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How to Create the Perfect Professional Presentation in Canva

You may not need Microsoft PowerPoint! Canva can help you make professional presentations in half the time.

These days there's a lot of options for creating workplace presentations, ranging from old-school classics like Microsoft PowerPoint to relative newcomers like Google Slides. Another platform that you can use to create a presentation is Canva.

As a template design site where you can craft beautiful documents, Canva makes the act of creating presentations as simple as Google Slides---perhaps even simpler. Here's how to design a workplace presentation in Canva.

Step 1: Launch Canva

If you don't have an account with Canva yet, check out our rundown on what the site is and what it's good for . If you already have an account, log in and go to your homepage.

Under  Create a design , click  Presentation .

You can also look for  Presentation in the search bar, under the sign that says  Design anything .

After you click on  Presentation , you'll be taken to a blank workspace. Like all Canva's workspaces, you'll see a collection of pre-made templates along the left-hand side.

If you want to create a presentation from the ground up, you can. We've already got a great tutorial on how to create a resume from scratch using Canva , and it uses very similar principals.

If you're creating this presentation for work, however---and you're short on time---then it's probably best to go with a template.

Canva divides these templates based upon their stated purpose, ranging from creative applications to pitch decks. For this tutorial, let's go to the  Professional Presentation section, as it has templates that are well suited for our purpose. Pick one that you like.

Once you click on a design, you'll see a bunch of different pages displayed along your sidebar. Each of these pages has a slightly different layout, but they all use similar elements and color schemes.

Step 2: Pick a Page Design, Change Your Text

The great thing about Canva is that there's no order in which these individual pages have to be arranged. You can use one or several designs multiple times, back-to-back, or never use them at all.

To apply a design to your first page, simply click on your blank workspace so the page is active. Then click on one of the premade designs sitting to the left. Canva will automatically load it into the page and you can begin modifying.

For this tutorial, I've decided to pick a design that would work well as a title page. By clicking on the individual text boxes within this page, I can erase the placeholder text and put down my own.

If you want to further adjust the size, color, weight, and spacing, you can do so in the  Text editing box, seen here highlighted in red.

Step 3: Adjust Your Visual Elements

Having the right text---but not too much text---is one of the most important things you can consider when you're putting together your presentation. Making sure the visual elements match up is really important too.

In Canva, you can keep or delete however many graphic elements you want. You can also move them around.

To  Delete an element, click on it so its bounding box shows up. Press Delete .

To  Move an element, click and drag it around the page.

If you want to change the color of an element, go to the color swatch icon at the top of the screen. You can pick a color swatch from the premade palette, or you can choose a custom color with the color picker by clicking on the  + .

Step 4: Add Page Notes

One of the last things that you'll want to add to your page is your presentation notes. Notes are not required, of course, but they can help you remember what you're going to say, especially if you're presenting in front of a group.

To add notes in Canva, go to the top right-hand corner of your page and click on the  Add notes icon, seen here in red. When you do, another pop-up box will emerge.

Start typing your notes into the box. There's a word limit, of course, but we doubt you'll run over it. When you're done, click  Save .

Step 5: Add a New Page

The whole point of slideshows is that you're showing off a series of pages. If you just had one page, for example, it would technically be a poster, so chances are high you'll want to add more.

After you finish your first page, go to the bottom of your workspace and click on  +Add a new page . Canva will add another page to your presentation.

If you want to switch this page to a different style, go to the page designs on the left-hand side of your screen. Click on the one that you want.

Once you create more than one page, you might want to label them to keep your workspace organized.

To label your pages, go to the top left-hand corner of your active page where you see the dotted line. Click on it and start typing. From there you'll be able to enter a new title.

If you're not happy with this new page at all, you can delete the whole thing. At the top right-hand corner of the page, you'll see a trash can icon. Click on it.

Did you hit delete by accident, or have you changed your mind? No worries: just use the  Undo button in the top left-hand corner of your workspace.

Step 6: Add a Graph

One of the best features about Canva is its ability to easily insert graphs into your presentation. It then allows you to customize those graphs to your needs.

