How to Make Instagram Story Highlight Covers (Fonto Tutorial 2026)

Table of contents

📘 6 min read
🎯 Instagram creators on Android & iPhone
🔄 Updated: May 2026

Your Instagram profile grid is your digital storefront. And highlight covers are the first thing people notice when they visit your profile. Messy, inconsistent covers make you look amateur. Professional, cohesive covers increase profile visits and follower trust.

With Fonto, you have two options: use ready-to-use highlight cover packs from the Gallery (30 seconds) or create custom designs with glass labels and fonts (2 minutes). Both are free on Android & iOS.

Focus keyphrase: Instagram highlight cover maker

1. Why highlight covers matter for your Instagram profile

According to social media benchmarks (2025-2026):

  • Profiles with custom highlight covers get 35% more profile visits
  • Consistent cover design increases follower trust by 42%
  • Users spend 2x more time browsing highlights with professional covers

Your highlights are often the second thing people check after your bio. Don’t leave them with default Instagram screenshots.

2. Method 1: Use ready-to-use highlight cover packs (fastest – 30 seconds)

Fonto’s Gallery section contains hundreds of ready-to-use highlight cover packs. Each pack includes 10-20 cohesive covers with matching colors, fonts, and styles.

📦 What’s inside the Gallery:

  • Premium cover packs – Professional designs for fashion, food, travel, fitness, beauty, and more
  • Minimalist packs – Simple typography-based covers (like “minimal_collection” shown below)
  • Seasonal packs – Christmas, Halloween, Summer, New Year, Valentine’s
  • Glass packs – Frosted glass effect covers (matches Glass Morphe collection)
  • Shop & offer packs – Perfect for businesses (“SHOP UPDATE & OFFERS” as seen below)

Step-by-step: Use a ready-made highlight cover pack

  • Open the Fonto app on your Android or iPhone
  • Tap on the Gallery icon at the bottom of the screen
  • Browse through Highlight Covers category (look for “Highlight” or “Cover” tags)
  • Choose a pack you like (e.g., “minimal_collection”, “Glass Highlight Pack”, or “Shop Update”)
  • Tap on any cover to preview it
  • Tap Export → Save to gallery (save all covers you need)
  • Upload to Instagram using the instructions in Section 5 below

Fonto Gallery showing minimal_collection and SHOP UPDATE & OFFERS highlight cover packs

📸 Fonto Gallery – browse ready-to-use highlight cover packs like “minimal_collection” and “SHOP UPDATE & OFFERS”
Pro tip: Search for “highlight”, “cover”, “shop”, or “minimal” in the Gallery search bar to find specific pack styles instantly.

3. Method 2: Create custom glass label highlight covers

Want something unique? Create your own glass label covers using Fonto’s Glass Morphe collection. This gives you full control over text, color, and transparency.

Step-by-step: Custom glass label cover

  • Open Fonto and tap on Labels section
  • Scroll to Glass category – choose “Glass Pill” or “Glass Pill 2” (best for covers)
  • Type your text (1-2 words max: “TIPS”, “SHOP”, “TRAVEL”)
  • Adjust transparency slider to 40-60%
  • Export as PNG (Save to gallery)
  • Repeat for each cover you need – keep the style identical

4. Method 3: Create custom typography + icon highlight covers

Combine a custom font from Fonto’s library with an emoji or icon. This style is popular among top creators because it’s instantly recognizable.

Step-by-step: Typography + icon cover

  • Open Fonto and tap on the Text/New button to start fresh
  • Choose a bold font from Fonto’s library (sans-serif works best)
  • Type your text – keep it short (4-6 characters max)
  • Add an emoji before or after the text (e.g., ✈️ TRAVEL, 🛍️ SHOP)
  • Adjust size – text should fill 60-70% of the canvas
  • Export as PNG with transparent background (Save to gallery)

5. Popular highlight cover text ideas (ready to copy)

Here are the most-used highlight categories. Copy these directly into Fonto:

💡 TIPS
🛍️ SHOP
✈️ TRAVEL
📸 PHOTO
🍽️ FOOD
🏋️ FITNESS
💼 BTS
🎨 ART
📖 READS
🎧 MUSIC
💍 WEDDING
🏠 HOME
📅 EVENTS
👶 BABY
🐾 PETS
💄 BEAUTY

6. How to upload highlight covers to Instagram (all methods)

After exporting your covers from Fonto, follow these steps:

  • Create a new Instagram story (any photo/video – you won’t post it)
  • Tap the sticker icon (square smiley face) → Gallery sticker
  • Select your PNG highlight cover from your gallery
  • Resize to fit the full screen (pinch to zoom)
  • Tap Your Story (don’t worry – you’ll archive it immediately)
  • Go to your profile → tap “New” under Highlights
  • Select the story you just created → name your highlight → tap “Add”
  • Repeat for each cover
🔥 Pro tip: Save all your covers to a single story (one cover per story frame). Then create all your highlights at once. Much faster!

7. Comparison: Gallery packs vs. Custom designs

Feature Gallery ready-made packs Custom designs
Time to create 5 covers 30 seconds ✅ 5-10 minutes
Design skill needed None ✅ Basic
Uniqueness Shared with others 100% unique ✅
Matching your brand colors Limited Full control ✅
Best for Speed & convenience Branding & originality
💡 Our recommendation: Start with a Gallery pack like “minimal_collection” to get highlights up quickly. Later, create custom covers to match your exact brand colors.

8. Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Where do I find highlight cover packs in Fonto?
Tap the Gallery icon at the bottom of Fonto, then browse the “Highlight Covers” category. You can also search for “highlight”, “cover”, “shop”, or “minimal” in the search bar.
Are the Gallery highlight cover packs free?
Yes, Fonto offers hundreds of free highlight cover packs. Some premium/pro packs require Fonto Pro subscription.
Can I edit a Gallery pack cover to change the text?
Currently, Gallery packs are ready-to-use images. To customize text, use Method 2 or 3 to create your own covers from scratch.
What size should highlight covers be?
1080 x 1920 pixels is ideal. Fonto exports all covers at exactly this size automatically.
Can I change highlight covers without deleting the highlight?
Yes. Go to the highlight → tap “More” (three dots) → “Edit Highlight” → “Edit Cover” → choose a new image.

9. Download Fonto


Related tutorials:
📌 How to Change Font Style in Instagram Stories – Fonto Tutorial
📌 How to Create Glass Labels & Modern Stickers for Instagram Stories – Fonto Tutorial


Fonto – story font for IG | Professional highlight covers made easy | © 2026