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Make Your Own Easy Custom Instagram Highlight Covers

Are you like me and have been wondering how to get those custom {pretty} icons under your Instagram bio? You know the little circles? This tutorial on how to make Instagram Highlight Covers breaks the process of creating your own down in an easy step by step format and is much easier than you might think. AND DID I FORGET TO MENTION THAT MAKING THESE COVERS IS ABSOLUTELY FREE??!! All you need is your smartphone and the Canva App!

(This post may contain affiliate links. What does that mean to you? Well, if you click on a product and make a purchase, I may receive some compensation at NO charge to you. If you want to read the boring stuff, my full disclosure can be found here.)

What are Insta Stories and how do I make Instagram Highlight Covers?

If you are new to Instagram, you may be unfamiliar with Instagram Highlights so let’s begin the tutorial there.

Check out my Instagram here and let’s get social!

Instagram Highlights are collections of Insta Story clips that can be added permanently (don’t worry, you have the ability to remove them) to your bio. For my blogger friends, they are categories for your Instagram Story that give your followers a chance to know you and your story even better.

Make Instagram Highlight Covers using the Canva App and your phone.

Many of you are using the online version of Canva, but did you know you can download the Canva App to your phone? In this tutorial, I am using the app because it has preset templates for Insta Stories. If you prefer to use the online version of Canva, scroll to the bottom of this page to view my video tutorial.

Instagram Highlight Covers are not just for bloggers!

Let’s open the App and follow along with my step-by-step instructions to create your own custom icons!

This tutorial will cover how to design highlight covers using background colors and icons.

Open your Canva App and select Your Story.

Once you open your Canva App, you will notice the icon slider of the design templates you are able to make at the top of the screen. Select “Your Story” from the slider. This will load the templates for Insta Stories.

Select the “Blank” template.

As you see in the graphic, tap the blank template to start your edit. This will bring up a few options for you but in this tutorial, we are working with background colors.

Choose your background color.

If you want to choose a custom color (for branding purposes) to keep your Instagram with a uniform story, select the “+” above the default colors and use the sliders to select your perfect color…or if you are like me, type in your color code in the box provided. I used #F4BEB5 as my color choice.

Choose an icon.

After picking your background color, select the “+” on the bottom right corner to start the selection of your icon. On the next screen, press the graphic button. You can scroll through the graphics or search for a specific icon. You will notice a large FREE selection of graphic designs here.

I’m designing an icon for a DIY section of my Insta Story. Here you can see that I am searching for a brush icon. You will just need to find the perfect icon for your needs!

Press your icon selection.

I prefer white graphics so my design needs some simple tweaking. Select the edit button under your preview to change the color if you want to change up your design a tad. You will notice two icons in my picture, one is for the primary color and the other is for the secondary.

Add pages to design more covers.

You can continue to design more covers by adding pages but in this EASY tutorial, we are focusing on only one cover.

Saving your image on your phone.

Once you have your design completed, you will save your Instagram Story Highlight cover to your photos on your phone.

Select the share tab at the top right corner.

When you see the next screen, wait just a moment and your “share to” screen will pop up. Choose the save to phone option.

Turn on the archive setting on Instagram.

Open your Instagram App and select the settings button. Scroll down and select story settings. Turn on the “save to archive” button.

Post your new icon on your Insta Story.

You now must post your Instagram Highlight Cover on your Insta Story.

After you have shared your custom icon, press the highlight button on the lower right of the screen.

Enter the name of your new highlight button and then press “Add” found in the upper right corner.

And just like that, you have created your easy custom Instagram Highlight Covers.

If you have a question, post it in the comments below.

Here is the video on how to make Instagram Highlight Covers using the online version of Canva.

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