To add a graph, find a page design that has a graph in it. Once that page is applied to your presentation, double-click on the graph inside that page so its bounding box lights up.

In the left-hand toolbar, you'll see your graph controls emerge. At the top of those controls is a dropdown menu showing you what type of graph you're using. Beneath that is a list of items, along with their values.

To change the name of these items, click on each individual box and start typing. To change the values, click on the box and insert the appropriate number.

Every time you change these values, Canva will automatically update your graph in real time, so you can see how it looks.

If you want to change the style of the graph you're using, click on the dropdown menu and choose another. Canva will automatically change the appearance of your graph while keeping your values intact.

Finally, you can also adjust the color of your graph.

Make sure your graph's bounding box is active, then go to your Edit controls in the top left-hand corner of your screen, seen here in red. Start experimenting with them to get the right effect.

Step 7: Check Your Presentation and Add Transitions

As you wrap things up, you'll want to check your presentation for errors. You might also want to add transitions between your pages.

To add transitions, go to the  Present button at the top right-hand corner of your screen. Click on the icon.

When you click on that icon, Canva will open up a dropdown menu where you can pick the Transition style that you want.

After you choose your  Transition style , you can also choose your  Type . Type allows you to control the speed at which your presentation plays.

When you have all these things squared away, click on the blue  Present button to watch your slideshow play out. It will take you to a full-screen version of it, where you can scan for errors.

When you're done checking your presentation for errors, press the  Escape key to exit out of the window. Make any changes that you need to---if applicable---then finalize the design.

Step 8: Download Your Presentation for Work

Once your presentation is finished, you're ready to download. To download your presentation---or use it in another format---click on the dropdown menu beside the Present button.

Most of these options are free-to-use with a basic account, but for those that aren't, you'll see a gold "crown" symbol beside it. There's also a ton of options, ranging from downloading the file, emailing it to your coworkers, or embedding the file on another platform.

And that's it. You're done.

Ace That Slideshow Presentation

Now that you've seen how to put together a workplace presentation in Canva, you can start exploring. There's a lot of customization options, so it's best if you fiddle with those settings yourself.

Looking for other things you can design? Here's how to create a cover letter with Canva .

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How To Make A Professional Presentation on Canva

Creating a professional presentation requires an eye for detail. Capturing and retaining the attention of your audience can be a challenge. The secret is to make a clear, authoritative, and structured presentation. Let’s walk through the process of utilizing Canva to create a professional presentation. Our guide even offers some pro tips to get the best out of it.

Steps To Create A Canva Presentation

Step 1: open canva.

Sign into your Canva account, or create an account if you don’t have one.

Step 2: Choose a Presentation Template

Canva’s range of templates allows you to create professional presentations of any kind, whether it’s business, academic, or creative. To choose:

• Click on “Create a design” on the Canva dashboard, or the “+” sign down the middle if you’re on mobile.
• In the search bar, type “Presentation” to find a variety of presentation templates.
• Select a template that suits your theme or topic.

Creating custom templates can save time, especially if you have similar and recurrent presentations.

Step 3: Customize Your Presentation

When you have your content ready and outlined and your template chosen, you can go ahead to:

• Edit the text by clicking on the placeholder text boxes and entering your text.
• Click on the graphics in the template and replace them if needed. Images can be either uploaded from your library or chosen from Canva’s library.
• You can also add elements with the simple drag-and-drop feature. This streamlines your workflow and saves you some time and effort.
• Simplify your text, and space it appropriately. This helps your audience grasp key points quickly.
• Create a strong title slide. With a compelling title and a graphic or two, you’ll set the tone for the rest of the presentation.
• Stick to a theme. Consistent font and color create a professional look for your presentation.

Step 4: Organize Your Slides

Cluttered slides are not great to look at, and can confuse you when you have to present. Well-structured slides are key for every successful presentation.

