Digital Accessibility for Canva
Explore tips and Canva features to make your materials accessible to all.
Canva Accessibility Tips
Accessible design supports inclusive communication across our campus. Ensure your Canva designs meet accessibility standards by following best practices for contrast, text, and exporting.
Add descriptive alterative text (alt text) to all non-decorative images. Add by right-clicking an image and selecting Alternative Text.
- Include all key information contained in the image, including all text
- If an image is purely decorative, you can check the "Mark as decorative" box
If your design has text, also include all of the text within the design in the body of the post, email, or on the website
Text should have high color contrast
- Dark text on light backgrounds and vice versa
- Canva’s Design Accessibility tool can help check for this (more information on this can be found below)
Fonts like Arial, Helvetica, and Calibri are the most easily readable
- Avoid script-like and decorative fonts
- A size of at least 12 point helps with readability
Links should have descriptive names
- Click here to find out more (Not Descriptive)
- Find out more about accessible links (Descriptive)
URLs should be provided along with QR codes for both print and digital files
- Use a URL shortener if possible
Canva’s built-in accessibility tool can be found by going to File > Accessibility > Check design accessibility
- Checks quickly for color contrast, images missing alt text, and small font sizes
If making a presentation export as a PowerPoint
- For other items, export as a PDF rather than an image
- Images are not accessible without alternative text
- Do not flatten the PDF
- This turns the content on the pages into images
- All text within the design should be included in the body of your email, post, or on the website