How to make a YouTube channel on a computer or a phone

Make a channel on a computer or phone, pick a name and handle, add branding, verify the account, upload a first video and see what monetisation needs.

Faisal AshfaqMaintains the extractor

Published 15 October 202615 min read

How to make a YouTube channel: a felt owl in headphones sets up a small camera on a tripod at a wooden desk — A channel starts with three choices: a picture, a name and a handle. All three can be changed later.

What you need to know

01Sign in to YouTube, open Settings from your profile picture, choose Add or manage channel(s), then Create a channel. Pick a picture, a name and a handle, and click Create channel.
02Use a Brand Account for a business, for a second channel, or for any channel that may one day have more than one owner or manager. YouTube Help describes a personal channel as one that only you can manage.
03A new channel uploads videos up to 15 minutes until you verify it with a phone number. Ad revenue needs 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 watch hours or 10 million Shorts views. A lower tier starts at 500 subscribers.

To make a YouTube channel, sign in to YouTube, click your profile picture, open Settings, go to Add or manage channel(s) and click Create a channel. Choose a profile picture, type a name and a handle, then click Create channel. You need a Google Account to sign in. The numbered steps are in the first section below.

Creating the channel takes six steps. Most of the decisions come after it: personal channel or Brand Account, which handle to claim, what size the banner and picture need to be, what verification allows, and what the YouTube Partner Program asks for. This guide covers each in the order you meet it, plus how to make a second channel and a channel for a business. YouTubeScribe is our product, and we link our own free channel tools where they fit.

Everything here was checked against YouTube Help on 15 October 2026. YouTube changes menu labels and thresholds, so where a number is our own arithmetic or suggestion, the text says so.

How to make a YouTube channel on a computer

These steps make a personal channel. They follow YouTube Help's page on creating a channel.

Sign in to YouTube on a computer, using the Google Account you want the channel to belong to.
Click your profile picture, then click Settings.
In the Account section, select Add or manage channel(s).
Click Create a channel.
Choose a profile picture, then type in your name and your handle.
Click Create channel.

A channel is what lets you upload videos, comment and make playlists. YouTube Help says that without one you can still watch, like videos and subscribe with a Google Account. It also says that if you use a supervised experience, you may be unable to create a channel.

The picture, name and handle you choose here are not final. All three can be changed later in YouTube Studio, with limits that are covered below.

How to make a YouTube channel on a phone

YouTube Help gives one set of steps for a computer or the mobile site, and its page does not mention the YouTube app. So on an iPhone, an iPad or an Android phone, open YouTube in your phone's browser, sign in and follow the same six steps. Where the computer steps say click, tap.

We have not verified any steps inside the YouTube app, so we do not give them. If the app shows a menu that differs from the steps above, use the browser route, which is the one YouTube documents.

A second channel, or a channel for a business

To use a name other than your Google Account name, YouTube Help points you to a Brand Account. It lists these steps for a channel with a business or other name. They are also the route we would take for a second channel.

Sign in to YouTube on a computer or the mobile site.
Go to your channel list.
Choose Create a new channel, or pick a Brand Account you already manage.
Choose a profile picture, a name and a handle.
Click Create channel. YouTube says this creates a new Brand Account.
Add channel owners and managers if anyone else will help run it.

If the Brand Account you pick already has a channel, YouTube Help says you cannot create a new one on it. Each channel you create this way is a new Brand Account, and each channel has one handle of its own.

Personal channel or Brand Account, and why it matters later

YouTube Help describes a personal channel as one that only you can manage, and a channel on a Brand Account as one that can have more than one manager or owner. The choice costs nothing on day one. It matters when someone else needs access, or when the channel needs a new owner.

Managers. People can be given access without needing access to your Google Account. YouTube's permissions page lists the roles: Owner, Manager, Editor, Editor (Limited), Subtitle Editor, Viewer and Viewer (Limited). A Manager can edit channel details and manage permissions but cannot delete the channel.
Ownership. YouTube Help says a channel that is not connected to a Brand Account can have its managers changed but not its owners. To transfer ownership of such a channel, the page points you to converting it to a Brand Account by removing all roles in the permissions set up.
The primary owner. A Brand Account must have one primary owner, and to become one you must have been an owner for seven days or more. If the primary owner's Google Account is deleted, the channel is deleted with it. YouTube Help recommends at least one other owner.

