Creating Perfect Instagram Highlights for Beginners

Ever wish your best Instagram Stories could stick around longer than 24 hours? That is exactly what Highlights are for. If you are just getting started and feel a little lost, you are in the right place. This guide will show you how to make highlights on instagram in a simple, stress free way. No confusing tech talk. Just clear steps you can follow right away.

By the end, you will know how to create your very first Highlight from your existing Stories or from your Story archive. You will learn how to choose a theme, name your Highlight so it makes sense, and pick a clean cover that matches your style. We will walk through organizing your Highlights so your profile looks tidy and professional. You will also get easy design tips, like simple icon ideas and color choices, plus quick fixes for common mistakes beginners make. Whether you want to save travel moments, FAQs, or product demos, this how to will help you set up Highlights that look great and make visitors want to tap. Let’s get started.

Understanding Instagram Highlights

Instagram Highlights are curated story collections you pin to your profile, a simple way to keep your best moments and information front and center. Unlike regular Stories that vanish after 24 hours, Highlights stay visible until you remove them, and they sit right under your bio where visitors naturally look first. You can group multiple Stories into a single Highlight, apply a title, and set a branded cover for a clean, consistent look. Both personal and business accounts can use them to organize topics like events, services, or personal milestones. For a quick overview of what Instagram Highlights are and how they work, see this primer: what Instagram Highlights are.

Why are Highlights valuable? They help visitors find what matters fast, for example Products, FAQs, Testimonials, or Behind the Scenes, which reduces bounce and encourages exploration. With about 500 million people using Stories daily and one third of the most viewed Stories coming from businesses, Highlights extend your reach beyond the 24-hour limit and keep engagement flowing for weeks or months. Brands can add social proof, showcase catalogs, and drive traffic by saving Stories that include product tags, links, polls, or quizzes. Business accounts can view Instagram Insights to track views, taps forward and back, and exits, then refine content accordingly. For branding and organization tips, use this concise resource: Instagram Highlights marketing guide.

Quick start: how to make Highlights on Instagram

• Prerequisites: at least one active or archived Story, a clear theme to group.
• Materials needed: Instagram app, a 1080×1080 cover image or icon, business account optional for Insights.

1. Post Stories you want to feature, include CTAs, product tags, and interactive stickers. If you are wondering how to make highlights on instagram, start here.
2. Go to your profile, tap + New in the Highlights row, or open Archive, select Stories, tap Next.
3. Name it clearly, for example Products or Reviews, set a simple, on-brand cover.
4. Curate regularly, add or remove clips, aim for 5 to 10 per Highlight to avoid fatigue.
5. Check Insights monthly, keep high performers, replace low performers.

• Expected outcome: a permanent, organized row under your bio that increases time on profile, guides visitors to key content, and preserves engagement beyond 24 hours. As you scale, Jesus Empire tools can help you keep Stories consistent and Highlights fresh so your profile sells while you focus on growth.

Getting Started: Basics of Instagram Stories

How Instagram Stories work

Instagram Stories are short photos or videos that sit at the top of your followers’ feeds and disappear after 24 hours. This temporary format invites quick, authentic updates, and it is massively popular, with over 500 million people viewing Stories daily as of 2023 Klear report. You can dress up a Story with stickers, GIFs, text, filters, music, polls, quizzes, and eligible link stickers, all of which boost engagement and help you learn what your audience cares about. Stories are automatically saved to your private archive if you have the setting enabled, which makes it easy to repurpose content into Highlights later. For beginners learning how to make highlights on Instagram, think of Stories as the raw ingredients you will curate into a polished, permanent reel on your profile.

Posting a Story, step by step

Before you start, make sure you have the latest Instagram app, a strong connection, and a few vertical visuals ready, ideally 1080 x 1920 pixels. Have your brand assets on hand, such as a logo, fonts, and colors, so your Stories look consistent. If you run a business account, turn on Save Story to Archive in Settings to preserve everything for Highlights. Your expected outcome is a live Story that your audience can see right away and that you can later pin into a Highlight.

