How to make Instagram highlight covers [100% FREE]

Would you like to have a positive initial impact on your Instagram page visitors? In this article, you will learn how to create free Instagram highlight covers for yourself.

Instagram highlight covers can have a good initial impact. Stories, located exactly below the Instagram bio section, can provide a beautiful appearance for the highlights of your Instagram and attract attention to the best content of your Instagram stories with the help of covers. I suggest you see the article on Instagram Tutorial: From 0 To 100 For Beginners.

You don’t necessarily have to be an influencer to use highlight covers. Various organizations, from government institutions to different companies, use them to beautify their pages, attract audiences, and influence them. In this article from Jethashtag , you will become familiar with the tutorial for creating Instagram highlight covers and the available programs to create them.

What is the use of Instagram highlights?

If you take managing your Instagram account seriously, you know how important it is to categorize your stories and have memorable highlight covers. This allows your followers to identify your content easily and ultimately helps you gain more penetration. A great way to increase traffic to your Instagram page is to save your Instagram stories in highlights so followers can refer to them for information and entertainment. Suppose you have read the comprehensive Instagram tutorial article. In that case, you know that highlight covers represent a significant aspect of a cohesive theme in stories and contribute to creating a consistent aesthetic on Instagram. Covers easily incorporating different colors and themes, making the highlights more user-friendly.

The good news is that even if you don’t have access to a graphic design team, you can still easily create covers for your page. In the following steps, we will guide you through the entire process of creating Instagram highlight covers.

how to make Instagram highlight covers

Instagram allows you to use any image you like for your highlight covers. However, it’s important to remember that your page deserves the best. Here are some tips to consider when creating your covers:

Get inspired: If you need ideas for creating covers, browse through popular Instagram pages to find your desired style. Explore enough to reach a good conclusion.

Stay true to your brand: While creating new content can be exciting, sticking to your brand’s colors and fonts in your cover design will make you appear more professional and aesthetically pleasing.

Follow a consistent template: Once you have a general idea and create an initial template for your covers, it’s sufficient to edit the main template with different icons for each highlight to match the highlighted backgrounds. This way, you start from scratch only sometimes and maintain the identity of your page.

Beauty lies in simplicity: Remember that highlight covers are incredibly small, so excessive graphics, elements, or text can confuse your audience. A simple layout is always attractive to viewers, saves you time in graphic design, and showcases your profile in a chic way.

Now that you’re familiar with the basic principles and necessary tips for creating covers, you must find the right tool to design your personal covers. One excellent website for creating Instagram highlight covers is Canva. Canva also has a more challenging program than the website, but it is an outstanding tool. The website offers many free patterns and icons to use as highlight covers. You can also upload your photos to convert them into covers. The capabilities of the website are almost endless. Canva is a great opportunity to showcase creativity and test graphic design skills.

1. Canva website

• Go to canva.com.
• After accessing the homepage, search for “Instagram Story.”
• Choose any template you like.
• Delete any text or image on the template to personalize it using the trash can icon.

• Add an icon, image, or text. Explore different fonts to find one that matches your brand name and aesthetic style.
• Click on the “Duplicate page” icon above the template to add another cover with the same settings. To create another cover with different settings, click the “Add page” button.
• Customize the icon and title of each cover according to the different highlights you have in mind. Don’t be afraid to change the background color; ensure everything is consistent with your Instagram brand and content.
• Click “Download” at the top of the page to download the covers as PNG files.

Another suitable website for designing Instagram covers is the Create website, which provides comprehensive features.

2. Create website

• Go to the Create website.
• To find customizable Instagram highlight templates on Create, click “Templates,” then scroll or type “Instagram Story” in the search bar and click to customize.
• If you prefer to start with a blank canvas, click “File > Create new > Blank canvas.” Find the Instagram Story canvas and click on it to open it.

