Top 10 Cons & Disadvantages of Using Canva

by Daniel Raymond · May 2, 2024

Canva, a widely used graphic design platform, has revolutionized how individuals and businesses approach design tasks. Known for its user-friendly interface and vast templates, it allows users with little to no graphic design experience to create visually appealing content. However, like any tool, Canva isn’t without its shortcomings. These drawbacks, ranging from limited customization to performance issues, can significantly impact the user experience and design quality.

Table of Contents

While Canva’s extensive library and ease of use attract a diverse user base, its limitations become apparent with more frequent and complex use. Users often find themselves constrained by the available tools and features, hindering creativity and efficiency. This article delves into the top ten cons and disadvantages of using Canva, highlighting areas where the platform falls short compared to other professional graphic design software. Understanding these limitations is crucial for users to decide when and how to use Canva for their design needs.

If you need a pm tracking tool to manage your small business then consider AceProject. This tool is not based on the number of users, which can give you a lot of savings.

10 Cons or Disadvantages of Canva

Despite its popularity, Canva’s limitations can significantly hinder many users. The platform’s drawbacks span various aspects, from fundamental functionality issues to complex design limitations. This section outlines the top ten disadvantages of using Canva, each representing a common challenge its users face. These issues range from fundamental user interface concerns to more significant limitations in design capabilities, impacting both novice and experienced users alike. As we explore these cons, we must consider how they affect the overall design process and the potential solutions to mitigate these challenges.

1. Limited Search Functionality

Canva’s search function for photos is notably restrictive, often leading to frustration among users seeking specific images. This limitation hampers creativity and increases the time spent designing as users struggle to find suitable images. The current system, which focuses more on the photographer than the photo style, limits the variety and relevance of search results.

Real-life Example 1: A marketing professional trying to find a series of cohesive images for a campaign becomes limited by the inability to find visually similar photos, affecting the campaign’s aesthetic consistency.
Real-life Example 2: An educator preparing a presentation struggles to find images that match the theme of their lecture, leading to a disjointed and less engaging presentation.

Solution: To resolve this, Canva could enhance its search algorithm to focus on the style and content of the images rather than just the photographer. Implementing a feature that allows users to search for images similar in style and subject matter would greatly improve the user experience.

2. Limited Resizing and Shape Options

Canva’s limitations in resizing elements and providing a diverse range of shapes can be a significant roadblock for users needing specific dimensions and shapes for their designs. This issue becomes particularly problematic when users cannot find pre-built shapes that meet their specific requirements, leading to a compromise in design integrity. The inability to precisely adjust the size of shapes and elements reduces the platform’s versatility and hampers users’ creative freedom.

Real-life Example 1: A graphic designer creating a custom infographic struggles to find a rectangle of the exact dimensions needed, resulting in a design that doesn’t perfectly align with the intended visual hierarchy.
Real-life Example 2: An event planner designing invitations cannot resize a heart shape to fit the aesthetic of the invitation, leading to a final design that doesn’t fully capture the desired theme.

Solution: Canva could improve this by introducing more advanced shape editing tools for precise resizing and custom shape creation. This enhancement would enable users to tailor shapes to their exact specifications, enhancing the flexibility and applicability of the tool.

3. Alignment and Text Editing Issues

Canva’s alignment tools sometimes fail to line up elements perfectly, frustrating users aiming for a polished look. The platform also lacks in advanced text editing options like superscript and additional bullet points, limiting the scope of textual design. These issues can detract from the professional appearance of the final product and limit the tool’s usability for detailed design work.

Real-life Example 1: A business owner creating a brochure finds that the text and images are slightly off despite using alignment tools, resulting in a less professional-looking end product.
Real-life Example 2: An academic creating a presentation cannot use superscript for scientific terms, which impacts the accuracy and professionalism of the content.

Solution: Enhancing the alignment tool for more precision and expanding text editing options would significantly improve user experience. Features like grid-snapping and advanced typography settings would cater to more detailed design needs.

4. Limited Color and Template Options

Users often face limitations with the range of colors available for text and backgrounds, which can hinder brand alignment and creative expression. Canva can be buggy and sometimes slow to respond, affecting workflow efficiency. Moreover, users seeking unique designs feel the need for more diverse templates.

Real-life Example 1: A small business owner trying to match their brand colors finds the color options in Canva limiting, leading to inconsistencies in their marketing materials.
Real-life Example 2: A freelance designer experiences delays and bugs while working on a time-sensitive project, causing frustration and potential loss of business.

