Shorts thumbnail

Because the large majority of Shorts views come from the swipe feed, where playback starts before any still is shown, this choice has little effect on how a Short performs. Where it counts is anywhere the Short appears as a static entry: the channel's Shorts grid, search results, and shelves elsewhere on the site. That makes it a branding decision aimed at people who land on your channel and scroll. Creators regularly spend an hour perfecting one and see nothing move. Pick a clean, readable image and put the time saved into the opening seconds of the next Short.