1. Open Instagram, tap your profile picture with the plus at the top left, or swipe right to open the Story camera.
2. Capture a photo or hold the shutter to record video, or swipe up to upload from your gallery.
3. Enhance with text, stickers, filters, music, polls, and the link sticker if eligible.
4. Tap Your Story to publish to all followers, or choose Close Friends for a smaller group.
5. Review views and replies in the viewer list to learn what resonates.

Why Stories matter for Highlights

Highlights are curated collections of your past Stories that live under your bio indefinitely, complete with custom covers and titles What are Instagram Story Highlights?. Since Stories feed your Highlights, posting regularly gives you more material to organize into themes like Products, FAQs, Testimonials, or Events. Instagram’s archive makes selecting past Stories simple, so you can keep Highlights current without starting from scratch How to use Instagram Stories Highlights. For businesses, this boosts discoverability and conversions, since important content stays visible beyond 24 hours and can direct viewers to product pages or blogs. At Jesus Empire, we recommend consistent, on-brand Stories, then grouping the best into Highlights that tell a clear narrative and guide visitors to take action.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Highlights

Create a Highlight from existing Stories

If you are wondering how to make highlights on Instagram, start with the basics. Prerequisites, post at least one Story and keep Story Archive on. Materials needed, 3 to 10 Stories and a square cover image. Expected outcome, a Highlight that sits under your bio where visitors can view it anytime, a big deal given over 500 million people use Stories daily and one third of the most viewed Stories come from businesses.

1. Open your profile, tap the New circle under Story Highlights.
2. Select items from Archive.
3. Tap Next, name it.
4. Tap Edit Cover to pick or upload a cover.
5. Tap Done. For visuals, see this step-by-step walkthrough or this concise mobile tutorial video.

Name your Highlight effectively

Keep titles under 12 characters so nothing gets cut off, examples, FAQ, Menu, Events, Tips, Press. Use emojis sparingly to add meaning, 📦 for Shop, 🎟️ for Offers, 🎬 for Reels. Avoid vague labels like Stuff, instead cluster content by intent, Testimonials, Shipping, or New Arrivals, which helps viewers navigate and can increase taps to product pages. Pro tip, check Insights monthly, compare views and taps after renaming to see what converts. If you are a business, organize Highlights to match your funnel, Start Here, Products, Proof, Contact, so visitors move naturally toward action.

Select a captivating cover image

Your cover is the billboard, use a square 1080×1080 image with the focal point centered, corners get cropped into a circle. Aim for high contrast backgrounds and legible icons so the title stays readable at small sizes. Keep covers consistent in color and style to create a clean row that signals professionalism and trust. Need support, Jesus Empire can automate Stories and engagement so you can focus on growth.

Leveraging Highlights for Business Growth

Instagram Highlights can be a mini storefront that works 24/7 under your bio. Instagram counts over 1 billion monthly active users, and more than 500 million people view Stories daily, so your best content deserves a longer shelf life. One third of the most viewed Stories come from businesses, which means Highlights are prime real estate for trust building and sales. Well designed Highlights keep offers, FAQs, demos, and proof one tap away, extending impact beyond the 24 hour Story window. If you are learning how to make highlights on instagram for business, think of them as bite size playlists that guide shoppers. Below are simple, beginner friendly steps to turn Highlights into growth.

Showcase products and services

Prerequisites: a business account, Story Archive on, clear product photos or short demo clips, and your key links ready. Materials: branded cover icons, concise titles like New In, Best Sellers, Services, and a short FAQ script. Expected outcome: faster profile to purchase journeys and fewer repetitive DMs. Steps:

1. Map 3 to 5 Highlights, for example New In, Best Sellers, Services, FAQs, Pricing.
2. Record Stories with quick demos, unboxings, or before and after clips.
3. Add link stickers or clear CTAs such as DM to order.
4. Pin to Highlights with clean covers; refresh monthly.
5. Feature time sensitive deals to spark action, see ideas in these creative strategies for Stories.

