Posting Stories every day gets tiring fast. You come up with an idea, open a blank screen, and then spend twenty minutes picking fonts and colors. A template fixes that. It gives you a ready-made layout, so you only swap in your own photo and words.
If you have ever wondered how to create a story template on Instagram, or how to make an Instagram Story template that looks neat every time, you are in the right place.
In this guide, we will look at where to find free templates, how to pick the right one, and how to avoid common mistakes. At the end, we answer the questions people ask most.
What Are Instagram Story Templates?
Instagram Story templates are pre-made graphics that can be used as a way to stay consistent with your visual identity, and reduce time while creating new Stories. They are very helpful for creating unique and stunning visuals, as they come in a variety of customizable designs, colors, fonts, and layouts.
Templates make it easy for anyone to create professional-looking content without graphic design expertise or expensive software. In addition, there are free graphic design software options that can also be a good option for those on a tight budget.
Why You Should Use Templates for Instagram Stories?
There are several reasons why you should start using Instagram Story templates. It’s important to stay ahead of the curve and make your Instagram profile stand out.
Here are the top three reasons why you should use Instagram Story templates:
- Look professional
- Save time
- Be consistent with your brand aesthetic
1. Look Professional
With just a few clicks, any Instagram Story can look professional. Start collecting free Instagram Story templates designed by skilled graphic designers and adapt them to your brand aesthetic. Soon enough, your audience will be able to tell the difference between you and your main competitors.
2. Save Time
Templates are a great way to save time and focus on other tasks that require your full attention.
Having pre-made Instagram Story templates can make the whole creation process much faster. Post beautiful Stories in less time, you don’t have to struggle to get the look right each time by starting from scratch. For more social media tips, platform updates, and insights into online trends, Socialthink shares helpful resources to keep you informed and improve your social media strategy.
3. Be Consistent with Your Brand Aesthetic
Templates are a great way to familiarize your target audience with your brand colors, fonts, and graphics. Engaging Stories will always require your brand’s style.
Create content that follows the same look and feel as your overall Instagram page. This type of visual consistency will help you familiarize your followers with your aesthetic, making them more likely to recognize your brand.
How to Design Instagram Story Templates from Scratch with Canva
If pre-made Instagram Stories templates are not your thing, you can always create your own. It might take some time and effort, but it’s guaranteed to pay off in the long run. Besides, Canva is a free photo editing tool that has your back.
Here are five steps to create gorgeous story templates with Canva:
- Adjust your Instagram Story size
- Add a background
- Add text and graphics
- Customize it for your brand
- Import your story to SocialBee and share it on Instagram
1. Adjust Your Instagram Story Size
Create free Instagram templates with Canva and watch your engagement skyrocket to new heights.
Luckily, Canva offers a diverse range of photo sizes, making it easy for you to create professional-looking Stories that have the optimal aspect ratio (1080×1920 pixels).
2. Add a Background
Adding a unique background to your new template is easy whenever Canva is involved. Make custom Instagram Story templates to fit your brand’s look and feel by choosing from a variety of backgrounds.
To add a background to a template with Canva, you must click on “Background” in the left-side panel to open up Canva’s image library. Here you can search for any kind of background images, from solid colors, free images, or illustrations. If you’re using Picsart, you can also use the background texture generator to create your own custom background textures and patterns, giving your designs a unique and personalized look.
3. Add Text and Graphics
Text and graphics are the ultimate way to customize your designs. They add valuable information and enhance the aesthetic appeal of your templates.
Here are three steps for adding text to your template with Canva:
- Select ‘Add Text’ from the menu on the left side of the screen
- Type or paste in any text you wish to appear on your template
- Customize the text by changing its font, color, size, alignment, effects, and more
Also, Canva has more than a million assets you can use to customize your Story template, or you can upload your own content from your computer or device.
🐝 Pro Tip: Always make sure to use your brand’s specific colors and fonts. That way, you’ll always stay true to your brand and become instantly recognizable whenever people visit your Instagram page or check your Stories.
4. Customize It for Your Brand
Even free templates need some adjustments before they’re ready to go live on the Instagram app. The designs you create from scratch need some customization in order to be congruent with your brand image.
Here are three ways to customize the template for your brand:
- Add your brand logo (upload it to Canva library)
- Use your brand color palette by creating a Brand Kit
- Select your brand fonts
5. Import Your Story to SocialBee and Share It on Instagram
Once you’re done enhancing the template, you can simply import it to SocialBee and publish your new story at the best time.