Solution: Expanding the color palette and providing a more robust and reliable performance would enhance user satisfaction. Adding a broader range of customizable templates would help meet diverse design needs.

5. Confusing Layer Management

The current layer management system in Canva can be confusing, especially for complex designs, leading to a cumbersome design process. The inability to quickly hide or show layers makes managing multiple elements in a design challenging. This limitation can significantly slow down the design process and increase the potential for errors.

Real-life Example 1: A digital marketer working on a detailed social media graphic struggles with the layer system, leading to a time-consuming and frustrating design process.
Real-life Example 2: An amateur designer creating a multi-layered poster finds managing and editing individual layers challenging, resulting in a less refined final product.

Solution: Improving layer management with features such as easy hiding/showing of layers and better organization would streamline the design process, making Canva more user-friendly for complex projects.

6. Limited Typography Options

While Canva offers a variety of fonts, the lack of advanced typography options like kerning, tracking, and baseline shift limits the platform’s capability for professional design work. These limitations restrict the ability to fine-tune text appearances, impacting designs’ overall aesthetic and readability. For users looking to achieve a high level of typographic refinement, these constraints can be a significant drawback.

Real-life Example 1: A graphic designer trying to create an aesthetically pleasing layout finds the lack of kerning and tracking options limiting, affecting the visual impact of the text.
Real-life Example 2: A branding specialist cannot adjust the baseline shift for a logo, resulting in a less polished and professional appearance.

Solution: Incorporating advanced typography options would enhance Canva’s appeal to professional designers and those needing more control over text appearance.

7. Need for More Customizable Templates

Canva’s large library of templates is a key feature, but the lack of customization options can be limiting for users seeking unique designs. Users desire the ability to create custom templates or save custom elements for future use, enhancing efficiency and personalization. The current template system can sometimes force users into a one-size-fits-all approach, which may not align with specific design needs.

Real-life Example 1: A marketing agency finds the templates too generic for their unique campaign needs, leading to additional time spent customizing or creating designs from scratch.
Real-life Example 2: A small business owner looking to maintain brand consistency across designs is unable to save custom elements for repeated use, impacting the efficiency of their design process.

Solution: Allowing users to create and save custom templates and elements would greatly improve the utility and flexibility of Canva, catering to a wider range of design requirements.

8. Suboptimal User Experience for Specific Groups

Canva is particularly advantageous for digital marketers and students, offering resources and free subscriptions, respectively. However, its ease of use for individuals without a design background may not fully cater to the needs of users from other fields. This one-size-fits-all approach can sometimes overlook the specific requirements and challenges faced by users in various professions.

Real-life Example 1: A scientist attempting to create a research poster finds the tool lacking in scientific imagery and template suitability, making the process more challenging.
Real-life Example 2: An entrepreneur in a non-digital field struggles with the platform’s focus on marketing-oriented designs, finding it less relevant to their business needs.

Solution: Broadening the range of templates and resources to cater to a more diverse user base, including those in specialized fields, would enhance Canva’s inclusivity and usability.

9. Limited Functionality of the Content Planner

Canva’s content planner is a valuable tool, but its initial user-unfriendliness can be a barrier, especially for new users. The interface and features could be more intuitive, allowing for a smoother planning and scheduling experience. First-time users often find themselves struggling to navigate and effectively use the content planner, which can deter them from fully utilizing this feature.

Real-life Example 1: A social media manager new to Canva finds the content planner difficult to understand, leading to inefficiencies in scheduling posts.
Real-life Example 2: A freelancer trying to organize a content calendar experiences confusion due to the planner’s complex interface, resulting in a time-consuming learning curve.

Solution: Enhancing the user-friendliness of the content planner with a more intuitive interface and clear instructions would make it more accessible and efficient for all users.

10. Performance and Feature Limitations on Mobile

The Canva mobile app, while convenient, often experiences performance issues on lower-end devices and lacks some features available on the desktop version. This disparity can be particularly problematic for users who rely heavily on mobile devices for their design work. The reduced functionality and resource-intensive nature of the app can limit its practicality and effectiveness for on-the-go design tasks.

Real-life Example 1: A freelancer trying to edit a design on their mobile device finds the app slow and unresponsive, hindering their ability to work efficiently while away from their desktop.
Real-life Example 2: A student attempting to use Canva on a budget smartphone struggles with crashes and the absence of certain features, affecting their ability to complete assignments.

