YouTube to Let Creators Customize the Look & Feel of Their Channels

An update to YouTube Studio will allow creators to alter the look and feel of their channel by customizing the layout, branding, and more.

This marks the first time YouTube will have given creators such control over their own channels. Finally, an opportunity to stand out beyond just channel headers and video thumbnails.

Representatives from YouTube previewed the update in the latest Creator Insider news flash video.

“We are making YouTube Studio the creator’s destination for all things channel editing. As a result we will be launching the ability to customize your channel’s look and feel directly within YouTube studio. You’ll be able to customize your channel’s layout, branding, and basic info to match your creative style.”

The company goes on to explain how it’s taking a mobile-first approach to channel customization:

“Because we want to make this a great experience for creators, but also land really well with viewers who – as you know – often are using their mobile device, we’re taking a mobile-first approach to the customization experience.

As an example of this mobile-first approach we’re redesigning the featured channels option which allows you to display a collection of selected channels on your channel home page.

We’re making it suitable in a mobile-friendly world by converting it into a channel section to make it consistently visible both on desktop and mobile.”

No timeframe was given for when this update will roll out. All we know is, at some point in the future there will be new customization features in YouTube Studio.

Introducing Creator Mixes

In the same news flash update, YouTube highlighted a feature that just launched called Creator Mixes.

Creator Mixes are featured in the ‘up next’ suggestions that appear when a user is watching a video.

A ‘mix’ is an algorithmically generated playlist of any given channel’s content.

For viewers, Creator Mixes were developed as a way to dive into top recommended content from a new channel

Mixes can also help users catch up on channels they already like. Maybe they even subscribe to the channel, but they missed the past few videos.

A creator mix can pull all of that together because YouTube knows what a user has and hasn’t watched.

For channels, YouTube says mixes tend to perform better than playlists made by creators or other users.

One of the reasons for that is because playlists are static, whereas creator mixes are personalized for each user.

As mentioned, when generating creator mixes, YouTube’s algorithm takes into account what a user has already seen. Mixes are designed to prioritize new content ahead of content that a user already likes.

YouTube says this is an opportunity for creators to “have the algorithm work for them.” Are they implying the algorithm isn’t working for creators in other areas?

Right now, Creator Mixes are displayed in the ‘up next’ suggestions when watching a video. YouTube eventually wants to bring these mixes to more places like search results and channel pages.

For more information on creator mixes, channel customization, and other updates for YouTube creators, see the video below.