How to Make a YouTube Banner Using Fotor

Shanoon Cox

Oct 22, 2020• Proven solutions

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Today I’ll be showing you how to make your own unique YouTube banner easily using Fotor.com! Not only is Fotor one of many easy and user-friendly editing websites out there, but it is also one of the most affordable (you can use it for free!). Making a banner for your YouTube channel is very important. It gives potential viewers and future subscribers a quick look into what your channel is all about.

1. What is Fotor?
2. How Much Does Fotor Cost?
3. How to Make a YouTube Banner in Fotor - Tutorial
4. Is Fotor Right for You? - Review

You may also like: Free Banner Templates & Makers for YouTube

What is Fotor?

Fotor is a free online photo editor and graphic design program. You can also sign up to be a pro member for a monthly or annual rate. When designing, Fotor has a small selection of templates to choose from. They have templates for wallpapers, invitations, book covers, and even templates for social media platforms such as FaceBook, YouTube, and Pinterest. You can make collages and edit your own photos as well, with their wide range of touch up tools and filters. Fotor also gives you the ability to save your work in basic formats for free, unlike some sites where you need to be a paying member to be able to export your work.

How Much Does Fotor Cost?

When you use Fotor.com for free you have all basic features at your disposal. You’re able to save and export any designs you make. You can use the free features for as long as you like.

Becoming a “Pro” member and paying for the membership does come with some cool perks such as advanced editing, design, and portrait touch-up features, as well as access to 100+ exclusive photo effects and the removal of all the site’s ads.

There are two different payment plans for the “Pro” membership. The first plan is the Annual Plan which is $3.33 USD/month which you pay for upfront for a total of $39.99 USD. If you do not want to pay all at once, the second plan is the Monthly Plan which is $8.99 USD/month. Both plans have the same benefits.

How to Make a YouTube Banner in Fotor - Tutorial

STEP 1

Go to Fotor.com and open up the edit tab. This will then take you to the editing program.

Go to the “open” tab at the top of the screen and select an image from your computer to edit. (In this case, it will be the YouTube Banner Template. You can download this from the Google Help page).

Fotor does offer YouTube channel art templates under the “Design” tab on their homepage, but they do not include the dimensions or guidelines that help show you what parts of your banner will be visible on different devices. This is important because you don’t want viewers watching on different devices to see an awkwardly cropped image.

STEP 2

Go to the “sticker” option on the left, choose the square sticker from the “basic shapes” tab, and drag it onto the template. This square sticker will act as your banner background.

Once you’ve selected the sticker you can resize it and also change the color. Start by sizing the sticker to the size of the “Text and Logo Safe Area.” Starting here will ensure that all devices will be able to see the main part of your banner (ex. the name of your channel/your branding).

STEP 3

Add text! Using the text tool, you can choose from a variety of Fotor’s fonts. Fotor also lets you work in layers, meaning you can switch up the font on different parts of your banner. You can adjust the size of your text as well as the color and the opacity.

Fotor helps you by automatically sizing your text by; heading, subheading, and body text. You don’t have to use the exact font or size they provide you, but it gives you something to work off of.

STEP 4

Head back to the “sticker” tab and add some stickers to make your banner more interesting! There are several different categories of stickers to choose from to show a bit of your own personal style. Unfortunately, not every tab is available if you’re using the free version of Fotor. Any tab or effect labeled with a diamond is only available for Pro members.

Because you are working in layers, you are able to send your sticker (or any other layer for that matter) backward so it is not covering your text. The layers icon is towards the top right-hand corner. You have the option to move a layer up, down, to the top, or to the bottom.

You can change the color of your chosen stickers -

- and even the size and opacity.

STEP 5

Once finished, expand your original square sticker to cover the entire template. This way once you upload your banner to YouTube, you’ll have a nice consistent and clean looking banner across all devices. If you like, you can add more graphics to the surrounding areas to make your banner look different on different devices.

STEP 6

Save and download your work. The save button is located in the above toolbar towards the right.

Fotor will suggest the best download/save settings for your project. You may change them if you like. Once you’re ready to save your work, simply click the gold download button.

Your new banner is now downloaded and should be located in your downloads folder on your computer. Make sure it downloads properly before exiting Fotor and losing your work!

Now you have a brand new banner for your YouTube channel!

Bonus Tip-The Best YouTube Video Editor 

Filmora is one of the best video editing applications available in the market and preferred by many people all over the world. Nowadays, people irrespective of age, are very active in social media like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and wishes to upload quality content on their feeds.

You can easily cut, trim and cut your video, apply different types of video transitions and filters to your video, and upload your video to YouTube instantly. And Wondershare Filmora9 also allows resizing a video or adding black bars to video to achieve the perfect aspect ratio needed while uploading into a social app.  Here are some interesting features of Wondershare Filmora9:

• A large collection of video effects and transitions
• Editing videos in 4K
• Highly useful tools and intuitive feature set
• Multiple split screen templates
• Advanced and improved text editing which allows editing and styling of texts
• Creating black bars or colored bars
• Screen capturing

Wanna a try? Just download it and get started!

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox