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Reading time: 8 min 45 sec

Updated: May 5 2023

Janusz Mirowski

16 January 2023

Canva Website Builder Review

Traditionally, webmasters were in charge of designing websites, and building a website was quite challenging. You needed special skills and a little luck to prevent things from going awry. However, technology has gradually evolved over the years, making it possible for visual designers and non-technical individuals to develop websites using platforms like Canva and WebWave.

What is Canva?

Canva is a popular tool that allows you to prepare a variety of graphics. You don't need advanced graphic design skills to create graphics using this platform. Canva allows you to use ready-made templates that can be edited. In fact, Canva's rich template library is one of its strongest assets. Templates, combined with premade elements and a user-friendly interface make Canva a perfect tool for non-professional designers.

Recently, the Canva team introduced web design features. From now on, you can use Canva to create a simple website. You can publish your site under a free domain, buy a domain via their platform or connect to a domain name you already own.

canva website builder

How to create a website with Canva?

The easiest way to create a website in Canva is by editing a template. To find a website template in the bunch search for "website" on the Canva homepage. You can narrow your search by adding specific qualifiers to find more relevant templates. Templates with crown icons are for Canva Pro users only, while those without are free for all users. Once you find a template you like, click on it to open it in a new tab and customize every element to make it unique. Unfortunately, with Canva, you can only create one-page websites. It makes the design experience super easy and mistakes-proof but also very limited.

You can only make a simple navigation bar with limited customization options. If you want to add a proper blog or online store, you will need to use an external solution.

Is Canva websties good for web design?

Even though Canva is primarily a graphic design tool, it can be also used in web design. Most of its graphic design features are also available for web design projects. You get access to a wide range of templates that you can customize to create unique designs. It also provides a variety of design elements, such as images, icons, and fonts. Canva Pro users can access more advanced features like uploading their own fonts and adding animation to single elements or a whole page. In their recent update, they also added a chance to draw custom animations. You can also benefit from a Brand Hub feature, where you can add your brand colors, fonts, and text styles to make sure that you can make your site feel more like you in no time.

It all sounds great, but let's not forget that Canva is primarily a graphic design tool and does not have all the features and capabilities of dedicated web design software. Being limited to creating only one-pagers is a first disadvantage. Some may also find that Canva is lacking in the flexibility and design control needed to finish more complex projects.

So, Canva is suitable for web design to an extent, it can be used to create simple and attractive web designs, but there may be better options for web design projects that are more than a landing page.

Is Canva website builder free?

Creating a site in Canva is free. However, you can only publish it under the domain your-username.canva.site. Having a unique domain or linking a new site to an existing domain are features that are available when you upgrade to the Canva Pro version.

What we like and don't like about Canva

Advantages:

Customizable templates
A large selection of templates (several hundred) and graphics (several thousand)
Good UX / UI
Possibility of working on a project with several people at the same time
Brand Kit (possibility to save and use logos and company colors)

Disadvantages:

You can build only one-page websites
Lack of responsiveness and optimization
The categorization of templates is poor
It's not possible to quickly determine which features are free and which are paid
No White Label offering
No e-commerce
No mail

Why WebWave can be a Canva website builder alternative?

If you've tried Canva website design and want more, you should try WebWavwe. WebWave is a drag and drop website builder that was made for creating websites as if you're designing graphics.

WebWave offers greater control over website design as well as some other excellent features like:

A shopping cart solution
An integrated e-mail service

With WebWave you can create your business website as easily as in Canva but without the need to sacrifice any functionalities.

WebWave is like a graphic design tool for creating websites

WebWave is the only true drag and drop website builder. This means working with WebWave is similar to working with graphic design software. You can move elements around freely and place them anywhere on the page canvas. Unlike other site builders, you don't need to position your site elements according to the "invisible table cells" layout. With WebWave, without knowing HTML, you can design different types of websites, for yourself and your clients. WebWave is a great solution.

Graphic designers will find WebWave's overall editor interface and layers panel similar to the tools they use daily. People use WebWave like a graphic design tool! So if you're familiar with Photoshop, Figma, Illustrator, or Canva, WebWave will seem like home!

Everything under one roof

WebWave is a graphical editor and advanced page builder rolled into one. WebWave was inspired by graphic design tools, but it wasn't just about the interface. You'll also find similar features and functions that you're used to using in other graphics-based software. You don't need to go to Canva, Figma, or Photoshop anymore to design a page layout and then transfer it to the page builder. Create a website for free with WebWave!