YouTube Help also says that if a channel uses Brand Account roles, you should migrate to channel permissions before you add or remove access. Our reading, and not a YouTube rule: if the channel will ever have an editor, an agency or a second owner, create it on a Brand Account. If it will only ever be you, a personal channel is simpler.

Choose a channel name and a handle

You enter both when you create the channel, and you can change both afterwards in YouTube Studio. The handle is the one with rules.

It starts with the @ symbol and becomes your channel's address, for example youtube.com/@youtubecreators. A channel has one handle.
It is 3 to 30 characters. Han and Hangul handles can be 1 to 10 characters, and Ethiopic, Hiragana and Katakana handles 2 to 20.
It uses letters or numbers from one of the 75 languages YouTube supports. Handles are not case-sensitive.
Underscores, hyphens, periods and Latin middle dots are allowed, but not at the start or the end.
It cannot look like a URL or a phone number, and it must follow the Community Guidelines. Selling or transferring handles is prohibited.
It cannot already be in use. If your first choice is taken, YouTube Help suggests adding periods, numbers or underscores.

You can change a handle twice within a 14-day period. YouTube holds your previous handle for 14 days in case you want to switch back, and both addresses work during that time. After that the old handle becomes available to other users. YouTube also reserves the right to change, reclaim or remove a handle at any time.

To change it, open YouTube Studio, select Customization from the left menu (spelled Customisation in British English), then Profile. Edit the Handle field and click PUBLISH.

The channel name works the same way. You can change it twice within a 14-day period, it must follow the Community Guidelines, and it can take a few days to show everywhere. YouTube Help warns that changing it removes a verification badge. The page gives no length limit for a name.

Our advice, and not a YouTube rule: pick a name you can say aloud and spell from hearing it once, then claim the handle that matches. If you are stuck, the Channel Name Generator returns 12 ideas in three styles, plain-searchable, memorable-odd and personal-brandable.

Profile picture, banner and watermark

All three are set in YouTube Studio. Open Customization, then Profile. For each one, click CHANGE, choose an image, adjust it, click DONE, then click PUBLISH. The figures below come from YouTube Help's channel branding page, except where marked. They match the size reference on our banner generator page.

Item	What YouTube Help says	Notes
Profile picture	Renders at 98 x 98 pixels. JPG, GIF, BMP or PNG, with no animated GIFs. 15 MB or smaller.	The page gives no larger upload size. We suggest a square 800 x 800 image. That is our suggestion, not a YouTube rule.
Banner	2560 x 1440 pixels recommended, especially for TV. Minimum 2048 x 1152 pixels at 16:9. 6 MB or smaller.	Safe area for text and logos: 1235 x 338 pixels at the minimum size. The 1546 x 423 figure for a 2560 x 1440 upload comes from YouTube's older channel art template. Do not add shadows, borders or frames.
Video watermark	A square image, at least 150 x 150 pixels, under 1 MB.	Show it at the end of the video, from a custom start time or for the whole video. It is not available on videos set as made for kids.

YouTube's older template showed the whole banner on a TV and a strip across the middle on other screens. Current Help publishes only the safe area, so treat that split as a guide. Anything people must read, such as a name, a face or a logo, belongs inside the 1546 x 423 safe area.

If you already have an image that is the wrong shape, the Banner Resizer fits it to 2560 x 1440 and shows the safe area over it. It is free and runs in your browser.

If you want a banner made for you, the Channel Banner Generator builds one around the safe area.

For the picture, the Channel Avatar Generator makes an 800 x 800 square designed to stay readable when YouTube shrinks it.

Description, links and contact details

These sit under Customization, then Profile in YouTube Studio. Type the description, add links under Links, add an email under Contact info, then click PUBLISH.

Description. It appears in the channel header and has to follow the Community Guidelines. The Help page we read states no character limit for it, so check what Studio accepts.
Links. You can show up to 14 links on the channel Home tab. The first appears near the Subscribe button and the rest appear when a viewer clicks to see more. Each link takes a title and a URL and has to follow YouTube's external links policy.
Contact email. This tells people how to reach you for business questions.

What to write is your call. Our suggestion: open with what the channel covers and who it is for, then say how often you upload. The Channel About Generator drafts one that stays under 1,000 characters.

Channel keywords live somewhere else: Settings, then Channel, then Basic info. YouTube Help says to add keywords related to your channel there. The Channel Keywords Generator writes the field to fit 500 characters, which is our limit and not one the Help page states.

