Use the free Social Story Template Maker below: your data never leaves your browser — all work happens on your device, and nothing is uploaded to any server.
Stories Are Vertical, Fast, and Full-Screen
Stories are the most personal format on social media. They fill the whole phone screen, they disappear after a day, and people tap through them quickly, often with the sound off. That combination changes the design rules completely. A story image must work in a tall vertical shape, it must be readable in two seconds, and it must survive the profile bar at the top and the reply bar at the bottom. The tool above builds story images at 1080 by 1920 pixels, the standard story size, with a headline, a message, and a call to action.
Stories suit announcements, sales, quotes, events, and behind-the-scenes moments. They are less formal than a feed post, which is their strength: a story can be playful, urgent, or personal in a way a polished post cannot. But informality is not an excuse for clutter. A story with five messages is a story nobody reads, because the viewer has already tapped to the next one.
How to Use the Story Maker
Start with a template. Quote gives a dark background for words that deserve attention. Sale gives a deep red for urgency and offers. Announcement gives a purple for news and launches. Birthday gives a pink for celebrations. The template sets the background colour; your words do the rest. Then write the headline. It should be two to five words, huge, and impossible to miss, such as Big News, or Half Price Weekend.
The message field carries one supporting sentence. Not three sentences, not a paragraph: one sentence that explains the headline, such as a date, a discount, or a reason to care. The call to action field is the last line, and it tells the viewer what to do: Swipe Up, Shop Now, Link in Bio, or Vote Today. Without a call to action, a story is just a picture. With one, it is a step toward something. Add shapes sparingly for decoration, and keep them away from the text. When it looks right, download the PNG.
Design Rules for Stories That Get Read
The first rule is the safe zone. Keep important text away from the very top, where the profile picture and close button sit, and away from the very bottom, where the reply box and action buttons sit. The tool places the headline and message in the middle of the frame for exactly this reason. If you add your own text or shapes, keep them in the middle two-thirds of the image.
The second rule is one message per story. If you have three things to announce, make three stories, not one crowded image. Viewers tap through stories in a sequence, so a series of simple images works better than one complex one. The third rule is contrast and size. Text must be large and bold, because stories are viewed on phones, often in bright light, often while walking. Small, thin text is invisible in those conditions. The fourth rule is honesty about offers: if a story promises a discount or a date, that promise must be true and easy to check, or trust evaporates fast.
Using Stories Well
Stories disappear, and that expiry is useful. It creates a natural reason to act now, which suits limited offers, event reminders, and countdowns. But expiry also means stories are a poor place for information people need later, such as an address or a price list. Put lasting information in a feed post or a page, and use stories to point people toward it. That division, stories for attention, posts for reference, is how experienced creators use both formats.
Post stories consistently but not constantly. A few good stories a week beat twenty forgettable ones a day, because viewers learn to skip accounts that flood them. And watch which stories get replies, taps, and shares. Those reactions are the real feedback: a story that earns replies has found a message people care about, and that message deserves a fuller post.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size is the story image? The download is 1080 by 1920 pixels, the standard 9 by 16 vertical story size used across social platforms.
Why should text stay away from the edges? Because story viewers cover the top and bottom of the screen with profile bars, buttons, and reply boxes. Text in those zones gets hidden.
Can I use the image on any platform? Yes. The 9 by 16 vertical size is the story size on the major social platforms, so one image works in most story formats.
Build your story above, keep one message in the middle of the frame, and download the tall PNG. A story that is read in two seconds has done its job.
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