In the last few years, YouTube Shorts has grown in popularity, and they are short-form videos. As TikTok and Instagram Reels options for the platform, they are the platform’s answer to the quick, attention-grabbing videos that holdings like creators can share with their audiences. No matter the level of experience in creating content on YouTube, knowing the technical specifications and format of YouTube Shorts is essential to ensure that your content is displayed correctly, optimized for mobile devices, and gets within the reach of your audience. In this blog, we’re going to know the best size, ratio, and additional essential elements to help you create compelling content for YouTube Shorts.
What Exactly Are YouTube Shorts?
Before we discuss the specifics of the right size and format, let’s clarify what YouTube Shorts are and why they matter.
Mobile-first videos of up to 60 seconds long are what YouTube Shorts are. For quick consumption, these videos are meant to be watched, and these videos were designed with a more spontaneous and raw style than most YouTube videos. Sometimes, they even have shorts in their section in the YouTube app, which is a significant step to building an audience and making your content viral. Shorts are great for simply funny moments, behind-the-scenes footage, quick tutorials, or even clips from longer videos, making it simple and fast to keep your viewers engaged.
Ideal YouTube Shorts Video Size and Dimensions
As with any other video marketing platform, you want your videos to be compelling on YouTube Shorts. To create practical YouTube Shorts, you need to check that they meet the platform’s requirements. They will be fully optimized for mobile viewing and will display as they should, looking great on all devices.
- Resolution: 1080 x 1920 pixels
So, in the case of YouTube Shorts, the recommended resolution is 1080 x 1920 pixels, which is equal to Full HD in portrait view (vertical). Thus, your videos will look flawless even on mobile devices. You should know that the dimensions for YouTube Shorts are created while keeping in mind that you will be tapping to watch Shorts on the mobile.
However, if you record a video at a higher resolution, you can still upload it. However, on a higher-end smartphone, the video may look blurry or pixelated. To ensure that your visitors get the best visual experience, be sure to film your video at 1080 x 1920 pixels.
- Aspect Ratio: 9:16
YouTube Shorts are meant to be watched on mobile devices, which typically display content in a 9:16 aspect ratio. This vertical orientation ensures that your video fills the whole screen when you view it. For comparison, standard landscape videos have an aspect ratio of 16:9. A 9:16 aspect ratio is perfect for YouTube shorts because it allows you to use the most screen space on mobile phones, resulting in the best immersive experience.
To achieve this aspect ratio when filming your video, hold your camera or smartphone vertically (in portrait mode). Video shot in landscape mode (horizontally) will be cropped or have black bars added at the sides, which will negatively impact the user experience.
- Maximum Video Length: 60 Seconds
The genius of YouTube Shorts is to be tiny and sharp. A Short should be no longer than 60 seconds in length. However, despite the maximum length allowing for one minute of footage, it’s usually a great idea to keep your Shorts much shorter, too. Successful Shorts are less than 30 seconds because shorter videos are better when it comes to maintaining their audience’s attention and boosting engagement.
For a successful YouTube Short, you need to get the viewer’s attention from the beginning till the end of the video. Given that you don’t have a lot of time, you need to give out a punching message, entertaining content, or engaging visuals so people get to the end.
- File Format and Size
The most commonly used format for Short on YouTube is MP4. The format strikes an excellent balance between video quality and file size and is very good for YouTube. Other than that, YouTube supports different video formats like MOV, but it’s as good as regular MP4, which is recommended as it is usable with most video editing software and devices.
You can upload a video of a maximum of up to 2GB in size on YouTube. Know, though, that bigger files will take longer to upload, especially if your internet speed is slower. If it’s longer than the file size limit, you should compress the video but not too much, as then the video quality will be degraded.
- Thumbnail: 1280 x 720 Pixels
A distinction of YouTube Shorts is that when viewed in the Shorts feed, not all Shorts always display a custom thumbnail. But if a Short ever shows up in search results or on a creator’s channel, we might use a thumbnail. For these instances, it’s essential to use the right-sized image so viewers will be caught.
The recommended thumbnail size for YouTube Shorts is 1280 x 720 pixels (16:9 aspect ratio), with a file size of less than 2MB. This small size ensures that your image will look sharp and clear even on the largest screens, such as desktops or smart TVs.
To that end, it’s worth emphasizing that although thumbnails are helpful in some cases, the proper focus of shorts will be the actual video. This is why, from the beginning, you should focus on creating engaging video content to attract your audience.
Additional Tips for Creating YouTube Shorts
As you already know the minimum and maximum size, as well as the technical parameters of YouTube Shorts, let’s explore some other tips for achieving maximum results.
- Focus on Mobile-Friendly Content
This implies that content that will appeal to people when they are using mobile will be the most successful on YouTube Shorts. You can think of mobile viewers, small screen sizes, fast-paced, and very short attention spans. Here are some strategies:
Keep It Visually Dynamic
Use bright colors, close-ups, and attention-grabbing visuals.
Use captions: Many users watch videos in mute mode, and adding captions ensures that your content is accessible to more people.
Be Concise
Shorts are supposed to be quick, so remove your intros or slow-building content and get to the point quickly.
- Leverage Music and Trends
Adding music to videos is one of the most popular features of YouTube Shorts. YouTube offers an extensive collection of royalty-free music tracks that can be used in your Shorts to give your viewers a great experience. If you’re part of a viral trend, playing along with trending songs, memes, or challenges is a great way to reach a wider audience.
Music makes your video more fun and is also shareable. Look for popular songs, hashtags, and challenges to stay on the pulse.
- Optimize for Engagement
YouTube Shorts thrive on engagement. The content should promote your video not just to the viewers but also to the viewers to like, comment, or share this content. I’d suggest adding a call to action (CTA) in your video, such as just asking your viewers to leave a comment or to follow your channel for more. Secondly, it’s also possible to go to the comments and engage with your audience in conversations around your shorts, which can drive up interaction and increase the visibility of your shorts.
- Use Hashtags
Boosting the discoverability of your YouTube Shorts is possible through hashtags. If you used the Shorts section, include the #Shorts hashtag in your video title or description so that Jesus, YouTube knows your content is for the Shorts section. Moreover, you can also add other necessary hashtags to increase your reach and visibility, like #funny, #tutorial, or #music.
- Experiment with Content Styles
The thing that I really like about YouTube shorts is the tremendous amount of creative flexibility it provides. Because the format is so short, you can create with a few different content styles. The opportunities are endless: comedy skits, quick tutorials, behind-the-scenes peeks, product reviews, or challenges. Don’t be afraid to try different content types and have a bit of fun with your creativity as long as the result resonates with your audience.
Conclusion
Now, the key to successful YouTube Shorts is producing content that excites and retains its target audience while making the most of mobile viewing. By following the recommended size specifications, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 9:You can ensure that all devices display your videos correctly and that they will reach a broad audience by delivering videos up to 16 aspect ratio and, at most, 60 seconds in length.
Size and format are only the beginning, however. With YouTube Shorts, you must deliver content that is visually attractive, concise, and based on trends. Construct a video that encourages engagement and video visibility using calls to action, music, and hashtags. Also, don’t forget to explore different video styles and formats to discover which works best for you.
