The power of a YouTube thumbnail cannot be overstated. Not only do they give your audience a glimpse into what your video is about, but they also have the power to convince non-subscribers whether or not to give your content a chance.
Fortunately, you don’t need to hire a professional artist or invest a hefty amount in graphic design software to make your videos click-worthy. If you want to learn how to design YouTube thumbnails effectively, we’ll explore the top 5 design tools you should consider checking out.
Table of Contents
5 Best Tools for Designing YouTube Thumbnails
From popular design tools like Canva to all-in-one solutions like PosterMyWall, here’s an in-depth guide to the most recommended tools for designing YouTube thumbnails.
1. Canva
Features
- Text-to-image generator
- Video trimmer
- Image enhancer
- Text animations
- Clipart
Pricing (per month)
- Free
- Canva Pro ($15)
Pros
Canva is one of the most recognizable online design tools for a reason. Its interface is user-friendly, easy to navigate, and offers both a web and a mobile app version that’s specifically great for collaborating on designs.
Cons
Although the tool offers a massive library of thumbnail templates, users may find some designs repetitive, especially on the free version.
2.Snappa
Features
- Custom font uploads
- Remove image backgrounds
- Team collaboration
- 6,000+ templates
- 5,000,000+ HD photos and graphics
Pricing (per month)
- Starter (Free)
- Pro ($15)
- Team ($30)
Pros
Snappa is widely regarded for its simple yet user-friendly interface. While it doesn’t offer as many features compared to tools like Canva, some users may find Snappa’s more basic interface to be preferable for efficiently designing thumbnails.
Cons
While it won’t be a problem for all users, some content creators may have difficulty creating thumbnails on Snappa due to its very limited library of ready-made thumbnail templates.
3. Venngage
Features
- Icons and widgets
- Image uploads
- Hi-Res PNG Exporting
- Brand Kits
- Share Designs With Team
Pricing (per month)
- Free
- Premium ($19)
- Business ($49)
- Enterprise (Starts at $499)
Pros
While not as popular as other online design tools, some users may still find Venngage’s editing interface effective for designing YouTube thumbnails. Venngage mainly excels due to its diverse set of design assets as well as its Brand Kit functionality.
Cons
Due to its pricier subscription tiers, some users may find Venngage’s features to be overkill if their main goal is creating YouTube thumbnails.
4. Desygner
Features
- Premium templates
- AI Image creator
- Asset storage and library
- Resize designs
- Animations
- Remove backgrounds
Pricing (per month)
- Free
- Pro+ ($9.95)
- Business ($29.95)
Pros
If you’re also the one managing your marketing materials aside from creating content on YouTube, Desygner may be a good choice to consider. Specifically, Desygner offers a great set of branding tools that can help make your content consistent throughout your online pages.
Cons
While it’s packed with a wide variety of different features, some users may find Desygner’s template library and customization features to be quite limited.
5. PosterMyWall
Features
-
- One-click resizing tool
- Create animations
- Backround remover
- 1M+ design templates
- AI Image generator
- AI Redesign
- Social media scheduling
Pricing (per month)
- Free
- Premium ($13)
- Premium Plus ($30)
Pros
With its millions of free and customizable templates, PosterMyWall is one of the top recommended online tools for designing YouTube thumbnails. Not only that, but PosterMyWall also offers the best AI image generator online, making it especially useful for creating thumbnails as efficiently and creatively as possible—no graphic design experience required!
Cons
While PosterMyWall offers an extensive list of AI-powered tools, its advanced export options are somewhat limited. That said, this won’t be a problem for exporting YouTube thumbnails as the tool supports both PNG and JPG exports.
Tips for Making the Most Out of Your Design Tool
While most online design tools already come with a handful of user-friendly features on top of an easy-to-navigate interface, some users tend to miss out on a couple of features simply because they don’t know of their existence.
So, whether you’re interested in taking your design skills to the next level or just want to guarantee that your YouTube thumbnails are certified click-worthy, let’s go over some tips on using an online design tool.
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Resize Your Design
While you’re mainly designing it for YouTube, thumbnails can be used for a wide variety of purposes. Luckily, most online design platforms also come with a one-click resizing feature, which can be helpful if you’re looking to post your thumbnail across different social media platforms.
With just a click of a button, you can easily resize your design to fit specific dimensions required on platforms like Facebook without having to re-edit your thumbnail.
2. Use a Brand Kit
Whether you’re already one of the top creators on YouTube or just launched your channel yesterday, any marketing pro will tell you that your personal branding matters. The same applies to YouTube thumbnails.
If you are able to apply that branding consistently across your different videos, your audience is more likely to recognize your content based on the thumbnail alone. With a Brand Kit tool, you can easily store your branding’s specific color schemes, logos, and even font styles to make your design process smoother and more convenient.
3. Generate With AI
While designing a YouTube thumbnail can be a fun and creative process, it’s also true that some creators simply don’t have the time to sit down and make one from scratch. This is especially true if you’re trying to follow a daily upload schedule and don’t have the budget to hire a social media publisher.
That’s where leveraging an AI tool can help. By simply entering a prompt, you can immediately generate images needed for a thumbnail or even generate the thumbnail itself.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What’s the best tool for making YouTube thumbnails?
While it will vary from one content creator to another, we generally recommend PosterMyWall to every type of user due to its accessible and feature-rich interface. PosterMyWall is specifically great for YouTube thumbnail designs due to its extensive library of templates and wide variety of built-in AI features.
What is the best format to use for a YouTube thumbnail?
If your design isn’t too complex in terms of graphics and assets, you can easily download your thumbnail and upload it as a JPG file. That said, you can also opt to use PNGs if you’re using more intricate assets in your overall design. Regardless, it’s crucial to ensure that you are uploading a file that meets YouTube’s required thumbnail size.
What’s a quick way to make a YouTube thumbnail?
The quickest way to create a YouTube thumbnail is to use AI features like PosterMyWall’s text-to-image generator. Not only do these help with generating images that you would otherwise have to search for in stock libraries, but you can even get as creative with your prompts as you wish.
Start Optimizing Your YouTube Thumbnails
A YouTube thumbnail is often said to either make or break the success of your video. If it’s not enticing enough to a non-subscriber, you can pretty much say goodbye to any chance of going viral. But if you manage to strike gold, you may just go over your average view count within minutes.
So, why wait? Take this as your sign to try out one of these online design tools today and start optimizing your YouTube thumbnails!
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