How to Fix Missing YouTube Thumbnails on Blogger Posts - Just Van

Have you ever published a Blogger post only to notice that the YouTube thumbnail refuses to appear properly? Instead of showing the expected preview image, your post may display a blank area or no featured image at all.

I recently experienced this exact issue while using the Median UI Blogger template, and after troubleshooting for quite some time, I finally discovered what was causing it.

If your YouTube thumbnails are not appearing correctly on Blogger posts, here are several things you should check first before modifying your template code.

Make Sure Your YouTube Video Has a Thumbnail

Verify that your YouTube video actually has a custom or generated thumbnail assigned to it.
Without a valid thumbnail image, Blogger cannot display a preview image on your post.
To add a custom YouTube thumbnail:

Open your YouTube Studio dashboard.
Edit the target video.
Click Custom thumbnail.
Upload your preferred image.
Save your changes.

Check Your Image URLs

Incorrect image URLs can sometimes prevent thumbnails from loading properly.
Make sure image links begin with either http:// or https://.
If the image source starts only with double slashes like this: src=//sample.com/image.jpg Change it to: src="https://sample.com/image.jpg"
After editing the post, republish it and refresh your blog.

Fix for Median UI v1.7 YouTube Thumbnail Issue

If the previous fixes still do not solve the problem, this specific workaround may help.

This solution is intended for Blogger users running Median UI v1.7, which is also the version I personally use on my own blog.

Go to your Blogger dashboard and open: Theme
Click the dropdown arrow beside CUSTOMIZE, then select Edit HTML.
Search for: data:post.featuredImage.isYoutube
You should find code similar to this:

<!--[ Post Thumbnail ]-->
      <b:includable id='postThumbnail'>
        <b:comment>If there is a youtube video in the post</b:comment>
        <b:if cond='data:post.featuredImage.isYoutube'>
          <b:if cond='!data:view.isPreview'>
            <img class='img lazy' expr:alt='data:post.title ? data:post.title : data:messages.image' expr:data-src='data:post.featuredImage.youtubeMaxResDefaultUrl.isResizable ? resizeImageundefineddata:post.featuredImage.youtubeMaxResDefaultUrl, 480, &quot;16:9&quot;) : data:post.featuredImage.youtubeMaxResDefaultUrl' src='data:image/png;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs='/>
            <b:else/>
            <img class='img' expr:alt='data:post.title ? data:post.title : data:messages.image' expr:src='data:post.featuredImage.youtubeMaxResDefaultUrl.isResizable ? resizeImageundefineddata:post.featuredImage.youtubeMaxResDefaultUrl, 480, &quot;16:9&quot;) : data:post.featuredImage.youtubeMaxResDefaultUrl'/>
          </b:if>
          <noscript><img class='img' expr:alt='data:post.title ? data:post.title : data:messages.image' expr:src='data:post.featuredImage.youtubeMaxResDefaultUrl.isResizable ? resizeImageundefineddata:post.featuredImage.youtubeMaxResDefaultUrl, 480, &quot;16:9&quot;) : data:post.featuredImage.youtubeMaxResDefaultUrl'/></noscript>
          <b:else/>

Replace: data:post.featuredImage.isYoutube with: data:imgurl.isYouTube
Save your Blogger template.
Refresh your website and test your post again.

Final Thoughts

Blogger and YouTube integration can occasionally behave inconsistently, especially when using heavily customized Blogger templates like Median UI.

In many cases, missing YouTube thumbnails are caused by invalid image URLs, missing custom thumbnails, or outdated template conditions inside the Blogger theme code itself.

Hopefully, this workaround helps restore your missing YouTube thumbnails and saves you some troubleshooting time.

Posted by: Just Van

Life, work, and everything in between.

Visit profile