What is Canva?
Quick answer
Canva (canva.com) is an online design tool for social posts, presentations, videos, documents, websites and print. You start from a template or a prompt, edit in a drag-and-drop editor, and share a link so others can view, comment on or edit the design. Its AI tools include Magic Design, Magic Write and Magic Layers.
Last updated
Take the free module →Module 6 of the free AI Apps Worth Knowing course, about 12 minutes. No account needed.
Updated · By Robert Breen
Why it matters for a small business
Most small businesses need a steady flow of pictures: a post for Tuesday, a flyer for the front desk, a few slides for a client. Canva lets someone with no design training make those in minutes instead of waiting on a designer, and keeps them in one place so the next one starts from the last.
The AI part saves the blank-page step. Canva says Magic Design takes a text prompt or a photo you upload and generates designs that fit your description, such as social posts, presentations or videos. You then change the words, swap images and apply your brand colors and fonts from your Brand Kit.
Sharing is built in. Canva's help center says you click Share in the editor and set who has access to Can edit, Can comment or Can view. Guests need to log in to comment, but they do not need to be on your team.
In a real lesson: Plan a Week of Social Posts in One Sitting using SocialBee
The SocialBee lesson does not use Canva. In it, Harbor Tax & Advisory, a made-up tax firm, answers six questions in SocialBee's Social media copilot, gets five content categories such as Quick Tax Tips, and generates one post per category, each with a picture. One picture failed to load in our test, and the lesson notes you can swap it later.
That swap is the part of the job Canva does. You would describe the post in Magic Design, for example a calm, plain tax-tip graphic in the firm's colors, pick a design, change the headline to match the caption, download it and attach it to the post in SocialBee. SocialBee keeps the schedule; Canva makes the picture.
Try this lesson free or read the step-by-step guide.
Common confusions
Canva vs an AI image generator
An AI image generator makes a single picture from a prompt. Canva builds a full design, with text, layout and images you can keep editing, and can include AI-made images as one part of it.
Canva vs a social media scheduler
Canva makes the graphic. A social media scheduler such as SocialBee decides when and where it posts.
Tips
- Set up a Brand Kit first, so every design starts with your colors and fonts.
- Give Magic Design a specific prompt: the audience, the message and the mood.
- Share with Can comment for reviewers, and keep Can edit for the people who actually change the design.
- Check the aspect ratio for each network before you download.
Related terms
More Web apps terms
Where you use it: free lessons
- Plan a Week of Social Posts in One Sitting using SocialBee (SocialBee, 12 min)
- DomoAI: Turn a Product Photo into a Short Video for Social (DomoAI, 6 min)
AI tools that use it
Frequently asked questions
- Is Canva free?
- Yes. Canva's pricing page says Canva Free is available to anyone, with a drag-and-drop editor, templates and a limited number of uses of its AI tools. Some features, such as Magic Resize, are on paid plans. Check canva.com/pricing for the details.
- Do I need design skills to use Canva?
- No. You start from a template or a Magic Design prompt and change the text, images and colors in the editor.
- Can someone without a Canva account see my design?
- Canva's help center says you can share a link that lets anyone edit, with no sign-in. To comment, a guest needs to log in to Canva, though not join your team.