Your panels are a great way to leave a first impression on a potential follower. They’re also a great way to provide information on where viewers can find you and when you go live. The problem is, not everyone looks at panels — once they see you’re offline, they just leave (especially when they’re browsing on mobile).
It’s a good idea to have something for potential followers to look at when they land on your channel. Nowadays channel trailers are available, one great solution to help you make an impression and provide information is putting up an offline banner.
In this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the Twitch offline banner, why you need one, and how to change yours!
What is a Twitch Offline Banner?
A Twitch Offline Banner is a graphic that you can upload to your account. It displays in the video player space when you are offline and you are not hosting anybody.
Offline graphics are static images — unfortunately, you can’t use an animated gif or video in this space just yet. Twitch hasn’t said anything about whether they plan to add that feature in the future. Until they decide to let streamers have that option, we are stuck with static assets.
You can see an example of an offline banner below:
Your offline banner is a great place to showcase your interests and personality. Having a graphic in this space can help make your channel look more professional and well-produced, giving viewers a better impression all around. You might even end up with people coming back!
What is the Twitch Offline Banner Screen Size?
Because the offline banner takes up the same space as the video player, you want your graphic to be the same dimensions. The offline screen size should be 1920 x 1080 pixels, with a 16:9 aspect ratio. This size is what Twitch recommends as well.
You’ll want to make sure that yours fits these dimensions so the graphic displays beautifully instead of being stretched.
According to Twitch, the biggest file size they’ll accept during upload is 10MB. Make sure when creating or acquiring your offline banner graphic that it is 10MB and below.
Why Should You Have a Twitch Offline Banner?
Offline banner graphics serve a few purposes.
- They help make your stream more professional
- You can use them to promote your other platforms like Youtube or Tiktok
- If you have a regular schedule, you can put it on your offline banner so people know when to come back
- You can promote your social media accounts
- You can show off your interests and personality
Each time someone visits your channel, you get a chance to gain a viewer. If you aren’t doing the best you can to make the best possible impression you can, it becomes less likely that a potential viewer will stick around.
How to Upload Offline Banner on Twitch
Uploading your offline banner is easy.
- Make sure you’re logged in on Twitch then click on your profile picture on the top right corner (in the browser).
- In the drop-down menu that appears, scroll down to Creator Dashboard and click.
- Once you’re in the creator dashboard, click on the Settings tab to expand it.
- Click on Channel and it should open up a page with the following links:
- Click on Brand and it will take you to where you can change your offline banner for your Twitch channel. Scroll all the way down to where it says “Video Player Banner”.
- Now all you have to do is click update and it will allow you to choose which image you want to use. That’s all there is to it!
Remember, you cannot use animated GIFs even though Twitch accepts GIF format images in the upload section.
What Can You Put on Your Offline Banner?
As with any graphic you put on your channel, you have to make sure that it follows Twitch terms of service. The last thing you want is to get banned because of your own branding and graphics!
That said, you can put a few things on your offline screen.
As mentioned, you can add your social media accounts as well as any other platforms you want to promote. You can put your schedule there too. Other things you can add are commands — you can add !Discord, for example, so people that type it in your chat can get the link to your Discord server.
You can also leave a message for potential viewers and your current community.
The choice and the freedom are yours… as long as you follow Twitch TOS, that is.
Where Can You Find Twitch Offline Banners?
There are many different places you can get offline screens for your Twitch channel. Many websites that offer graphics for streamers also have offline banners available. You can check websites like:
Alternatively, you can create your own using programs like GIMP, Adobe Photoshop, or even Microsoft Paint. Canva is also a great option — you can create all sorts of graphics for free on this platform.
Wrapping Up
As a streamer, you want to set up your channel the best way you can to showcase your personality and interests. You only get one chance to make a first impression on someone, so it’s a good idea to put your best foot forward!
Putting valuable information on your offline banner might just help with getting people interested and getting them to come back. You may even get them to check you out on other platforms.
We hope that this guide has helped you figure out how to change your offline banner on Twitch. If you want to learn more about streaming and all the things you can do, check out our stream tutorials section!
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