---
title: "Thumbnail Story"
slug: "thumbnail-story"
description: "Covers the Thumbnail Story template, which redirects users to a URL on click instead of FullStory mode, ideal for use as a site's navigation menu bar."
tags: ["thumbnail story"]
updated: 2026-08-06T12:25:50Z
published: 2026-08-06T12:25:50Z
canonical: "academy.insiderone.com/thumbnail-story"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://academy.insiderone.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Thumbnail Story

Thumbnail Story is a type of InStory template available on [Desktop](/v1/docs/create-a-web-instory-campaign), [Mobile](/v1/docs/create-a-mobile-instory-campaign), and Tablet devices.

Unlike other InStory templates, it does not support FullStory mode. Instead, when users click a thumbnail, they are redirected to a specific link. This makes it ideal for use as a navigation menu, guiding users to product pages, categories, or other key areas of your site.

Follow the steps below to use the Thumbnail Story template:

1. Navigate to **Campaigns** > **Optimization** > **InStory**.
2. On the listing page, click the **Create** button. Name your campaign, choose the platform type, and click the **Create** button.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c6df4583-da94-4cb2-bb8a-be0cbdd11109/Images/Documentation/th2.png)
3. After setting the segments and rules for your campaign, click the **Add a new variant** option in the Design step.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c6df4583-da94-4cb2-bb8a-be0cbdd11109/Images/Documentation/th3.png)
4. Hover over the Thumbnail Story option on the right menu and click the **Select** button.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c6df4583-da94-4cb2-bb8a-be0cbdd11109/Images/Documentation/th4.png)
5. After selecting the template, you will be directed to the Action Builder. Since InStory is an inline template, you need to [append](/docs/append-an-inline-template) it to a specific position on the page.
6. On the Design tab, you can customize the thumbnail image and text. To hide the text, you can disable the **Optional Title** toggle in the Settings menu.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c6df4583-da94-4cb2-bb8a-be0cbdd11109/Images/Documentation/th5.png)

You can also customize the **Thumbnail Size** and **Alignment** in the **Settings** menu.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c6df4583-da94-4cb2-bb8a-be0cbdd11109/Images/Documentation/th9.png)
7. To change the thumbnail image, double-click on the relevant thumbnail or click the **Image** option in the Settings menu. If you do not want to show any thumbnail image, remove the existing image and set a fill color.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c6df4583-da94-4cb2-bb8a-be0cbdd11109/Images/Documentation/th61.png)
8. All of the thumbnails are listed as separate stories in the Design tab. It includes 10 stories by default; you can increase it to 20 stories in the same campaign. You can use the **Story Count** slider to increase or decrease the number of stories.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c6df4583-da94-4cb2-bb8a-be0cbdd11109/Images/Documentation/th7.png)
9. You can add links to each story in the **Settings** menu to redirect users to a specific page when they click on the story. Once you finalize your design, click the **Save** button.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c6df4583-da94-4cb2-bb8a-be0cbdd11109/Images/Documentation/th8.png)

## Related

- [Create a Web InStory Campaign](/create-a-web-instory-campaign.md)
- [Create a Mobile InStory Campaign](/create-a-mobile-instory-campaign.md)
- [Recommendation Story](/recommendation-story.md)
- [Element Library of InStory](/element-library-of-instory.md)
- [InStory Analytics](/instory-analytics.md)
- [Multi Story Templates](/multistory-templates.md)