So you purchased a Canva Template on Etsy, but looking for a guide to help you edit it? I’ve got you covered in today’s blog post all about editing Canva templates.
Why do I need to purchase a Canva template?
Canva is a free to use online design tool. It is perfect for people who don’t have graphic design background and are new to editing software. As easy as Canva is to use, you may still need a little help and that is totally fine! Here is my guide to editing Canva templates.
One of the best features of Canva are templates. Canva templates allow you to edit a design that someone else made. Canva templates may be a flyer, a planner, gift tags or even a resume! The sky is the limit and the great thing about Canva templates is that much of the work and design is already done for you!
How do I get a Canva template?
I sell my Canva templates on Etsy, but you may purchase one from an E-commerce shop or on a site like Creative Market or Design Bundles.
When you purchase a template you will receive an email where you can download the file. This file is typically a PDF and no physical product will be sent to you. You can usually download the file on the platform you are using as well under your account profile
Since this is a Canva template, the PDF file that you receive from Etsy will contain a link vs. your actual file. The PDF typically includes instructions and you can click on the link to access your template.
My advice when you purchase a Canva template is to edit either in a web browser or on a tablet such as an iPad. While you can edit on a phone it can be a bit more challenging. For Etsy users, you can not download digital files in Etsy’s app.
How can I access my Canva template once I purchase it?
Once you click on the link you will be taken to Canva to edit your file. Canva has a lot of functionality, but for the sake of this post I will take you through the basics. This includes editing text, changing colors.
Canva is a free tool to use, but you will need to log in to Canva. This can easily be done by using your google or facebook credentials or you can just use your email address. Creating an account allows Canva to save your work as you go and come back to it if you need to.
How do I change the text on my Canva template?
Editing the text in Canva is easy to do, but there are a few key things you will need to know.
To select the text you want to edit you will need to click on it. Once you do a purple box will appear. This is called a bounding box and it is a feature you will see in most editing software. The bounding box allows you to resize, move and transform any element you are working with at a particular time. It also tells you what element you are currently working with.
Once you click on the text and the bounding box appears, you will also see a text editing ribbon at the top of your window. The text editor allows you to change the text in pretty much any way you choose. You can start typing to change the words that appear. You can also change the font, the size of the text or the color.
When you are working with a template, my suggestion is to stay with the text in the template as it was likely chosen because it pairs well with the style and type of template you are using. If you do choose to change the font, I recommend using no more than 2-3 fonts per design.
How can I change the colors in the template?
It is easy to change the colors of your text or elements in Canva. Choose team or brand colors or just a color you like for your design.
When you change a color, Canva gives you the option of changing all of the elements with the same color to the new one you just chose. At the bottom of the screen just select “Apply to All” and it will change all of those elements to your new color.
You can also search for colors by name or by Hex Code. If you have brand colors, most likely you will have hex codes you can use, but it is easy to match colors on the template
How do I move or resize an element such as text or an image?
Moving or changing the size of elements such as text or an image in Canva is easy because of something called a bounding box. A bounding box is the purple box you will see when you click on an element. The bounding box has circles on all four corners and rectangles on each side.
Click on one of the circles in the corner and make the element bigger or smaller by dragging it out or in. You can make the bounding box wider or more narrow by clicking on the rectangles. This won’t change the size of the element inside, but it changes the size of the box so the text will shift lines or a picture may get cropped when you move them. Play around with the bounding box to get comfortable with how it works.
The bounding box tells you what active elements you are working with in Canva. So, if you want to manipulate the image in other ways the bounding box will need to be highlighted for that particular image.
How do I move an element in front of or behind another element?
To move and element in front of or behind another one, you need to use the Position function in Canva. Select your element and watch for the bounding box to appear and select Position in the ribbon up top. If it is not visible, select the three dots on the right hand side.
With Position selected you will see lots of options. Move the element backwards, forwards, to the back or to the front.
Oops, I made a mistake! How do I fix it?
If you move an element and want to move it back, select the undo arrow in the top blue bar to get it back. Undo also comes in handy if you delete an element or just can’t figure out what you did last.
I am happy with my file. How do I download it?
Now that you are done editing your Canva template, it’s time to download it to your computer. Canva makes this very easy!
Select Share on the top right of your window and several options will appear. Select Download and choose the file type you want to use.
For templates you will want to choose either a PNG, JPG or PDF. My rule of thumb is to choose a PDF if it is a design I am going to print on an 8.5X 11 piece of paper. If it is an element I will use as part of another design, I download a PNG file, particularly if I need a transparent background. I choose a JPG if I am printing it out as a smaller or larger image or if it is a photo template.
Now your files you are ready to print! I almost always send my files to the Office Max (no affiliation, it just happens to be closest to my house. You can also print your files out at home. Just remember that sometimes colors print a little bit different on paper than you will see on the screen of your phone or computer.
Do you love using Canva as much as I do? Let me know what other questions you have about working with templates in Canva in the comments!
Happy editing!