How to Make a Carousel on Instagram in Clear Steps

What is a carousel on Instagram

An Instagram carousel is a swipeable post that allows you to share up to 20 pictures or videos in one single upload. In contrast to reels that are short videos made for fast and energetic viewing or stories that vanish after 24 hours, carousels stay on your feed for a pretty long time. These are the ways artists and companies can share detailed stories, demonstrate the steps of a guide, or simply show different sides of the same issue in one post. Some of the most important benefits of using carousels are better storytelling, higher engagement, and creating a more visually attractive and harmonious feed.

Size requirements for the Instagram carousel

Keeping the right size and aspect ratio is crucial when making an Instagram carousel. The visuals appear to be of a high standard, and the colors are consistent. The ideal resolution for the carousel pictures or videos is 1080 by 1080 pixels (square) with an aspect ratio of 1:1. However, Instagram also allows portrait (1080 x 1350, 4:5) and 1012 x 1350, 3:4 types of files. All the slides of the carousel must have the same aspect ratio. If not, Instagram will crop them automatically. To keep the quality high, files should be uploaded in JPEG, PNG, or MP4 formats, with each file being less than 30MB for images and 4GB for videos.

How to make a carousel post on Instagram

By sharing multiple photos or videos in a single swipeable post, the Instagram carousel post offers an artistic way to present content. It is an ideal use for tutorials, storytelling, or before-and-after images. Create a carousel that captures and holds your followers' attention by following these steps.

STEP 1
1. Start your post

Tap the "+" icon at the top-right corner of your Instagram home screen and choose "Post." This opens your gallery, where you can pick your desired content.

STEP 2
1. Add multiple media

Tap the "Multiple-Media" icon (two overlapping squares) in the bottom-right corner of your preview. Select up to 20 photos or videos from your gallery to include in your carousel. Tap the "Next" button.

STEP 3
1. Arrange your content

After selecting, reorder the slides by tapping and dragging them into the ideal sequence. This helps create a smooth flow — for example, a step-by-step guide, product showcase, or visual storytelling format.

STEP 4
1. Edit each slide

Instagram lets you apply filters and adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation to each photo or video individually or collectively. Maintaining visual consistency (using the same filter or tone) ensures your carousel looks polished and professional. Tap the "Done" button.

STEP 5
1. Craft the final post

Write a compelling caption that encourages viewers to swipe through each slide, tag relevant accounts for visibility, and add a location if applicable. Once you’re satisfied with the preview, tap "Share" to publish your carousel on your feed and engage your audience with a more dynamic viewing experience.

Instagram's native features are definitely convenient if you want to put together a carousel quickly, but they might seem a bit restrictive in terms of creative freedom and sophisticated editing. If you're going to elevate your carousel posts with stylish elements like smooth transitions, overlaying text, movement effects, or your brand's logos and colors in templates, CapCut is your ideal companion.

How to make a carousel with richer features for Instagram using CapCut

CapCut desktop video editor is a stylish and professional Instagram carousel maker. It has many advanced tools that can be used easily and quickly by Instagram users, such as adding smooth video transitions, animated text, and customizing layouts for seamless carousels or dynamic video slides. In fact, with the help of CapCut, you can align each frame accurately, keep the spacing and the tone the same throughout the multiple slides, and save your carousel in the best possible format for Instagram in terms of dimensions. Whether it is a seamless photo carousel, an engaging animated presentation, or a stylish video carousel, CapCut is the right tool to create attractive visuals that perform well, i.e., have high reach and engagement. Try CapCut desktop today to experience advanced editing control and create stunning carousels that stand out on your feed.

Key features

• Pre-made templates: Quickly start your project with CapCut's built-in customizable carousel video templates designed for Instagram.
• Smooth transitions: You can add fluid video transitions between slides for seamless storytelling , which makes a perfect carousel for Instagram.
• Text and animation layers: Overlay engaging text, stickers, captions, and animations on the carousel to enhance each slide's message.
• Auto-resize and export: Instantly adjust your design to Instagram's ideal aspect ratios and export in high-quality formats for flawless uploads.

Step-by-step guide to creating a carousel in CapCut

STEP 1
1. Import and prepare assets

Launch CapCut and start a new project. Import the images or videos you want to include in your carousel. Set the canvas size to match Instagram's preferred aspect ratios, either 1:1 (square) or 4:5 (portrait) for optimal display.

STEP 2
1. Design and split carousel layout

Arrange your visuals in sequence on the timeline. Use the "Split" or "Crop" tool to divide a panoramic image into multiple slides for a seamless carousel effect. You can also enhance your design by adding text overlays, transitions, stickers, or background music if you're creating a video-based carousel.

