Streamlabs Prime: Using the Twitch Panels
Do you have Twitch panels that catch a viewer’s eye? Of course, people have to scroll down to actually see these sections of information. Still, a graphically pleasing panel has the potential to engage viewers. Let’s take a look at the images available in Streamlabs Prime.
Even though I’m fairly sure I can design my own, the question becomes will I have the time? Given all of the things I’m doing right now, probably not.
This is why I’ll go through the available graphics and see what’s available.
Why Use Twitch Panels?
Twitch panels can offer a wide variety of information to accentuate the stream. You can show everything from your streaming schedule to displaying the items you sell through Amazon to earn a commission.
For some elements, you’ll need to set up third-party connections. But for the most part, panels can offer a bit more to the viewing experience.
To separate these sections, you’ll need to access your channel on Twitch to edit the panels. Then, you can easily add graphics toeach one.
I’ll go over that process in a moment.
Streamlabs Prime offers more than 250 Twitch panel images you can use to highlight the information. The hardest part is finding one that fits your specific channel.
Setting Up the Twitch Panels with Streamlabs Prime
As I continue with my 1-Year Streamlabs Prime study, I want to make sure I utilize every element. And although I am slacking in terms of going live and uploading some videos, I do want to add more to the panels.
So, let’s see if I can find one that fits ColoradoPlays. Or, at least one I can edit to better suit my channel.
Finding the Right Panel “Template”
With so many panel images to choose from, I suppose I’ll have to look for a theme that uses my blue and purple colors. In the worst-case scenario, I can also get inspired by what’s available and simply load up Photoshop.
But, let’s see what we can find, first.
Before we jump right in, though, I’ll need a list of the panels I am using. For this, I’ll just open my Twitch channel and see what I have set up.
Since I like to keep things uniform, I’m going to use the same design for each.
Customizing the Twitch Panel Graphic
The most ideal Twitch panel dimensions are 320×160 pixels. Now, the width itself is a fixed size (320px wide). However, the height can be virtually any dimension.
Just make sure it’s not tacky or too obtrusive.
After a short bit of browsing, I decided to try out the Impact Anemo graphic. To open the settings, we’ll click the “Customize” button.
When choosing the panel graphic of your choice, Streamlabs Prime will already have several available regarding your account. This means you can download the finished product in bulk and add them to Twitch.
This is incredibly convenient. I would have to have to spend an hour downloading one graphic at a time.
Each panel has its own color settings and icons. This means you’ll have to click each panel to edit them individually.
Panel Settings
The default panels that Streamlabs Prime gives me include:
- Tip
- YouTube
- Merch
- My Website
Each of these will need to be edited as I’ll want the colors uniform and maybe worded differently. I’ll also have to add a few panels to reflect what I already have in place.
Many of these, I’ll probably set to open in a new window as links.
One thing I really like about Streamlabs Twitch panel maker for header graphics is the real-time view when making font adjustments. In the bottom left corner, you can see how the graphic appears as you change settings.
Though, I’ll need to make note of font weight and positions if I want the rest to look even with the channel layout.
One that I am going to add, that was missing from before, is the About Me Twitch panel. It’s just going to be a short blurb behind why I play and what I’m doing on Twitch.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a way to upload your own icons to Streamlabs Prime for the panel graphics. I was hoping to add my logo, but that’s not available at the moment.
Downloading the Panel Graphics
Before downloading the images, Streamlabs will show you all the panels that you’re about to save. This is kind of nice as you can look to see if you’re missing anything before beginning the download process.
The images for the Twitch panels are saved to your computer in a ZIP file as PNGs. This keeps the quality and makes it universal for browsers to load them up.
Not to mention providing the transparent background.
Adding Twitch Panel Graphics
The next thing to do is to add the images to the panels. I’m going to leave several of them as simple links, such as the Instagram and YouTube panels. Some will be header graphics for the information below them.
In either case, you do this by editing the Twitch Panels from the front end of your channel.
I would like to note how Twitch errored out on some of the panel image uploads. All I had to do was click back into the panel, hit space and delete, and then try to submit the image again.
How Does the Finished Product Look?
After uploading the images, I think the overall design is nice. Though, I think I would have liked a more darker purple selection in the Streamlabs Prime designer.
But, that seems to be a common issue across the entire platform. You can only switch colors to what the original creator uploaded to Streamlabs.
It’s the same thing with any Streamlabs Prime overlays you want to use. They’re nice designs, but you’re limited in overall customization.
Still, I suppose it’s better than the generic images I had on the channel page. We’ll see if these make any difference with engagement.
Do Graphics for Twitch Panels Make a Difference?
In reality, I’m not convinced that having a flashy Twitch panel on your channel really makes that much of a difference. Mobile users rarely see it, and most of my viewers come from the blog…which doesn’t show the panels anyway.
But, I’ll monitor the traffic and see if there is any significant difference in engagement. In any case, I think I’ll port those PNGs into Photoshop and make them the colors I want.
If you don’t have Photoshop, a great alternative to make graphic adjustments is Photopea. It works just like its Adobe counterpart and is free to use.
It should be easy enough.
- Extra Life 2024: Starting My 11th Year of Participation - February 6, 2024
- Review: Is the Sonicgrace Cooling Fan for the Oculus Any Good? - January 11, 2024
- Review: Is Premium Bowling Worth Buying for the Oculus? - February 10, 2023
