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YouTube Shorts Cover Maker
Free YouTube Shorts cover maker: design 1080 × 1920 covers with the safe area marked, large text and a logo, then download PNG or JPG.
Shorts cover 1080 × 1920 px
Upload a cover or pick a template
Templates are 9:16 with editable text, ready for your headline.
Download
Exports are exactly 1080 × 1920 px. PNG is recommended for vertical covers with text.
Tip: keep your headline between the two guide lines. The top band is where the avatar and caption appear, and the bottom band holds the action buttons.
A Shorts cover is a vertical 9:16 image, and the interface around it is crowded: the channel avatar and caption sit at the top, while the like, comment and share buttons occupy the bottom. This maker gives you a 1080 × 1920 px canvas with that reserved space drawn as a guide, so your headline lands where viewers actually read it.
Shorts covers appear on your channel grid, in the Shorts feed and sometimes as a large preview. The strongest covers use one large word or phrase in the middle third — which is exactly the area the guide highlights.
How Shorts covers are actually used
YouTube does not require a cover for every Short, which means a cover is optional decoration — but it is the difference between a readable grid entry and a random frame of your video.
- Vertical 9:16. Upload 1080 × 1920 px. A 16:9 image will be pillarboxed or cropped, and both look worse.
- Top ~320 px and bottom ~420 px are busy. The avatar, title, caption and action buttons live there. Keep the headline between them.
- Text should be huge. Shorts covers are often viewed as a small grid thumbnail. If the phrase needs more than three or four words, it will be unreadable.
- Reuse your thumbnail style. A viewer scrolling your grid should recognise the series at a glance.
- Consistency beats novelty. Two or three recurring layouts are easier to follow than a new design on every Short.
Five details that make covers look intentional
- Keep a consistent accent colour across your Shorts so the grid looks like a series.
- Use one font weight. Mixing three styles on a small cover reads as noise.
- Add a subtle dark gradient behind text instead of a solid box — it keeps the photo visible.
- Match the cover to the first second of the video so the transition feels continuous.
- Export as PNG. Vertical covers compress badly in JPG and text edges get artefacts.
How to use the youtube shorts cover maker
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Pick a template or a photo
Start from one of the six vertical templates, or upload a photo and let it fill the frame.
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Add a short headline
Two to four words works best. Use the Text panel to set a heavy font, tight letter spacing and high contrast.
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Keep the reserved areas clear
Use the guide selector to check the safe area. Anything inside the top or bottom bands may be hidden by the app interface.
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Add a logo or shapes
Upload a logo for a consistent brand mark, or add shapes and stickers to build a repeatable layout.
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Adjust the image
Crop with cover or contain, then fine-tune with zoom, brightness, contrast, saturation and blur.
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Download and set it
Export a 1080 × 1920 PNG, then select it as the cover for your Short in YouTube Studio.
Features of the youtube shorts cover maker
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True 1080 × 1920 canvas
The exact vertical size YouTube expects for Shorts covers, so nothing is cropped on upload.
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Safe-area guide
A dashed frame marks the band between the app interface elements, plus a tighter guide for maximum legibility.
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Big text controls
Sizes up to 260 px, letter spacing, outline, shadow, background box and alignment — everything needed for vertical type.
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Logo layer
Upload a transparent PNG logo as its own layer and position it once for the whole series.
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Filters
Brightness, contrast, saturation and blur plus one-tap presets, applied without destroying the original.
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Vertical templates
Hook, tutorial, quote, before/after, gaming and product layouts built for 9:16.
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Undo and redo
Step through every change while you experiment with headlines and crops.
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PNG and JPG export
Download at exactly 1080 × 1920 px in either format.
Frequently asked questions
What size is a YouTube Shorts cover?
The recommended size is 1080 × 1920 px (9:16). This editor uses that size by default, so the exported file can be uploaded without resizing.
Can I use a 16:9 thumbnail for a Short?
You can, but it will be letterboxed or cropped inside the vertical frame, which usually looks unintentional. A dedicated 9:16 cover gives you full control of the composition.
Which part of a Shorts cover gets covered by the interface?
The top band holds the avatar and caption, and the bottom band holds the action buttons and description. Keeping your headline in the middle third keeps it visible everywhere.
How do I change the cover of a published Short?
Open YouTube Studio, go to Content → Shorts, select the video, then edit the thumbnail or cover in the details panel.
Do I need a custom cover for every Short?
No. It is optional, but a cover makes your Shorts grid readable and gives you a way to signal the topic in one glance.
Make your Shorts grid look deliberate
Vertical covers, safe-area guides and PNG export — all free, all in your browser.