Last year I came across Canva and I have to say it literally changed the trajectory of what I as working on. It helped me think through different digital aspects of my life. - Put More BTC in Your Pocket Using Canva.
What is Canva?
Canva is a web based service that allows does the heavy lifting on your creatives. Bleh, that sounds great right? Let me try and say it another way; build your thumbnails, resize your social content & make it look sharp.
Have you ever seen a video on LBRY or YouTube where you think; "how did they make that thumbnail?" Odds are they are using Canva if they are not a professional designer. It is so easy and literally takes seconds.
You can find even more points about Canva on their Twitter feed as well. Just remember that if you are reading this there is a reason.
What About Those Who Do Not Like Canva?
It's always important to see all sides of any scenario. Even if it is something that you don't agree with. For instance, I am sure that there is someone who is reading this who thinks that $9.99 a month is far too much for this. That's totally fine. Everyone has a valid reason, even if in complete conflict with mine.
I find it ridiculously valuable. If I tried to do something completely different such as Photoshop (10x cost) or any other application, from what I've found so far it just doesn't pencil out between time, cost, and overall use. Plus to be candid, I used the free version of Canva for almost a year. I paid a dollar a couple times for images but no where near the price of a cup of coffee.
SO,
This section is not about my thoughts, let's see what others are saying about Canva from a "review" lens.
When I looked in Trust Pilot, I saw a pretty low rating for Canva.
After looking through a few of the comments, I was left on the fence. I can relate to some of the comments and from others, what I read from them is that some users are expecting an absolutely free service with no requirements whatsoever.
For example, I saw one comment that jumped out.
I feel really bad for this person, it sounds like a difficult situation having experienced something similar. Although, I wasn't charged, just not allowed to download or use the images.
Also, it seems that if you are using Copyright or TM covered photos, then it might be helpful to manage expectations upfront about how you can use them.
In another review from Sitejabber, there is a mix of reviews both good and not so good.
Finally in a third review from Trust Radius there are a few more positive results.
The links to each one of these pages are active on the images, so jump in a little and see what you think for each. I am just trying to give a common overview.
Key Takeaways
I have been using Canva since early 2019 and went through a lot of back and forth on whether to use the free or Pro version. After having used the free version for sometime, I upgraded and I have to say it has been a time saver.
Looking at it from a strictly financial perspective, start with the free version. You can use this link for either -Canva.
One example that comes up quite a bit is the resizing function. The difference in pixel sizes between all fo the different social networks can be maddening and most of the time you can get away with something like a 540x540 pixel or 640x640 pixel, but depending on what you are doing you will notice differences.
In the free version you can't resize on the fly. The work around is just create another graphic. Depending on what you created in the first place this could take a little time. Again, if money is an issue than stick with the Canva free version and just use your sweat equity. Pretty simple right!
In the pro version you just resize on the fly as needed.
So, overall I see a couple of key takeaways from the reviews of Canva from the sources listed above;
- Expectations vary between reviewers. If you are planning to use Canva, it seems that being aware of what you expect to begin with will be very helpful.
- Spending a little time to understand requirements around licensing with photos and what is needed is really important and can save some headaches along the way.
- Customer support seems to be this growing trend across all digital services. Personally I have never had an issue and then thinking about Amazon Prime & Napkins... or could it be something else?
I intend to continue using Canva and have nothing to lead me to do anything otherwise. Unless I just completely go dark in the world... Nope!
NOTE: Thanks for stopping by and especially reading through to the end. Hope you found some value in regards to Canva. Here's an interesting opportunity that does not cost you any of your prized crypto or fiat.
When you signup through my link Canva, you receive 1 canva credit. I would receive one too if I had the free account. I use Canva Pro multiple times every day, which is $9.99 a month, so there's nothing additional for me.
The Canva credit is important when you have the free account because it allows you to access different photos and benefit, otherwise you would have to pay for.
It's a very easy process if you don't have a Canva account. Use the free Canva account signup and make your first thumbnail, image, infographic or just about anything else you can think of.
