Common Mistakes When Using Canva and How to Fix Them

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Canva is a pretty straightforward tool, but there are some potential pitfalls that you might miss. In today’s article, SaDesign will cover some of the biggest mistakes you can make when using Canva and how to avoid them.

1. Forgetting to customize Canva dimensions

If you want your images to be the best they can be, you need to adapt your content to different web and social media sizes. One of the biggest mistakes beginners make when using Canva is not customizing their sizes.

You can manually customize your size by going to Create a design > Custom size and entering exact height and width. You can also choose one of the pre-made layouts if you know where you'll be using your graphics and images.

2. Don't use Canva projects to organize files

If you use Canva for a lot of different projects, you’ll be guilty of getting things disorganized from time to time. This might not be a big deal if you remember your file names, but things can quickly get messy when you have a lot of projects.

The good news is that Canva has a lot of user-friendly tools to help you stay organized. In the Projects section, you can access your favorite projects through the Starred folder. And if you want to see the images you've added to Canva, head to Uploads.

You can also create folders to organize things:

Press Control + trackpad (Mac) or right-click (Windows).
Select Folder and give the folder a name. After pressing Continue, you can start adding projects.

3. Only upload files from your computer

Canva makes it easy to upload images and other types of files directly from your computer into your project. However, a big mistake that even seasoned Canva users make is thinking that this is their only option.

If you click the three dots next to the upload file button, you’ll see a drop-down menu with all your upload options. For example, you can add photos from Dropbox and Google Drive. You can even import images from Instagram if there’s some content on your feed that you think would be good for your project.

Once you connect your account to each upload option and verify who you are (if required), you'll have everything you need to add files and folders to your Canva project. 

4. Using the wrong text box style

One of the biggest mistakes people make in their early days of Canva is just using the standard paragraph text box for everything. Things can get pretty confusing when you have to add a lot of text in one place, and you can sometimes run into formatting issues.

The best way to arrange text in Canva is to use the right styles. For example, if you need to add a caption, Canva has pre-formatted boxes with the ideal text size:

Click the Text tab in your Canva project.
Under Default text styles, select the text box format you want.
Customize the text, font, color, and more once the box is added to your project.

5. Going Overboard with Fonts

If you spend much time online, you’ve probably come across the phrase “graphic design is my passion” at least once. In short, it refers to images that don’t seem to work for one reason or another. It could be due to using too many colors or fonts – a mistake that many Canva users make.

Using too many fonts in a design can make things look cluttered and unprofessional. If you look closely at most billboards, logos, and branding themes, you’ll see that they typically use two or three fonts at most. This keeps attention from being drawn away from the core message.

Experiment with different fonts in Canva to see which one best suits your style. For example, you might want to achieve a minimalist design in Canva, in which case two nice fonts will do.

6. Use fonts that don't complement each other

Even if you only use two or three different fonts, you can still put yourself at a disadvantage if they don’t complement each other. For example, Old English won’t work well with Comic Sans, and people viewing your design will feel confused.

Canva may not have the exact font you want, but you can search for “[Font Name] Canva Alternative” on Google to find similar fonts.

7. Don't use pink alignment lines

New Canva users often feel free to move the boxes around in each project until they’re happy with the result. While this results in some pretty good results, there are also times when things can look disorganized because the boxes aren’t aligned properly. Luckily, Canva has an easy solution to this problem.

As you move an element around in your Canva design, pink lines and boxes will appear. These are designed to help organize things more efficiently, so using them will make your design look much cleaner.

Canva is one of the best design apps for beginners, but it's easy to make mistakes if you're not careful. This guide highlights common problems from not organizing your project to using too many fonts. Start implementing each tip and you'll be on your way!

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