How to Move Highlights on Instagram

Struggling to get your Instagram Highlights in the right order? You're not just being picky - you're trying to perfect your profile's first impression. Reorganizing those little circles is one of the most common (and baffling) Instagram questions, but the solution is surprisingly simple, though not obvious. This guide will walk you through the exact steps to rearrange your Highlights and give you some pro tips for making them a powerful branding tool.

Why the Order of Your Instagram Highlights Matters

Before jumping into the "how," it's worth understanding the "why." Your Instagram Highlights are more than just a collection of old Stories, they're prime digital real estate. Positioned right below your bio and above your feed, they are one of the first things a new visitor sees. Think of them as the navigation menu for your brand's digital storefront. A disorganized "menu" can confuse potential followers and customers, while a strategic one can guide them exactly where you want them to go.

Here’s why a thoughtful Highlight order is so effective:

• It Controls the Narrative: You decide what new visitors learn about you first. Do you want them to see glowing customer reviews ("Testimonials"), understand your mission ("About Us"), or jump right into your latest offerings ("New Arrivals")? By placing the most important information at the beginning of the lineup (the far left), you control the story your profile tells.
• It Improves User Experience: People have short attention spans. If they visit your salon's profile looking for a price list, they won't want to tap through ten other Highlights to find it. Placing high-value information like "Services," "FAQ," or "Book Now" first makes your profile immediately useful, encouraging visitors to stick around and engage.
• It Drives Conversions: Strategic ordering can directly impact your goals. An e-commerce brand might push a "Sale" Highlight to the front. A creator could feature their "Shop My Links" or "Collabs" Highlight. By making these call-to-action Highlights visible without any extra effort, you remove friction and make it easier for followers to take the next step.

In short, a well-organized Highlight bar is an essential part of an effective Instagram marketing strategy. It transforms your profile from a simple photo gallery into a curated, interactive brand experience.

The Simple Trick: Understanding How Instagram Orders Highlights

Here's the secret that a lot of users miss: Instagram automatically orders your Highlights chronologically based on the most recent update.

This means whichever Highlight you last added a Story to will instantly jump to the very first position on the left. It doesn't matter when you first created the Highlight, all that matters is the last time you modified it by adding new content.

Once you understand this simple rule, you can use it to your advantage. By strategically adding and removing a temporary Story from each Highlight, you can force them into any order you choose. It's a manual workaround, but it's 100% effective and takes just a few minutes once you get the hang of it.

How to Move Highlights on Instagram: A Step-by-Step Guide

Ready to finally put your Highlights in their proper place? Follow these exact steps. For this example, let’s imagine you have five Highlights and you want them in this specific order from left to right:

1. Products
2. Reviews
3. FAQ
4. About Us
5. Team

Because the last Highlight you edit moves to the first position, you need to work backward from your desired list. You'll start by editing the one you want to appear last ("Team") and finish with the one you want to appear first ("Products").

Step 1: Get Ready to Post a Temporary Story

First, you need some throwaway content to add to your Highlights. You don’t want this to be a real Story that your followers see and get confused by.

• Open your Instagram camera and take a completely unimportant photo. Point it at your desk, the floor, or cover the lens for a black screen. It doesn't matter what it is.
• Alternatively, you can create a simple slide in Canva with just your brand color.
• Post this blank image to your Story. Don’t worry, it will only be live for a few seconds.

Step 2: Add the Story to the Highlight You Want to Be Last

Let's start with the "Team" Highlight, which we want in the #5 (final) position.

• While your temporary Story is live, tap on it to view it full-screen.
• At the bottom of the screen, tap the Highlight icon (the heart symbol in a circle).
• A list of your existing Highlights will pop up. Tap on "Team" to add the Story to it.

As soon as you do this, you’ll see the "Team" Highlight immediately jump to the #1 position on your profile. This is exactly what we want for now.

Step 3: Remove the Temporary Story From the Highlight

Now, let's remove that blank image so it doesn't clutter your carefully curated Highlight.

• Go to your Instagram profile.
• Tap and hold the "Team" Highlight and select Edit Highlight.
• Under the "Stories" tab, you'll see all the Stories contained in that Highlight, including the temporary one you just added.
• Tap the blank Story to uncheck the blue checkmark.
• Tap Done at the top right corner.

The "Team" Highlight will stay put in its new position, but the ugly placeholder Story is gone. Magic! You can now go and delete the temporary photo from your active story feed.

Step 4: Repeat the Process in Reverse Order

Now you just repeat the process, moving up your desired list. Remember, you're working from the bottom (what you want to be last) to the top (what you want to be first).

1. Your "Team" Highlight is now in the leftmost position.
2. Next, repeat steps 1-3 for your "About Us" Highlight. Add the temporary story, then remove it. When you’re done, "About Us" will move to the #1 spot, pushing "Team" into the #2 spot.
3. Next, repeat for your "FAQ" Highlight. It will bump "About Us" and "Team" one spot to the right.
4. Next, repeat for your "Reviews" Highlight.
5. Finally, repeat the process one last time for the "Products" Highlight.

Once you've edited "Products," it will move to the far-left position and you'll have successfully arranged all your Highlights in your desired sequence!

Pro-Tips for Making Your Highlights Pop

Now that you know how to order your Highlights, let's take them to the next level. A strategic layout combined with a polished look creates an unbeatable professional impression on your profile.

Create On-Brand Highlight Covers

Highlight covers are the small circular images that serve as the thumbnail for each Highlight collection. A custom set of covers that use your brand colors, fonts, or icons will make your profile look clean, professional, and visually cohesive. Ditching the default, pixelated story previews for custom graphics instantly elevates your brand aesthetic.

Pro-Tip: Use a free tool like Canva to easily create stunning, high-quality covers in minutes. Just choose the "Instagram Story" template size (1080x1920 pixels), design your icon or text in the center, and upload it as the first slide in a Story. Then, set it as the cover by going to Edit Highlight > Edit Cover and selecting the image.

Use Your Story Archive

Don't just think about what's happening today. You can build your Highlights using any Story you've ever posted. To access them, go to your profile, tap the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner, and select Archive. From there, you can view your entire Story history and add old posts to relevant Highlights without needing to republish them publicly.

This is perfect for finding old customer testimonials, behind-the-scenes moments, or product features you posted months ago and want to resurface in a dedicated Highlight.

Keep Your Naming Convention Clear and Concise

The name of your Highlight is just as important as the content inside it. Keep your titles short, specific, and easy to understand. Since Instagram cuts off long names (usually after 10-11 characters depending on the letters), stick to one or two powerful words.

• Instead of "Frequently Asked Questions," use "FAQ."
• Instead of "Positive Reviews from Happy Customers," use "Reviews" or "Love."
• Instead of "Check out our newest products," use "New In."

Final Thoughts

Reordering your Instagram Highlights is a simple trick that has a big impact on your profile's function and feel. By using this method of adding and removing a temporary story, you can organize your brand's narrative in just a few minutes, making your profile more valuable and professional for every new visitor.

Building beautiful Highlights starts with great Stories, but consistently creating and scheduling that content can feel like a full-time job. Here at Postbase, we built our tool specifically for the demands of visual media like Stories and Reels. Our content calendar lets you visually plan out all your Instagram content from one place, so you can stop scrambling to post and start building a thoughtful content strategy. This way, you'll always have compelling content ready to funnel into your perfectly organized Highlights.