The Canva website builder has recently been introduced to the Canva platform, sparking interest and curiosity among online business owners and website designers alike. As a website designer myself, I’ve received numerous inquiries about this new tool, prompting me to share my insights on its functionality, benefits, and potential drawbacks.
Video Posted October 2022, Blog Post Last Updated November 2023
Canva Website Builder: An Overview
The Canva website builder is an integrated feature within the Canva platform, designed to enable users to create, design, and publish their own websites. It operates similarly to other Canva features, meaning if you’re already familiar with Canva, you won’t have to learn a new system. However, it’s worth noting that the Canva website builder is quite basic, being advertised as a simple, no-code, one-page website or landing page builder.
Who Should Use the Canva Website Builder?
The Canva website builder is best suited for those seeking a basic, straightforward website building experience. It’s ideal for:
- Internal Team Websites: Business owners can use it to create an internal website for their team, providing quick links, tutorials, and important reminders.
- Client Onboarding: It can serve as an interactive document for client onboarding, outlining important information, schedules, and procedures.
- Portfolios or Resumes: For individuals, it can be used to create an interactive display of skills and experiences.
- Classroom Updates: Teachers can use it to keep parents updated about classroom activities, keeping child safety online in mind.
However, it’s important to note that the Canva website builder currently lacks some functionalities that are crucial for full-fledged business websites, such as code embedding, video embedding, SEO functionality, and blogging capabilities.
The Limitations of the Canva Website Builder
While the Canva website builder is extremely easy to use, it does have its limitations. As of October 2022, it lacks the ability to embed code or videos, and you can’t embed an email opt-in form. It also lacks in-depth SEO functionality and doesn’t support blogging, as it’s primarily designed for creating simple, one-page designs.
These missing functionalities are crucial for business owners who need to promote their products and services online. If you’re a business owner looking for a more comprehensive website builder, you might want to consider other platforms like Squarespace, which I highly recommend for its ease of use.
UPDATE NOVEMBER 2023: Canva Websites do have some SEO functionality (but I wouldn’t consider it in-depth). According to their website, Canva does the following:
- Redirecting visitors from the domain with a www. prefix
- Auto-generating a “sitemap” for your site, which helps search engines index all subpages of the website
- Uses the Canva design title (shown in the “Browser tab preview”) as the Title shown in search
- Uses the “Page description” as the website description shown in search results.
Unfortunately, they also have some bad recommendations for improving your SEO:
- “Keep each of your websites reasonably small – more content means longer loading times for your audience, which leads to a lower SEO ranking. You can spread out your content over multiple websites to help.
- Create numerous websites with “backlinks”, such as blog posts that link to each other.”
So, Canva recommends creating multiple websites (which would be a headache to manage), presumably because their servers can’t handle a ton of “heavy” websites…? Maintaining all of your content on one website helps build domain authority and is a much better user experience, both of which Google cares deeply about.
Cool Features Inside Canva Website Builder
- Built-in analytics tool to track your website traffic
- Immediate access to all of Canva’s photos and design elements
- Color palette generator
- Magic Write to help write your website copy
The Verdict on the Canva Website Builder
In conclusion, the Canva website builder is a handy tool for creating simple, one-page websites or landing pages. It’s easy to use and doesn’t require any coding knowledge, making it a great choice for beginners. However, if you’re a business owner looking to create a comprehensive, SEO-friendly website, you might want to consider other options.
Remember, your website is more than just a digital brochure—it’s a powerful marketing tool that can help you attract and convert customers. So, choose a website builder that offers the features and functionalities you need to achieve your business goals.
FAQs
- Can you build a website with Canva? Yes, you can build a basic, one-page website or landing page with Canva.
- Is Canva a good website builder? Canva is a good website builder for creating simple, one-page websites. However, it lacks some functionalities needed for comprehensive business websites.
- How much does it cost to build a website with Canva? Building a website with Canva is free. However, certain premium features and functionalities may come at a cost.
- How do I convert a Canva design to my website? You can publish your Canva design directly to the web using Canva’s publishing feature.