Add a channel trailer

A channel trailer plays at the top of your Home tab for people who have not subscribed. YouTube Help calls it a preview of the channel, there to help a visitor decide to subscribe. Once someone has watched it, YouTube does not show it to them again. Upload the video first, then add it in YouTube Studio:

Sign in to YouTube Studio.
From the left menu, open Customization, then Home tab.
Under Layout, click ADD SECTION, then Channel trailer.
Choose the video.
Click PUBLISH.

By default YouTube shows no ads on a channel trailer, unless the video contains content claimed by someone else. The same Layout list has a Spotlight section, which shows a featured video to returning subscribers instead. YouTube Help gives no length for a trailer, so keep it short enough that a new visitor watches to the end: what the channel covers, who it is for and how often you post.

Verify your account

A new channel starts with limits. To lift them, verify with a phone number. YouTube sends a verification code by text or voice call to that number. Once your account is verified, YouTube Help says you can upload videos longer than 15 minutes, add custom thumbnails, live stream and appeal copyright claims.

The 15-minute figure is the default upload limit for an unverified account. The overall cap is a file of 256 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less.

If the code does not arrive, YouTube Help says to ask for a new one, switch between text and voice call, or use a number from a different carrier. It adds that after the phone step you can build up channel history or verify with ID or video. The page does not say what that second step adds.

Upload your first video

Sign in to YouTube Studio, click CREATE in the top right corner, then choose Upload videos.
Select the file. You can upload up to 15 videos at a time.
Fill in the details: title, description, thumbnail and audience.
Choose Private, Unlisted or Public, or schedule a date. A scheduled video stays private until that date.
Save or publish.

YouTube Help says the default privacy setting is public if you are 18 or older and private for creators aged 13 to 17. Check the visibility step every time until you trust your defaults.

Title. The limit is 100 characters. Our suggestion: put the subject of the video in the first words.
Description. The limit is 5,000 characters.
Thumbnail. A custom thumbnail needs a verified account. YouTube Help recommends 3840 x 2160 pixels at 16:9 for a video, a minimum width of 640 pixels, and a JPG or PNG. The file limit is 50 MB on a computer and 2 MB for a video thumbnail on mobile. A guide that gives other numbers may be quoting an older version of that page.
Audience. You must say whether the video is made for kids. YouTube Help says this is required under COPPA. You can set it once for the whole channel, as the settings section below explains.
Chapters. Add a list of timestamps and titles to the description. The first timestamp must be 00:00, you need at least three in ascending order, and each chapter must be at least 10 seconds long.

Our guide to YouTube chapters goes into timestamps and titles in more detail.

For a title, the Title Generator gives ten options from one idea, each under 60 characters.

Settings worth changing on day one

Audience. In the web version of YouTube Studio, go to Settings, then Channel, then Advanced settings, then Audience. You can set the channel as made for kids, not made for kids, or review every video. A channel choice applies to existing and future videos, and a setting on one video overrides it. If you skip it, you must mark each video yourself.
Upload defaults. Go to Settings, then Upload defaults, and set privacy, category, title, tags, comments and language. YouTube Help says they apply only to videos uploaded through your browser at youtube.com/upload, not to uploads from mobile or the video editor. Our suggestion: default to Private so nothing goes live by accident.
Country or region. Go to Settings, then Channel, then Basic info. YouTube Help says Partner Program eligibility is based on the country or region you choose here.
Permissions. Go to Settings, then Permissions, and give anyone who helps a role before you need them. Use the lowest role that does the job.
2-Step Verification. Turn it on for the Google Account. The Partner Program requires it, and it protects the channel.

What the YouTube Partner Program needs

Monetisation is not on when you create a channel. You apply to the YouTube Partner Program once you meet its thresholds. YouTube's partner page and Help pages describe two tiers.

	Early tier	Full tier
Subscribers	500	1,000
Public uploads	3 valid public uploads in the last 90 days	No separate upload requirement listed
Watch time or Shorts views	3,000 qualified long-form watch hours in the last 12 months, or 3 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days	4,000 qualified long-form watch hours in the last 365 days, or 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days
What it allows	Fan funding and Shopping: memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, Jewels and gifts, Shopping	Everything in the early tier, plus ad and YouTube Premium revenue
Where	Only in the countries and regions YouTube lists	A country or region where the program is available

Every route to the program also has conditions. YouTube Help lists these:

Follow the channel monetization policies.
Live in a country or region where the program is available.
Have no active Community Guidelines strikes.
Turn on 2-Step Verification for your Google Account.
Have access to advanced features on YouTube.
Have one active AdSense account linked to the channel, or set one up in YouTube Studio.

