5 Canva Mistakes That Hurt Your Brand (And How to Fix Them)

Let's be honest - running a business means juggling a million tasks at once. You're probably running around like a headless chicken (I know I do!). And somewhere between the chaos, you're thinking, "Wait, I'm pretty sure I didn’t just signed up to colour in!"

If you're DIYing your graphics because outsourcing isn't in the budget yet, you're not alone. You're sitting there thinking, "Come on, money, so I can hand this off to someone else!" But until then, here are some tips to help you create professional looking templates in Canva without making these common mistakes.

1. The Carousel That's Bursting at the Seams

I love a good carousel - they're interactive, engaging, and a great way to get people interested in what you have to say.

But here's where things go wrong: you write a really long post and then try to cram that entire post onto your slides.

Instagram limits you to 10 slides, but LinkedIn? You can create as many as you want. I once saw a 99-page carousel. Spoiler alert: I didn't look at all 99 pages.

The problem? Most people get bored after 3-4 slides.

How to fix it:

Keep your carousels simple, clean, and easy to follow. Make sure the carousel content matches your post caption - I've seen so many where the post text is about one thing and the slides are about something completely different. Pull the main points from your caption and feature those on your slides.

Think about how people consume content - mostly on their phones. If you've used size 6 text to squeeze everything onto one slide, no one can read it. Maybe if you're under 25, but for those of us who can see 35 in the rearview mirror? We're not holding our phones up to our noses to read your content. We'll just scroll on.

You don't want to lose people. What you have to say is important - only you can say it your way, and we need to hear it. Make it easy for people to read.

Try this: Use your main point in font size 55, with short supporting text at size 30. You can adjust these slightly depending on the font (some fonts look larger at size 55 than others), but don't go extreme - size 6 is never okay!

This applies to single post images too. Keep text minimal and to the point.

2. "I Found the Graphics Section in Canva!"

So you discovered you can add wiggles, squiggles, and all sorts of decorative elements to your design. Look at you being creative!

But don't get carried away. A few small accents enhance your design - a page full of "everything you thought looked nice" clutters it up and distracts from your important message.

Think of it like this: When you go to a party, you don't wear every piece of jewelry you own. You carefully select something that complements your outfit. Design works the same way - add elements that enhance your message and add visual interest without overwhelming your words.

How to fix it:

Choose graphics that match your brand aesthetic and use them sparingly. If you're adding them to a carousel, place them in the same spot on each slide. When graphics jump around from slide to slide, it's confusing and creates a jarring transition. Your readers want a smooth experience, not visual whiplash.

3. "Photographs Are Good, Right?"

Absolutely! I'm all for adding photographs to your designs.

When you're starting out, it's okay to use stock images. I know people say you should only use original photos and keep everything on brand from day one, but if you don't have your own images yet, stock photos are fine. They add interest and break up solid blocks of color.

As you get more confident, add selfies and inject more of your personality. Frame them with your brand colors to make them feel cohesive.

If you're adding text over photos:

Check the accessibility - can you actually read the text over the image? Consider adding a color overlay or a semi-transparent box behind your text to make it pop.

The golden rule: One, maybe two, photos per social media post is enough. Unless you're creating a photo montage, keep it simple. Too many images create the same cluttered feeling as too many graphics.

Make sure your images make sense. Ask yourself: Does this match my brand? Does it work with my brand colors? Does it feel like me? If you're a copywriter, images of hands typing on a laptop or writing on paper might be a bit cliché, but that's okay when you're starting out. You'll develop your unique visual style as you go.

4. "Lining Things Up Doesn't Really Matter, Does It?"

Actually... this is the best design trick I can give you.

Alignment is what makes your design look professional.

Look at any piece of professional branding - it all looks neat and polished. Why? Because everything is properly aligned.

Here's what you need to know:

It's fine to center text occasionally, but be careful - people find large blocks of centered text hard to read. Left-aligned text is much easier on the eyes. And whatever you do, don't justify text - it creates weird gaps that make content difficult to skim. You want reading to be as effortless as possible.

Alignment isn't just about text. Make sure text lines up with photographs, other text blocks, lines, and graphics. Leave margins around your page (quick hint: you should, and you can turn on margin guides in Canva). Keep margins consistent and ensure everything aligns on the left.

There's nothing worse than seeing a nice line framing the top of a page, text that sits outside that frame, and then more text that's slightly off kilter.

Use Canva's position tool. Align everything to the left, group elements together, and center the group on the page.

You might think, "Only designers will notice this." You're right that only designers can articulate exactly what's wrong, but other people will feel it too. Even if they can't explain why something feels "off" or uncomfortable, they'll still scroll past.

Here's why alignment matters: Humans like things that are grouped together. It tells them what's important and how information relates to each other. We're pattern seeking creatures. At first glance, our brains sort what's grouped together, decide what's important, and determine what's worth reading. If people can't easily process this in a few seconds, you've lost them.

5. "Accessibility... What's That?"

You might have heard the word but aren't quite sure what it means.

Accessibility is about making information easily available to everyone. It considers people with disabilities who may not be able to access your content in traditional ways. And you want to reach as many potential customers as possible, right?

The good news: Canva has a built-in accessibility checker. Simple!

Here's what to check:

Font readability: Make sure your fonts are legible. Limit script fonts and stick to a maximum of 2 different fonts per design. Canva will flag font sizes that are too small, though it won't remind you to go big and bold like I mentioned earlier!

Color contrast: It's lovely to use soft, muted colors with text a few shades darker, but can people actually read it? This isn't just about people with visual impairments - someone looking at their screen in bright sunlight won't be able to see low contrast text either. They'll just scroll on. Check your contrast and fix any issues.

Alt text: This mainly applies if you're exporting PDFs (it's not relevant for JPGs or PNGs). While alt text isn't strictly a design element, it helps with SEO, and since that's a dark art we all need help with, it's worth adding.

Conclusion

Following these simple rules helps your designs look professionally made. And see? They're all really easy to implement.

Keeping things simple and uncluttered makes it easier for people to consume your content. The easier it is, the more they'll keep coming back. That's what builds brand recognition and gets you in front of the right people.

Struggling with your templates? I offer simple, industry-specific designs with templates for growing your audience, promoting your offers, and marketing your masterclass. You can see these in my shop.

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