STEP 3
1. Export the carousel

Once your design is ready, click on the "Export" button. Adjust the resolution, frame rate, codec and click "Export" again.

Content ideas for high engagement

If you want to increase engagement and make your Instagram carousels visually attractive, the secret is to create content that educates, entertains, or emotionally connects with your audience. These are some of the reliable carousel concepts that keep getting high results:

• Educational content: Present "how-to" manuals, practical tips, or quick listicles that teach new things. People are always eager to go through carousels that explain complex topics with easy-to-understand and visual steps.
• Storytelling: The use of slides in telling a story is very effective — for example, "A Day in the Life," a BTS look at your creative process, or a trip that reveals with each swipe. Story-based carousels attract people for a longer time.
• Product showcases: Explain your product features in the best way, show different sides, or demonstrate multiple use-cases. Carousels are the best way to give your audience a 360° view before they make a purchase.
• User-generated content (UGC): Gather posts or photos from your customers to build a community-driven carousel. Besides that, it creates trust, which leads to more people engaging and contributing.
• Before and after reveals: Display changes, evolutions, or comparisons side-by-side to create intrigue and great visuals — just the right thing for fitness, design, or photography accounts.

With any of these ideas, you can go up a notch using a tool like CapCut. It allows you to add text overlays, create smooth transitions, and maintain a consistent visual style, making your carousels both professional and eye-catching.

Instagram carousel design and formatting tips

Effectively designing an Instagram carousel is primarily about blending storytelling with compelling images to attract your audience's attention, not just for the first but for every swipe. A neat carousel is not only aesthetically appealing, but it also serves as a great tool to convey your idea simply and memorably. Here's how to elevate your design:

• Your first slide is your hook: The very first slide is what largely decides the fate of a scroll – will it be stopped or continued? Immediate attraction can be achieved by using loud typography, eye-catching images, or even a puzzling question. Essentially, it is the "cover" of your post.
• Develop a story flow: Think of each slide as a segment of a story. Ensure a seamless transition between the pictures, guiding the audience naturally from one concept to the next. They are the ones who keep on swiping, and thus, overall engagement gets higher.
• Mix text with images: Employ a face or any other brand-friendly tool to place brand logos, headlines, or sub-text. By adding writing and small pictures, your text will be more understandable to the audience, and your brand identity will be strengthened. Just be aware that you keep the ratio intact – excessive writing may make the pictures less eye-catching.
• Powerful call-to-action (CTA): Your carousel should always reach a conclusion that is clear and evident. Motivate participation with a compelling idea, such as "Save this post," "Comment below," or "Check the link in bio." A great CTA spurs users to the action that follows, be it another interaction or a conversion.
• Make the most of alt-text: Inserting useful alt-text for each photo not only makes your content friendly for everyone but also lets Instagram’s algorithm interact with your material more efficiently. So, it might be considered a tiny but still effective SEO strategy that can really widen your post exposure.

Implementing these tips will help you create Instagram carousels that are not only visually unified but also very engaging and perform well — thus, every swipe retains your audience's connection with your story.

Conclusion

Exploring how to make a carousel on Instagram will open up ways of creativity. Instagram carousels can be very appealing in many different ways, such as static photo posts, video reels, or even seamless panoramas, collage layouts, and storytelling slides. Creating such carousels with CapCut is not only easy but also professional. The work of finishing can be visually consistent and attractive by using CapCut's powerful editing tools, customizable templates, and precise layout controls. Therefore, do not hold back your artistic potential and proceed with creating eye-catching carousels that every swipe is worthwhile, CapCut desktop video editor would be a great way to elevate your Instagram content.

FAQs

1
1. How many slides can you add to a carousel post?

An Instagram carousel post can hold up to 20 slides. With this, you have many options to tell a story, share step-by-step guides, or display the different sides of a product. Before uploading, each slide can be consistently designed and formatted with the help of a tool like CapCut.

2
1. Can I mix photos and videos in a carousel post?

Yes, the Instagram platform permits the mixing of both photos and videos in a carousel. Also, you can mix formats to make dynamic and visually attractive posts. For instance, by interspersing still images with brief video segments. To make the videos, add transitions, and match your images' style for a united appearance, use CapCut.

3
1. How to edit individual slides in a carousel?

Instagram has introduced a feature that allows you to edit specific slides of a carousel post easily. You have the option to change the order, remove, or modify particular photos or videos without needing to upload the whole post again. If you want to do some pretty work like adding filters, overlays, or animations before sharing, just use CapCut to adjust every slide and achieve a top-notch look for your visuals.