Canva started out as a humble, online-accessible graphics tool. But slowly, it has morphed into so much more. It’s closer now to a digital publishing suite, constantly evolving based on the needs of its users. Every couple of weeks, there are both new features and new use cases added. You can even use Canva to create websites for free.
Canva is filled with many small, interesting features that all have a huge impact on usability, but aren’t found in the most obvious of places. Here are eight such hidden features you need to know about.
Make text more engaging using animations
Still text, no matter how well-designed, might be a bit boring. If you want to hold the attention of fast-scrolling social media audiences, try animating text, especially for places like Instagram Stories.
You don’t have to do much: Just design your content like you normally do, and hit the “Animate” button from the top toolbar. From the sidebar, choose the style, define the time frame, and download the MP4 video, instead of a still photo.
Generate AI images using text prompts
We are now in the age of generative AI art. While the AI takeover isn’t here yet, it is starting to nail the ability to generate cool images from random prompts. Canva has also integrated an open-source technology called Stable Diffusion into its platform. It’s in beta now, so anyone can generate up to 100 images for free. It’s quite good, as long as you give it good prompts (be direct and descriptive).
Go to Apps > Text to Image from the document sidebar to start using the feature.
Make entire websites in Canva
Canva has an entire Websites section on the home page with ready-made templates for portfolio, business, and personal sites. Their link-in-bio template might be the easiest way to make a customized website for your Instagram bio that doesn’t look like everyone else’s.
There are dozens of templates to choose from, all of which automatically resize to mobile view. Of course, you can edit the text and links in any template. Once you’re ready, hit the Publish Website button. You can generate up to five free website links on Canva, or you can add your own domain if you wish.
Easily switch between your computer and phone
If you use Canva to design social media posts (such as for Instagram), you’re going to love this feature. Designing in Canva works best on a desktop, but social media sharing happens on your phone. How do you bridge this gap? Click the Share button from the top toolbar and choose the “Send to phone” option, which will generate a QR code. Point your phone camera to the code, and it will open the same document directly in the Canva app on your smartphone, where you can carry on with your workflow.
Add tables inside Canva documents
This is no Google Sheets integration, but you can finally add tables inside Canva documents, making your presentations a breeze. From the document, go to Elements > Tables to add a table you like. Once it’s added, you can use the More button on the side to add more rows or columns. From here, it works like a regular table. Click on a cell to add text (which, of course, can be stylized).
Start creating presentations using pre-built layouts
Templates are great, and Canva has hundreds of them. But the problem with using templates is your work is going to be easily recognizable. (Oh, they’re using a Canva template.)
Instead, when you’re in a document, go to the Templates section, but switch to the Layouts tab. This option will give you a solid building ground to create your own designs. It will still have properly aligned boxes for text, images, and other elements, but none of them will be stylized. You can create your own design for the document, and when you use Layouts, Canva will automatically apply the same text styling to all pages.
Create device frames or mockups
Text and graphics are great, but what if you want to showcase a screenshot in a presentation or a social media post? For example, maybe you want your screenshot to be featured on an iPhone, without needing to take the entire photo yourself.
Canva has an entirely free tool dedicated to device mockups. Add a screenshot, select it, and go to Edit Image from the toolbar. From the sidebar options, go to the Smartmockups section, and choose a mockup image. Canva will automatically add your screenshot to the mockup. Your polished product shot is ready in seconds.
If you don’t want a full device mockup, Canva also has a Frames section where you can add an iPhone frame or laptop frame instead, which can help upgrade your graphic design images.
Enhance images without using an image editor
Canva has slowly evolved into quite a capable image editor. It has the basic tools for adjusting brightness, contrast, and more, and there’s a good selection of filers as well. But where Canva shines is when it comes to its special tools. Scroll to the bottom and you’ll find tools designed by both Canva and third parties.
Canva’s Auto-Enhance tool will boost your image automatically. The Face Retouch feature will smoothen skin, remove blemishes, and more, which is a great option for portrait photos. The Auto Focus tool will add a fake depth-of-field effect, enhancing the focus on your subject and blurring the background.
If you’re a regular Canva user, or if you’re looking to up the ante, we recommend you follow their Design with Canva channel, where they regularly post about new features and how to use them.