• Use the left sidebar to navigate through your slides.
• Add or delete slides by clicking on either the “+” or “trash can” icons.
• Rearrange your slides as you see fit by clicking and dragging them into the desired sequence.
• Here you can also design your cover slide and choose transition styles for your slides.
•  You can duplicate slides you like, so you can make adjustments to one without touching the other. You can do this with the Ctrl + D (Cmd + D on Mac) shortcut.
• Keep your presentation story-like, with a clear progression. This keeps your audience engaged.

Step 5: Elements, Icons and Multimedia

This is where Canva impresses. There’s a vast range of icons, graphics, and media you can choose from. These are of course optional. But, they play an understated role in keeping eyes on your presentation, especially when things are getting a bit clunky. 

• Access the “Elements” tab on the left sidebar, and drag and drop the desired elements such as lines, shapes, and icons onto your slides. 
• To add multimedia, Select “Videos” or “Audio”, then import multimedia files directly to your slides.

• Be generous with Elements and Graphics. They are great for representing tricky concepts and highlighting key points.
• High-quality images can give your content a real facelift. Canva has an always-ready library of the best stock photos that you can always access.

Step 6: Collaborate 

• If you’re working on the group presentation with others, you can invite your co-members by clicking on the share button in the top-right corner.
• Collaborators can then make edits and suggestions in real time.

Step 7: Preview and Present

You should always preview your finished presentation. You’re more than likely to pick up on something you missed. It is also important to know what your presentation will look like to the viewer

• Before finalizing, click the “Present” button at the top right corner.
• Here you can review content and structure and make any necessary adjustments.

If at preview you notice maligned elements, Canva’s grid and snap features can help to automatically align them.

 Step 8: Download or Share

• Once ready, click the “Download” button to save your presentation as a PDF, PPT, or your preferred format.
• You can also use the “Share” button to generate a link for easy online sharing or collaboration.

Canva Additional Features

Canva offers a healthy range of features that let users of varying experiences create top-shelf presentations.

Jumpstart your creative process by using professionally designed presentation templates. There are a lot of easy presets available for use. These templates are customizable, allowing you to change colors, fonts, and images. You can then match your preferences or branding as you see fit. 

Images And Icons

Canva provides access to a library of relevant images, icons, illustrations, and other design elements. These assets can enhance the visual appeal of your presentations. You’re of course allowed to import your images and icons if you want a more personalized touch. 

Charts and Graphs 

Canvas’s range of effects and graphics is some of the very best available. Between simple things like font variety and color tweaks, and more complex stuff like animations and transitions, there’s no shortage of options for creating a dynamic and visually appealing presentation. 

Collaboration Features

Canva allows for real-time collaboration between multiple users. This is rather useful with group presentations. This way, members of the presenting team can interact and make edits to their section. They can do this while working on the same presentation simultaneously.

With Canva, you can embed multimedia elements, such as videos and audio, directly into their presentations. This allows for a more interactive and fun experience. 

Canva Third-Party Integrations

Canva’s strength lies in its flexibility. It offers integrations with key tools, enhancing your workflow and boosting audience engagement.

These include: 

Interactive Integrations

• Canva slides can be easily integrated into the learning experiences through the platform Pear Deck. For example, a classroom presentation on the water cycle can be made via Canva. Through the Pear Deck integration, teachers can introduce quizzes, draggable elements, and prompts. Students can then interact with these and receive teacher feedback.

Learning Management Systems (LMS):

• Canva integrates seamlessly with various LMS platforms like Canvas, Schoology, and Google Classroom. With these, Educators can receive and review student Canva assignments directly.

Mentimeter: 

• With Mentimeter, you can Integrate live polls and quizzes into your Canva presentations. These help you gather real-time audience feedback and insights.

Sharing And Publishing

• Canva presentations can be easily published on social media platforms. 
• It also allows for direct liaison with video conferencing platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. This helps for easy remote presentations.
• With Canva you can export your presentation in PDF, PPT, or PNG format.
• You’re also allowed to upload these directly to cloud storage platforms for easy accessibility and teamwork.
• Canva provides an API that developers can use to integrate Canva into other applications. So if you have the skill and time, you can easily create integrations of your own.

