34+ Jaw-Dropping Canva Tips And Tricks (2023)

I’m sure you’re already familiar with Canva, the legendary tool that has become essential for anyone owning an online business.

From bloggers to graphic designers, beginners to professionals, Canva is the go-to platform for designing templates, social media, presentations, and more.

So in this article, I’ll be telling you top canva tips and tricks that will help you to design faster.

And I can tell you with full confidence that you won’t find this type of guide anywhere on the internet as I will be sharing some canva hacks that will blow your mind.

Also, I will be giving you 10 Bonus Canva Keyboard Shortcuts at the end of this article.

Also Read: 11 Beautiful Cursive Fonts In Canva (Free To Use)

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Top 35 Canva Tips and Tricks To Design Faster

1. Resizing Proportionally

Maybe a lot of you are already aware of this trick that if you resize any element while holding Alt Or Option(For Mac) Key, you will be able to resize that element or text proportionally from all 4 corners.

If you are unable to understand what I am saying then try it yourself, try to resize an element while holding the Alt or Option key and you will understand what I am saying.

This thing will help you a lot whenever you have to maintain the symmetry of the design for eg. you want to resize the square shape proportionally from all the sides so that it won’t become a rectangle.

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2. Holding Alt Or Option Key and Dragging The Element To Create a Copy

This quick shortcut can be a lifesaver for you.

How do you create a copy of an element inside canva? by right-clicking on the element and clicking on copy and paste button?

Or by pressing Ctrl + C & Ctrl + V on the keyboard?

Well, both of these methods are greater to create a copy of an element but here is a fun and more convenient way to create a copy of an element.

All you have to do is drag an element using your mouse by holding Alt Key (For Windows) Or Option Key (For Mac) at the same time.

Here is a quick demonstration of how this works, I am holding the Alt key on my keyboard and dragging the element.

3. Use Drag And Drop To Upload Images

Uploading multiple images can get tedious if you have to use the canva file uploader each time.

Luckily, you can upload your images directly into canva with just a simple drag and drop.

Simply select the images in your device that you want to upload, then drag it into your canva editor. The image will automatically be added as a new layer in your design.

If you want to add multiple images to your design, you can simply drag and drop them all into the canvas.

Canva will automatically upload the image to your canva uploads and you can access it anytime later also.

4.  Adding Shadows To Elements and Pictures

Adding shadows to images not only makes them pop out but it also add a professional look to your design.

Recently Canva has added this feature that allows you to add shadows to images.

And I said images not graphics and elements.

Also Read: 10 Best Canva Font Pairings & Combinations [For Bloggers!!]

How to do that??

It’s pretty simple, just select your image (Not Canva element) and click on the “Edit Photo” option from the top toolbar, and then under the fx Effects, click on “Shadows”

Now a window will open with all the shadow options.

You can choose anyone according to your needs, I have selected “Drop Shadow” for my pup.

You can also play with the shadows settings like size, blur amount, angle, shadow distance, color, and intensity.

5. Using Canva Layers

You know the most frustrating thing while working with multiple layers in canva is when you try selecting and moving one layer, most of the time it ends up messing up all the other layers.

As Canva do not use to have a layering system, it was so frustrating for us designers to work with multiple layers and properly manage them.

After the new update, canva also got the layering system, which means you can now see all your elements in a layer panel and manage them easily.

To access the layers in canva, all you have to do is open up your canva design and click on the “Position” tab from the top toolbar then select “Layers” from there, and Voilaa, you can now see all the elements in layers.

6. Equally Spacing Elements And Pics

It is very important to maintain symmetry and uniformity in your designs so that they can look professional.

Canva gives you an option to equally space all the selected elements vertically or horizontally in just one click.

You just have to select all the elements and click on the “Position” menu from the top toolbar and then under the “Space Evenly” section you will get all the options to equally space your elements horizontally or vertically.

You can use this feature for everything including images, canva elements, text boxes, videos, etc.

