Social and content design

Member lesson

Story and reel covers

Lesson 4 of 11 in Social and content design.

Checked against the makers' documentation on 9 October 2026.

How to Add Custom Thumbnails to Your YouTube Videos · YouTube Creators
Lesson

A reel is judged before it plays. On your profile it is represented by its cover frame, the still that stands for the whole film, and on YouTube a Short or a video is met as a thumbnail among many others. Instagram's help on reel sizes recommends a cover of 420 by 654 pixels, a shape of 1:1.55, and adds that right now you cannot edit the cover photo after the reel is uploaded. So the cover is designed before posting, as carefully as the first frame of the film.

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Members answer these 3 questions and keep the ticket for this lesson. Every lesson has one.

  1. Question 1, locked

    What cover size does Instagram's help recommend for a reel?

    • 1080 by 1080 pixels
    • 420 by 654 pixels
    • 1080 by 1350 pixels
    • 2160 by 3840 pixels
  2. Question 2, locked

    Where can a custom thumbnail for a YouTube Short be added, according to YouTube's help?

    • Only in YouTube Studio on a computer
    • In the YouTube app on a phone
    • Only while uploading from a phone
    • Nowhere, since Shorts cannot have custom thumbnails
  3. Question 3, locked

    What reason did Adam Mosseri give for replacing Instagram's square grid in 2025?

    • Square tiles loaded too slowly on new phones
    • Advertisers asked for more room in the grid
    • Most uploads are vertical, and cropping them to square is brutal
    • Reels needed a wider frame than posts

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