Business Tools You Can Create with a Free Canva Account
Canva is a free design platform for small business owners, marketers, and creatives. It has built-in tools to help you easily create marketing and branding content without needing to learn complex graphic design skills.
Canva also offers a paid version that’s perfect for graphic designers who have more technical design skills than the average user. If you’re interested in trying Canva Pro, then you can use our affiliate link to get a free 30 day trial (the standard trial is only 14 days).
The free Canva version gives you access to thousands of templates, design elements, and free resources. The templates are especially useful for small business owners who don’t have spare time to spend on designing content from scratch.
Canva is a versatile design tool that helps you create so much more than social media posts, landing pages, and lead magnets. You can also create the staples every business needs to build a brand, stay connected, and get organized.
Logo and Submarks
Canva has customizable logo templates and a vast library with millions of free icons and illustrations. You can easily create a unique logo that leaves an impression with your audience. The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy for you to arrange the perfect logo to represent your business.
Before you get started with the design process you should have a planning session. Start with your mission statement and then list the purpose of your business, who you serve, and your top 3 goals. Write it all out and use it to inspire your design process. Don’t skip this step - it will give you a starting point which is the hardest part.
Now that you have your inspiration, you can start designing a logo. Don’t feel pressured to DIY the entire design, but DO make sure you create a unique logo that *YOU* love.
Steps to creating your logo in Canva:
- Open a new ‘Logo’ design (500x500 px) or create a custom size
- Choose a premade template or you can start with a blank design
- Update the colors, fonts, images, and design elements to fit your brand
Pro users get the benefit of using the Magic Resize Tool so you can easily create brand marks for every platform. This unfortunately isn’t available for free Canva accounts and it is totally worth the upgrade (especially if you use Canva for social media).
Platform Graphics
Canva can help you create branded content for every platform you use - your website, social media, landing pages, ebooks, and so much more.
All of these platforms have different image size requirements (some have multiple options), so Canva put together a convenient sizing guide for you. Just go to https://www.canva.com/sizes/ and you can find common sizes for popular platforms and projects.
Once you have the appropriate design size, you can create your platform graphics using templates or design from scratch.
Business Card
Professional business cards may seem antiquated now that virtual work is becoming more common, but that’s not entirely true. You probably don’t need to carry around a stack of business cards in your normal daily routine, but you might benefit from having physical cards on hand for certain occasions.
With live events making a comeback, you really never know when you might need to throw a few business cards in your purse. So, just err on the side of caution and come up with a simple design that displays all your relevant information.
The standard business card size varies depending on where you live so make sure to double check for appropriate dimensions. And remember to keep it simple - your logo and your contact info are all you really need.
Canva has a lot of great templates to help you design a simple yet effective business card or you could DIY it using Canva frames - just search for ‘frames’ in the elements tab.
Email Signature
Email signatures add a branded touch to your email marketing. It shows your subscribers that you think about the details and you care about their experience.
You can use your email signature to encourage your subscribers to also connect with you on social media or visit your website. It gives your audience an opportunity to learn more about your business.
You can create your email signature in Canva in just a few minutes. All you need is your logo, brand colors, and links to your website and social media. You could also add images or brand photographs.
The recommended email signature size in Canva is 400x200 px, but you should read the recommendations from your email service provider to make sure you create the correct design size. Canva has premade template options or you could DIY your email signature.
Desktop Background
This one is certainly optional but highly recommended! You look at your screen every single day so why not create something that inspires you, makes you smile, or organizes your life…
Just start a new ‘Wallpaper’ design and choose a template or create your wallpaper from scratch.
Pro tip - you can also create custom wallpaper for your phone and tablet!
Calendars and Planners
Canva can help you stay organized with custom calendars and planners that fit your needs. Canva has template options for both or you can completely customize yours.
You can create a calendar perfect for managing your daily activities.
You can also design a planner that has exactly the information you need to stay on track.
Worksheets
Worksheets are a great tool for keeping your audience engaged and organized. They pair well with live events like webinars - just send out a copy before you go live to give your audience a helpful resource. They’re also great for online courses and coaching programs.
If you want your audience to retain the information you give, then worksheets are a great option. And Canva makes it easy to create a custom worksheet, checklist, guide, template, and more.
Search for ‘Worksheets’ or ‘Workbooks’ to get hundreds of template options or create your worksheets from scratch. You can add your brand elements to create a cohesive look.
