Twitch info panels are the custom sections below the main channel area where you can explain your channel, share links, and guide visitors to useful pages. You create them from your Twitch channel page by enabling Edit Panels, adding or changing a panel, submitting it, and then switching editing off to review the finished result.
They are not graphics placed over your live video. An info panel belongs to your channel page, while an on-stream overlay appears inside the video that viewers watch. Keeping that distinction clear will help you choose the right tool and follow the correct workflow.
What Twitch info panels are
Info panels are part of your Twitch channel page. They give visitors information that does not need to be repeated in the live broadcast itself, such as who runs the channel, what the stream covers, when you normally go live, and where your community can find you.
A panel can contain a title, an image, a link associated with that image, and a description. You might use one panel to introduce the channel, another for your schedule, another for community rules, and another for a social profile or support page. Twitch Help describes the section as an area for broadcasters to curate their own personalised Info Panels. You can read the current workflow in Twitch's official guide to editing info panels.
The useful question is not how many panels you can make, but what a first-time visitor needs to know. A devotional channel might use panels for the prayer schedule, language information, and community guidelines. A gaming channel might explain the creator's setup, list chat rules, and link to a community server. A study stream might use panels for the timetable, subject focus, and a page containing resources.
Treat each panel as a small signpost. Give it one clear purpose, use wording that remains accurate when your schedule changes, and send the visitor to a relevant destination when a link is genuinely useful.
Panels versus on-stream overlays
An info panel sits on your Twitch channel page, generally below or alongside the About information. It is part of the page a visitor reads when they open your channel or browse your profile. It is available even when you are offline, depending on the way the visitor reaches your channel page.
An on-stream overlay is part of the broadcast picture. It may show a webcam frame, recent follower information, a live chat box, a current song, a donation alert, or a branded border. It is added to the video before or during the broadcast, usually through a broadcasting application or a streaming service. It does not create a Twitch info panel.
The difference matters when someone asks how to create a clickable image below “About”. They are usually asking about an image panel on the channel page, not a clickable object inside the video. A panel image can be associated with a destination link through Twitch's panel editor. A video overlay is primarily visual content in the broadcast and should be planned with your streaming software or video workflow instead.
For example, if you want viewers to see a “Support the channel” graphic below your channel information and open a support page when they select it, create an info panel. If you want a support alert to appear during the live video when an action occurs, you need an overlay or alert system. These are separate jobs and should not be combined in your instructions to a designer.
If your goal is specifically to put live comments over a video, that is a different setup again. The distinction is similar on other platforms, where a live chat overlay for an always-on YouTube podcast stream belongs to the video output rather than to the channel's profile information.
Prepare the panel before opening the editor
Decide what the panel should do before you upload anything. Write the title and description first, check the destination link in a normal browser window, and prepare the image at a sensible size. This avoids publishing a panel with attractive artwork but no useful explanation.
A simple planning table can keep the page coherent:
| Panel purpose | Useful content | Possible destination |
|---|---|---|
| About the channel | What you stream, who it is for, and the usual language | A channel or creator page |
| Schedule | Days, times, time zone, and any regular exceptions | A current schedule page |
| Community rules | A short list of behaviour expectations | A fuller rules page, if you have one |
| Social profile | Which account visitors will find there | The relevant profile |
| Support or tips | What support helps with and where it goes | Your chosen support page |
| Merchandise or resources | A brief explanation of the collection or resource | The relevant shop or resource page |
Do not put a temporary promise into a permanent panel. “Live every evening” becomes misleading if your routine changes, while “Check the channel schedule for current times” is easier to maintain. If the schedule is important, include the time zone rather than assuming every visitor is nearby.
Images should support recognition, not carry all the meaning. A visitor should still understand the panel if the image is slow to load, resized, or viewed on a smaller screen. Keep important wording in the title or description as well as in the artwork.
