Instagram carousel template: seven slides people save

A good carousel is more like a conversation than a brochure. The cover makes a promise, the slides in the middle keep it and the last one gives you a reason to save it. When it fails, it's almost always because it tries to say too much on a single slide.

This template has the structure already in place: seven slides in 4:5, with what goes on each one written in brackets. Change the text, drag your photos onto the boxes and export.

The structure, slide by slide

1. Cover: the promise. Six to eight words saying what the reader gets for swiping. "How to keep bread from going hard" works; "Bakery tips" doesn't, because it promises nothing.
2. The problem. The reader's situation, told the way they live it: "You buy a loaf on Monday and by Tuesday it's a brick".
3. The usual mistake. What almost everyone does and why it doesn't work. It's the slide that makes people nod: "Putting it in the fridge makes it go stale faster".
4. The idea. Your take, in one big sentence with nothing around it.
5. A real example. With a photo, yours, not stock. It's what turns advice into something believable.
6. Save this. A short list, three steps at most. It's the slide people come back for, and the reason they save the carousel.
7. Close. A question or one simple request, and your handle. Not five calls to action at once.

Seven isn't a magic number: Instagram allows up to twenty photos or videos per carousel. But seven forces you to choose, and choosing is what gets a carousel read to the end.

Sizes and format

• Size: 1080 × 1350 pixels (4:5). It's the vertical format that takes up the most space in the feed. In the template each frame is 360 × 450; exported at 3x it comes out at exactly 1080 × 1350.
• Every slide the same size. Instagram crops the carousel to the format of the first one.
• Cover text centred. The profile grid shows posts cropped vertically (3:4), so anything hugging the top or bottom edge may not show there.
• You can mix photos and videos in the same carousel.

The text: less than you think

One idea per slide and, as a guide, no more than twenty-five words. If you need more, it's probably two slides.

The type has to be readable on a phone without zooming: if you can't read the slide at the size of your thumb, it's too small. And contrast matters more than it seems; check that your text colour reads clearly on the background before you export.

How to edit and export

The file is an .excalidraw. It opens in the design canvas in the Polimake desktop app, free and on your own computer, or at excalidraw.com with nothing to install and no account.

1. Change the text in brackets.
2. Drag your photos onto the grey box on slide 5 (and wherever else you like).
3. Select each frame and export it as PNG at 3x scale.
4. Upload them in order. The number in the corner (1/7, 2/7…) keeps them from getting mixed up.

If the photo you need is lost in some folder, the Polimake desktop app lets you find it by describing it —"loaf of bread on a wooden board"— without knowing the file name.

If you make carousels for several clients

Set up one base file per client with their logo, colours and typeface already in place, and duplicate it for each post. That way every new carousel starts with the brand right and you only change the content. Keeping it in an open format has another advantage: if the client leaves, they can take it with them and open it in another tool.

For the rest of the calendar, the Instagram feed post template and the weekly editorial calendar cover what comes before and after the carousel.

Frequently asked questions

What size is an Instagram carousel?

The most recommended format is 1080 × 1350 pixels, a 4:5 ratio, because it takes up the most space in the feed. The 1080 × 1080 square is also accepted. Every slide should be the same size, because Instagram crops them to the format of the first one.

How many slides can a carousel have?

Instagram allows up to twenty photos or videos per carousel. Being allowed doesn't mean it's a good idea: five to ten slides is usually enough to develop an idea without people dropping off halfway.

How much text should each slide have?

One idea per slide and, as a guide, no more than twenty-five words, in type that reads on a phone without zooming. If a slide needs more text, it almost always works better split in two.

Can you mix photos and videos in a carousel?

Yes. A single carousel can combine photos and videos, and each one appears as you swipe. It's best if they all share the same ratio so none of them gets cropped.

What program opens the template?

It's an .excalidraw file, an open format. It opens free at excalidraw.com, without an account, or in the Polimake desktop app's design canvas, which runs on your computer and exports to PNG, SVG or PDF.