Types of Helpful Instagram Story Templates
We know how difficult it can be to browse Canva’s multitude of templates and not know where to start, especially when you’re running a small business. There are multiple, customizable templates that are worth trying out whenever you need to share updates with your followers.
Here are the top 10 types of helpful Instagram story templates on Canva:
- Limited-time promotions
- Product features
- Giveaways and contests
- Countdowns
- News, announcements & updates
- Blog post feature
- How-to stories
- Data and statistics
- Quotes and motivational captions
- Instagram story ad templates
1. Limited-Time Promotions
Limited-time promotions are a great way to promote your Stories. The notorious fear of missing out (FOMO) continues to motivate audiences to take action right away.
Instagram Story templates can be used to promote these limited-time offers, helping you capture attention and increase your engagement. Learn how to master text and images with Canva’s pre-mades.
2. Product Features
Your products deserve to be in the spotlight. Create beautiful templates and use modern design to your products’ advantage.
These three examples of fully customizable Canva templates detail the characteristics of your products in a way that is both persuasive and visual. The design elements are eye-catching and memorable.
3. Giveaways and Contests
Conduct Instagram giveaways and contests confidently and engage with your followers. You can use Instagram Story templates to promote your contests and share a link where users can enter the competition.
You can also showcase the prizes and offer daily reminders for when the promotion will end. As always, make sure to replace the given titles and captions with your own text.
4. Countdowns
Countdowns have become increasingly popular. Instagram Story templates allow you to create a countdown for upcoming events or milestones. Replace the text and images in a way you see fit.
Countdowns are important because they fuel excitement among your followers. You can also use the Countdown sticker and allow your audience to save the date for later.
5. News, Announcements & Updates
Instagram feeds are becoming a thing of the past. 70% of Instagram users watch Instagram Stories.
Share updates and announcements on Instagram is quickly becoming the perfect way to reach your followers. Thankfully, there are a number of Instagram Story templates available that can help you achieve this goal.
6. Blog Post Feature
In need of more templates? Here are some great Instagram Story designs for promoting a new blog post and engaging with your followers.
Start creating informative templates that allows your followers to get engaged with your latest blog posts.
7. How-to Stories
Informative and educational content will always stay relevant. In fact, it’s evergreen. How-to stories are the perfect idea if you want to keep your audiences engaged.
Make sure to customize your how-to templates with bold fonts, attractive photos, and eye-catching listicles. Save them to your Highlights so that they can be easily accessed by your followers.
8. Data and Statistics
Instagram Story templates can be enhanced with statistics because they provide your followers with an interesting and visually appealing way to learn more about your brand, products, or services.
Stories are the perfect way to share those stats in a creative way. With Instagram Story templates, you can create stunning graphics that highlight facts and figures related to your business.
9. Quotes and Motivational Captions
Share inspiring quotes with your Instagram followers and provide your audience with their daily dose of motivation. Replace the existing quotes with your own text and create stunning visuals for your socials.
Create beautiful visuals that allow you to emphasize the message of your inspirational Stories and impress your followers with your ability to propel positivity.
10. Instagram Story Ad Templates
Sharing ads via Instagram Stories is an effective strategy to reach more customers that already follow you and have a higher conversion probability. Use professional designs that features bold visuals and strategic text to better highlight the promotion, discount code, voucher, etc.
Advertising on Instagram can be a breeze once you start using Instagram story templates for your next ads. If you’re a small business, templates will give your competitors a run for their money.
The Best Free Instagram Story Templates Sources Available
To make your work easier, you’ll need to bookmark some awesome resources for future reference.
Here are the best free Instagram Story templates sources available:
- Canva
- PicMonkey
- InVideo
- Kapwing
- Freepik
1. Canva
Canva is a powerful graphic design tool that makes creating Instagram Story templates very easy.
With Canva, you can create Instagram Stories and customize your fonts, colors, images, and videos. You can also access the Canva library of pre-made Instagram Story templates, graphics, and stock photos that help you create Instagram Stories in a matter of minutes.
2. PicMonkey
One of the leading sources is PicMonkey. This Shutterstock-powered website that allows you to create Instagram Stories with stylishly designed templates.
Plus, it allows you to add text, textures, and even your own photos to the templates. Make your Instagram Stories look just how you want them to.
3. InVideo
With InVideo, you can customize existing templates in a matter of minutes and share new Stories in style.
InVideo’s drag-and-drop editor lets you customize your Instagram Stories quickly, ensuring that the final result is flawless.