Twitch's official pages currently give conflicting image guidance. The dedicated editing page says files should be under 1 MB and no more than 320 pixels wide by 600 pixels high. Twitch's channel setup page instead says under 2.9 MB and no more than 320 pixels wide by 300 pixels high. For a conservative first export, keep the image no wider than 320 pixels, no taller than 300 pixels, and below 1 MB. This is a practical choice based on the stricter values, not a single consistent Twitch specification. Confirm that the editor accepts the file before treating those values as final.
The platform may resize an image that does not fit its guidance, but automatic resizing can make small text difficult to read. Export a clean version, upload it, and inspect the rendered result instead of assuming that the original file will look identical on the page.
Open Edit Panels on your channel
Go to your Twitch channel page while signed in to the account that owns the channel. Find the channel page's panel area and enable Edit Panels. Twitch documents this as the native place to add and change the information shown on the page.
The location can depend on whether you are live or offline. Twitch says you can enter the editing state from the channel page while live, and from the About section while offline. If you do not see the control immediately, check that you are on your own channel rather than viewing the page as another visitor.
Before making changes, look at the existing order. It is easier to decide whether a new panel belongs near the beginning, beside similar information, or at the end when you can see the full page. If you are replacing an old panel, note its current wording and destination first so you do not lose something that still matters.
Editing the page does not mean that you are editing the broadcast video. You can have a live stream running while changing the channel page information. The panel editor concerns what visitors see on the channel page, not the video feed sent from your broadcasting setup.
Add or edit a panel
With Edit Panels enabled, use the plus control to add a panel. If you already have a panel that needs changing, select its edit control instead. For an image panel, have the artwork ready, then complete the available fields for the title, image, image link, and description.
A useful order for the work is:
- Add or choose the panel you want to change.
- Enter a short, recognisable title.
- Upload the prepared image, if the panel needs one.
- Add the destination link for the image, if it should be clickable.
- Write the description and any supported links.
- Submit the panel.
- Add another panel with the plus control if a separate purpose needs its own section.
The title should identify the destination or subject without requiring the reader to decode the artwork. “Community rules” is clearer than a decorative phrase that only makes sense inside your branding. A descriptive title is also useful when a visitor scans the page quickly.
The image link and the links written in the description serve related but distinct purposes. The image link makes the panel artwork a route to a destination. A Markdown link in the description gives the visitor clickable words within the explanatory text. Use the simplest arrangement that makes the next action obvious.
You can also reorganise panels while editing. Drag a panel to change its order. Put the information most likely to answer an initial visitor's question first, then place supporting links below it. Remove panels that are obsolete rather than leaving a page full of destinations that no longer work.
The visual design can be made yourself, commissioned, or prepared with a template tool. Streamlabs documents a panel maker with templates and controls for font, text, size, and position, and says the finished panels can be downloaded as a zip file. That tool is optional: the resulting image still needs to be uploaded and linked through Twitch's editor. If you use a template, check every label and link before publishing rather than assuming the template's wording suits your channel.
Set the title, image, link, and description
Each field has a different job. The title names the subject. The image provides a visual cue. The image link sends someone to a destination when the artwork is selected. The description supplies context, qualifications, and additional links.
For an About panel, the description might explain the type of broadcasts you run, the language used in chat, and how often the page is updated. For a schedule panel, include the time zone and note that the displayed times can change. For a community panel, state the few rules that matter most and link to a longer version only if visitors need it.
Avoid making a single panel do everything. A very long description can hide the action you want visitors to take. If you have five unrelated destinations, separate them into panels with specific titles. That makes later maintenance easier when one account, schedule, or support page changes.
Check every destination before submitting. A link that opens the wrong profile, an old campaign, or a page requiring an unexpected sign-in creates more work for visitors and for you. Open it in a private browser window if possible, because a link that works only while you are already signed in may not work for a new viewer.
The image itself should be legible at the size shown by Twitch. High contrast, short labels, and a consistent visual treatment generally help more than adding small decorative text. Do not rely on a tiny URL printed inside the artwork when the editor can provide a proper link and the description can explain it.
A panel is also a public statement about your channel. Check spelling, names, payment wording, community expectations, and any claims about your timetable. If your live content includes music, recorded programmes, or other material, review the rights position separately. A channel-page link does not change the permissions needed for the broadcast, so keep your copyright-safe music planning for a 24/7 YouTube radio stream separate from the panel design task.
