How to Create a LinkedIn Carousel From a URL
Paste a public article link into SlideDrift to draft a LinkedIn carousel: which URLs work, how to steer the draft, and what to do if a page can't be read.
To create a LinkedIn carousel from a URL, paste the full link to a public article into the box on SlideDrift's Create page and choose Generate. SlideDrift reads the page, drafts the slides and opens them in the editor, where you check and edit them before you export a PDF for LinkedIn. If the page can't be read, paste the article's text into the same box instead.
- Links that work: public blog posts, articles and newsletters published on the web. Social media posts and pages behind a login usually can't be read; LinkedIn articles can.
- What it costs: reading the link uses no credits. Generating uses 10 credits with a standard template and 30 with a Pro template.
- What to check: every claim against the original page, any images taken from it, and the exported PDF before you upload it.
How to create a carousel from a URL
- Open Create. When you're signed in, it's Home in the sidebar.
- Paste the full link into the box, including the
https://part. When the box holds only the link, a chip with the site's name appears above it, which means SlideDrift will write the carousel from that page. Withouthttps://, SlideDrift treats what you typed as an idea rather than a link. - Set any options with the buttons along the bottom of the box: a template, a Brand Kit, a story (Mistakes, Framework, Checklist, Case Study or Hot Take), and Preferences for 5 to 12 slides, a 1:1, 4:5 or 9:16 format, and imagery from Text only to Image rich.
- Choose Generate. The button shows Reading while SlideDrift reads the page; then the editor opens and fills in the slides as they're written.
- Edit the draft, then choose Share, then Export, keep PDF selected and choose Download PDF. The PDF export guide covers the options.
You can start without an account. When you choose Export, SlideDrift asks you to sign in or create a free account, then reopens Export on the same carousel.
Which URLs work best
Pick one public page with one clear argument. SlideDrift drafts from the page's text, so article-style pages give it the most to work with:
- blog posts and articles;
- newsletters published on the web;
- case studies and long-form landing pages with a clear point of view;
- LinkedIn articles, whose links contain linkedin.com/pulse.
Some links won't work:
- Social media posts. SlideDrift doesn't read links to Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok or LinkedIn posts. Copy the post's text and paste that instead.
- Pages behind a login or paywall, and pages that load their text with scripts or pop-ups. These often can't be read.
- Pages with almost no text, such as a page made mostly of images.
- Videos. Paste a transcript or notes you have permission to use; the YouTube guide walks through it.
A homepage or blog archive can often be read, but it gives the draft no single idea to build on. Link to the one article you want the carousel to be about.
How to steer a carousel made from a link
You can give SlideDrift direction before it writes the draft:
- Your own direction. Type who the carousel is for and the angle you want, then put the link on its own line below. When the box holds notes as well as a link, SlideDrift keeps your notes and adds the linked page's text after them as the source, and the chip above the box shows a character count instead of the site's name.
- Story and Preferences. Choose the shape before you generate (Mistakes, Framework, Checklist, Case Study or Hot Take), plus the slide count and imagery.
- Review outline before generating. When you're signed in, turn this on in Preferences. SlideDrift proposes the slide sequence from the page, and you can rewrite a slide, add a step and approve the outline before it designs the slides.
- The Angle Finder. A long article usually holds more than one carousel. Paste the link into the free Blog-to-Carousel Angle Finder: it suggests three angles, and Make this carousel opens Create with the link and the angle you picked as direction. The blog post repurposing guide covers how to choose one.
- The Chrome extension. If you're reading the article in Chrome, the SlideDrift Chrome extension opens Create with the page's link and the audience, story and slide count you set.
Direction with a link looks like this:
SlideDrift brief
Make a LinkedIn carousel for independent consultants from the article below.
Angle: the three onboarding mistakes, with one fix for each.
One idea per slide. End with a short checklist.
[The article link on its own line, or the article text with any links taken out]SlideDrift reads only the first link in the box. Keep that link on its own line with nothing touching it: punctuation right after the link, such as a period or a closing parenthesis, is read as part of the address. The slide count comes from the Slides setting in Preferences (7 by default), not from the text.
Link or pasted text?
| Your source | What to put in the box |
|---|---|
| One public article with one clear argument | The link, on its own. |
| A long article with several possible carousels | The link, through the Angle Finder first. |
| An article you want aimed at a particular reader or angle | Your direction, then the link on its own line. |
| A page behind a login or paywall | The text you're allowed to use, with links taken out. |
| A social media post or a video | The post's text, or a transcript or notes. |
What happens to images on the page
SlideDrift collects the images it finds on the page along with the text. When the template you picked has image areas, it can fill them with those images. When the page has none it can use, it picks stock photos to suit each slide instead.
To use your own pictures, open Add source (the + button), choose Photos and add up to one image per slide before you generate; they replace the page's images. Imagery in Preferences sets how image-led the slides should be. If you keep an image from someone else's article, make sure you're allowed to reuse it.
If SlideDrift can't read the page
When a page can't be read, Create says what went wrong and offers Switch to text paste. Choose it and Create stops trying to read the link but keeps what's in the box, so Generate writes from your text alone. Replace the link with the article text, or just the section you want the carousel to cover, and keep any direction above it, as in the example above.
Take any links out of the pasted text too. Once you change what's in the box, SlideDrift reads the first link it finds again and adds that page's text after yours.
If your source is rough notes rather than an article, the notes guide has more prompts.
Check the draft before you post
A carousel made from a long article should carry its strongest idea, not a summary of every section. As you edit, keep the main argument, the best examples, any steps and the figures you can find on the page; cut long introductions, side stories and repeated context. Then make slide one a specific promise: the hook examples can help.
Before you upload the PDF
- Every claim, figure and quote appears on the original page.
- Each slide makes one point, in order.
- The first slide says what the reader will get.
- You're allowed to reuse any image taken from the page.
- You've opened the exported PDF and checked every page.
- The caption says who the carousel is for and where the full article lives.
LinkedIn's help page says it takes PDF, PPT, PPTX, DOC and DOCX files of up to 100 MB and 300 pages, recommends PDF for the best quality, and lets you edit a post's description but not the document once it's live. So check the file before you upload it; the posting guide walks through the upload.
Make a carousel from a link
Paste a public article link into Create. SlideDrift reads the page and drafts the slides; you edit them, then export the PDF for LinkedIn.
FAQ
Can SlideDrift turn any URL into a carousel?
No. It reads public, article-style pages best: blog posts, articles and newsletters published on the web. It doesn't read links to Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok or LinkedIn posts, and pages behind a login or paywall often fail. For those, paste the text instead.
Can I add instructions along with the link?
Yes. Type your direction in the box and put the link on its own line below it. SlideDrift keeps your notes and adds the linked page's text after them as the source. It reads only the first link, so leave any others out.
Does SlideDrift use the images from the page?
It can. If your template has image areas, SlideDrift fills them with images from the page, or with stock photos when the page has none it can use. Add your own with Photos to use those instead.
How many credits does it use?
Reading the link is free. Generating uses 10 credits with a standard template and 30 with a Pro template, and SlideDrift shows the cost before you start. Free accounts start with 200 credits; the credits page lists every cost.
Should I post the carousel or just share the link?
Post the carousel when you want the idea read in the feed. Ordinal's comparison of link-penalty studies found lower reach for posts with external links in every analysis it covered, with the cost falling mainly on Company Pages; for personal profiles, it calls the penalty small enough to ignore on most posts. The carousels vs external links guide covers when a link is the better choice.