Integrate testimonials and client feedback

Prerequisites: permission to repost, screenshots of reviews, and a brand template. Materials: UGC, case study snapshots, and a Reviews cover. Expected outcome: higher trust and click throughs from social proof. Steps:

1. Collect testimonials from DMs, emails, and review sites, then turn them into branded Story slides, as suggested by JXT Group’s Highlights tips.
2. Add a Reviews or Results Highlight; include before and afters.
3. Mix in UGC to validate claims, a tactic backed by this SMMU guide.
4. Tag customers, then save those Stories to the Highlight.

Create a storytelling theme

Prerequisites: your brand origin, values, and a simple narrative arc. Materials: behind the scenes clips, team intros, and mini lessons. Expected outcome: deeper connection and more profile actions. Steps:

1. Outline chapters like Our Story, How We Work, Milestones.
2. Post BTS process, day in the life, or team spotlights.
3. Share educational tips in 3 to 5 slide micro lessons.
4. Use polls or questions in Stories, then add results to Highlights to showcase engagement.
5. Track Insights, completion rate, profile visits, website taps, and aim to improve by 10 to 20 percent in 30 days.

Short on time, let Jesus Empire schedule Stories and organize Highlights using tools like Instagram Automator, while our 4G Mobile Proxy keeps multi account workflows stable and secure.

Optimizing Highlight Engagement

Prerequisites and materials

Before you optimize, switch to a Business or Creator account so you can see Insights, and turn on Story Archive to save everything you might add to Highlights later. Prepare a simple content calendar so you refresh each Highlight at least weekly. Design clean, consistent covers and short titles that match your brand. Finally, have a list of interactive stickers to rotate, like polls, quizzes, and question boxes. For ideas on removing outdated Stories and adding new ones strategically, see these actionable tips for keeping Highlights fresh.

Step-by-step playbook

1. Audit weekly. Open each Highlight, remove anything outdated, and reorder to put the most valuable Stories first.
2. Add fresh Stories. After campaigns, launches, or events, pin the best-performing Stories into the right Highlight.
3. Make it interactive. Use polls, quizzes, and questions in Stories before you save them so your Highlight invites taps and replies.
4. Check Insights. Track reach, replies, link taps, sticker taps, forward and back taps to see what holds attention.
5. Set KPIs. Aim for higher completion rate, more sticker taps, and more profile visits, then A/B test covers and Story order.
6. Promote Highlights. Tease them in Reels and captions, and create UGC and Community Highlights to showcase fans.

What success looks like

Instagram has over 1 billion monthly users, and around 70 percent watch Stories daily, so Highlights can work hard for you when kept current. Poll and quiz stickers can lift engagement by up to 30 percent in many accounts, and businesses using Stories often see a noticeable uptick in overall engagement. Track 30-day trends, for example a 10 to 25 percent rise in Highlight views, more replies, and more link taps to products or posts. If you are learning how to make highlights on Instagram, focus on steady, small wins, then scale what works. Ready to speed this up for your business? Jesus Empire can help automate consistent Story posting, streamline Insights tracking, and fuel traffic with tools like Instagram Automator and 4G Mobile Proxy so you can focus on creating standout content.

Jesus Empire Tools for Enhanced Highlight Management

Managing Highlights gets easier when you put smart tools to work. If you are learning how to make highlights on Instagram, automation helps you keep Stories flowing into the right collections without constant manual effort. Follow this simple setup that connects Jesus Empire’s Instagram Automator with our 4G Mobile Proxy for secure, efficient results.

Prerequisites and materials

• Jesus Empire account with Instagram Automator and 4G Mobile Proxy
• Instagram Business or Creator account with Story Archive on
• A folder of Story assets grouped by theme, plus branded Highlight covers
• Clear goals, for example clicks to product pages or FAQs

Step by step: streamline content with Instagram Automator

1. Map themes to Highlights. Example: Products, FAQs, Reviews, Behind the Scenes.
2. Batch schedule Story sets by theme in the Automator for a consistent cadence, such as daily or three times weekly.
3. Create a rule: when a scheduled Story publishes, automatically add it to the corresponding Highlight and apply UTM parameters to any link stickers.
4. Enable smart DM replies for Story keywords, for example reply with size chart when someone messages “price.”
5. If you need native auto-posting for Stories alongside your schedule, explore tools like Plann’s auto-post Stories feature.
6. Every Friday, review Story metrics. Promote clips with high completion rates into Highlights, remove posts that drive exits, and refresh covers to match the week’s theme.

