If you have a website or a blog then you know that sharing the right images makes all the difference in the world. However, creating those graphics can be time-consuming, stressful, and can get expensive too.
There are many applications and sites available to create graphics. Some are free, some are paid. Unfortunately, with most of these sites, you are limited to the number of options you have, you may have to find the actual graphics elsewhere and upload it, or all of your choices you want cost money.
Well, worry no more. Let me tell you about a tool you have probably already heard of and may use. It’s called Canva. Yep, the best one I feel! Let me explain why and then I will show you how to really harness Canva’s abilities.
If content is king then graphics are the queen.
What is Canva?
Canva is a site that allows you to create stunning graphics to design presentations, ebook covers, menus, social media graphics and much more. You may choose filters, text overlays, free icons, shapes, and hundreds of different fonts. They use a “drag and drop” editor to make things very simple to use.
If you do not already have a Canva subscription you can sign up here for free to explore the opportunities.
Here is a small list of options for graphics you can create:
- Blog graphics
- Business Cards
- Ebook and paperback book covers
- Email headers
- Social Media covers
- Booklets
- Opt-ins and Freebies
- Infographics
- Print material (invitations, stationary)
- Logos
- Ads
- Banners
- Animated images
- YouTube Thumbnails
Once you create your images you can save them, download them and even order them as printed material and have your creation shipped right to your door! All of this you probably already know. But there is so much more you should know!
What You May Not Know About Canva
Canva has so many more resources available that a surprising number of people are not aware of. The trick is knowing how to access them. Just scroll to the footer on Canva’s main page or look in the sidebar and it is all there waiting for you to explore.
One of the coolest features I love about Canva is the availability to set up your brand kit. This can be found in the sidebar on the left-hand side once you are signed in to your account.
Design School
Once you are signed in to your Canva account there is a menu along the left side of the page. If you scroll down that menu you will see “Design School“.
When you click this item you are whisked to a wonderful resource for educating yourself on topics such as:
Courses
- Social Media Mastery
- Graphic Design Basics
- Branding Your Business
- Presentations to Impress
Tutorials
- Getting Started
- Designing graphics
- How to use Canva Pro
- Creating a Brand Kit for your site
- How to use folders to organize your content
- Publishing help
They also offer open invitations to events that Canva offers at various physical locations too. But Canva doesn’t stop there.
Canva’s Blog
Canva’s blog offers articles on many topics. You can find informative articles broken down by sections. These include:
Learn
- Design Trends for 2020
- Creative Industry Planning
- Planning Your Week for Ultimate Productivity
- Career Tips
- Logo Trends for 2020
Design
- Trending Color Combinations
- Logo Trends To Watch
- Creating an Instagram Story
Marketing
- Marketing Trends for 2020
- Social Media trends for 2020
- Tips for Social Media Branding
Branding
- Color Psychology
- Visual Style Guide
- Choosing the Right Colors
- Brand Awareness
These examples are just the beginning of the plethora of information that Canva offers on their blog. Trust me when I say you can spend hours learning more new things. And still, that’s not the end of what Canva has to offer yet!
Resources for Better Graphics
Once you have gone through all of the articles Canva offers on the blog, it’s a good time to check out the rest of their resources. These can be found in the footer section of Canva’s main page in the Resource section.
- Font Combinations
- Photo Editor
- Color Wheel
- Palette Generator
- Logo Maker
- Colors
- Design Size Guide
- Support
- Teaching Materials
- Ideas
Canva’s Subscriptions
Canva offers a ‘Free for life’ version that many people use. However, they also offer two more options for you, monthly ‘Pro’ membership and an enterprise membership. I used the free version of Canva for years and recently switched to the Pro version. Now I love Canva even more.
Free vs. Pro Version
The free version of Canva allows you to use over 8,000 free templates, over 100 design templates, and hundreds of thousands of free images.
With the Pro version, you have everything offered in the free version plus:
- Ability to create your brand’s visual identity with logos, colors, and fonts in 1 Brand Kit
- One-click design resize
- 60,000+ free templates
- 4+ million free photos and graphics
- Ability to upload your own fonts and logos
- Custom templates
Although free sounds amazing, at $12.95 a month billed monthly, or $9.95 paid yearly you can’t go wrong. If you want to try the Pro version just click here. I promise you will love it!
Enterprise Membership
Canva also offers an Enterprise Membership for around $30 per month billed yearly. It is basically for larger teams who need much more brand and collaboration control. Benefits include:
- Opportunity to establish your brand’s visual identity with logos, colors, and fonts across multiple Brand Kits
- Control over what team members can see, access, and upload in Canva with brand controls
- Includes built-in workflows to get approval on your designs
- Protects any part of your design from team edits with advanced template locking
- Unlimited storage
- Single-sign on (SSO)
- 24/7 Enterprise-level support
Other Membership Opportunities
Canva also offers opportunities for educational sites to use their products as well as non-profits. If these are more your style then check those out too. So as you can see there is an opportunity for everyone to use Canva.
Are you ready to improve the graphics on your website? Choosing Canva is not only low cost but also easy to use and offers great resources at your fingertips. Sign up for a membership today and explore all the possibilities to make your graphics the best they can be!
