Why Is Your YouTube Banner Not Uploading?

It can be incredibly frustrating when the YouTube banner you’ve worked so hard to create isn’t uploading properly. Without this dominant piece of artwork, your channel’s page loses a significant amount of personality and branding to attract new subscribers and create a sense of community for those already familiar with your content. So, when this error pops up, YouTubers understandably question the cause and how they can resolve it.

There are several reasons why your YouTube banner is not uploading properly. Most revolve around the banner not meeting YouTube requirements or specifications regarding dimensions, file format, and file size. However, the issue could go beyond these and require assistance from YouTube support.

This article will cover the most likely reasons why your YouTube banner is not uploading properly and what you can do to fix them. As you read, you’ll learn the optimal specifications for a YouTube banner to ensure a successful upload every time.

» MORE: Why Is Your YouTube Banner Zoomed In?

While most of you are probably looking for an easy, straightforward reason behind your YouTube banner failing to upload with an even quicker fix, the reality is that there are several potential explanations, each with its own steps for resolution.

The top four reasons why your YouTube banner is not uploading include:

Incorrect dimensions
Incorrect save file format
File exceeds maximum size
YouTube is having a bad day

These reasons are listed from most to least likely, as sizing and saving files are often the most common mistakes YouTubers make with their banners, particularly if they’re new to uploading this and similar channel-related artwork.

1. Incorrect Dimensions

If you check the banners on various YouTube channels, you’ll notice that each is practically identical regarding its dimensions. This is because YouTube ascribes you a limited amount of space at the top of your channel page for this feature.

So, logically, if the dimensions of your banner exceed those recommended by YouTube, then it’s not going to fit properly at the top of your channel page and, often, it won’t upload at all.

How to Fix It

YouTube provides several ideal specifications for any banner to ensure it uploads properly and displays in the highest quality possible. Amongst these specifications is their recommendation that banners measure at least 2048 x 1152 pixels.

However, before you start making a banner to match YouTube’s minimum recommendation, many successful YouTubers state that fellow content creators should upload banners measuring 2560 x 1440 pixels, as these dimensions work best across an array of screen sizes (ex. phone screen to TV).

Whether you opt for the minimum or ideal measurements won’t matter for uploading, just as long as your banner is at least 2048 x 1152 pixels. If not, you’ll need to either resize it or opt for an alternative image that meets these dimensional requirements.

Pro Tip: You may want to consider using a YouTube Banner Template from Placeit. These are pre-formatted in dimension, file format, and size, to fit perfectly on YouTube.

2. Incorrect Save File Format

Another common deterrent for a successful YouTube banner upload is the file being saved in the wrong format. If you aren’t familiar with the various formats to save file data, all you need to know here is that banners need to be saved as one of the many image-based save file formats. These include:

If you find your banner save file is in DOC format or anything other than the options listed above, then this is reason why it is failing to upload properly.

How to Fix It

First thing’s first, you’ll want to confirm that an incorrect save file format is truly the reason behind your issue. To do this, find the save file for the banner and right click on it. This should bring up a side menu where you’ll find the “Properties” setting listed. Click on this setting and then check the format abbreviation provided.

Now that you know what file format you have, you have three options:

Find an alternative image saved in the proper format.
Try to re-save the banner under the right format if possible (usually if you created it yourself using Photoshop or a similar program).
Convert your saved file’s format.

Personally, we recommend option two whenever possible. Still, if you’re really attached to one particular save file for your banner (maybe you purchased it and this is the only file you have), then there are numerous online resources that will convert its format for you.

3. Save File Exceeds Maximum Size

The length and width of your banner aren’t the only measurements/dimensions you’ll want to pay attention to when creating and uploading it. While these are usually the most common reasons behind a failed upload, the file’s overall size can bring up an error page just as easily.

YouTube recommends all banner size files be 6MB or less. While this in of itself is a decent amount of data space for a banner, it is possible to exceed it, particularly if you’re making the banner yourself using Photoshop, Placeit, InDesign, or similar programs.

How to Fix It

The resolution here is simple: you need to make your banner’s save file smaller. Oftentimes, you can do this pain-free by converting it to a PNG or JPG file, as these will compress the banner’s data without sacrificing quality.

However, if your banner is already saved as a PNG or JPG file, you’ll either need to compress the file further using one of many online resources, or you’ll have to bite a painful bullet and remove elements from your banner to make it simpler. This will reduce the amount of data within the banner’s file and, hopefully, make it small enough for you to upload onto YouTube successfully.

4. YouTube Is Having a Bad Day

This is by no means a YouTuber’s favorite reason for why their banner isn’t uploading, but we’d be lying if we said it never happens. On the bright side, the problem isn’t with your banner’s dimensions, your file format, or any of the other tedious reasons listed above you’d have to troubleshoot. On the downside, there’s little you can do to resolve this issue yourself.

YouTube is an extremely popular website worldwide, and as such, it receives a significant amount of traffic 24/7. Sometimes, the website experiences technical issues and bugs that might be preventing your banner from uploading properly.

How to Fix It

As we said previously, resolving this one can be tricky. Many YouTubers find that the best thing they can do is to either log out of their account, wait a few minutes, log back in, and then try the uploading process again.

If that doesn’t work, it isn’t uncommon for YouTubers experiencing this issue (once they’re sure their banner specifications are perfect) to wait a day or two before trying again. Sometimes YouTube just needs time to fix an issue or sort itself out.

In the event that none of these work and you know everything about your banner is right, the best thing you can do is contact YouTube support for help.

» MORE: 4 Reasons Why Your YouTube Banner Isn’t Fitting

Final Thoughts

There you have it; the most common reasons why your YouTube banner isn’t uploading properly and what you can do to fix it. Granted, these issues and resolutions are for YouTubers who have tried to upload repeatedly and constantly find themselves faced with a glaring error page.

If you aren’t even getting that far in your uploading process, you might want to make sure you’re trying to upload your banner properly, and the issue isn’t you simply missing a step or two.

For those who prefer a done-for-you YouTube banner option, check out the YouTube Banner Templates at Placeit.net. They offer tons of templates to choose from, and you can customize them to your channels needs. They are all pre-formatted for YouTube, so they fit perfectly and upload seamlessly.