Creating a YouTube channel using your Google account
If you have a Google account, you can watch, share and comment on YouTube content. However, Google accounts don’t automatically create YouTube channels. Getting a new channel set up is a simple and quick process, though.
Watch Video :-
1. Go to YouTube and sign in
Head over to YouTube.com and click ‘sign in’ in the top right corner of the page:
Then log in using the Google account you’d like your channel to be associated with:
2. Head over to your YouTube settings
In the top right corner of the screen, click on your profile icon and then click "Create a channel."
3. Create your channel
Next, you’ll have the option to create a personal channel or a create a channel using a business or other name. For this example, we’ll choose the "Use custom name" option, which is recommended for small businesses and brands:
Next, you'll name your channel.
Note: As you'll see from the settings at this step, creating a new channel name will also create a new Google account with its own settings and YouTube history. This account nests within your main Google account and can be fully managed from the Google settings. It's quite useful as you can use this new account to like and comment on other YouTube videos and participate in YouTube as your brand.
After this step, you'll have the chance to further customize your channel. You'll see options for:
- Uploading a profile picture
- Adding a description of your channel
- Adding links to your sites – this can include custom links to a website or blog as well as social links to Instagram or Twitter
Congratulations! You’ve just created a new YouTube channel! 🎉
Next, let’s fill out all the information and create some channel art to get your page looking awesome (click here to jump to the next section).
How to create a YouTube channel if you don’t already have a Google account
If you don’t already have a Google account set up, you’ll need to create one before you get started on YouTube. To do this, simply follow the below steps:
- Head to YouTube.com
- Click ‘Sign In’
- Now, choose the option to create a Google account
- Follow the steps to create your Google account
Now, you’re all set up with a Google account and can follow the above steps to create a YouTube channel.
How to create YouTube channel art
YouTube channel art is essentially YouTube’s version of the Facebook cover photo. Channel art features in a prominent place on your YouTube channel, which means it’s absolutely vital for any YouTube channel to use customized art to share your personality or more about your brand with your audience.
Here’s an example of Gary Vaynerchuk’s YouTube channel art:
Gary is well-known for his public speaking at conferences and for sharing all he knows about marketing and building businesses with his audience. This is reflected in his cover photo, which displays Gary in mid-flow giving a presentation. The channel art also serves as a promotion tool for The Gary Vee Video Experience and reinforces the cadence of new videos on Mondays through Fridays.
Here are a couple other examples for inspiration:
The Cut uses its channel art to advocate for Black Lives Matter.
Khan Academy uses its channel art to reinforce its brand, mentioning its tagline and showing off some of the fun characters and brand design.
Ok, now that you have some options in mind for what your channel art could be, here is what you need to know to create your optimal YouTube channel art ...
The perfect sizes for YouTube channel art
The best place to start with your channel art is with an optimal image size that works across multiple devices. For the best results, YouTube recommends uploading a single 2560 x 1440 pixel image.
- Minimum width: 2048 X 1152 px. This is the “safe area”, where text and logos are guaranteed not to be cut off when displayed on different devices.
- Maximum width: 2560 X 423 px. This means that the “safe area” is always visible; the areas to each side of the channel art are visible depending on the viewer’s browser size.
- File size: 6MB or smaller recommended.
Tools and tips for creating YouTube channel art
It's interesting to note that YouTube is available on a ton of different devices – from as small as an iPhone to as large as a 60-inch TV. On TVs, the channel art appears in the background, behind the content on your YouTube channel. On desktop and mobile devices, it appears as a banner across the top.
In the past, YouTube has supplied a Channel Art Template to help you figure out the perfect layout for your channel art and how it’ll look across platforms. Here's a preview of the template:
You can absolutely use the ideal dimensions that we mentioned above in order to create your channel art from scratch using a tool like Figma or Photoshop.
Nowadays, the easiest way to get up and running with your channel art is to hop into a free image creator like Canva or Adobe Express. These tools have ready-to-go YouTube templates you can quickly customize to your liking.
Here is an example of a channel art template within Canva:
2 top tips for YouTube channel art
1. Ensure any text and logos are within the "safe" area
The text and logo safe area is the 1546 x 423 pixel space at the center of the YouTube channel art template (see the template above). This is the area that will be displayed on YouTube when your channel is viewed on desktop screens.
Traditionally, the parts outside the safe area run the risk of being covered or illegible because of overlaid social links or profile pictures.
Be careful to ensure any important information such as branding, text, taglines, and key images are within the safe space so that they're always displayed as part of your channel art across every device.
2. Consider your channel links
YouTube enables you to add links to your channel and these are displayed in the bottom right corner, overlaid on top of your channel art. For example, check the bottom right of the channel art below:
When creating your channel art, it’s important to think about the space these links take up and ensure you don’t have anything important (such as logos) occupying that space within your design.
How to add art to your YouTube channel
If you’re just setting up your YouTube channel, you’ll notice the channel art space (along with the rest of your channel). To add art to your YouTube channel as well as make any other customizations, click the Customize Channel button in the top right.
Once you’ve clicked this link, you’ll go to another editor screen where you can click on the different parts of your profile in order to make changes.
There should be a blue button in the center to "Add channel art."
After this, you'll see a popup window that gives you the option to upload your own custom channel art. If you’d like to, you can also choose to use one of YouTube’s templates from the “Gallery” or choose to upload one of your photos from Google.
Adjusting the crop
Once you’ve uploaded your channel art, YouTube will show you a preview of how it looks on TV, desktop, and mobile.
At this point, you may want to adjust the cropping of your image so that you can ensure it’s all lined up correctly. The cropping tool can be accessed by clicking on "Adjust the crop."
This crop screen is very handy for checking how your design will look on various platforms. The clear section in the middle of the grid shows you the content that will be displayed on mobile and desktop and the rest of the image shows the image that will be displayed on TVs.
Once you’re happy with the way your cover art looks, click “Select” and your channel art will be added to your channel and saved.
Changing your current channel art
If you already have some channel art in place and would like to update it, head over to your channel homepage. From here, move your mouse over your cover art and you’ll notice a little edit button appear in the top right-hand corner:
Once you’ve clicked on this icon, you can update your channel art.
This video from YouTube also explains how to add and edit your channel art:
How to add your channel icon (profile picture)
Each channel also has space for a profile icon / picture. This is the icon that shows next to your videos and channel on all YouTube pages. The key here is to select something that will look good at very small resolutions – many brands opt to use their logo here.
Your channel icon should be 800 x 800 pixels and one of the following formats: JPG, GIF, BMP or PNG file (no animated GIFs).
To update your channel icon, head to your channel homepage and hover over your current channel icon until you see the edit icon appear. Click on that icon and you’ll be able to upload a new profile icon.
Over to you
Thanks for reading. It’s been great fun to dive into how to create a YouTube channel and I hope you picked up one or two tips from this post. If you create a YouTube channel of your own or already have one up and running, I’d love to hear from you and learn from your experience in the comments below.
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