7. Using Hyperlinks In Canva

Hyperlinks can be really helpful if you are creating PDFs, eBooks or you want to embed clickable button’s inside your PDFs.

This allows your customers to click on a particular element inside a PDF and land on a URL that you have hyperlinked with that element.

Sounds cool!! RIGHT??

How to use hyperlinking??

It’s very simple just select the element, text, or pics that you want to add your link to and then right-click on it and select “Link” from there.

Alternatively, you can also use the shortcut key “Ctrl+k” to add a hyperlink.

See the above image for reference.

Now whenever a user will click on that particular element, he or she will be redirected to that URL.

For a more detailed step-by-step tutorial, you can read our guide on how to make clickable hyperlink in canva.

8. Grouping The Elements

Grouping the elements is a great option, especially if you spend a lot of time creating a title with multiple fonts, colors, and text boxes.

It becomes really easy to move all the grouped elements rather than moving them one by one and losing their symmetry.

What is the best way to group elements?

• Select multiple elements by holding the Shift key and clicking on them one by one.
• Now right-click and select the “Group” option from the menu, you can also use the shortcut “Ctrl+G” after selecting elements to directly group them.

9. Creating Text Overlay Without Photoshop

There is no official way to create text overlays inside Canva cause there is no clipping mask option inside canva.

If you want beautiful texture or gradient text then you can’t do it directly inside Canva.

You have to create that text effect inside Photoshop and then import that PNG file inside Canva.

However, I am going to share with you a little tip that can help you achieve the same look inside Canva as well.

How can you create text overlay’s inside Canva?

First, go to the elements tab and search for your alphabets one by one.

Choose your alphabet under the frames section based on the font that you like, there are different types of frames available in different types of fonts.

Select all the alphabets that will build your word. For eg. to write my name Rohit I will choose the frames R, O, H, I, T

Now search for your overlay image on canva or you can upload your own too and then just drag and drop your image on the alphabet one by one

This is really amazing because it can be customized by your customers as well if you are selling digital templates.

10. Using Customizable Gradient Elements

If you don’t know canva does have some customizable gradient elements in their library that you can use to add some gradient effects to your designs.

Just go into the elements tab and search for the keyword “Gradient” and filter the results to only show Free elements.

You will see a bunch of free gradient elements that you can use in your design.

and the best part is these elements are customizable which means you can change their gradient colors.

Read our step-by-step guide on How To Create Gradient In Canva [2022 Secret Method!!]

11. Adding Gradients To Canva Shapes

All you have to do is add your preferred shape to your canvas and select the color palette from the top toolbar.

Now choose a solid color of your choice that matches your gradient, now you will see a mini-setting type of icon appearing on the color swatch, click on it and switch to “Gradient” from “Solid” color.

Now canva will automatically suggest you the secondary color for your gradient based on the first color that you have chosen but you can customize both colors anytime.

If you want more colors in your gradient you can add more by clicking on the “+” icon present after both the colors.

There are multiple gradient types available, you can choose any according to your requirements.

Also Read: How To Make Beautiful Vision Board In Canva (For Free !!)

12. Using Canva Magic Resize (For Pro Users Only)

Canva Magic Resize is an amazing feature that helps you quickly and easily resize your design templates to different sizes for different social media platforms.

This is really helpful because the sizes of different social media platforms are different and it can be difficult to keep track of all those sizing requirements.

So canva made it easier for you, now you can resize your design templates to multiple different sizing in just one click.

All you have to do is click on the Resize button at the top left corner and select the social media platforms that you want to resize for and click “Copy and Resize”.

Your design will be resized for all different social media platforms and your canvas will be opened in a new tab.

The sad news is that it is available for canva Pro members only.

13. Using Print Bleeds

So to avoid any printing problems, you should add a bleed margin to your design. This will ensure that even if some error happened during the cutting phase, the empty white paper space won’t appear and your design will look beautiful.

A lot of people don’t know but canva also provides this bleed margin feature. All you have to do is click on “Files” from the top left menu and click on “View Settings”.

Now from the drop-down menu, select “Show Print Bleed”.

