After some time spent beta testing, in which YouTube gave channel owners a choice to opt-in to the new YouTube One Channel design, the company announced last month that the clock was ticking – everyone would be switched over to the new design on June 5th.
Well, today’s that day. If you hadn’t already switched to the new design, YouTube’s going to switch it for you.
Before today’s mandatory switch, over 100 million channels had chosen to opt-in to the new look. YouTube says that channels using the new design have already seen an increase in subscribers and in total visits. Plus, “20% more page views on their channels because clicks from the YouTube guide go directly to their channel pages instead of to their activity feeds.”
YouTube has these tips for channel owners just getting started with the new design, which features a large header photo, links to other social accounts, and new video categories that reorganize videos in a bunch of different ways:
To get your channel looking it’s best:
- Select your channel art. Choose an image that represents your channel. The image should be 2560 px by 1440 px for the best results on all devices. If you plan on designing something special, check out the specs here.
- Upload a trailer. Introduce new viewers to all the awesomeness they’ll see from your videos, and encourage them to subscribe to your channel.
- Create sections. Select which videos and playlists you want to showcase in the sections on your channel’s browse tab.
- Link your channel with a Google+ page or profile. Keeping your branding up-to-date will be even easier because your channel art will represent you across YouTube, Google+, and all Google properties.
One huge benefit to the new design is that your channels will look the same across multiple platforms – iOS, Android, web, and more.
No use in fighting it, it’s here to stay and mandatory for all channels now.