Use supported Markdown links
Twitch supports Markdown links in panel descriptions, but HTML is not supported. Write a normal Markdown link with the visible text in square brackets and the destination in parentheses, such as [community rules](https://example.com/rules). Do not paste HTML anchor tags into the description and expect them to become clickable.
The visible words should tell the visitor what will happen. “Read the community rules” is more useful than “click here”, especially when several links appear in the same description. Keep the wording accurate if the destination changes later.
You can use a description like this:
Read the [community rules](https://example.com/rules) before joining chat.
For the current timetable, see the [stream schedule](https://example.com/schedule).
Use a real destination that you control or have checked. Avoid shortening a link merely to make it look tidy unless you have a clear reason to use that service and can continue to maintain it. A direct destination is easier to recognise and audit.
Markdown is formatting supported by the panel description. It does not turn the description into a general web page, and it does not give you permission to add arbitrary HTML, scripts, buttons, or layout components. If you need a more elaborate page, create it elsewhere and link to it from the panel.
Links also need to match the promise made by the panel. A title saying “Schedule” should not lead to a general homepage where the timetable is difficult to find. A “Support” panel should make clear who operates the destination and what the visitor is being asked to do. Keep promotional wording proportionate to the rest of the page.
Submit and review the result
After entering the fields, submit the panel. Do not stop at the editor view. Turn Edit Panels off and inspect the channel as a visitor would see it. This is the point at which you can notice wrapping, unreadable text, an awkward panel order, or a link that is not obvious.
Review the page on the device you normally use to manage the channel and, if possible, on a smaller screen. Look for these practical details:
- Does the first panel explain the channel without requiring prior knowledge?
- Are titles short enough to scan?
- Does the artwork remain readable after Twitch displays it at its page size?
- Is the image link easy to understand, and does it open the intended destination?
- Do Markdown links render as links rather than showing raw markup?
- Is the schedule current and labelled with a time zone?
- Are old panels, duplicate links, and expired announcements removed?
- Does the order reflect what a new visitor is most likely to ask?
If the order is wrong, enable editing again and drag the panels into a better sequence. If a panel is no longer useful, use the remove control rather than leaving it as a dead end. Submit the change, switch editing off again, and inspect the page once more.
Keep a copy of your source images and panel wording outside Twitch. This is not a replacement for checking the live page, but it makes later updates less error-prone. A small text document containing the current titles, descriptions, and destinations is enough for a modest channel.
You do not need to keep your streaming computer running to edit these channel-page panels. The editing work is separate from the method you use to keep a broadcast live. If you are comparing a local computer with a cloud workflow for a long-running YouTube channel, the FFmpeg setup guide for a 24/7 YouTube stream in India covers a different operational problem. StreamNeo is relevant only when the separate need is turning an uploaded video into a YouTube-only 24/7 broadcast without leaving your own computer running; it does not create or edit info panels.
Before committing, compare the operating options on the pricing page. When the file and channel are ready, start free — 24-hour trial, no card.
FAQ
Are Twitch info panels the same as stream overlays?
No. Info panels are sections on your Twitch channel page containing text, images, and links. Stream overlays are graphics or information placed inside the live video, so they are created through your broadcast workflow rather than through Edit Panels.
Can a Twitch panel image be clickable?
Yes. When editing an image panel, you can provide an embedded image link so selecting the artwork takes the visitor to a destination. Test the link after submitting and check that it leads to the page you intended.
Can I use HTML in a panel description?
No. Twitch's documented panel workflow supports Markdown links in descriptions and does not support HTML. Use Markdown for links, or create a separate web page for more complex content and link to that page.
What should I do if my panel image is rejected or looks wrong?
Start with a conservative file no wider than 320 pixels, no taller than 300 pixels, and below 1 MB, then confirm what Twitch's editor accepts. The official Twitch pages currently show different image limits, so inspect the rendered panel, reduce small text, and adjust the file if it is resized or refused.