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- How to make YouTube Shorts
Guide
How to make YouTube Shorts
Vertical, short, captioned, and interesting from the first frame.
A YouTube Short is a vertical (9:16) or square video up to 3 minutes long. To make one: write one idea with a hook in the first line, film or generate it at 1080×1920, cut every pause, add big word-timed captions, and upload it from the YouTube app or YouTube Studio. Most good Shorts land between 15 and 60 seconds.
The specs: size, shape and length
YouTube counts a video as a Short when it's vertical or square and no longer than 3 minutes (for uploads since October 15, 2024). Shorts play at up to 1080p, so export at 1080×1920.
Anything wider than square is a regular long-form video, whatever its length. Don't upload a 16:9 clip and hope.
| Spec | Shorts |
|---|---|
| Best size | 1080×1920 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 9:16 or 1:1 |
| Maximum length | 3 minutes |
| Typical length | 15 to 60 seconds |
From YouTube Help, read October 2026.
Start with one idea and a first line
A Short is one idea. Not three tips, not your whole story. Write the first line so that someone scrolling can't leave without the answer: "An octopus has three hearts."
Then give the reason and end on a twist or a payoff. "That's why octopuses would rather crawl" closes the loop and makes people watch it again.
- 1
An octopus has three hearts.
The hook: the strange fact first - 2
Two pump blood through the gills. The third sends it to the rest of the body.
The reason, one line per picture - 3
But when an octopus swims, that third heart stops beating.
The turn - 4
That's why octopuses would rather crawl.
The payoff
Film it, or make it from a script
If you're on camera, film vertical, close and well lit, and talk to the lens like it's one person. Record a few takes of the first line; it's the one that matters most.
If you'd rather not film, paste the script into UGCLive Editor and pick Shorts. Our AI voices it, makes a picture for every sentence, adds motion graphics for any numbers and lays word-timed captions over it, all at 1080×1920.
- 1
Paste the script
One idea, 40 to 120 words
- 2
Pick Shorts
1080×1920
- 3
Pick a voice
130 voices, speed 0.8× to 1.25×
- 4
Render
Usually two or three minutes for a minute of video
Cut it tight
Every pause is a chance to swipe. Cut the breath before each sentence, the "um" and the restart. Jump cuts are normal in Shorts; nobody minds them.
In the editor you can ask the chat to "cut the pauses and fillers" and it removes them on the timeline, where you can still trim by hand.
- Cut 14 pauses and 3 filler words
- Added word-by-word captions
- The video went from 0:41 to 0:29
Captions, big and in the middle
Some viewers scroll with the sound off, and captions keep everyone reading along. Make them big, two to four words at a time, highlighting the word being said.
Keep them in the middle of the frame. The bottom of a Short is covered by the title, the channel name and the buttons.
Upload it right
Upload from the YouTube app or YouTube Studio. Give it a plain title that says what it is, and add #Shorts in the title or description if you like (vertical and under 3 minutes is what actually decides it).
Post on a rhythm. Five Shorts a week on one topic teaches the algorithm who to show them to faster than one a week on five topics.
Make a series, not a single Short
One Short is a lottery ticket; a series is a format people come back for. "One strange fact about the ocean, every day" gives viewers a reason to follow and gives you a template to write against.
Keep the same opening rhythm, the same voice and the same caption style across the series, and change only the fact. Batch five scripts at a time, make them in one sitting, and schedule them across the week on the calendar.
Then look at which ones people watched to the end and rewatched. The topic of your best performer is the next five scripts.
Questions
How long can a YouTube Short be?
Up to 3 minutes, for videos uploaded on or after October 15, 2024. Most Shorts that hold attention are 15 to 60 seconds.
What size is a YouTube Short?
1080×1920 pixels, a 9:16 vertical frame. Square 1:1 videos also count as Shorts.
Can I make YouTube Shorts without showing my face?
Yes. Many Shorts channels are faceless: narration over pictures and graphics. Paste a script into UGCLive Editor and it makes the voice, the pictures and the captions.
Can I turn a long video into a Short?
Yes, but don't just crop it. Pick one moment that stands on its own, reframe it vertical, cut it tight and add captions. A Short works best as its own idea.
Do I need #Shorts in the title?
No. YouTube decides from the shape and the length. The hashtag doesn't hurt, but a clear title helps more.
How do I make a Short from a script?
Write one idea in four lines, paste it into UGCLive Editor's New video and pick Shorts. Our AI voices it in the voice you choose, makes a picture for every sentence, adds motion graphics for numbers and lays word-timed captions over it at 1080×1920. Change any scene's words or picture, then render again.
What makes a Short worth rewatching?
A last line that changes how you see the first one. When the payoff explains the hook, people often loop back to catch it again, and a rewatch counts as watch time.
How often should I post Shorts?
As often as you can keep the quality. Several a week on one topic teaches viewers and the feed what your channel is about faster than one a week on many topics.
Keep reading
- YouTube ShortsWrite a 15-second fact and get a finished vertical Short: 1080×1920, a picture for every line, a narrator and big captions. Then make the next one.
- Animated captionsAdd captions timed to each word: karaoke fills, one big word at a time, a highlighted spoken word or a tag. Restyle them all at once or by chat.
- Video sizesThe right size for every platform: 1920×1080 for YouTube, 1080×1920 for Shorts, TikTok and Reels. Make one video, then a copy in each shape.
- Silence removerCut every pause, um and retake from a talking video in one go. Our AI finds the dead air from the words and the sound, and you can still change every cut.
- Jump cut editingA jump cut removes a slice of time from one shot. Where it came from, why YouTube made it normal, and how to cut pauses without it looking choppy.
- YouTube automationWhat YouTube automation really means, which parts you can hand to AI or a team, what YouTube's rules say about mass-produced videos, and a weekly workflow.
Updated 29 October 2026
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