Likelihood to Recommend I would say that Canva is best suited for beginner and Novice level applications. If you're an experienced designer, there's definitely no point in using Canva as it's developed for designers entering the field. OR, if you want to experience that flexibility while you designing and let the creativity flow, You shouldn't consider Canva as your Choice. If you feel like delivering quick and not spend your time on deciding on 'How to Design', then you should go for Canva.
Read full review It's helpful for top of marketing funnel writing that we can sometimes lose sight of because we are so ingrained in the product day to day. Contently is also helpful for long written pieces and ebooks that will take a significant amount of employee time to put together. I avoid using Contently for mid to bottom funnel marketing writing because my team will often have greater insight into the product function or use-case or product release, making them more adroit to the tone of the written piece and able to produce the content quickly.
Read full review Pros Provides readily accessible approved fonts and colors for our university publications. A great selection of templates to select from. Lots of resources for design, like photos, clip art, backgrounds, and other design elements. The ability to share your design with others at the university. The ability to download your design as a png, pdf, jpg, svg, even MP4 video or gif. Easy to edit and alter the design and not lose what you had by creating clones of previous designs and then make the changes. Read full review Consolidating my work in one place to make my work life easier Contently is unique from other content marketing organizational tools in one key way. It hands you a network of freelance professionals eager for delegated work. You can search through a database of professionals to find the perfect person for your given project. Find individuals in your budget offering the exact skills and experience you need. Read full review Cons Some pretty basic fonts are missing from the database, which proves to be annoying when trying to stay on brand Pre-grouping sections of templates can be a hassle to figure out Creating your own template from scratch can have it's hiccups, but that could be my lack of design experience. Read full review I have been using it for 3.5 years, and have had no response from potential clients. The portfolio section is pretty easy to use, but I don't love the format. Since I'm not a client, I don't know just how easy it is for them to find new freelancers or how often it is actually used. Probably more suited for some types/concentrations of freelance writers, like finance, tech, or healthcare. Read full review Likelihood to Renew The ease of use makes Canva a powerful tool for manipulating images, creating original content, and testing ideas without requiring the involvement of graphic design or more time-intensive image editing software such as Photoshop. While it doesn't have the full functionality of a mature software, such as Photoshop, The speed and simplicity of Canva makes it a necessity in a business of any size
Read full review Usability It is super easy to use, but it could be limiting if you're on a small device. It is easier on a bigger device because you can resize graphics and text easier than with your fingers on a small device. I do think it's perfect and easy for non-designers who don't have any training. As long as you have a good eye for visuals, Canva is a wonderful substitute for graphics programs on-the-go.
Read full review Reliability and Availability I have yet to encounter Canva being offline in at least 6 years of using it regularly. They also announce well in advance if there may be upgrades to the code and the hours during which there may be issues accessing the service.
Read full review Performance I haven't ever had issues with a slow-loading site and there haven't been any lag issues within the software. There have been maybe a handful of times over the past six years where I have tried to upload a large image and it will slow down as it loads the last megabyte, but I have yet to have the system time out or require any interference by me
Read full review Support Rating Overall, Canva is easy to use, easy to train others to use, allows for creativity with a professional look without enormous associated costs. The mobile apps works almost as easily, but at a minimum allows for easy review and downloading in a pinch. Really, anyone can learn to use Canva quickly and will immediately benefit from the results.
Read full review I'm giving them a 10, but honestly, I've never reached out to them. I do see them putting out regular content on social media, so they might be responsive to questions there as well as regular customer support. In their posts and communication, they do seem to value their community, so hopefully, they have good customer support. And I've seen them asking for pitches from their community to publish well-paid articles during this stressful coronavirus time, and I really appreciate that.
Read full review Implementation Rating Remember to download the mobile app onto your phone for easy image manipulation on the go. Adding company colors, logos, and typefaces to your company account is an easy process. When images are uploaded, these can also be shared between accounts within a company, as can canvases you've created for easy editing among teams.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Canva is faster and easy to use. There aren't complex menus like Adobe products and everything is generally intuitive. Menus are mostly open and visible or relatively small. Small changes to the program add to it's usability rather than detract. I also appreciate that Canva helps the user become more creative through use. By giving you editable examples through templates you can choose to re-design something ir create something from scratch w/ a similar concept or feel. Canva often gives me ideas that I can implement into my design or into the entire project even. I also like how Canva is intuitive in it's approach. The program gives you suggestions when it comes to graphics, etc. without getting in your way if you know what you already want
Read full review I also opened an account with
Skyword in 2019, which is a similar service. The person that recommended it was a travel writer, and since I've done that as well, I thought it might be a better fit. To this point, I've received no work from it either, and don't hold out a lot of hope. As previously mentioned, where I think Contently does well is by giving you an online portfolio, additional resources like a blog for learning, and a rates database for publications.
Read full review Scalability Very easy to add accounts and share content between them. Collaboration is also easy to manage and can be done on a project-by-project basis. The cloud-based software means it is incredibly fast to add a coworker and have them editing images within minutes. A live internet connection is required to access Canva so this is something to consider if expecting to use the software while on journeys without access to wifi etc
Read full review Return on Investment As far as ROI is concerned, Canva has proven itself time and time again as having a positive impact for business. Just yesterday, I had to prepare an hour-long presentation on the fly; the great reviews of the presentation and the materials (all made in Canva) only served to advertise for Canva and it proves that Canva is a smart investment. I don't think in the time that I have been a Canva pro user that I can say that my ROI has been negatively impacted. Highest recommendation. The software more the casually pays for itself time and time again. Read full review Contently contributors have produced some great inbound marking posts and creative materials saving our marketing team significant time allowing them to focus on more strategic plans for the business. The amount of time Contently has saved our internal creative writing staff has more than paid for itself! Read full review ScreenShots