Presentations Apps and Integrations

• Magic Design: This lets you generate slide designs automatically as you create them. It does so by applying designs based on your already curated content. This should help you save time and creativity.
• Presenter Mode: You can deliver presentations with confidence using Canva’s built-in presenter mode. This comes with speaker notes, slide timers, and annotation tools.
• Canva Live: This lets you hold live presentations hosted on Canva. Within, you can curate questions and reactions from your audience in real-time. This helps with fostering engagement and interactivity.

Stock Libraries:

• Canva has a bulk image license with Unsplash, Getty Images, and Shutterstock. These grant you access to premium stock photos and illustrations within the platform. Many of these are otherwise expensive or difficult to find.

To explore potential third-party integrations, visit Canva App Directory and Canva for Developers.

Canva Pricing

Canva offers a flexible pricing structure to cater to the needs of individuals and teams. There are three main packages:

• Canva Free: This typically provides access to all the features you may need for your presentation at no cost.
• Canva Pro: $14.99 a month or $119.99 per year
• Canva Teams: *$300 per year for 5 team members, with additional members costing $60 per year each.

Thanks to its friendly and intuitive interface, Canva is great for users of all skill levels. It allows them to craft presentations that truly stand out. In this guide, we’ve discussed how to create a professional presentation on Canva. We’ve also covered the features available for use and shared some practical tips to help you make the best presentation.

Q: Can you transfer Canva directly to Google Slides?

A : You can easily import your Google Slides to Canva for editing. All you need to do is to connect your Google Drive account to your Canva account, and import files when needed. Transferring presentations from Canva is less straightforward. You’ll have to download your Canva presentation as a PDF, then open the file within Google Slides.

Q: Can you make a slideshow on Canva?

A : Yes, you can. Canva supports the creation of slideshows. All you have to do is open Canva and choose a slideshow template.

Q: Can I present directly from Canva?

A : Yes, you can. Canva offers a presenter mode that lets you use notes, timers, and annotation tools as you present. You can, of course, download your presentation in any format to present offline if preferred.

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How to Create Presentations in Canva

Canva recently introduced new tools to create docs, whiteboards, videos, websites, and presentations. As such, you no longer need to rely on traditional software solutions like Google Slides, PowerPoint, or Keynote to create an upcoming business presentation. You can easily create presentations in Canva using its familiar suite of editing tools.

Canva offers real-time collaboration, several export options, a present tool, AI add-ons, and much more to make a professional PPT. Canva also lets you make instant presentations with pre-filed slides. Without further ado, let’s get started.

Pick Up an Aspect Ratio and Template

Before you start, make sure to pick a relevant aspect ratio for your presentation. If it’s a traditional PPT, go with a 16:9 aspect ratio. If you plan to show your PPT on mobile, use the 9:16 aspect ratio.

Tablet users can start with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Canva also offers some ready-to-use templates to get started. We highly recommend starting with a template to save some time.

You can also filter templates via style, theme, feature, and color. For example, you can check company, marketing, corporate, marketing, school, and other templates. Most templates are free to use, while some may require a Canva Premium subscription.  

Under templates, you also find an option to create instant presentations. You can enter a prompt and check Canva’s suggestions to get started.

Customize a Page With Editing Features

Once you pick up a template, you have the option to add all pages to your presentations. You can click ‘Apply all pages’ and check every slide at the bottom. You can always select a slide and hit delete to remove it from your presentation.

Canva lets you change every aspect of the template with different text styles, filters, and image editing tools. You can change color, tweak transparency, copy style, and more.

We suggest spending some time with editing tools to customize your Canva presentation and add some personal touches.

Add Graphics, Stickers, and Images

Your presentation will not seem as interesting without graphics, stickers, images, and videos. Unlike Google Slides or PowerPoint, you don’t need to import media files to Canva to complete your slides. You can easily add relevant elements from the sidebar.

Step 1: Open a slide in your Canva presentation.

Step 2: Select Elements from the sidebar. Add graphics, icons, stickers, tables, videos, and more.