4. Kapwing
Kapwing is a free online tool that offers free and customizable templates for your future stories. Their static and video templates are great for brands and creators who wish to engage their Instagram audience.
With Kapwing, you can create and customize your Instagram Story with text, images, videos, stickers, and more – all in one place.
5. Freepik
Freepik has a large selection of high-quality story template vectors that are designed to help you create memorable Instagram stories. If you love Photoshop, this is the resource for you.
The designs come with customizable elements such as fonts, colors, sizes, logos, and backgrounds.
Which Template Source Should You Pick?
There are many sites out there, so it helps to know what each one is good at. Start with free Instagram Story template tools that match your skills. If you want something quick, use a browser tool. If you already work in Photoshop or Premiere Pro, a file-based source gives you more control.
Source | Best for | File type | Skill level |
Canva | Fast edits and brand kits | Online editor | Beginner |
Pixlr | Simple edits with animation | PNG, JPG | Beginner |
Vecteezy | Vector designs | Vector files | Intermediate |
Free PSD Templates | Detailed custom designs | PSD (needs Photoshop) | Advanced |
Mixkit | Video Stories | Premiere Pro files | Advanced |
So, which one should you choose? If you are new, start with Canva or Pixlr. Both run in your browser, and you can finish a Story in a few minutes. Once you feel more confident, try PSD or video templates for a more unique look. Before you download anything, check the license so you know you can use it for your business.
Design Tips for Better Story Templates
Good design does not have to be hard. A few simple habits will keep your Stories clean and easy to read.
Keep the Text Short
People tap through Stories fast. Use a few big words instead of long lines, and they will actually read them.
Leave Space at the Top and Bottom
Instagram shows your profile name and reply box in those areas. Make sure that your text is kept away from the margins so that nothing gets covered.
Stick to Two Fonts and Your Brand Colors
This makes all your Stories look like they come from one brand. Over time, people start to recognize you.
Share One Idea Per Story
If you have three things to say, make three Stories. It is easier to follow and easier to design.
These tips work whether you are learning how to design Instagram Story templates from scratch or editing a ready-made one. Pick a clear photo, put your text on a calm part of it, and check that the words are easy to read.
Common Template Mistakes to Avoid
Even a great template can go wrong. Here are the mistakes that show up most often.
- Using the template without changing anything. If you do not add your own logo, colors, and words, your Story looks like everyone else’s.
- Using too many fonts and colors. It makes the Story look busy and hard to read.
- Ignoring the license. Some free files come with rules, so always check before using them for business.
- Not saving your own version. Once you finish a design, save it as your template, so you can reuse it next time.
If you are still working out how to do a story template on Instagram, fix these four things first. It will make a big difference.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you create an Instagram Story template step by step?
Here is how to create a story template in Instagram: open Canva, choose the 1080 x 1920 px size, add a background, text, and your brand logo, then save it for reuse.
How do you make a custom Instagram Story template from scratch?
Start with a blank 1080 x 1920 px canvas. Choose a simple background, add placeholder text and shapes, and set your brand fonts and colors. Keep it flexible so you can swap photos and words each time.
How do you create an Instagram Story template using your own photos and text?
Upload your photo to a tool like Canva or Pixlr and place it on the Story canvas. Add short text on a calm part of the image. Check that it is easy to read, then save it as a template.
Can you create an Instagram Story template directly in the Instagram app?
Only in a limited way. Layout puts several photos in one Story, but full templates need a free design tool. Here is how to make a template story on Instagram: design it there, then upload it.
How do you create a layout in an Instagram Story?
Open the Instagram app and tap the plus (+) button to start a Story. Choose Camera, then tap Layout in the left-side menu. Pick a grid style, add your photos and post when you are happy.
How do I get to story templates on Instagram?
Instagram has no big built-in template library for Stories. Here is how to get story templates on Instagram: download them from Canva, Pixlr, or other free sites, save them to your phone, and add them to your Story.
How do you create Instagram Story templates?
Pick a free tool, set the Story size, and design one layout with room for your photo and text. Save the file. That is how to make a story template on Instagram that you can use again and again.
How do you make your own story template?
Start with a layout you like, then change the colors, fonts, and photos to fit your brand. Save it as a copy.
Start Creating Engaging Stories With Less Effort
Instagram Story templates can be used to create visually appealing stories, encourage conversations with followers, reach a wider audience, and even promote products. There are plenty of free Instagram Story template sources available online.
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