A YouTube video thumbnail does not show in the Email editor when the video was not uploaded in high resolution (HD). Quanda uses the maxresdefault.jpg image as the thumbnail, and YouTube only creates it for HD videos. You can fix it in three ways: insert your own screenshot of the video as an image with a link, change the file name in the thumbnail address to a different variant such as hqdefault.jpg or 0.jpg, or upload the video to YouTube in HD.
Why the video thumbnail does not show
When you insert a YouTube video into an email, Quanda loads the thumbnail image YouTube provides for the video. It uses the high resolution variant named maxresdefault.jpg. For videos below HD, YouTube does not create it, so the image does not load.
How to fix it
1. Insert your own screenshot of the video
Take a screenshot of the YouTube video, insert it into the email as an image and set the YouTube share link of the video as its link. The advantage is that you pick the frame that best represents the video.
2. Use a different YouTube thumbnail
- In the Email editor, click the video block.
- In the right panel, find the Insert image address from web field. The address looks like this: https://img.youtube.com/vi/abcd66efgh/maxresdefault.jpg
- Replace the file name after the last slash with a different variant, for example: https://img.youtube.com/vi/abcd66efgh/hqdefault.jpg
- Make sure the thumbnail shows and is sharp enough, then save the email.
YouTube offers these thumbnail variants:
| File name | Size | Fit for email |
|---|---|---|
| maxresdefault.jpg | 1280 × 720 px | best, only for HD videos |
| sddefault.jpg | 640 × 480 px | good |
| hqdefault.jpg | 480 × 360 px | usable |
| 0.jpg | 480 × 360 px | usable |
| mqdefault.jpg | 320 × 180 px | small |
| default.jpg, 1.jpg, 2.jpg, 3.jpg | 120 × 90 px | too small, blurry in an email |
Variants with a 4:3 ratio can have black bars at the top and bottom, so not every variant looks good in an email.
3. Upload the video to YouTube in HD
When you upload the video in high resolution, YouTube also creates the maxresdefault.jpg image and the thumbnail shows in Quanda without any further setup.
How to work with components in an email is explained in Email editor of a simple email campaign. Recommended image sizes are in Image size in an email campaign.
Do you have questions? We will be happy to answer them. Just contact our customer support at +420 605 163 892, e-mail: support@onquanda.com.
Frequently asked questions
Quanda uses the maxresdefault.jpg image as the video thumbnail, and YouTube only provides it for high resolution videos. When a video is below HD, YouTube does not create this image and the thumbnail stays empty.
In the Email editor, click the video block and in the right panel, in the Insert image address from web field, replace maxresdefault.jpg at the end of the address with a different name, for example hqdefault.jpg or 0.jpg.
The largest is maxresdefault.jpg, followed by sddefault.jpg and hqdefault.jpg. The default.jpg, 1.jpg, 2.jpg and 3.jpg files are small and would look blurry in an email.
Yes. Take a screenshot of the video, insert it into the email as an image and set the YouTube video address as its link. When recipients click the image, the video opens.