create YouTube thumbnails on the fly with Snappa

• Save time by starting with the ideal image dimensions for YouTube thumbnails
• Access thousands of high-res, not cheesy, 100% royalty-free stock photos from our library, or upload video snapshots
• Start with one of many professionally designed templates to throw together eye catching thumbnails in seconds
• Drag and drop your way to your own custom templates to make video thumbnails that are always on-brand and consistent with previous thumbnail images
• Add the polish that gets your videos watched with customizable graphics, shapes, and text

Examples of YouTube thumbnails created in under 60 seconds with Snappa

Make YouTube thumbnails in 4 steps with Snappa

Click on ‘YouTube Thumbnail’ to start with the perfect image dimensions.

Choose from a bunch of easily customizable YouTube thumbnail templates to create click-worthy thumbnails in less time. Or start from scratch to unleash your inner creative.

Upload a snapshot from your video to act as your background. Or choose from thousands of stock images that are high resolution, 100% free, and available inside Snappa. Then add, subtract, and modify text, graphics, and shapes until your thumbnail is exactly what you envisioned.

Download your new YouTube thumbnail and upload it to YouTube. It’s an instant boost to your production quality that will make customers believe you have hired a professional graphic designer.

What's to love about Snappa's thumbnail maker?

Never worry about YouTube thumbnail dimensions again

Thumbnail dimensions are available as a preset. A single click creates a canvas suited for thumbnail design. You can be sure that every thumbnail will display perfectly the first time.

Of course, if you want to create graphics for other platforms, we include dimension presets for social media posts, social media ads, blog images, infographics, and display ads. And image resizing makes it dead simple to repurpose an image for all other platforms.

Create thumbnails in seconds using professionally designed templates

You don’t always have time to dream up a 100% original thumbnail for your YouTube videos. With Snappa, you have access to professionally designed thumbnail templates which are optimized for clicks. Now you can be confident that your visual elements are well-proportioned, that your text elements are balanced, and that your colors complement one another. And you can customize everything about a template to make it match your brand and have consistency across thumbnails.

Easy access to our library for royalty-free photos

You can find the perfect background image for your banner without searching through a handful of stock photo sites, worrying about image rights, and paying extra for the best images. It’s all inside of Snappa, and it’s free. Of course, you can also upload your own images.

Customize your thumbnail in a couple of clicks

Add graphics and shapes

Choose from over 3,000 vector graphics and shapes and edit the size, color, orientation, opacity and more. No graphic design skills required.

Change fonts

Choose from over 200 fonts and typefaces. The text in your thumbnail changes as you scroll through each font so you can easily preview changes.

Change colors

Change the color of graphics, shapes, text, and overlays with a single click or by entering a hex code. This makes it incredibly easy to create on-brand thumbnail images.

Change image effects

Use a simple slider to create a color overlay, to darken and blur your thumbnail image, and to change your image’s saturation, hue, brightness, and contrast. Play with each effect and see your changes in real time.

Change background images

If you don’t want to use a snapshot from your video, you can choose from thousands of premium stock photos, dozens of modern patterns, and plain color backgrounds -- all for free.

Snappa is fast, simple to use, and everything’s included

Snappa is designed to run smoothly in Chrome and Firefox. We have cut features ignored by non-designers to make Snappa as fast as possible. Now you can complete your designs quickly without sacrificing quality.

We have eliminated the learning curve you have come to expect from graphic design tools. You can create your first attention grabbing thumbnail graphic and upload it to YouTube within minutes of signing up. Courses, lengthy tutorials, searching through help documents, and talking to support are not required to use Snappa like a pro (free help is available if you need it, though). Snappa is made for the YouTuber who needs to create professional looking graphics and then get back to their real work.

Everything is included in Snappa. Get access to our entire library of royalty-free photos and graphics at no added cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does Snappa’s free trial last?

You can use Snappa for as long as you like without paying a dime. You have access to 30,000+ photos and graphics, professionally designed templates for Youtube and all other major social media platforms, two connected social accounts, and 5 shares and downloads per month. Even our most powerful time-saving features such as automatic image resizing are yours on the free plan. We only want you to consider a paid account when Snappa becomes an important tool that saves you a ton of time and headache each month.

Is Snappa only for YouTube thumbnail design?

No. In addition to creating Youtube thumbnails, you can create graphics for:

• YouTube channel art
• Social media graphics (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest)
• Facebook covers, Twitter headers and Google+ covers
• Banners
• Infographics
• eBook Covers
• Blog graphics
• Display ads of all sizes
• Images with custom dimensions

Are your photos licensed for commercial use?

Yes! All photos included in Snappa are released under Creative Commons CC0. This license allows you to copy, modify and distribute photos, even for commercial purposes, without asking for permission or paying a fee.

Does Snappa offer customer support?

All members have access to video tutorials, detailed help docs categorized by topic, answers to FAQs, and email support.