We've said it before and we will say it (a million times) again, we're huge fans of Canva. It goes without saying that this online design platform is a huge asset for marketing and creative professionals. As the software has evolved however, it has become clear that just about anyone can find value in Canva – not just businesses and brands. Thanks to its user-friendly platform, those with zero experience can easily create stunning designs in minutes.

Don't think that's a big deal? Trust us – you'll be singing a different tune when it comes time to design your next birthday party invitation, family holiday card or community fundraiser flyer. Canva's enormous arsenal of templates will surely assist you with that. Best of all, the cost of upgrading a free account is truly minimal. (In fact, we consider the monthly fee of $12.95 for a Canva Pro account a next-to-nothing expense when one considers the great power the platform has.)

The District Maven team is comprised of seasoned online marketing professionals, but we must admit; we find ourselves constantly learning about new and cool (and insanely helpful) things that can be done on Canva. This is saying a lot, considering our team uses it on a near-daily basis.

And you know us, we never hesitate to share a good thing both online and off. Whether you're a daily user or have never seen how badass Canva is, you'll appreciate the following list of helpful and downright cool things you can do with this platform. Enjoy, fam.

To be completely honest, we're surprised that this feature isn't talked about more. Thanks to Canva's internal printing capabilities, it only takes a few clicks to bring your digital design to life and hold the finished product in your own hands.

From a business perspective, ordering branded collateral (like business cards or event flyers, for example) is a totally seamless process. From creation to printing, everything is handled within Canva's platform. Their printing tool is also great outside of work as well. Designs can also be ordered as every day items (such as mugs, calendars, and printed canvases) that are great to have on hand or make fantastic gifts.

It is also worth noting that their customer service for printing is absolutely exceptional – should you find any errors in your printed design, all you have to do is let them know and Canva will take care of it for you.

In late 2023, Canva announced the addition of Docs to their arsenal of tools available to both free and Pro users. The concept is pretty similar to the ones offered by Google Drive and GSuite For Business, except built for use within Canva's mainframe. In plain English, that means one can easily pull templates, images, video or other designs and insert them into a Canva doc.

While only time will tell if this newly added feature will become popular amongst marketing and creative professionals, there is one addition that has everyone in the industry buzzing: Canva Doc's "Magic Write" tool.

This super cool and easy-to-use feature allows one to enter specific keywords and through Canva's AI software, sample copy will be written for you and appear on the screen. The intent behind this was to help eliminate writer's block and assist in the brainstorming process – and there is no denying it definitely works.

With that being said, we advise users to exercise caution when utilizing this tool. It is important to always read through the AI-produced copy to put your own spin on the verbiage and check for accuracy. Even though the technology will certainly improve over time, one should never consider it finished, completed copy.

Canva's screen recording capabilities open up a world of digital possibilities for the user, especially as far as presentations are concerned. It is far easier to communicate complex instructions or provide detailed explanations when one can not only share their screen with the viewer, but also include audio and other elements as well.

At District Maven, we often use this tool when preparing tutorials or client instruction guides explaining how to edit their website or perform other marketing-related tasks. This significantly opened lines of communication and left clients with few questions (if any) on the information shared. And take it from your marketing friends at District Maven: that is always a good thing.

Even though it isn't necessarily new, we think that most don't utilize the ability to create prototypes or websites through Canva is because it really is still in its beta stage. There are no SEO benefits or integration options available for these features (yet), but one can still find a lot of value in it.

For budding entrepreneurs and those just looking for a one-off solution, Canva's splash websites are a good option to get your feet wet in the world of web design without the cost. For web designers and marketing teams, the ability to quickly produce a prototype for your new product or website wireframe makes it conveying your creative vision a breeze. (It also adds serious value to your bottom line, as far as clients and customers are concerned!)

We still maintain that traditional content management systems, such as WordPress, are the way to go when it comes to building a website for your business or brand. Still, we should keep an eye on how this Canva tool develops and seize opportunities to put the functionality to use. You can check out a few of the offered website templates here.

Ever wonder how creatives get their products, website or digital content neatly placed in a cool and clean looking imagery? Traditionally, achieving this graphic design trick involved a lot of Photoshop and trial-and-error. Since the launch of Canva's SmartMockups option, the process has become significantly easier.

If you can create it in Canva, it can be placed in one of their many SmartMockup template options. Best of all, the possibilities are practically endless since the templates showcase everything from desktops and iWatches to t-shirts, mugs and other household products.

We've already talked about this in a previous blog post about the awesomeness of Canva, but their enormous archive of stock imagery and video is definitely worth mentioning again. Both free and Pro users can access tons of content for any creative campaign, just by searching within the Canva program. These can then be used as a building block for other designs, or exported by themselves for use in other digital projects.

Our favorite part is that this ultimately saves money. Because users can access such a vast arsenal of photos and videos, it effectively eliminates the need to spend extra money with stock-content websites such as ShutterStock or 123rf.com. Instead, the cost is already factored into your monthly account fee. (If you have one, that is.)