You will see some dotted lines around your canvas, those are called print bleed.

Now you can resize your entire template to cover those bleed areas as well before sending your files to your printer.

14. Using Canva Video Editor

Recently, Canva has added a new video editor to their website.

So now not only creatives, you can also create amazing videos for your brand or business.

This video editor is really easy to use and it doesn’t require any prior video editing experience.

However, you are not going to get advanced video editing features but to create a quick video for your social media, this video editor is more than enough.

You can add text, images, music, and even voiceover to your videos.

o start using the video editor, you have to go to Canva home page and select “Video” from the bar shown there. You will different video templates from there, select any one that you like.

Once you click on that you will see a little different interface, this interface is specially designed for video editing purposes.

15. Canva One-Click Animation

One of my favorite features in Canva is the One-Click Animation.

This feature helps you to quickly create an animated version of your design from your static canvas.

To do this, all you have to do is open the design template that you want to use for your animation and then click on the “Animate” button from the top menu.

You will see a list of available animations, I know there are very limited options but believe me, they are more than enough.

Now you can click any one the animation style and canva will automatically animate your entire design based on your selection.

16. Using Canva Frames For Mockups/Placeholders

If you want to create a quick mockup, collage or want placeholders for your images then canva frames are something that you want.

These are drag-and-drop placeholders for your images, which means you can drag and drop your images into them and your image will stick to the position.

How To Use Canva Frames?

Step 1: Head over to Canva Element search section in the left sidebar and search for “Frames”

Step 2: Choose a frame of your choice and add it to your canvas. (Canva frames usually have that green and blue 2d landscape kinda image in them)

Step 3: After that, just drag and drop your image into the frame and your image will be placed inside the frame, you can double-click the image inside the frame to readjust its position.

17. Use Comment Feature While Working With Team Members

Working with team members? want to request certain changes within the design?

The Canva comment feature will allow you to do that with ease.

All you have to do is select any element that you want to be changed or replaced(text, image, graphics, anything), and then click on the little “Comment Icon”.

After that, you can add your comment, for eg: “I don’t like this background, can you please change it” and click on “Comment”

Your team members can now follow the instructions that you have mentioned inside the comment box and once they completed the changes they can either reply to your comment or they can resolve that comment.

18. Canva Brand Kit

The Canva Brand Kit can contain your own custom color palettes, fonts and anything that represents your brand identity (company logo, tagline etc).

Having everything in one place will save you time and let you find your brand identity easier. You can now keep your brand colors, fonts, and imagery in one place so if you ever need to create materials for your company or client, it’s all at your fingertips!

Here’s how it works:
1. Login To Your Canva Account
2. Click ‘Brand Hub’ from the left sidebar and then select “Brand Kit”

3. Afterwards, click on add “Add New” and enter your brand kit name
4. You can rename the kits later by clicking on the name
5. You can now upload your brand’s logo, color palette, fonts, etc and you can directly access this brand kit in your canva editor.

19. Remove the Image Background In One Click

One of the great things about Canva is that it’s easy to remove the background from images.

Simply click on the “Edit Image” option from the top toolbar and select the “Background Remover” tool.

Canva will automatically remove the background and leave you with a clean, transparent image.

If your image background is simple then you don’t need to do anything, canva will take care of all.

But if the background is complex then you will have to manually clean the background using the “Erase” and “Restore” options that you get after the Automatic Background Removal process.

How To Remove Background From Image In Canva (Easy Steps!!)

20. Lock Elements In Your Canva Designs

When you’re working on a design, sometimes there are things you want to keep in place while moving other things around. For example, let’s say you’re making a social media post with text and a picture.

You might want to “lock” the text so it doesn’t accidentally get moved when you’re trying to position the picture.

Now, you must be thinking How to lock elements in Canva?

To do this, simply click on the element you want to lock, then click the “Lock” icon in the top toolbar. The element will be locked in place and you can freely move other elements around it.

How to unlock elements in Canva?

To unlock an element, simply click on the “Lock” icon again.

