How to Create Your Own Instagram Highlights

Instagram has become one of the main platforms for marketing, business and brand recognition. For this reason, every business, influencer, and serious celebrity has their own unique strengths on Instagram. Your best stories on Instagram are all compiled into your Instagram highlights.

If you want to know how to create your own Instagram highlights, you've come to the right place. Keep reading to learn all about the best ways to create Instagram covers yourself.

Instagram Highlights 101

Instagram highlights are easy to create. All you need is the Instagram app for Android or iOS. Follow the links even if you already have the app because you need to get the latest app updates.

The next thing you need are Instagram stories. If you just created an Instagram story, here's how to add it to your highlights:

1. Open Instagram and tap on your story.

   

2. Select Highlight in the lower right corner of your screen.

   

3. Select the highlight where you want to add this story.

   

4. You can also select New to create a new highlight. Name it and tap Add to add your story to the latest Highlight.

   

Alternative Method to Create Instagram Highlights

Here is an alternative method you can use to create new Instagram highlights. It's probably more efficient because it lets you add multiple stories to a highlight at once. Follow these steps:

1. Start the Instagram app on your device.

   

   
   
2. Tap on your profile (icon in the lower right corner of your screen).

   

3. Select the New (plus sign) option.

   

4. Choose the stories you want to appear in the highlight (New Highlight window).

   

5. Tap the Next button in the upper right corner of the screen.

   

6. Rename the highlight to your preference, choose the highlight cover and tap Done to confirm.

   

How to Edit Instagram Highlights Cover

Choosing and editing a good cover image for your Instagram stories is important because it gives your followers or people visiting your page an idea of ​​what will be included in the highlight. Changing a highlighted cover photo is quite simple, just follow these steps:

1. Go to your Instagram profile and select the cover image you want to change.

   

2. In the bottom right corner, tap the 3-dot button that says “More”.

   

3. Tap “Edit Highlight”

   

4. Tap "Edit Cover" near the top.

   

5. Select the photo you want to use as the cover image in Highlights. Use your fingers to zoom or reposition the part of the photo to use as a cover.

   

Use third-party apps

If you're not a Photoshop whiz, don't worry. There are some great third-party apps and sites that can help you create your Instagram Highlights cover. Let's review the instructions for some of the best apps you can use.

Over

Plus is one of the most popular free tools that you can use to boost your Instagram profile. This app is available for free on iOS and Android devices. Download it by following the link above and start using it for Instagram Highlight Covers:

1. Find an icon pack online and download it to your phone or tablet.

   

   
   
2. Launch Over on your device.
   
3. Tap the image if you want to import a cover, or choose from the wide selection of covers (see Layout Collections).

   

4. When choosing a blanket, you need to adjust its size. Select the Layers menu and choose the background layer. Finally, tap on Instagram Story cover dimensions.
   
5. Feel free to experiment with the colors of your blanket. Select the background and use the roller to change the color. If you have a mark, adjust the brightness to match it.

   

6. Then you can go back to the Layers menu and delete anything unnecessary (any extra words etc.).

   

7. When your background is complete, tap Image and choose an icon from the device gallery.

   

8. Place the icon in the center (feel free to resize it by pinching it with two fingers). You can bookmark your icon to find it easier next time.

   

9. Alternatively, you can use text instead of icons. Choose Text instead of Image and choose the font.

   

   
   
10. When you are done with everything, confirm with the yellow tick: Press Export and then Save. Your new Instagram Highlights cover will be saved to your device's gallery.

    

Canvas

Canva is a great alternative to Over. It is a free tool with basically the same function as Over. Follow the instructions to create your Instagram Highlight covers with Canva:

1. Visit canva.com and create an account (free).

   

2. Click Create Design and choose custom dimensions.

   

3. Set the dimensions to 1080 (width) by 1920 (height), so they can fit Instagram highlights.

   

4. Get your icon on the computer. You can easily find many images online if you haven't prepared one.

   

5. Select Upload an image or video. Select the icon image.

   

6. Select the background (you can use a large selection of Canva images or use natural colors).

   

7. Press Add a new page to be able to reproduce the cover. You can keep uploading new icons and creating more covers.

   

8. When done, click Publish, then Download. Select the file type and confirm with Download.

   

These files will be compressed. Be sure to unzip them and send them to your mobile gallery so you can use them as Instagram highlight covers. On Instagram, visit the profile page and tap on the highlights you want to edit. Select More, then Edit Highlight, and finally choose Edit Cover. Choose the image you created in Canva from your gallery and upload it. Tap Done to confirm.

Enjoy your new Instagram highlights

Now you can create your own Instagram highlights and covers for them. If you use IG professionally, this is especially important. Be sure to choose your brand colors, and maybe add their name to your cover.

Do you have any tips, tricks, or questions about Instagram Stories? Please share with us in the comment section below.