I’ve been using canva for over 5 years and there’s no doubt that it’s the most used software on my laptop. It’s got everything I could ever need and the Canva team are continually pushing our new features that I didn’t know I needed, but can’t now live without. 

You can get a free account, but I’d highly recommend the upgrade to the Pro version. It’s £10.99 pm (whereas I was spending £30pm on Adobe Photoshop) and I’d say it is worth every single penny. 

Before we dive all the way in with why I actually LOOOOVE Canva, it’s good to know that a lot can be achieved with the free version of Canva, but some additional features are only available to Canva Pro members. If you want to give Pro a shot, you can do so for free for 30 days by clicking here.

1. Pre-defined social media sizes 

When you go to create a new graphic, you’ll get the option to choose what size graphic to create. No guessing or googling “Facebook header size”. It’s there; ready for you! 

2. It’s Easy to Use 

My Grandma could use Canva. Honestly it really is so very easy to use. If you stick to the template designs you could even pass as being semi-professional. 

3. Templates 

Canva keeps on giving. The free plan gives you a vast array of templates to choose from, the Pro version gives you even more. Just select which one takes your fancy, change the colours and fonts to match your branding, drag any photos if necessary and voila! A branded graphic in less time that it takes to make a coffee! 

4. Fonts 

Canva has LOTS of installed fonts. Search by their name, or typing the style, “handwritten” for instance, and you’ll be given a choice of all the fonts on offer. 

5. Storage 

Another feature is that Canva stores my thousands (if not tens of thousands) of graphics. On the Pro plan that’s 100GB of storage, while the free plan is plenty at 5GB. 

6. Mobile App 

Want to create a graphic on the move? Download the Canva app to your phone and it’s pretty straightforward to edit one of your designs, or start a design from fresh. 

7. Cost 

Canva is free. Yes, you read that correctly. The free version gives you access to LOADS of templates and a STACK of functionality. However, in my eyes, the Pro version is worth the £10.99 pm with many more stock photos, templates, background remover, save as a transparent background and magic resize (changing one sized image to another). 

8. Video 

Customize templates with video for even more dynamic content. With video becoming even more important on social, now is the time to level up your video offering. Canva makes creating videos easy with their easy to use video templates. Well worth checking out. 

9. Canva Presentations 

I recently discovered the wonder of Canva Presentations. Imagine PowerPoint but with far better looking slides… I mean these slides could make anyone look professional!  

10. Canva Design School 

Canva have created a mini school showing you in simple steps how to create anything from  adding cool backgrounds, making the most out of magic resize to how to animate your  designs. If you can’t find out something from the CDS, then you’ll surely find some inspiring  videos on YouTube. It really is addictive! 

Have I interested you? Check out my affiliate link to Canva: partner.canva.com/smash