21. Adding QR Code To Your Design

You can now add QR codes to your Canva designs! This is perfect for marketing materials such as flyers and posters.

QR codes are a great way to provide additional information or links to your designs.

Luckily, You can now add QR codes to your Canva designs! This is perfect for marketing materials such as flyers and posters.

You can add QR codes to any of your Canva designs by clicking the ‘More’ option from the left sidebar and then selecting the QR code Generator under Apps and Integrations.

Now just paste any URL related to your business, company, or landing page and your URL will be converted into a QR code which can be scanned by any QR code scanner.

22. Filter The Search Results In Canva

If you’re looking for a specific type of image or element in Canva, you can use the search filters to narrow down your results.

For example, if you’re using the free version of canva and whenever you search for any specific elements in the canva library you are flooded with canva pro elements that come with a watermark on a free account.

You don’t want that right?

Well, you can filter the elements search results by selecting the “Free” option under the “Price” option. This will show only free elements in your search results.

You can also use other filters such as “Color”, “Orientation”, and “Animation” to find specific elements based on your needs.

23. Move Elements With Precision

Sometimes you need to move elements around with precision, especially if you are working on a complicated design.

In that case, you can make use of arrow keys from your keyboard.

Arrow keys will move the element by 1 unit and if you hit the Shift + Arrow key the element will be moved by ten units.

This comes in handy when you are zoomed in and trying to position the element at a precise location.

24. Using Smart Mockups In Canva

If you want to create a realistic mockup of your design, Canva’s “Mockups” feature is just what you need.

With this amazing feature, you can easily and quickly create mockups for your images in just a few clicks.

In order to create a mockup of your design, you have to first click on “Apps” from the left sidebar and then search for “Mockups”.

Then it will show up a variety of mockups that you can use for your images, select any one that you like and add it to your canvas.

Now, just drag and drop your image into the mockup and you are done, you have successfully created a mockup to display your featured image.

25. Using Pexels & Pixabay Directly Inside Canva

Pexels and Pixabay are two of the best free stock photo websites out there.

And if you’re a Canva user, you can access their libraries of photos and vectors directly from within Canva.

Step 1: Select the “Apps” option from the left sidebar and search for “Pexels” or “Pixabay”.

Step 2: Now select the service by clicking on the logo, and now you can use the search bar to search for your favorite photos from your favorite provider.

26. Search for Templates Directly In Canva Editor

Canva provides a wide range of templates for almost anything you need.

However, it can be a little overwhelming to find the right template if you’re not sure where to look.

To make it easier, Canva allows you to search for templates directly within the editor.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. In the editor, click on “Design” in the sidebar on the left.
2. Use the search bar to enter keywords related to the template you’re looking for.
3. You will get a variety of templates based on your search and all the templates shown will have the same size as your current project, so you don’t have to worry about matching dimensions.

This way, you can quickly find and add the perfect template to your project without leaving your editor.

27. Canva Text Effects (Curved, Glow, Shadow, etc..)

Text is an important part of any design.

And with Canva, you can easily add text to your designs with a wide range of font options and customization features.

One of the best things about Canva is that you can also add special effects to your text to make it stand out.

To do this, simply select the text you want to add an effect to, then click on the “Effects” button from the top toolbar.

From there, you can choose from a range of effects, including curved text, glow, shadow, and more.

As soon as you apply a particular effect to the text, more options will pop up in the sidebar and you can customize the effect further.

28. Use Rulers and Guides For Perfection

If you want to make sure your text and images are perfectly aligned, you can use the rulers in Canva.

To do this, simply click on the “File” button from the topmost bar and under “View Settings” click on “Show Rulers And Guide”

Then, you can take references from rulers to make sure your text and images are perfectly aligned.

You can also go to File > View Settings > Add Guides to add guides to your canva design to make your designing process easier.

29. Adding Border/Outline To Your Images/Cutouts

Adding an outline effect to your image is a great way to make it stand out.

And with Canva, you can easily add this effect to your images with just a few clicks.

