If you’re new to Canva or recently purchased one of my customizable branding templates, this post is for you. Today I am going to share with you how to quickly and easily edit your Canva templates so that you can create beautiful and on-brand own posts and graphics!

All my templates are 100% customizable so you can easily swap, add, or remove designs. The design work has already been done. All you need to do is edit them as much or as little as you want. 

Create Canva account

Once you’ve purchased one of my brand templates, you will instantly receive a PDF with links to your Canva templates. To access them, you need to create a Canva account (it’s free), if you haven’t already done so. 

Click the links in your PDF download

Click on the link that gives you access to your Canva templates. Click on the ‘Use template’ button to open your copy. Your copy will open in your Canva dashboard. A copy will automatically be copied and saved to your Canva account. You will see it on the homepage under ‘your designs’.

PRO TIP: Before you start editing your file, make sure you save a copy of the original file. So if you make changes you are not happy with you can always revert back to the original. In the file, re-name the original file to remove “Copy of” and replace it with MASTER. Then go to file and click make a copy. Edit on your new copy version.

CANVA DASHBOARD: 

The dashboard is where you will edit your template files. Below is a brief description of each part.

1. Menu bar: This is the very top bar and is where you can access features like undo, redo, share and publish. You can rename your file here. You can also view your saving status, for example, all changes saved. Canva automatically saves your file after you make an edit.

2. Tool bar: is where you can customize your design elements. This will change depending on what you are editing.

3. Side panel: is where you can access the tools needed for you to edit your design. It’s divided into tabs, Templates, Uploads, Photos, Elements, Text, Videos, Background, Folders, and More.

4. Canvas section: this is your main workspace where your design will be.

5. Zoom: where you can adjust the view size of your design.

6. Help section: located in the bottom right.

HOW TO EDIT COLORS

To change the colors, simply click on the element or color that you want to change. A small color box will appear in the toolbar, click on it and then choose a color from the left side and panel to change. If you have a specific color in mind, you can search it in the color box using the color hex code!

Edit text and fonts

To change the text click on the text box, highlight the text and start typing. To change to font, highlight the text and click a font from the toolbar. You can change the size, the color, and the alignment. You can also adjust the letter spacing and the line height.

EDITING THE IMAGES

My templates include premade images, so you’ll want to swap them out for your own images/stock photos. To change an image, click on either templates > photos or uploads in the side panel. 

Search for images in Cava’s library  

You can use Canva images by clicking photos under templates and searching for specific images using keywords. You will see trending images some are free and the ones that have a dollar sign on them you can purchase. There is also pro images that you can use if you have a Canva pro account.

Upload your own images to Canva

To use your own photos, click uploads – upload an image or video then upload your image. To move the photo to fit your space simply double click the image and move it around. You can also adjust the image by clicking adjust in the toolbar. Here you can play with the brightness, contrast, saturation.

Once you have the image you want to use in the side panel, all you have to do is click + drag the new image over the old image and it will automatically swap. 

EDITING ELEMENTS

To edit or add elements click on the element’s icon. You can upload your own elements or search for new ones under the element’s icon.

SAVING YOUR FILES

Once you’ve customized your template to your liking and are ready to save your file, click Download in the menu bar. Click download, select the file (png is recommended for posts), scroll down and select the exact page you want to save, then click done.

Bring Your Brand to Life with These Mood Board Templates →

If you don’t know what your brand aesthetic is yet, start gathering inspiration and bring your ideas to life with my mood board templates. These are very easy to use, 100% customizable and no design experience is required.

If you have any questions about Canva or one of the templates you purchased, leave a comment below!