January 28, 2010

If your business uses video to demonstrate products and services and communicate with clients, YouTube is by far the best way for people to discover your content.  Like any social network, your business presence there should be branded and recognizable. You'll want to ensure that people finding your videos and clicking on your channel know where the content is coming from.

A custom background is a great way to brand your channel.  Here are a few examples of channels that utilize custom backgrounds well:

• http://www.youtube.com/user/illumistream
• http://www.youtube.com/user/gamingbits
• http://www.youtube.com/user/discoverynetworks

Like custom Twitter backgrounds, there are a few things you should know when setting out to create a design.

Page Dimensions:  The content area that contains your videos and profile information is 960 pixels wide.  You will be creating a layout to “surround” that area.  Your background image will be displayed below the white YouTube bar at the top, so you should begin your content at the very top of your image, and on either side of the 960 pixel center column. A good total image size, which should account for most monitor resolutions, is 2000 x 2200 pixels.

Maximum File Size: 256 KB (preferably JPEG format)

Layout: Your image will automatically be centered on your channel page.  This means that important image content (like logos or graphic elements that “frame” your profile) should appear just to the left and right of the 960 pixel center column without going behind it.

You can test different resolutions with a tool like screen-resolution.com to see where viewers might be cropping your image and adjust accordingly for variation.

Design Tip: Because widescreen monitors may view much more of your image on the left and right, it may be useful to incorporate a fade to a solid color on each end. Then, make the page background that same color to avoid an unsightly “break” in the design.

Also, be sure to implement complimentary box and text colors.

How to add it:  When you're signed into YouTube, click your account name at the top of the screen. 

1. From the drop-down menu, choose Account

2. From the overview screen, select Edit Channel

3. At the left, select Channel Design

4. From the top bar choose Themes and Colors

5. Select Show Advanced Options

6. Locate Background Image and select Browse to upload your image.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, jozef_b  

Join the conversation ( 1 )

• JAN KASAL 2 years 0 months and 6 days ago

  

  Matt,
  Although I use YouTube, as a viewer, I didn't know I could create my custom page with a background. Would you believe that, in 2010?
  Thanks.