How to make a YouTube intro

Step by step

1. Choose a 16:9 templateOpen the YouTube intro templates. Logo reveals and kinetic titles are the usual picks; choose one that matches the pace of your channel.
2. Swap in your brandingType the channel name, drop your logo onto the logo frame (a transparent PNG looks cleanest) and set your two or three brand colours.
3. Add a soundPick a short sting from the stock library, or a one-second whoosh and a chord. Keep it under the length of the animation.
4. Trim to 3–5 secondsDrag the end of the clips so the animation ends as soon as the name is readable. Anything longer gets skipped.
5. Export and reuseExport MP4 at 1920×1080. Save the project; drop the file at the start of every future edit, or use the end card version as an outro.

Why short wins

YouTube shows how many viewers leave in the first 30 seconds, and a long intro is the most common reason. An intro that runs ten or fifteen seconds with a full song asks people to wait before anything happens, and many will not. Three to five seconds is enough to show a name and a mark and set a mood.

Many channels now put the intro after a cold open: ten to twenty seconds of the actual content or a teaser first, then the short bumper, then the body. If you do that, the intro becomes a breath between the hook and the video rather than a wall in front of it. Either way, the same rule applies: the moment the channel name is readable, cut.

Size, frame rate and quality

YouTube is a 16:9 platform, so the intro should be 1920×1080 or, if your videos are 4K, 3840×2160. Match the frame rate of your main footage, usually 30 or 24 fps, so the join does not stutter; 60 fps is available on the paid plans for gaming channels. Free exports are 1080p with a small badge in the corner; paid plans remove it and unlock 4K on Pro.

If you also post Shorts, change the canvas to 9:16 before exporting a second version. The templates re-flow for the tall frame, so the same design works in both places. The sizes cheat sheet lists every size YouTube accepts.

Logo, colours and type

Use a logo file with a transparent background so the mark sits on the template colours without a box around it. If you only have a JPG on white, run it through remove background from image first. Keep to two or three colours; a dark background with one bright accent reads well at every size, including the small thumbnail in the subscription feed.

• One font, two weights. A bold name and a light tagline is plenty.
• Big type. The name should be readable on a phone; think 10% of the frame height.
• Match the motion to the music. Line up the logo landing with the hit of the sting.
• Leave air at the end. Half a second of the finished logo before the cut.

Make a matching outro

The same template makes a good end card. Duplicate the project, change the headline to a call to action such as "Subscribe" or "Watch next", and extend the final frame to 10–20 seconds so YouTube has room to show its end-screen elements over it. Keep the lower right quarter free for the subscribe button and the video suggestion, and let the music fade out rather than stop. Export it once and it joins the intro in your library, ready to drop at the end of every edit.

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