How to Rock the Basics of Canva

Last updated on October 14th, 2021

In this article, you’ll learn what exactly Canva is, what you can create with it, and how to get started! Canva is such an amazing tool that’s used by so many bloggers and online creators and the best part is that you can use it for FREE!

In eighth grade, I took my first graphic design class.

I picked it up surprisingly quickly. The pen tool just made sense to me.

It took practice, of course. I took another class in 9th grade and then in 11th grade, I decided to do our 2-year vocational school for graphic design.

Most of my classmates were in it for an easy A (they learned pretty quickly that there’s not much that’s “easy” about Adobe or even design).

I was one of only 2 people in our whole class that passed the NYS certification.

Then the story took a turn and I went to nursing school, became a nurse and 9 years later I’m a work-from-home mom and blogger.

Picking up graphic design again wasn’t exactly like riding a bike.

I remembered Photoshop and Illustrator okay, but it was taking forever, not to mention there were a lot of new programs like InDesign that I wasn’t familiar with.

Not to mention I had a tight budget to grow a business with (or even buy groceries with) and that free trial wasn’t going to last forever.

And then I found Canva.

Simple graphic design with Canva

I spent a lot of time googling “free equivalent to adobe illustrator”, and I tried a bunch of programs.

Finally one-clicked–Canva. It made sense to me (mostly). I started playing around with it. I started figuring out little tricks for the limitations (like lines and charts– don’t worry, I have tutorials in the resource library  and also a free Canva 2.0 Quick Start course for you guys).

Soon I was making everything from social media graphics to products. Not only could I create them much faster, but it was significantly easier once I got the hang of it. 

As soon as I could afford it, I upgraded to what was then called “Canva for Work” (currently, Canva Pro)  and that is by far the best investment I’ve made in my business. Other than Convertkit and Teachable, Canva Pro gives me the highest return on investment.

Years later, the functionality of Canva (and Canva Pro) has skyrocketed! There is SO much that you can do and a lot of my “workarounds” that we once relied on are no longer needed.

If you’re looking to really deep dive into the functions of Canva, graphic design concepts, and how to implement them in Canva as a blogger, then you’ll want to check out Confidently Canva!

What you can create

Let’s talk about things you can easily make in Canva. I often see people struggling to make the product they have in mind. They have the idea but can’t seem to figure out how to get it on the screen in Canva.

There are seriously no limits to Canva.. I’ve personally created the following:

• • Workbooks

• • Presentations

• • Journals

• • Printables

• • Checklists
  • Static homepages

• • Social media images

• • Editable templates

• • Printable cut-out cards

• • Slide decks for e-courses and webinars

• • Invoices

• • Media Kits

• • Business cards

• • Planners

• • Calendars

• • Gift cards

• • Ebooks

• Etc, etc…

Seriously. It might take some creativity but you can create almost all digital products for next to nothing, including amazing printables that will generate revenue for your blog in no time! 

You can even use our FREE done-for-you social media templates! Just plug-in your amazing content and add your brand’s colors – that’s IT!

Canva Pro, in addition to free tools like Google Drive can help create almost anything you need to create for your business. 

You can even set up the Brand Kit inside of Canva to help you save a ton of time. This way, you’ll have handy your brand color palettes, fonts, logos, etc. If you need help with your branding, check out The Five Minute Brand for done-for-you brand templates!

Limitations and hacks

Of course, nothing is perfect. Canva has some limitations that will make you super frustrated at times (although, so will any other program!)

Like when you try to click on one object, but another object is in the way and you can’t access your layers easily

Tip: Try clicking on the object, holding down the command/ctrl key and then clicking again! 

Or when you try to make a chart and there’s just no easy way.

Tip: Watch our video tutorial in the resource library or in our quick start course because we actually figured out a pretty easy way! The video tutorial is in our FREE design resource library which you can get access to on this page.

And how about when you need to make lines but lining them up is time-consuming

Tip: Use the position tool to space your lines evenly and position them with a click of a button!

(Side note — if you liked these tips, check out my post 6 Easy Canva Tricks Every Blogger Should Know About)

I know, first-hand, how long it takes to master a program like Adobe. You don’t have that kind of time. I totally get that. When you are a blogger- time is money!

I don’t know about you, but I have two small kids, my work time is limited. So, I need to focus on what is going to make me the MOST amount of money in the LEAST amount of time.

And that is products and passive income (like through affiliate marketing).

Using Canva is the perfect way to rock graphic design in a simple way. Reduce the overwhelm!

This doesn’t have to be hard!

I’ve been watching and listening. I want to help you ROCK Canva, but it’s just easier for me to show you!

So here’s what you need to do:

1. Register for our FREE Canva 2.0 Quickstart

FREE CANVA 2.0 QUICKSTART- ROCK THE BASICS OF CANVA IN OUR FREE COURSE!

Just fill out the form to get enrolled for free in our Canva 2.0 Quickstart and start learning the basics of Canva.

Everything will be so much easier when you have a solid foundation! If you want to jump right to the newly updated and comprehensive course, Confidently Canva, just click here!

Want to remember this? Save this guide to your favorite Pinterest board!