How to make YouTube Shorts that people finish
The format rules, the upload steps and what YouTube’s Shorts feed ranks on.
First brand read free. No filming.
The short answer
To make a YouTube Short, film or edit a vertical or square video up to three minutes long and upload it from the YouTube app or YouTube Studio; YouTube treats it as a Short automatically. Give it a clear title of up to 100 characters, a few relevant hashtags, and an opening worth stopping for: the Shorts feed ranks on how many viewers choose to watch and how long they stay.
Updated
Make one, step by step
- 01
Pick one idea
One point, one payoff. A format your viewers already watch to the end is the safest start.
- 02
Open on the payoff
In the Shorts feed, being swiped away is the equivalent of not being clicked. Start on the most interesting frame.
- 03
Film vertical
9:16 on a phone is easiest. Cut every second that does not move the idea.
- 04
Upload and title it
From the YouTube app or Studio; add a clear title and two or three relevant hashtags.
- 05
Read “viewed vs swiped away”
In YouTube Analytics, compare it across Shorts and keep the openings that held people.
The format rules
Vertical or square, up to 3 minutes
Videos with a square or vertical aspect ratio up to three minutes, uploaded since 15 October 2024, are categorised as Shorts.
Mind the music past one minute
A Short over one minute with an active Content ID claim is blocked worldwide.
Title up to 100 characters
Say what the Short is about; the title shows in search and on your channel.
A few hashtags
Up to three hashtags appear by the title; with more than 60, YouTube ignores them all.
Remix with credit
Remixed Shorts are attributed back to the original, which can bring the original’s viewers to you.
Originals only
Reuploads of others’ content earn nothing, and mass-produced near-copies break YouTube’s spam policy.
The sources
YouTube’s own help pages and blog, read on 2 October 2026. Percify is not affiliated with YouTube or Google.
YouTube Help: Shorts length
Shorts up to three minutes.
Source: support.google.com; quote: Announcement, read Invalid Date
- What it says
- Square or vertical videos up to three minutes are categorised as Shorts
- Rule
- Over one minute with a Content ID claim: blocked globally
- Date
- Since 15 October 2024
- What it says
- % who chose to view, average view duration, average % viewed, likes and surveys
- Rule
- No format favoured; no minimum posting cadence
- Date
- Help Center, read 2 October 2026
Read next
Your questions, answered
Short answers to what people ask next.
Upload a vertical or square video of up to three minutes from the YouTube app or YouTube Studio. YouTube categorises it as a Short automatically.
Up to three minutes since 15 October 2024. A Short over one minute with a Content ID claim is blocked, so keep claimed music to shorter Shorts.
The format decides whether it is a Short. Hashtags help describe it; up to three show by the title.
YouTube ranks Shorts on the share of viewers who choose to watch rather than swipe away, how long they watch, and likes and surveys.
Yes, as long as each one is original. Percify makes your Shorts with your own face and voice from your website and formats that performed, and posts the ones you approve.