Expected outcomes: steadier posting, faster turnaround, higher tap-throughs from Highlights, and more time for content quality.

Why 4G Mobile Proxy matters for secure engagement

A mobile IP rotates like real user traffic, which lowers flags when you manage multiple profiles, test locations, or run higher volumes of actions. This helps protect accounts while you scale engagement. With 70 percent of users watching Stories daily and one third of the most viewed Stories coming from businesses, reliable delivery is critical.

How Jesus Empire simplifies Highlight strategy

Use our template kits and cover generator for brand consistency. The scheduler and bulk rules keep Highlights fresh. Our analytics layer complements Instagram Insights so you can spot the Stories that drive taps and replies, then auto-promote them into their best-fit Highlight. Ready to scale the next chapter of your profile, one Highlight at a time?

Troubleshooting Common Highlight Issues

Quick checks for common hiccups

Highlights acting up is common for beginners. If you are learning how to make highlights on Instagram, you may see missing Highlights, Stories that refuse to add, or edits that will not save. Set prerequisites first. Enable Story Archive, update Instagram, and ensure a stable connection plus device storage. Materials needed, your phone, login, and any brand cover assets. Expected outcome, Highlights appear under your bio and accept new Stories.

1. Profile > Menu > Settings > Privacy > Story > Save to archive on.
2. Update Instagram, then restart your phone.
3. Toggle Airplane Mode or switch Wi Fi to data.
4. Clear cache on Android or offload on iOS, reinstall if issues persist.

Solve visibility and low-view problems

If a Highlight is invisible to others, check privacy first. Private accounts limit viewing to followers, which can explain low reach. A Story that will not add usually is missing from Archive or you hit the 100 Story per Highlight cap. Low views also come from too many Highlights or unclear covers. Expected outcome, broader visibility and smoother editing.

1. Switch to Public if reach is the goal.
2. Split Highlights over 100 items and label by theme.
3. Move your best Highlight to the first position.

Effective fixes and alternatives

To fix engagement, diagnose, then refresh. Use 1080 by 1920 cover art with a centered 1080 by 1080 safe zone so icons stay crisp. Lead with a hook slide and end with a clear call to action, such as Message us or See Products. Check Insights for exits, replies, and taps back, then remove weak slides and tighten the sequence. If a theme underperforms, post a short recap Reel and point viewers to the matching Highlight. With these steps, your Highlights work while Jesus Empire powers growth.

Conclusion: Crafting Compelling Instagram Highlights

If you have been learning how to make highlights on Instagram, the setup is simple and the payoff is big. Post Stories, keep Story Archive on, then add selected clips to a Highlight with a cover and title. You can bundle multiple Stories into one theme, edit anytime, and keep your best content right below your bio for discovery. This matters because Instagram counts over 1 billion monthly active users, 500 million people view Stories daily, and 70 percent watch Stories every day. With Highlights, those 24-hour moments keep working, extending reach and context long after the timer expires. For businesses, popular use cases include product menus, FAQs, testimonials, and behind the scenes collections that guide new visitors through your brand story.

Ready to act? Try this quick plan, 1) pick three themes like Shop, Start Here, and Praise, 2) post five to seven Stories per theme, mixing photos, videos, polls, and link stickers, 3) create Highlights with branded covers and concise titles, 4) refresh weekly by adding your best-performing clips. Watch Instagram Insights on a Business or Creator account to see views, taps forward, link clicks, then tighten first three Stories to hook attention. Many brands see a 20 percent lift in engagement from consistent Stories, and one third of the most viewed Stories come from businesses, Highlights help you capture and compound interest. The expected outcome is a profile that greets visitors with clarity, answers common questions, and routes traffic to products or articles without friction. If you want help keeping the pipeline full, Jesus Empire pairs strategy with tools like Instagram Automator and 4G Mobile Proxy to streamline posting and engagement while you focus on customers.