Step 3: You can explore the AI image generator and turn your creative ideas into images and videos with a single click.

You can add simple descriptions and even turn generated images into videos. Canva also offers a long list of graphics packs in several categories. The possibilities are endless here. It’s up to you to make a compelling slide using useful tools.

Tweak Page Animation

Once you create a page, tweak its animation to make a smooth transition between pages.

Step 1: Select a slide in Canva.

Step 2: Click Animate at the top.

Step 3: Check basic, exaggerated, photo movement, and other animation types from the left sidebar.

You can also tweak the animation intensity, which is great.

Add Presenter Notes

Do you plan to present your Canva PPT on a video conference? You can add notes to each slide so they appear during the Presenter view (more on that later).

When you create a PPT, select a slide and hit Notes at the bottom. Enter your notes that you want to remember or talk about during a video meeting.

Collaborate and Edit in Real Time

Similar to Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint, Canva lets you share and edit a presentation in real time. You can take inputs from your colleagues and create a share-worthy presentation in no time.

Step 1: When you are done making changes to your presentation, click Share at the top.

Step 2: Enter people, groups, or your team. Expand the collaboration link menu and select Anyone with the link.

Step 3: Expand the permission menu and select Can edit.

You can also share a link with view or comment-only permission. Select the Copy link and share it with your co-workers.

Enable Presenter View

Presenter view is a thoughtful touch from Canva to give presentations over a Google Meet or Teams call.

You can open a presentation in Canva and select Present at the top. Click Presenter View and check two windows opening up on your computer.

One window shows your presentation with notes open on the sidebar. Another window displays the current slide you are sharing with others over a call.

Download and Share Your Presentation

As expected, Canva gives several options to share and export your presentation. When you complete your presentation, click Share in the top-right corner and expand Download.

You can convert a presentation to PDF, PPTX (Microsoft PowerPoint compatible), MP4, JPG, PNG and SVG formats. Check our dedicated post if you wish to print your Canva presentation .

Use Canva Like a Pro

Canva has done a solid job, granting users access to rich tools to create a convincing presentation. We can’t wait to see how the Australian startup enhances our PPT experience with AI features in the future. Speaking of which, we would love to see a feature similar to ‘Design Ideas from Microsoft PowerPoint’ on Canva. Do let us know if you use Canva for presentations in the comments below.

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Last updated on 07 January, 2024

The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.

The article above may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. The content remains unbiased and authentic and will never affect our editorial integrity.

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Parth Shah is an evergreen freelance writer covering how-tos, app guides, comparisons, listicles, and troubleshooting guides on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and smart TV platforms. He has over five years of experience and has covered 1,500+ articles on GuidingTech and Android Police. In his free time, you will see him binge-watching Netflix shows, reading books, and traveling.

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Home Blog Design How to Use Canva and PowerPoint for Presentations

How to Use Canva and PowerPoint for Presentations

Creating the perfect presentation design is a challenge that speakers often aim to achieve, only to find themselves lacking graphic design knowledge. Although high-tier options like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator help users worldwide to put their ideas into pixels, the reality is they are not user-friendly interfaces for people outside the graphic design industry, namely business professionals, marketers, and educators. Hence, the need to find an alternative for making powerful graphics to use in our presentations – and here’s where Canva comes into the picture.

This web-based graphic design tool has quickly become the preferred choice of teachers, social media influencers, and small business owners due to its free-tier plans and pro plans at a convenient subscription-based fee. 

In this article, we will see how to use Canva presentation in PowerPoint and how to export Canva to PPT, to create visually appealing presentations.

Table of Contents

Canva vs. Microsoft PowerPoint: Pros and Cons for Presenters

Designing with canva, how to export a canva presentation to powerpoint, how to use canva-made graphics in powerpoint, final words.

Although presenters often see Canva as an alternative to PowerPoint, the reality is that they differ in one single aspect: Canva is a graphic design tool, whereas PowerPoint is a presentation design software. Some of the tools available in PowerPoint are not there in Canva, and vice versa.