Not every view counts. Watch hours from private, unlisted or deleted videos, from ad campaigns and from Shorts do not count towards the 4,000 hours. Meeting a threshold does not guarantee acceptance: YouTube reviews the whole channel, which Help says typically takes about a month. After a rejection you can appeal within 21 days or re-apply after 30 days, or after 90 days if it is not your first rejection.

Two dates matter. Help says a channel with no uploads or Posts tab activity for six months or more may lose monetisation. It also says YouTube is introducing updates to the program from 1 February 2027, and that to keep monetising fully you must accept the updated terms in YouTube Studio by 31 January 2027. The page does not say what changes.

Meeting the thresholds is not the same as earning a living. For what views pay, see our guide to how much YouTube pays per view.

A short checklist

Sign in with the Google Account that should own the channel.
Decide between a personal channel and a Brand Account before you create it.
Create the channel with a picture, a name and a handle.
Upload a 2560 x 1440 banner with the text inside the safe area.
Add a description, links and a contact email.
Verify the account with a phone number.
Set the audience setting and your upload defaults.
Turn on 2-Step Verification.
Upload the first video with a title, a thumbnail and chapters.
Track subscribers and watch hours against the Partner Program thresholds.

Questions people ask

How do I make a YouTube channel?

Sign in to YouTube, click your profile picture, open Settings, select Add or manage channel(s), click Create a channel, choose a profile picture, name and handle, then click Create channel. You need a Google Account to sign in.

How do I create a YouTube channel on my phone?

YouTube Help documents the steps for a computer or the mobile site and does not mention the app. Open YouTube in your phone's browser, sign in, tap your profile picture, then Settings, and follow the same steps, tapping where they say click.

How do I start a YouTube channel for a business?

Create it on a Brand Account. Go to your channel list, choose Create a new channel, pick a picture, name and handle, and click Create channel. A Brand Account can have more than one manager or owner, which a personal channel cannot.

How do I make a second YouTube channel?

Go to your channel list and choose Create a new channel. YouTube says this creates a new Brand Account. If a Brand Account you pick already has a channel, you cannot create another on it.

Do I need a Google Account to make a YouTube channel?

Yes. You sign in with a Google Account, and YouTube Help says you can watch, like videos and subscribe with one even before you have a channel. A channel is what lets you upload, comment and make playlists.

Can I change my YouTube channel name or handle later?

Yes. You can change each one twice within a 14-day period in YouTube Studio, under Customization then Profile. YouTube holds your old handle for 14 days. Changing the channel name removes a verification badge.

What size should a YouTube banner be?

YouTube Help recommends 2560 x 1440 pixels, with a minimum of 2048 x 1152 at 16:9 and a file of 6 MB or smaller. Keep text and logos inside the safe area: 1235 x 338 at the minimum size, or about 1546 x 423 at 2560 x 1440 by YouTube's older template.

Why can I not upload a video longer than 15 minutes?

Unverified accounts are limited to 15 minutes. Verify the account with a phone number, then try again. The overall maximum is 256 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less.

How many subscribers do I need to make money on YouTube?

Ad revenue needs 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days or 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. A lower tier starts at 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in 90 days, and 3,000 watch hours or 3 million Shorts views, and covers fan funding and Shopping in listed countries.

Sources

YouTube Help. Create a YouTube channel. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Learn about YouTube handles. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Change, view, or hide your handle. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Manage your YouTube channel's profile. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Manage your channel branding. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Customise your YouTube channel layout. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Verify your YouTube account. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Upload videos longer than 15 minutes. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Upload YouTube videos. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Add custom thumbnails on YouTube. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Video Chapters. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Set your channel or video's audience. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Set default upload settings. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Manage channel settings. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Add or remove access to your YouTube channel with channel permissions. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Change channel owners and managers with a brand account. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. YouTube Partner Program overview & eligibility. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube Help. Overview of the expanded YouTube Partner Programme. support.google.com· Checked 15 October 2026.
YouTube. YouTube Partner Program. youtube.com· Checked 15 October 2026.

Written by Faisal Ashfaq. Faisal Ashfaq maintains the YouTubeScribe caption extractor at Deeporax AI LTD in Oldham. He writes the under-the-hood notes on timed text.

Reviewed on 15 October 2026. If a line is wrong, email support@youtubescribe.com.