• It’s time to customize once you have opened your blank canvas or pre-made template. Whichever option you choose, your design choices will remain consistent throughout. When your canvas is open, click on one of the five icons at the top left: Text, Images, Graphics, Shapes, or Drawing.
• In this tutorial, we will select Graphics and choose a high-quality graphic icon from the menu. (You can also add your graphic images, photos, or text in their respective sections.)
• In the Graphics tab, you can browse through category lists or type a keyword in the search bar to find the desired graphic. For example, we typed “camera” to see icons related to cameras.
• Once your graphic is selected, you can click on it and drag its corners to resize or move it.

In the following

• If you want to adjust the colors of your image to match your brand palette, click on your icon and select “Change Colors” from the left menu.
• Your available palette will appear, and you can change the colors of your image element by element. Select the circles above the menu (under “Change Colors” and above “Solid and Gradient”) to isolate an element and change only its color.

• To change the background color, click on the canvas surrounding your icon. The background color picker will automatically activate, allowing you to choose a color from the sample list.
• You can also select “Gradient” to add a gradient background or click “Transparent” to make the background transparent. Remember that the cover should be organized, legible, and consistent with the color and aesthetics of your brand.

Once you are satisfied with the colors, click “Download” in the top right corner of the page. Choose your file format.

• Click “Download” again to save the cover file on your desktop or upload it directly to Instagram.
• Your cover will always be automatically saved in the Create cloud storage space, so if you want to go back and edit it again, click on “File > Edit a copy” to save the original version.

To upload covers to different highlights on Instagram, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Instagram app. Tap on a highlight and pause.
2. Select the “Edit Highlight” option.
3. Under the current cover, tap “Edit cover” at the top of the page.
4. From your gallery, choose the cover you created and tap “Done.”

Instagram Highlight Cover Maker Apps for iPhone and Android

By using some Instagram highlight cover maker apps, you can ensure the creativity and attractiveness of your covers. The best way to find the most suitable tool is to try a few options and see if they meet your expectations. Additionally, using apps will be more straightforward if you prefer to work with your smartphone. Below, you will become familiar with the best Instagram highlight cover maker apps for iPhone and Android.

1. Canva app

Download for Android and iOS

It doesn’t matter if you have advanced skills or know nothing about design – Canva is a program for any visual editing, supporting a wide range of mobile devices and personal computers. With Canva, you can immediately bring any idea for a highlight cover to life, regardless of the subject or complexity level. You can work wonders and strengthen your brand with little effort and knowledge.

Many excellent built-in features of this program allow you to combine different techniques and ultimately create stunning covers that include images, text, and more. You can start with thousands of pre-designed patterns or stock photos and use effects, stickers, or GIFs. Start your creative design from a blank canvas if you want a unique item. In addition to creating covers, you can use this software to make videos, captivating stories, logos, collages, advertisements, and anything else you can imagine.

2. PicsArt application

Download for Android and iOS

Can you imagine accessing over 60 million free stickers and images in one program? PicsArt is an entertaining playground for unlimited design, where you can enjoy creating Instagram covers. Within a few minutes, you can effortlessly create a professional cover without limitations or concerns about technical complexity.

You can experiment with filters, frames, and over 200 text fonts for your highlights.

*You can easily remove unwanted objects from an image or combine them in a photo.

You can even change people’s hair color, address any flaws with makeup stickers, and make it look like the work of a professional makeup artist. PicsArt transforms every photo into a trendy and unique piece of art with brushes and layers.

3. StoryLight application

Download for Android and iOS

StoryLight is another excellent app designed specifically for Instagram, particularly for creating highlight covers. With this app, creating Instagram covers becomes simple and enjoyable. You can leverage this app and unleash your creative spirit.

One way to get started is by using the available templates in various shapes and customizing them according to your ideas. Of course, if you are confident in your abilities to create stunning designs, open a new project and design your Instagram highlight covers using the vast collection of graphic tools.

Play around with likable backgrounds, stickers, and dozens of border styles. If you’re a master chef in Italian or French cuisine or want to post a recipe, StoryLight has pre-designed food icons. With such a cover and suitable text, you can attract worldwide food lovers. Of course, StoryLight allows you to design highlight covers from scratch and provides you with simple yet powerful tools to work with. Many templates are free; if you consider premium templates, you have a wider selection.

Try using our Hashtag Generator tool

Instagram Hashtag Generator

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