In WebWave, you will find everything you need to design a page layout: guides, shapes, layers, fonts, and symbols. You will be able to create graphics and modify them on the fly. Easily edit and crop your image, change its size, border, transparency, gradient, blur, brightness, contrast, saturation, and more. The website will look great! You will also be able to take advantage of the snap effects, parallax, or Ken Burns.

In summary, WebWave has all the features and functions you need to create a unique website.

Join over 400 000 WebWave users and create websites with a true drag and drop website builder.

Start for free ->

WebWave website builder features that make it stand out

Create a website without coding

WebWave is an easy-to-use HTML website builder with an editor interface that gives you unlimited possibilities for creating pages without any coding knowledge. You simply create a page according to how you imagine it, in the same way, a graphic designer would create an image without a template or pattern. It's a professional tool that allows you to add custom code, but you are able to make a complex website without the need to write a single line of code. The power of WebWave is that it gives you all the solutions to make the right decision for your project based on your skills and level of experience.

Responsive website builder

Responsive web design means that your website will be displayed correctly on each device no matter the screen size. WebWave is the best responsive website builder because it gives you control over 4 viewports - standard desktop, tablet, and mobile both horizontal and vertical. Nowadays, most people browse the Internet via their phones. Having a website that is not accessible on mobile is a terrible mistake.

Canva gives you no control over how you're website is going to look on mobile in favor of as simple as possible process of website creation. WebWave manages to find the right balance between functionality and being user-friendly.

Online store perfect for your needs

More and more people are choosing to move their businesses to the Internet or start selling online. WebWave is a website builder, with the help of which you will build your store and customize it according to your needs. The bottom line is that with WebWave, you will create an online store without coding skills. The website looks like a graphic tool, so if you have used Photoshop or Canva, you can certainly handle it. WebWave helps people make a name for themselves on the Internet by creating their site or portfolio - without much difficulty, you will manage your website.

Worried that you don't have the right skills and can't handle the store? WebWave team will help you with any problem. Write to our support and clear your doubts.

Optimize your website

No one needs to be convinced of how important is website creation. WebWave allows you to customize your site at will, paying attention to the user experience. It is the higher levels of experience in web design. You don't have to use a marketing agency to make your website user-friendly for potential customers. You will add and optimize website content yourself, set animations and images on the site, and add blog articles. WebWave also offers a SEO analyzer that helps you make sure that your website will rank high on Google.

White Label functionality - solution for freelance webs designers and web design agencies

A White Label website builder will be the perfect solution if you are looking for a website builder that allows you to create websites for clients using your business brand. By offering services under your colors and logo, your clients will associate the chosen solution with you, not with the platform vendor's brand that created it.

White labeling is a popular concept for web designers and other professionals in the graphic design space. Unlike other SaaS providers that brand their tools with their logos, website builders offering White Label solutions allow users to customize the platform with their branding.

Imagine you run a web design company and want to show your clients how you put their design ideas into action.

Guiding them through webpages you've designed in Canva or WordPress won't be as impressive as showing them your backend customized with your company's logo and colors. White label solutions are a great way to promote your own business.

What we like and don't like about WebWave

Advantages:

WebWave Cart for simple E-Commerce and Online Shop requirements
E-mail service
Complete design freedom (no frames, tables, or restrictions)
Convenient interface inspired by popular graphic programs
Lots fo visual effects and animations
Sliders and galleries
Work with layers
Extensive Free image library of 1,00,000 free photos and icons
RWD (responsive web design for all devices)
White Label functionality
Live Support when you need it

Disadvantages:

Fewer website templates than the competition, but who needs a template if you want to design an original website from scratch?
The interface may seem complicated at first, but once you learn it, you will discover that you can do just about anything in WebWave.

Who should create a website in Canva?

As you can see, both Canva and WebWave have many advantages. Canva is a graphic design tool that allows you to create a website as one of its many offerings. WebWave is a website builder that works like a graphic design tool. Those design platforms somehow overlap each other because their workflows are based on the same main principles.

Canva can handle well a very simple project made from a template. However, if you're a business owner and want to create a professional website that will nicely convey your selling points, values, and brand, you should consider WebWave. Same if you are a freelance designer and want to start selling websites. With WebWave white label functionality, you will get better results.

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