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Last Edited Time
Jul 3, 2025 12:36 PM
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Platform
Canva
Category
Social Media
Topic
Instagram
AI summary
To create engaging Instagram carousels in Canva, set custom dimensions (1080px wide per slide), use overlapping visuals, and maintain a consistent theme. Download the design, split it into individual slides, and upload in order for a seamless carousel effect.
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Creating Instagram Carousels with Canva
TL;DR:
- Set up custom dimensions in Canva: 1080px wide per slide, multiply by number of slides
- Choose 1080px or 1350px height depending on your preferred format
- Use overlapping visual elements across slides to encourage swiping
- Download the full design, split into individual slides, then upload to Instagram in order
- Keep colours and themes consistent across all slides for a professional look
Main Content
Getting Your Dimensions Right
Open Canva and create a custom design with the right dimensions from the start. For Instagram carousels, you need 1080 pixels wide per slide. If you're making a 3-slide carousel, set the width to 3240 pixels (1080 × 3). For height, use 1080 pixels for square posts or 1350 pixels if you want a more portrait look.
Getting the dimensions right means your carousel will flow smoothly when people swipe through it. No awkward cropping or misaligned elements.
Designing Your Carousel
Use Canva's alignment guides to keep everything lined up properly. The trick that makes carousels work is creating visual elements that span across slide boundaries. When someone sees half an image or text that continues onto the next slide, they'll naturally swipe to see the rest.
Here's what works:
- Keep text and images aligned using Canva's snap guides
- Let design elements bleed into the next slide area
- Stick to the same colour palette throughout
- Make sure each slide works as part of the whole story
Preparing for Instagram
Once your design is finished, download the full image from Canva. You'll need to split this into individual slides using an image splitting tool. There are free online tools that do this, or you can use photo editing software to crop each section manually.
Upload the individual slides to Instagram in the correct order. Instagram will automatically create the carousel effect when you select multiple images.
FAQs
Can I just use Canva's preset Instagram dimensions?
You can, but you'll be designing each slide separately. The custom width method lets you see how all slides work together as you design.
How do I schedule these carousels for later?
Canva doesn't schedule directly to Instagram. Download your split images and use a social media scheduler like Later or Buffer.
What makes a carousel engaging?
Tell a story across the slides, use the overlap technique to encourage swiping, and make sure there's a reason for people to look at each slide.
How many slides work best?
Instagram allows up to 10 slides, but 3-5 usually works best. People lose interest if carousels are too long.
Jargon Buster
Canva: Online design platform that lets you create graphics without needing professional design software
Instagram Carousel: A single Instagram post containing multiple images or videos that users swipe through horizontally
Dimensions: The width and height of your design, measured in pixels
Engagement: How much people interact with your content through likes, comments, shares, and saves
Wrap-up
Creating Instagram carousels in Canva is straightforward once you know the dimension trick. The key is designing everything as one long image, then splitting it up for Instagram. Use overlapping elements to keep people swiping, and keep your design consistent across all slides. With a bit of practice, you'll be creating carousels that look professional and get people engaged with your content.
