How to post on Instagram: Feed, Reels, and Stories explained
Image sizes, carousel limits, Reels specs, and the new 5-hashtag rule. Everything you need to publish correctly.
Content
Feed posts, Reels, Stories, and the new Instants feature — every format has its own specs, rules, and best practices. Here's exactly how to publish each one.
Image sizes, hashtag rules, and the new features that changed how you publish in 2026.
Image sizes, carousel limits, Reels specs, and the new 5-hashtag rule. Everything you need to publish correctly.
How the instant sharing feature works, how much time AI auto-editing saves, and the new rules for photos and carousels.
If you only remember four things from this section, remember these.
1080 x 1350 pixels. Takes up more screen real estate than square and displays correctly everywhere.
15–45 seconds is the sweet spot. Reels over 3 minutes won't get recommended to new audiences.
Instagram now enforces a hard limit. Pick niche community tags over mega-tags.
For Reels especially, the first few seconds decide whether the algorithm keeps testing your content.
Feed, Reels, Stories, and Explore ranking signals explained in plain English.
Explore sectionInsights, Promote, Shopping, Meta Business Suite. Practical walkthroughs.
Explore sectionAccount recovery, fake official messages, and original content rules.
Explore section