TikTok slideshow guides
Straight answers to the most common TikTok slideshow questions: how to make one, the right size, how many photos, music, and more.
TikTok slideshow glossary
38 terms defined in plain English, from photo mode and safe zones to warm-up and tracked links, each linked to the guide that goes deeper.
How to Make a TikTok Slideshow (Step by Step)
To make a TikTok slideshow: open the TikTok app, tap +, switch to Photo mode, select your images, add text and sound, then post. To skip the manual work, generate the whole slideshow (hook, captions, on-brand slides) with ViralSlides and post it in one step.
TikTok Slideshow Size, Dimensions and Specs
Make every TikTok slideshow photo 1080x1920 pixels, a 9:16 vertical shape, saved as JPEG. That fills the phone screen with no empty bars. As of October 2026, TikTok's posting API accepts photos up to 1080p, in JPEG or WebP, up to 20 MB each. For an Instagram carousel, use 1080x1350 (4:5).
How Many Photos Can a TikTok Slideshow Have?
A TikTok slideshow can have up to 35 photos, according to TikTok's Help Center as of October 2026, and the same limit applies when you post through TikTok's API. Instagram carousels allow up to 20. Most slideshows work best far below the limit: ViralSlides formats run 5 to 10 slides.
How to Add Music to a TikTok Slideshow
To add music to a TikTok slideshow, tap +, choose Photo, select your images, then tap Add sound in the editor and pick a track before you post. Slides designed in another tool work the same way: upload them in Photo mode and add the sound in TikTok. Business accounts can only choose from TikTok's Commercial Music Library.
TikTok Slideshow vs Video: Differences and When to Use Each
Neither format wins everywhere. Slideshows are faster to make, read at the viewer's own pace and suit lists, steps and comparisons, which makes them the cheaper way to test many angles. Video wins when the message needs motion, a voice or a face: demos, reactions and stories told on camera. A practical split is to post slideshows for volume and turn the angles that work into videos.
Why Won’t My TikTok Slideshow Post? (Common Fixes)
If your TikTok slideshow won't post, check the photos first: no more than 35 (TikTok's limit as of October 2026), saved as JPEG rather than HEIC or huge PNGs, and ideally 1080x1920. If the photos are fine, use TikTok's own fixes: switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data, clear the app's cache, restart the app and your phone, and update TikTok.
TikTok Slideshow Best Practices for More Views
The best TikTok slideshows put a clear hook on slide one, keep one idea per slide, use 1080x1920 photos with text inside the safe zone, pair a sound whose tempo fits, and end with one clear next step. Post on a steady schedule and judge each slideshow by saves, shares and how many people swipe to the end, not by views alone.
Why Is My TikTok Slideshow Blurry? (And How to Fix It)
A TikTok slideshow usually looks blurry because the photos are smaller than the screen they are stretched to fill: under 1080 pixels wide, cropped out of a bigger photo, or saved copies of screenshots. Export every slide at 1080x1920 (9:16) as a high-quality JPEG and upload the original file, not a copy that went through a chat app. As of October 2026, TikTok's posting API accepts photos up to 1080p, so a bigger file adds size, not sharpness.
How to Add Text to a TikTok Slideshow
To add text to a TikTok slideshow, tap +, choose Photo and select your photos, then tap Next and add text in the editor, swiping between photos to give each one its own line. Keep the text in the upper middle of the slide: in our measurements on a real iPhone, TikTok's buttons cover the right 20% of the screen between 44% and 84% of its height, and the caption covers the bottom 14%. For styled, on-brand text on every slide, design it into 1080x1920 images before you upload.
Why Is TikTok Cropping My Slideshow Photos?
Slideshow photos look cropped or boxed in on TikTok because the screen is 9:16 and most photos are not. A photo of a different shape either sits smaller with empty space around it, or loses its edges when it is zoomed or cropped to fill the screen. To stop it, crop every photo to 9:16 (1080x1920) yourself before uploading, and keep faces and text away from the edges. Instagram is stricter: as of October 2026 it crops anything taller than 3:4, so a 9:16 slide loses its top and bottom there.
How to Post a TikTok Slideshow as an Instagram Carousel
To post a TikTok slideshow as an Instagram carousel, make a 1080x1350 (4:5) copy of every slide, keep the set to 20 or fewer (Instagram's limit as of October 2026, against 35 on TikTok), give every slide the same orientation, and move text away from the top and bottom edges that the resize cuts. Then share them as one Instagram post with multiple photos, with a caption written for Instagram.
What Is a TikTok Slideshow?
A TikTok slideshow is a photo post: a set of up to 35 images that viewers swipe through, or let play along with the sound, in the For You feed. It usually has a sound, short text on each slide and a caption. TikTok calls it a photo post and makes it in Photo mode; creators also call it a photo carousel. Slides fill the screen at 1080x1920 (9:16).
How to Market an App on TikTok
To market an app on TikTok, post short, useful content about the problem your app solves rather than ads about the app. Set up an account for the app, use it like a person for several days before posting, then post photo slideshows or short videos on a steady schedule, with a hook up front, the app shown doing its job, and the store link in your bio. Judge posts by saves, profile visits and installs, and repeat the angles that work.
How to Track App Installs from TikTok Slideshows
TikTok does not report installs from organic posts, so you measure them on the store side. Put a tracked store link in your bio instead of the plain one: an App Store campaign link (your provider token pt plus a campaign token ct, made in App Store Connect) for iOS, and a Google Play link whose referrer carries UTM parameters for Android. Installs from those links show up under Campaigns in App Store Connect's analytics and as tracked (UTM) channels in Play Console. Read them next to each post's saves, shares and profile visits to see which slideshows send people to the store.
How to Design the First Slide of a TikTok Slideshow
The first slide of a TikTok slideshow does two jobs: it is the hook people see in the feed before they swipe, and the cover on your profile. Give it one short line that names the viewer's situation or makes a specific promise, set it as the biggest text in the whole slideshow, and place it between 10% and 40% of the height, inside the left 78% of the width, clear of TikTok's buttons and caption. Use one photo that shows the situation rather than your logo or app screen, make sure the line reads in about a second on a phone, and let slide two pay off the promise straight away.
How to Schedule TikTok Slideshows (and Instagram Carousels)New
Scheduling a TikTok slideshow is two decisions: when it goes out, and how it reaches TikTok. Pick days and times in the time zone where your audience lives, at a pace the account can keep. Then pick the route: post it by hand from a draft at the planned time, or let a tool post it. Through TikTok's API, a photo post from a tool that TikTok has not audited for direct posting lands in your TikTok inbox for you to finish in the app. In ViralSlides, the Schedule tab (Pro and Business) makes a slideshow at each slot and can send it to your TikTok drafts as a carousel, post it live as a video, and post it to Instagram as a carousel or Reel.
How to Manage TikTok Slideshows for Multiple Apps or ClientsNew
Treat every app or client as its own small brand: its own TikTok and Instagram accounts, its own colors, voice, language and market, its own formats, schedule and tracked store links. Share what is worth sharing across them: the review step, the calendar, the warm-up routine and the way you report. Let clients approve slides through a view-only link instead of a seat in your workspace. In ViralSlides, Pro covers 10 apps, 250 slideshows a month and 3 users; Business covers 50 apps, 1,500 slideshows a month and 10 users.
Want to check your own slideshow? The free slideshow checker tests photo count, size and file type before you post, and the other free tools cover hooks, safe zones and carousels.
Skip the manual work
Pick a format, give a topic, and ViralSlides makes the whole slideshow in one click.