# YouTube intros: short branded openers people don't skip [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/intro-video-background) The intro is the part of a video people are most tempted to skip. Here is how to make one so short and so recognisably yours that they don't bother. ## The short version - A YouTube intro works best at two to five seconds, placed after a short cold open rather than at the very start of the video. - The strongest intros use one recognisable background, the channel name or episode title, and a short sound that viewers learn to associate with the channel. - Design YouTube intros at 1920×1080 for standard videos and 1080×1920 for Shorts, keeping the words in the middle of the frame. - An intro should look the same in every episode so that it builds recognition, while the title card inside it changes with each video. - YouTube Studio's audience retention graph shows whether viewers leave during your intro, so check it after a few uploads and cut the intro shorter if they do. A **YouTube intro** that people don't skip is short, usually two to five seconds, and it comes after the video has already given viewers a reason to stay. The pattern that works: open on the most interesting moment or the question the video answers, then play a brief branded opener with your channel's background, its name or the episode title, and a short sound. Long logo animations at second zero are what trained everyone to reach for the skip button. ## How long a YouTube intro should be Shorter than you think. A viewer has clicked because of a title and a thumbnail, and every second before the promised content arrives is a second they may spend deciding to leave. An intro has one job: say "this is that channel" and get out of the way. | Intro style | Typical length | Best for | | --- | --- | --- | | Sting: background, name, sound | 2 to 3 seconds | Weekly channels, tutorials, vlogs | | Title card: background, episode title | 3 to 5 seconds | Series, interviews, podcasts on video | | Cold open, then sting | 10 to 30 seconds of hook, then 2 to 3 | Stories, reviews, anything with a payoff | | No intro, branded lower third | 0 seconds | Shorts and very short videos | Four ways to open a video. The longer the video, the more an intro can afford; Shorts can't afford one at all. Treat these as starting points, then let your own numbers decide. In YouTube Studio, the audience retention graph for each video shows the share of viewers still watching at every second. If it falls sharply during the intro, the intro is too long or too early. ## What a branded intro needs, and what it doesn't The intros people remember are made of very few parts, repeated exactly every time. Recognition comes from repetition, not from effects. - **One background** that belongs to the channel: a colour field, a gradient or a material that is the same in every episode. - **One line of type**: the channel name, or the episode title on a title card. Set it large, in your channel's typeface. - **One short sound**: a two second sting, a chord or a whoosh. Keep it quieter than your voice so it doesn't jolt. - **Gentle motion**: the background drifting or light moving across it is enough. The words can arrive with a simple rise or wipe. - **A clean exit**: a cut or a fast fade straight into the content, never a slow dissolve. A 16:9 YouTube intro title card reading The Slow Kitchen, Episode 41, over a dark gradient background A title card for a standard video: the series name large, the episode as a quiet detail. A vertical 9:16 opener for a YouTube Short reading Rise, with The Slow Kitchen name above, on the same gradient The same channel in vertical: one word, same background, held for under two seconds. What you can leave out: spinning 3D logos, particle explosions, a full song, and a list of everything the channel covers. All of these add seconds and none of them help a viewer recognise you faster than a familiar colour and name. ## Put a cold open before the intro A cold open is a short piece of the video placed before the intro: the result, the problem, the funniest line. It answers the viewer's first question, "is this the video I wanted?", and only then does the intro play. The order matters more than the intro's design. 1. **Hook, 10 to 30 seconds** Show the finished thing, state the problem, or ask the question your title promised. Speak straight to camera or show the most striking shot. 2. **Sting, 2 to 3 seconds** Background, name, sound. The same every week, so regular viewers feel at home and new ones learn who you are. 3. **Straight into the content** No recap of what you just said. Pick up exactly where the hook left off. 4. **Brand the rest quietly** A small lower third with your name, consistent [video captions](https://gradiently.design/guide/video-captions-design) and an [end screen](https://gradiently.design/guide/youtube-end-screen-design) in the same colours carry the identity for the rest of the video. ## Choosing an intro video background The background is most of what a viewer sees during an intro, so it is where the brand lives. Pick something you can repeat in your thumbnails, banner and end screens, so the intro feels like part of one system. Dark grounds make light type glow and suit tech, music and late night channels; warm light grounds feel friendly and suit food, craft and family channels. - Ember on near black: `radial-gradient(circle at 70% 30%, #f97316 0%, #9a3412 35%, #1c0a05 80%)` - Night to clear blue: `linear-gradient(160deg, #0b1d3a 0%, #1e40af 55%, #38bdf8 100%)` - Soft butter and blush: `radial-gradient(circle at 30% 70%, #fde68a 0%, #fbcfe8 45%, #fdf4ff 85%)` - Forest to lime: `linear-gradient(135deg, #052e16 0%, #15803d 60%, #a3e635 100%)` Four intro grounds with clear personalities. Choose one and use it in every episode, thumbnail and end screen. Keep the motion slow. A background that drifts gently reads as calm and premium; one that pulses or spins competes with your name. If the intro is a loop that might sit on screen while you talk, make it a [seamless loop](https://gradiently.design/guide/seamless-loop-video) so there is no visible jump. ### Skippable - Ten second logo reveal at 0:00 - Loud music that drowns the voice - A different look every episode - Effects chosen from a pack - Slow dissolve into the content ### Watched - Hook first, two second sting after - A short sound below speaking volume - The same background and type every time - One colour field that is clearly yours - Hard cut into the first line ## Sizes and export settings for YouTube intros Make standard intros at 1920×1080, the 16:9 HD frame, and a separate vertical version at 1080×1920 for Shorts. Don't crop one into the other: the name ends up off centre or too small. Export as MP4 with H.264, which every editor reads, and keep a version without sound so you can lay the sting under different episodes. The full list of frames is in [social media video sizes](https://gradiently.design/guide/social-video-sizes). - Video 1920×1080: 1920 × 1080 - Short 1080×1920: 1080 × 1920 - Thumbnail 1280×720: 1280 × 720 The intro, its Shorts version and the thumbnail it should match, drawn to scale. If your intro and thumbnail share a background and typeface, a viewer who clicked the thumbnail sees the promise kept in the first seconds. [YouTube thumbnail design](https://gradiently.design/guide/youtube-thumbnail-design) and [motion branding](https://gradiently.design/guide/motion-branding-guide) go further into building that system. ## Making a YouTube intro without a motion designer You don't need animation software for a sting. In Gradiently, the background is a Mark: a living gradient or material that is yours alone once you claim it, so no other channel opens with the same look. Set your channel name on it, give the words a rise or wipe entrance, and with Pro export the opener moving, as an MP4 at up to 1080p. Make the 1080×1920 version from the same design in one step, then drop both into your usual editor, or into Gradiently's own timeline. ## FAQ ### How long should a YouTube intro be? Two to five seconds for the branded part. If you use a cold open first, keep that to 10 to 30 seconds and the sting after it to two or three. ### Should a YouTube intro go at the very start of the video? Usually not. Starting with a short hook and playing the intro after it keeps more viewers, because they know they are in the right video before the branding plays. ### What size should a YouTube intro be? 1920×1080 for standard videos and 1080×1920 for Shorts. Export as MP4 with H.264 so any editor can use it. ### Do Shorts need an intro? No. Shorts are too brief for one; start on the content and carry the brand with a consistent background, caption style and a small name in the frame. ### Can I use music in my YouTube intro? Only music you have the rights to use, such as tracks from YouTube's Audio Library or a licence you hold. A short sting of a few seconds is easier to keep consistent than a full song.