YouTube Content Calendar Template (Free, With Shorts)

Free, no signup · Updated 15 October 2026 · Opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers

Download

Video calendar: filled example (CSV) · blank (CSV)
Shorts plan: filled example (CSV) · blank (CSV)
Production checklist: filled example (CSV) · blank (CSV)

In Google Sheets: File, Import, Upload, then pick the CSV.

What's inside

A video calendar with the title, its length against YouTube's 100-character limit, a thumbnail idea, chapters, the first lines of the description and the video to point viewers to next
A Shorts plan: each Short, the long video it's cut from, its hook, length and frame
A production checklist from planning to publishing, with who does what and how many days before upload
A filled example for Kiln Street Pottery, a fictional studio (every detail is made up), and a blank CSV of each sheet

How to use it

Choose a pace you can film and edit properly. A long video every two weeks with Shorts in between is the example studio's choice; set your own.
Start each video from the question a viewer would type into search, then write a title that answers it. YouTube's title limit is 100 characters.
Sketch the thumbnail at the same time as the title. They should work together, not repeat each other.
Plan the chapters before filming, so the video has a clear order and is easier to edit.
List the Shorts you'll cut from each long video while you plan it, so you remember to film the vertical shots.
Work back from the publish date with the production checklist.
After publishing, check which long videos and Shorts did best in YouTube Studio and plan more like them.

Preview: Video calendar

A filled example for a made-up small business.

Publish date	Type	Title	Title length (limit 100)	Thumbnail idea	Chapters	Description, first lines	Point viewers to next	Status
Thu 5 Nov	Long video	How to centre clay on the wheel: a beginner's guide	51	Two lumps of clay side by side, wobbly and centred; text: Stop the wobble	0:00 Why centring comes first; 1:10 Wedging; 3:40 Coning up and down; 7:20 Checking it's centred; 9:30 Common mistakes	Centring is the first thing we teach in every class. Our teacher Rosa shows the method step by step.	Throwing your first cylinder	Published
Thu 19 Nov	Long video	Throwing your first cylinder on the pottery wheel, step by step	63	A finished cylinder next to a collapsed one; text: Why it falls	0:00 What you need; 1:30 Opening the clay; 4:00 The first pull; 8:10 Even walls; 11:00 Cutting it off	Once the clay is centred, this is the next skill. Rosa throws a cylinder slowly so you can follow along.	Handmade mugs for Christmas	Edited
Thu 3 Dec	Long video	Making handmade mugs as Christmas gifts: clay to glaze	54	Three finished mugs with ribbon; text: Made in one class	0:00 The plan; 2:00 Throwing the body; 6:30 Pulling a handle; 10:00 Glazing; 13:20 The finished mugs	Want to make gifts this year? Here's how our Saturday class makes a mug from start to finish.	Glazing for beginners	Filmed
Thu 17 Dec	Long video	Glazing pottery for beginners: what we wish we'd known	54	One mug, half glazed and half bare; text: Before the kiln	0:00 What glaze is; 2:10 Dipping vs brushing; 6:00 Wiping the foot; 8:40 What can go wrong	Glazing is where most beginners in our classes have questions. Rosa answers the ones we hear most.	Our beginners' class (link in description)	Planned

Preview: Shorts plan

A filled example for a made-up small business, first 8 of 9 rows.

Publish date	Cut from	Hook	Length we plan	Frame	Note
Sat 7 Nov	Centring clay	Your clay wobbles because of this.	35 seconds	Vertical	Filmed vertically on the day, not cropped later
Tue 10 Nov	Centring clay	Wedging clay, sped up.	20 seconds	Vertical	Satisfying, no voiceover
Sat 14 Nov	Centring clay	Three mistakes we see in every beginners' class.	50 seconds	Vertical	Points to the long video
Tue 17 Nov	First cylinder	Opening the clay in one move.	30 seconds	Vertical	Teaser for Thursday
Sat 21 Nov	First cylinder	Why your cylinder collapsed.	45 seconds	Vertical	Answers a comment on the centring video
Tue 24 Nov	First cylinder	The first pull, in slow motion.	25 seconds	Vertical
Sat 28 Nov	Christmas mugs	Pulling a mug handle.	40 seconds	Vertical	Filmed in the shoot for the 3 Dec video
Tue 1 Dec	Christmas mugs	Nine mugs, one Saturday class.	15 seconds	Square	Also used on Instagram

Preview: Production checklist

A filled example for a made-up small business, first 8 of 10 rows.

Stage	Task	Owner	Days before publish	Done
Plan	Question, title, thumbnail sketch and chapters agreed	Owner (Nina)	21	Yes
Plan	Shorts listed so vertical shots are filmed too	Nina	21	Yes
Film	Long video filmed in class time, with the class's agreement	Rosa and Nina	14	Yes
Film	Vertical clips for Shorts filmed in the same session	Nina	14	Yes
Edit	Rough cut watched once by someone who doesn't make pottery	Nina	9	Yes
Edit	Final cut with captions checked	Nina	6	No
Package	Thumbnail made and checked at small size	Nina	5	No
Package	Title, description with chapters, end screen and links added	Nina	4	No

Tips

Kiln Street Pottery, its teachers and every detail in the example are made up. The publishing pace and Short lengths are the example studio's choices.
YouTube Help says video titles have a limit of 100 characters and descriptions a limit of 5,000 characters (checked on 15 October 2026). Put the words people search for near the start of the title.
YouTube Help says Shorts can be up to three minutes long, and that videos with a square or vertical aspect ratio up to three minutes are treated as Shorts (checked on 15 October 2026). Film vertical clips on purpose rather than cropping later.
Plan chapters in the calendar before filming. Our guide to YouTube chapters covers how to add them.
Answer comments in the first day or two and keep a list of the questions. They make good Shorts and future titles.
Zolyp, which makes this template, publishes to YouTube alongside Instagram, TikTok and the other platforms it supports, so the posts around a new video can be planned and approved in the same week.

Common questions

What should a YouTube content calendar include?

For each video: the publish date, type, title, thumbnail idea, chapters, the first lines of the description, the video to point viewers to next and a status. Add the Shorts you'll cut from it and a production checklist that works back from the publish date.

How long can a YouTube title and description be?

YouTube Help says titles have a limit of 100 characters and descriptions a limit of 5,000 characters, and neither can include invalid characters (checked on 15 October 2026).

How long can a YouTube Short be?

YouTube Help says you can create Shorts up to three minutes long, and videos with a square or vertical aspect ratio up to three minutes are categorised as Shorts (checked on 15 October 2026). Use a wider ratio, such as 16:9, if you don't want a video to be treated as a Short.

Are the details in the example real?

No. The studio, its teachers and its videos are made up to show how a filled calendar reads. The title lengths are counted correctly for the example titles.

YouTube content calendar template: long videos and Shorts in one plan