Your channel home page is what a visitor sees when they click your name under a video or find you in search. If it looks like a pile of uploads in random order, most people leave. If it shows who you are, what to listen to first and where the rest is, they stay and press play on the next video. The layout takes an hour to set up and a few minutes to keep up with each release.
Start with the question a new visitor has
Someone arrives on your channel and has about five seconds to decide. They are asking three things: who is this, is it something I like, and what should I watch first. Everything at the top of the page should answer those, without a lot of reading.
Trailer for new visitors, featured video for subscribers
YouTube lets you show different videos to different people. In YouTube Studio, under Customization and Layout, you can set a channel trailer for people who haven't subscribed yet, and a featured video for people who already have. The menus and names change from time to time, so look around if they have moved.
The trailer is your handshake. Pick a video that says who you are in the first seconds: your best-known official video, a live performance or a short montage of your songs. Start with music or a strong image, not with a long talk. If you add a few words, say your name, your genre and where you're from, then play.
The featured video is for people who already follow you. Use it for your newest release, an upcoming premiere or the video you want to push now. Change it with every release. A subscriber who sees last year's single at the top of your page will think nothing new is going on.
Sections that fit a musician
Sections are the shelves under the top video. Fewer, better-named shelves work better than ten of them. A simple order for most artists:
- Latest release. The newest video or a playlist with your newest single.
- Official videos. A playlist of your music videos.
- Albums and EPs. One playlist per project, so listeners can play a whole record.
- Live and sessions. Performances and acoustic versions.
- Shorts. A shelf for short vertical clips.
- Popular videos. A section YouTube can fill for you with the videos that attract the most views.
Put the section you most want a new visitor to see first. If you release in more than one language or have a second project, a separate shelf for each helps people find their own. Featured channels can also be useful, for example a collaborator or your own second channel.
Playlists that do real work
Playlists give your channel structure and keep people watching longer, because the next video starts on its own.
- Group by release (an album or EP), then by type (official videos, live, lyric videos).
- Name them plainly: "Lalə Nova: Official videos". Avoid clever names that no one would search for.
- Put your strongest or newest track first in the playlist, since that is what most people will play.
- Fill in the playlist description with a first line saying what it is and where to listen to the music.
- Add each new upload to the right playlist on the day it goes live.
Shorts and regular videos
Shorts are a good way to show a side of a song that a full video doesn't, such as a lyric moment, a rehearsal or a studio clip. They also give you a shelf of recent content on the home page.
If you plan to request a YouTube Official Artist Channel through the CULT portal, remember that the channel needs several regular videos and Shorts, only this artist's content, and the same name as your Topic channel. A tidy layout with Shorts, official videos and playlists shows that you are an active, consistent channel.
A ten-minute routine for each release
- Replace the featured video with the new release.
- Add the new video to the right playlist and to the "Latest release" shelf.
- Check the order of the sections. Is the newest music near the top?
- Update the About text and links if your release page changed.
- Pin a comment under the new video with a short note and the link.
- Open the channel on your phone, since most people watch there, and also in a private window to see what a new visitor sees.
The channel doesn't have to be perfect. It has to be clear, current and kind to someone arriving for the first time.