How to Rearrange Highlights on Instagram

Rearranging your Instagram Highlights might feel like something that should be simple, but it's one of those surprisingly tricky tasks. You have your best content saved, but it's not in an order that makes sense, and there's no obvious drag-and-drop button. This guide will walk you through exactly how to reorder your Highlights and provide some strategy on how to arrange them to best represent your brand.

Why Your Instagram Highlight Order Matters

Before getting into the how-to, it's worth thinking about why this matters. Your Instagram Highlights are prime real estate on your profile page. They sit directly below your bio and are often the first thing a new visitor interacts with after reading it. Think of them as a navigation menu for your brand or a "best of" compilation of what you have to offer.

A strategic Highlight order can:

• Guide new followers: A "Start Here" or "About Us" highlight at the beginning can quickly bring people up to speed on who you are.
• Drive sales: Placing a "Shop" or "New Arrivals" highlight first makes it easy for customers to find your products.
• Answer common questions: Answering frequently asked questions in a prominent "FAQ" highlight can save you time and build trust with your audience.
• Showcase your authority: Highlights like "Testimonials," "Press," or "Case Studies" can provide social proof right where people can see it.

Leaving them in a random or outdated order is a missed opportunity. A curated profile experience shows professionalism and attention to detail that helps build your brand organically.

Understanding the Instagram Highlight Sorting Method

Instagram doesn't allow you to simply press and hold a Highlight to reorder it. Instead, Highlights are automatically sorted based on one simple rule: the most recently edited Highlight appears first (farthest to the left).

This is the secret. To change the order of your Highlights, you just need to "edit" them in the correct sequence. The last one you edit will be the first one people see. Understanding this principle is the foundation for successfully rearranging your entire lineup.

How to Rearrange Highlights on Instagram: The Step-by-Step Method

This little workaround is simple once you get the hang of it. You'll be adding and then quickly removing a story from your archive to trigger the "edited" status and move the highlight.

Let's say you want your highlights to appear in this order from left to right: 1. Shop 2. Reviews 3. FAQ 4. About.

Since the last Highlight you edit appears first, you need to work backward. You would edit them in this order: "About," then "FAQ," then "Reviews," and finally, "Shop."

Step-by-Step Instructions

Here's the step-by-step process for moving a single Highlight to the front of the line:

1. Choose the Highlight You Want to Move

First, identify the Highlight you want to appear in the absolute first position on your profile. The process will be the same for any Highlight, but just start with one.

2. Press and Hold the Highlight to Edit It

Navigate to your profile. Press and hold on the cover of the Highlight you want to move. A menu will pop up. From that menu, select "Edit Highlight."

3. Navigate to the Archived Stories

Once you're in the edit screen, you'll see two tabs at the top: "Selected" and "Stories." The "Selected" tab shows what is currently in your Highlight. Tap on the "Stories" tab. This will take you to your full Story Archive.

4. Add a Story to the Highlight

Now, locate any Story from your archive and tap on it to select it. A blue checkmark will appear in the corner. Don't worry about which Story it is - we're only doing this temporarily to register an "edit." Then, tap "Done" in the top-right corner.

5. Check Your Work

Go back to your profile. You'll see that the Highlight you just edited has magically jumped to the first position. Success! But you're not quite finished if you want to keep your Highlight clean.

6. (Optional But Recommended) Remove the Story You Just Added

You probably don't want that random archived Story you just added to stay in your Highlight. So, repeat the process:

• Press and hold the same Highlight again and choose "Edit Highlight."
• In the "Selected" tab this time, find the story you just added and tap it to uncheck the blue circle.
• Tap "Done."

The Highlight will stay in its new position at the front, but its content will be back to the way it was before. For all intents and purposes, you've reordered it without making permanent changes to what's inside.

To arrange your entire set of Highlights, simply repeat this process for each of them, starting with the one you want to appear last and finishing with the one you want to appear first.

Strategic Best Practices for Arranging Your Highlights

Knowing how to reorder them is only half the battle. Now you need to decide what order makes the most sense for your brand. Here are some strategies to consider.

Think Like a New Follower

If someone discovered your profile for the first time, what is the most important information you want them to know right away? Your first few Highlights should serve as a brand introduction. Great starting points are:

• Start Here: A warm welcome explaining who you are and what your account is about.
• About Me/Us: A personal introduction to the people behind the brand.
• Mission: Explain your brand's purpose or values.

Create a Funnel with Your Highlights

Your Highlights can guide potential customers on a journey from awareness to action. A classic marketing funnel approach works perfectly here:

1. Awareness: The "About Us" or "Behind the Scenes" highlights introduce your brand.
2. Consideration: Highlights like "Reviews," "Testimonials," or "Product Demos" help build trust and show off what you offer.
3. Conversion: Highlights such as "Shop Now," "Book Services," or promotions with links directly drive action.

Arranging your highlights in this sequence can naturally move people toward becoming a customer or client.

Keep Evergreen Content Accessible

Some information is always relevant. Make sure your audience can find it easily without digging. Highlights like FAQ, Contact, Sizing, or Policies should have a stable home somewhere prominent in your lineup so that viewers can self-serve and find the answers they need.

Spotlight What's Current and Timely

Don't be afraid to temporarily move a highlight to the front to draw attention to something current. For example:

• A "SALE!" highlight during a promotion.
• An "Event" highlight leading up to a webinar or in-person workshop.
• A "New!" highlight when you launch a new product or service.

Just remember to move it back or delete it once the event or sale is over so your profile stays fresh.

Create Visually Cohesive Highlight Covers

The strategic order of your Highlights is even more powerful when paired with branded, easy-to-read covers. A set of cohesive icons and colors instantly makes your profile look clean and professional. You can easily create these for free in tools like Canva.

Keep your cover designs simple - an icon or a single keyword on a solid background often works best, because the circles are very small on a mobile screen.

Final Thoughts

Organizing your Instagram Highlights isn't just a pointless bit of admin, it's a powerful and simple way to strengthen your brand's presence on your profile. By editing them in reverse order of how you want them to appear, you gain full control, transforming them from a messy collection of old stories into a strategic asset that guides visitors and supports your business goals.

Now that your profile's 'main stage' is perfectly arranged to showcase your best evergreen content, you can focus on a consistent schedule for the stories you want to feature there. At Postbase, we built our tool specifically to take the friction out of content planning and scheduling. The visual calendar helps you lay out your posts, Stories, and Reels in one clear view, while our multi-platform scheduler allows you to push content across your channels without having to start from scratch each time - so you always have powerful, engaging content ready to capture for your Highlights.