[Updated!] How to Edit YouTube Videos for Free?

For video marketers, how to edit YouTube videos for free without losing their high quality and speed will mean the world! After all, it’s a bit difficult to capture absolutely faultless videos for direct upload on YouTube. Thus, to attract ample viewers, absorbing video presentation based on essential editing shall be given top priority. Otherwise, your video will look unpolished and disengage your audience if you scorn to fine-tune your footage to get it hit the right frame. In a sense, YouTube video editing becomes the icing on the cake for premium and successful video marketing. Once done, your immersive and call-to-action video content will probably produce considerable click conversion rate. In this post, we will focus on how to edit a video on YouTube and further recommend the optimal solution for YouTube video editing.

1. Can You Edit Video in YouTube?

Can I edit a YouTube video? How do I edit a YouTube video after posting? There might be some occasions when you find the videos on YouTube you have uploaded are needed to be polished or you simply want to add some bells and whistles to enrich the video content, or just make it better understood and compelling, thus increasing your viewers or followers. Actually, if you are on a shoestring budget or think it’s not worth investing in a feature-rich video editing tool to make tiny change to your video like trimming unwanted parts. Happily, YouTube has a web-based video editor to chop off the superfluous part of your footage. Therefore, can you edit video in YouTube? YES! You can edit a video on YouTube whenever you like. Once done, tab ‘Save’ to update your video. A piece of cake!

2. Why to Choose Web-based YouTube Video Editing Tool

In 2017, YouTube had discontinued its web-based video editor and photo slideshows due to the lack of use, leaving a few simple options such as trimming, adding audio, blur, and filter for daily use. Back to years ago, YouTubers could make simple edit for up to 50 clips, 500 images, sound, titles, and transitions to create a one-hour video to increase viewers. But now such a free and easy video editor had retired for years. Nevertheless, YouTubers do not bother to resort to other professional video editors, and still have deep love for sharing videos on YouTube, both for business purpose or personal preference. Anyway, there are some situations where YouTube video editing tool is worth your selection priority.

⚬ Fine-tune video for basic edit like trim and split

⚬ Quick face blur or custom blur on YouTube video

⚬ Replace or add audio from YouTube Audio Library to avoid copyright infringement

⚬ Partial to FREE YouTube video editing instead of investment in professional video editors

⚬ Seek quick, simple, and online video editing of uploaded video clips on YouTube

Based on above-mentioned reasons, the web-based YouTube video editing tool can be your first choice. But how do you edit YouTube videos for free? We will discuss how to edit a video on YouTube step-by-step.

3. How to Edit a Video on YouTube Free and Easily?

As to how to edit a YouTube video, YouTube Studio is a gateway to editing the video on YouTube where you can create your own masterpiece by making the most out of the given options for video editing.

Step 1: Sign in YouTube account and go to YouTube Studio

Step 2: Click ‘Videos’ on the left pane and choose the thumbnail of the video you want to edit

Step 3: Enter ‘Editor’ window and start your YouTube video editing tasks

Edit a Video on YouTube: Trim

If you intend to trim the Start and End of your video, press the ‘Trim’ icon that stands left above the timeline panel. Drag & drop the blue and white line on the sides of timeline to chop off parts of the beginning or end of your footage. Preview button enables you to check whether you have fine-tuned and retained the right frame. Once done, hit ‘Save’.

When you want to shave off clips out of the middle of your video, select ‘Trim’ to choose the beginning of the unwanted part and click ‘Split’. Afterwards, click the end of the clip you want to chop it off and click ‘Split’ again. Then click the blue line at the beginning or end of the clip and drag it on the other side to cut it off the video.

Edit a Video on YouTube: Add Audio

Adding or replacing audio in your video might bring a pleasant change of atmosphere. Hit the ‘Audio’ button to add new audio or replace the original with a new one. YouTube offers thousands of royalty-free or copyright-safe songs for use to make your video distinctive and further strike a cord. Go straight to choose your desired one and add it to your video.

