How I Built a Fast Instagram Video and Reels Downloader with Next.js

How I Built a Fast Instagram Video and Reels Downloader with Next.js I recently built InstaFetch, a browser-based tool for downloading supported public Instagram videos, Reels, and photos. The goal wasn't to build another complicated media application. I wanted a simple workflow: Paste a public Instagram URL → check the media → download it. You can try the live application here: https://www.instafetch.app Why I Built It A lot of existing downloader websites make a simple task unnecessarily complicated. Some require multiple pages, others use aggressive popups, and some ask users for credentials. I wanted to experiment with building a cleaner experience using Next.js. InstaFetch currently focuses on supported public Instagram content and does not require users to provide their Instagram login credentials. The Technology Stack The application is built with: Next.js React TypeScript Tailwind CSS Vercel Next.js was useful because I could combine the application interface, API routes, metadata, sitemap, and SEO-focused pages in the same project. Building the Downloader The basic workflow is straightforward. A user provides a public Instagram URL. The application validates the URL and sends it through the downloader backend. If supported media is available, the application returns the available download information to the user. The interface was designed around keeping this workflow as short as possible. Creating Dedicated SEO Pages One thing I wanted to experiment with was creating dedicated landing pages for different search intents. For example: Instagram Video Downloader https://www.instafetch.app/instagram-video-downloader Instagram Reels Downloader https://www.instafetch.app/instagram-reels-downloader Instagram Photo Downloader https://www.instafetch.app/instagram-photo-downloader Instead of putting every keyword on one page, each page focuses on a specific use case. Technical SEO I also added a generated sitemap using Next.js. The sitemap includes the homepage, dedicated downloader pages, blog posts, and important legal pages. I then submitted the sitemap to Google Search Console and tested the individual downloader URLs using Google's URL inspection tools. The important lesson here was that adding a sitemap isn't the same thing as getting pages indexed. The pages still need to be crawlable, accessible, and useful. What I'm Working On Next The project is still early, so there are several things I'd like to improve: Better download reliability Better handling of unsupported URLs Improved mobile UX More useful download options More documentation More SEO content based on actual user questions I'm also interested in learning which features people actually find useful instead of adding features just because they sound interesting. Try InstaFetch If you work with public Instagram content and want to try the current version: https://www.instafetch.app I'd be interested in hearing what you would improve.