Solution: Optimizing the mobile app for better performance in a broader range of devices and ensuring feature parity with the desktop version would significantly enhance the mobile user experience.

Top 5 Best Online Design Tools

Online design tools have become indispensable for professionals and hobbyists, offering powerful functionalities that rival traditional desktop software. These tools simplify the design process and provide flexibility and accessibility, allowing users to work from anywhere at any time. Here, we explore the top 5 online design tools that stand out for their ease of use, feature sets, and efficiency, making them favorites among designers across various disciplines.

Creative Fabrica Studio: Bring your creative ideas to life with Creative Fabrica’s Studio, a free online design tool specifically crafted for innovators. Explore the limitless possibilities that Studio offers, providing you with unrestricted access to an extensive collection of millions of assets, all ready to transform your visions into tangible designs.
Canva: Known for its user-friendly interface, Canva allows even beginners to create professional-quality designs. It offers a vast library of templates, images, and fonts, making it ideal for quick yet impressive graphic creation for social media, presentations, and more.
Adobe Spark: Part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, Spark is designed for creating graphics, web pages, and short videos. It integrates seamlessly with other Adobe products and offers a variety of templates that help users produce content quickly and with a professional edge.
Figma: Favored for its collaborative features, Figma is a powerful tool for teams working on digital projects. It allows multiple users to work on the same project simultaneously, making it a top choice for UX/UI designers and web developers.
PicMonkey: This tool offers robust photo editing capabilities along with graphic design features. PicMonkey is ideal for creating both marketing materials and enhancing photos with its easy-to-use interface and powerful editing options.

What is Canva?

Canva is a comprehensive graphic design tool that has transformed the landscape of visual content creation. It’s an online platform that offers a user-friendly interface, making it accessible to both design novices and professionals. With a vast array of features including templates, images, fonts, and design elements, Canva simplifies the process of creating a wide range of visual content such as social media graphics, presentations, posters, and more. Its appeal lies in its ease of use and the ability to produce high-quality designs without the need for extensive graphic design skills or software. Canva’s versatility extends to various user groups, from businesses and marketers to educators and students, accommodating a myriad of design needs. Furthermore, its cloud-based nature allows for collaborative work and easy sharing of designs, making it a popular choice in today’s digital-first environment.

Online Design Tool: Canva operates primarily as an online platform, offering a drag-and-drop interface for easy design creation.
Template Library: It boasts a vast library of pre-designed templates for various uses like social media posts, presentations, and flyers.
Customization: Users can customize these templates or start from scratch, with access to millions of images, fonts, and design elements.
Accessibility: The platform is accessible to users of all skill levels, providing a simplified alternative to more complex design software.
Collaboration and Sharing: Canva supports collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on a design simultaneously, and offers easy sharing options.

Real-life Example: A small business owner with no formal design training uses Canva to create marketing materials. They select a template for a flyer, customize it with their brand colors and text, and share the design with their team for feedback, all within Canva’s platform. This process, which might have required a professional designer and more sophisticated software in the past, is now accomplished quickly and cost-effectively.

Videos about Canva

Videos about Canva encompass a wide range of topics to assist users in maximizing the platform’s potential. These include tutorial videos for beginners, showcasing basic functionalities like navigating the interface, selecting templates, and customizing designs. Advanced tutorials delve into more intricate features such as layer management, custom template creation, and graphic design principles as applied within Canva. Product update videos are common, highlighting new features and improvements. User-generated content, such as tips and tricks from experienced Canva users, provides practical advice and creative ideas. Lastly, case studies and success stories often feature businesses or individuals who effectively use Canva for their design needs, offering inspiration and real-world applications of the tool.

Conclusion

Canva, with its intuitive design and wide range of functionalities, has undeniably made graphic design more accessible to a broader audience. However, as outlined in this article, it’s important to recognize that Canva is not without its limitations. These shortcomings, ranging from limited search functionality to performance issues on mobile devices, can impact the efficiency and effectiveness of the design process. Despite these drawbacks, Canva remains a valuable tool for those looking to create professional-looking designs with minimal design experience.

In conclusion, while Canva is a powerful tool that simplifies graphic design, users should be aware of its limitations. By understanding these constraints, users can better navigate the platform and perhaps combine its use with other tools when necessary. Ultimately, Canva continues to evolve, and with user feedback and technological advancements, many of its current limitations may be addressed in future updates, making it an even more robust and versatile tool for designers of all levels.