Edit a Video on YouTube: Add End Screen

Want to let viewers stay focused on your channel? Go and add add ‘End Screen’ to your video to give them the option to watch a related video or playlist, subscribe to your channel, or add any other channel on YouTube, at the end of your video. End Screen turns your dream into reality.

Edit a Video on YouTube: Add Blur

If you mean to conceal confidential information, you can blur face of the big cheese who appears in your video, similar to mosaic feature used when reporting on criminals. Edit the video from ‘Blur faces’. On the contrary, blur other elements besides face in the video as per your private demand by editing from ‘Custom blurring’ option.

Step 4: Press ‘Save’ and watch the edited video from your channel

One you finish all the editing tasks, hit 'Save', and go back to your channel to play the fire-new video clip.

The above steps are how to edit a video on YouTube with the web-based video editor. If you aspire for advanced features like filters, transitions, watermarks, you might as well try out other alternative YouTube video editing software.

4. Best Alternative for YouTube Video Editing Tool

If you are a video marketer devoted to making professional videos, advanced video editors used for post-production will be a must. That being said, YouTube video editing tool shall be let go due to its limited editing options. Don’t despair! Another amazing alternative for YouTube video editing, Video Editor, comes in handy to create video contents for different situations with the aid of packed editing features.

⚬ Compatible: Windows & Mac

⚬ Basic edits: trim, crop, merge, split, rotate, adjust video speed

⚬ Special effects: filters, transitions, mosaic, watermark, music, fonts, color, voiceover, PIP...

⚬ Export: as project/video/audio file, or one-click share on video platforms

⚬ Clean and intuitive user interface with no learning curve

How to Edit a YouTube Video with Video Editor Fast and Well

Download, Installation, Register, and Activation

 i  Free Download  

Download and launch the alternative YouTube video editing software on Windows or Mac computer. Alternatively, launch the online video editor to proceed with subsequent tasks if you are averse to software installation. To enjoy all the advanced features without limit, you need to purchase a register code that will be sent to your mailbox at once.

Prepare or Download YouTube video for YouTube Video Editing

If you have a new video to be edited before upload on YouTube, that’s a breeze. But how do I edit a YouTube video after posting? Just download YouTube video with a professional video downloader like DVDFab Downloader. You can enter video URL or sign in your YouTube account to download your wanted video clip.

Import Video and Apply Tabs

Tabs on the left pane including Texts, Filters, Overlays, Transitions, Elements, Watermarks, and Music can be applied to your video clips so that you can get your desired results. Please make the best of the Toolbar for direct access to editing commands during the whole editing process, and Preview option enables you to check the real-time effect. How to edit a YouTube video with advanced features? Go and explore on your own.

For example, click ‘Edit’ button to trim clips or crop video screen size, adjust video playback speed or audio volume, rotate or flip the clip for better visual effect. Add mosaic to cover the details that you want to conceal (similar to the blur feature of YouTube Studio Editor). Apply text to make your video understood. Adjust contrast, brightness, saturation, shadow or background color to help enhance the video quality.

Export Video as Project/Video/Audio File, or to Video Sharing Platforms

Once finish YouTube video editing tasks, you can export the video as a project file for further editing, as video file chosen from supported formats such as MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, WMV (for later playback on diverse compatible devices), audio file of MP3 or AAC format for use, and even share the video on YouTube, Facebook, BiliBili, and Google Drive, etc. 

Can you edit videos on YouTube fast and well? YES! Considering YouTube's built-in video editor has limited editing features, you had better choose professional video editing software like Video Editor to make your masterpieces.

Conclusion

In this post, you have mastered how to edit a video on YouTube free and easily with limited features for personal use and also become familiar with how to edit a YouTube video with packed advanced features for video marketing purpose. In a nutshell, editing a video on YouTube for free or with a much more professional video editor can bring you unexpected effects. As a novice user, if you are looking for the video editing software for beginners, click here.