The YouTube Upload Checklist: Titles, Descriptions, Tags and Thumbnails

YouTube asks for more information than any other platform when you upload. That's good news: every field is a chance to help the right people find your video. Here's a checklist to run through before you publish.

1. Title (up to 100 characters)

• Put the main topic in the first half — long titles are cut off in search results and on phones.
• Promise what the video delivers, and deliver it. Misleading titles hurt how long people watch.
• Write it for a person searching, not just for people who already follow you.

2. Description (up to 5,000 characters)

• The first two lines show above the "more" fold. Use them to say what the video is about and link to anything important.
• Add chapters with timestamps (starting at 0:00) so viewers can jump to the part they need.
• Include links you mention in the video, and keep the description truthful to the content.

3. Tags (up to 500 characters in total)

Tags matter less than the title and description, but they help with commonly misspelled words and close variations of your topic. Add a few specific ones instead of many generic ones.

4. Thumbnail

Custom thumbnails are available once your channel is verified (YouTube asks for phone verification to unlock features like this). The usual specs:

• Resolution: 1280×720 (16:9), at least 640 pixels wide
• File size: under 2 MB
• Formats: JPG or PNG are the safest choices

Design it to be readable at the size of a postage stamp: one clear subject, high contrast, and only a few words.

5. Audience: "made for kids"

YouTube requires you to say whether each video is made for children. This isn't optional and it affects features like comments, so answer it honestly for every upload.

6. Visibility

• Public — anyone can find and watch it.
• Unlisted — only people with the link can watch it.
• Private — only you and people you invite.

You can also schedule a public premiere for a specific time.

7. Category and language

Pick the category that best matches the video and set its language. These details help YouTube understand who it might suit.

Doing this for every platform at once

A YouTube upload is the most detailed part of a cross-posting routine. In PostGaadi, the YouTube destination has its own title, description, tags, category, privacy setting and custom thumbnail, separate from the captions you use elsewhere. Character limits are checked as you type, uploads are resumable so a dropped connection doesn't mean starting over, and the video is only marked published once YouTube confirms it.

Run through this list before every upload and you'll rarely publish a video you need to fix afterwards.