How to make blog thumbnails that get clicks
Square size, two-line titles, contrast and font licensing — a practical checklist for thumbnails that stand out in blog feeds.
When your post shows up in search results or a reader’s feed, the first things people see are the title and the thumbnail. With the same content, a thumbnail that reads at a glance earns more clicks. Here are the rules of thumb we follow.
1. Size and ratio: square, at least 800px
Many blog platforms — Naver Blog in particular — crop thumbnails to a square in lists and on mobile. Designing in 1:1 from the start keeps important words from being cut off. Aim for 800px or more per side: smaller looks blurry on high-resolution screens, and much larger only slows uploads. 800–1,200px is a safe range.
Blog Booster’s thumbnail maker defaults to 1:1 and crops your photo around its center, so landscape photos work too.
2. Two lines, key words first
Thumbnail text is shown small. Instead of a full sentence, cut it down to two lines built around your keyword.
- Good: “Fall camping / complete checklist”
- Weak: “Here is everything a beginner camper should pack for a fall camping trip”
A small label above the title — “Honest review”, “Seoul eats”, “TIP” — tells readers what kind of post it is. Keep labels to one or two words.
3. Make sure text and photo contrast
The most common reason a thumbnail doesn’t read is low contrast, like white text on a bright photo. Three fixes:
- Darken the photo: a 30–45% dark overlay makes white text pop.
- Outline and shadow: a stroke keeps letters legible on busy backgrounds.
- Boxed styles: a box, glass card or info bar behind the text works on any photo.
Blog Booster’s “Improve text readability” button darkens the photo to at least 45% and turns on outline and shadow in one click.
4. Match the style to the post
| Post type | Styles that fit |
|---|---|
| How-tos and roundups | Info bar, box, line frame — clean and trustworthy |
| Reviews and food | Sticker, yellow outline, speech bubble — lively and friendly |
| One key word | Highlighter, letter tiles — make a single word unmissable |
| Everyday and personal | Sticky note, glass card, handwriting fonts — soft and warm |
For a series, keep the same style and font so your blog looks consistent in lists.
5. Check font licenses
Even free fonts can restrict commercial use or use in images. If your blog has ads or sponsorships, that can count as commercial use, so make checking licenses a habit.
All 10 fonts in Blog Booster are licensed under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. You can use them commercially, and thumbnails made with them can be used without restriction.
6. Use photos you own or are allowed to use
Building a thumbnail from another blog’s or a news site’s photo can infringe copyright. Use your own photos, or images from free stock sites that allow commercial use, following their attribution terms.
Checklist
- Is it 1:1 and at least 800px?
- Is the title two lines or less, with the keyword first?
- Can you still read it at phone-feed size?
- Have you checked the rights to the font and photo?
- Did you save as PNG for crisp text?