To do this, simply select the image you want to add the effect to, then click on the “Edit Image” button from the top toolbar and remove the background of your image by using “Background Remover“

After removing the background, click on “edit image” again and this time select “Shadow” and then select “Glow” effect from there.

Put these settings,

Blur: 0

Transparency: 100

Size: According to your needs

Check out our step by step guide on How To Outline An Image In Canva 2022 (Easy Trick!!)

30. Use Canva Graph Maker to Design Beautiful Graphs and Charts

Did you know that you can make beautiful graphs and charts inside canva?

Yes, you heard that right, Canva makes it super easy to create amazing graphs and charts.

All you have to do is search for “Graph” inside the canva element search and make sure you are under the “Charts” option, now you will see a bunch of options like pie charts, line graphs, and flowcharts.

Just drag and drop whatever you want.

The best part is, you can personalize them by adding your own data, colors and making them look just the way you want them, to fit your brand.

If you want to create advanced graphs and charts you can use something like Canva Graph Maker.

Just visit their site and Enter Your Document Title and click on “Create My Graph Now”.

Now you will see a variety of graph types, click on any one that you want to use.

After selecting the graph type you will see a lot of premade canva templates of the same type you have selected.

Now as soon as you select a template, that template will be loaded in your canva editor and you can edit it accordingly.

Give it a try and see how cool it is!

31. Create Animated GIFs.

You can create beautiful animated GIFs with canva by using images and videos.

To do this, simply click on the “Animation” button from the top toolbar and select the animation you want to use.

Canva will automatically animate all the elements in your design.

You can also animate elements individually by selecting the elements and then clicking the animation tab from the top.

After you are done, simply click on the “Download” button and select “GIF” from the dropdown menu.

32. Create Amazing Tables

Tables are a great way to organize data and Canva’s tables are beautiful and easy to make!

To create a table, simply click on the “Elements” tab and then search for “Tables.”

You can choose from a variety of tables and all these are fully editable so you can add or delete rows and columns as you need.

You can also adjust the cell size as well.

Also Read: How To Make A Table In Canva In 2022 (3 Secret Way!!)

33. Find and Replace

As the name suggests, you can now find a particular text in your canva design pages and replace them with something else.

You might have used this feature in other applications like text editors, ms word, etc.

But now you can enjoy this amazing feature inside canva as well and believe me this feature has a lot of use cases.

For eg. you can easily bulk up Pinterest pins to promote your different blog posts just by changing the title of the pins using this feature.

Let’s see how to use that.

You can access the Find and Replace feature by clicking on Files >> Find and Replace or you can use our standard shortcut Ctrl/Cmnd + F to access this feature.

Now just enter what you want to find and what you want to replace it with and hit replace all.

35 Canva Magic Eraser

Want to remove unwanted objects from your images in canva? then Canva magic eraser is for you.

It allows you to remove unwanted objects from your image by just brushing over them.

Unfortunately, it’s a pro feature and it is not available for free canva users.

How to Use Magic Erase In Canva?

• Select your photo in canva and click on the “Edit Image” option from the top toolbar.

• From the Tools menu, choose “Magic Eraser”
• Adjust the brush size to match the object you want to remove.
• Use the brush to paint over the specific object you wish to remove.

• Allow the editor a few moments to complete the removal process.
• And voila, you have successfully removed your object using the magic eraser.

Note: You can now use this feature along with Background remover, Magic Edit, or Autofocus on the same image.

36. Using Canva Shortcuts

These are the Canva keyboard shortcuts that you can use while designing your templates.

These will save you a lot of time.

So I hope these little Canva tips will help you to create beautiful designs in no time.

If you know any other Canva tip or trick that can help people then do comment it down below, I will be happy to include it in this list.

Happy designing!

Rohit Lohia

Hey there! I’m Rohit Lohia, a passionate SEO enthusiast and the proud founder of Branded Bucks. I’m all about helping small business owners achieve success online through my blog. Join me on this exciting journey as we explore ways to make money online and build a thriving digital presence.