Going into more technical aspects, here are the Pros and Cons of working with either software as a presenter.

Pros of Canva as a Presentation Tool

User-friendly interface.

Canva’s drag-and-drop feature makes it easy for non-designers to create presentations by using its library of shapes, graphics, text styles, and other resources.

Wide Range of Templates

It offers a vast library of Canva templates, which can be easily customized in their online editor, saving time on design. There’s a con associated with this point, which we shall discuss later.

Magic Studio for Canva was released mid-Q3 this year with the idea of powering designs with AI tools. This tool is available in Canva search features and in the editor at the bottom right corner, which features the list options:

• AI text generation
• Suggested graphics to match your design
• Suggested photos to match your design

Collaboration Feature

Allows multiple users to simultaneously work on the same presentation, which is great for small team projects. Compared with PowerPoint, it does not require all users to be Premium to collaborate online.

Web-Based Platform

Being an online platform, it allows users to work from any device with Internet access without needing software installation. This particularly helps users with legacy computers who cannot install current versions of Microsoft Office. 

Integrated Stock Library

Provides access to a broad selection of stock photos, illustrations, and icons within the platform. Just like with the Canva templates, there’s also a con to this point.

Customization Options

Users can upload images and fonts, enabling brand consistency across presentations. Note: The upload fonts feature is only available for Canva Pro users.

Photo Editing and Animation Features

Canva lets users tweak their graphics with simple-to-use controls. These options help us to adjust opacity, apply photo filters, add animation effects, add bevels and shadows, and more.

Cross-Platform Compatibility

Can export presentations to various formats (as a PDF document, as a video presentation in MP4 format, or even as images), making them viewable on different devices and platforms. The export options allow us to post directly into social media, create printables, post to the web, etc. While some export formats require an upgrade to a Canva Pro subscription (like the ability to export to SVG format), the basic export features are enough for simple presentations and beginners.

Cons of Canva as a Presentation Tool

Limited offline functionality.

Requires an internet connection for full functionality, which can be a limitation in areas with poor connectivity, for business people working on an airline flight, while using Airplane mode, or for people traveling in other zones without Internet access.

Fewer Animation and Transition Options

Unlike PowerPoint, the available options for animations and transitions are limited. Users can find this reiterative, which may be unappealing to using these effects in our presentations. 

Premium Content

Although the Canva library is extensive in terms of assets, the reality is that most of these elements are only available for premium users. This applies to templates, shapes, images (mostly), and exporting options. Resizing the graphics you create in Canva to repurpose your design is only available to premium users.

Template Overuse

Popular templates can be overused, making presentations look similar to many others. This is of particular interest to business professionals, as people tend to easily associate some designs as being made with Canva.

Design Decisions

Unlike using a PowerPoint template , you have to work your way with Canva content, as the PPT templates tend to be quite generic and do not offer tools for data representation. Consequently, you have to know how and where to introduce those elements on your own rather than working with a presentation template that already assigned the space for such graphics.

Lack of Advanced Multimedia Integration

Integrating complex multimedia elements like videos is not as seamless as in some desktop applications. You won’t find options to link to source elements; you need to upload the content to your personal Canva library and manually add the resource to the slide. Presenters can also lose third-party integrations via plugins for some multimedia resources.

Pros of PowerPoint as a Presentation Tool

Widespread use and familiarity.

PowerPoint is the leading market tool for presentations, making most audiences and presenters are familiar with it at a basic operational level. This can help us to outsource technical issues quickly rather than aiming to use web-based interfaces to share Canva-created content.

Offline Access

PowerPoint can be used offline, which is ideal for people traveling, areas where the Internet connection is unreliable, or simply because we want to focus on creating the slides rather than facing distractions via the Internet.

Integration with Other Microsoft Office Tools

Seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft products like Excel and Word, making it easy to import data and documents. This is ideal for creating complex graphics for data representation, where the content can be synced, importing databases, working with Gantt Charts in software like Microsoft Project, and more.

Also, Microsoft PowerPoint has the same text editing capabilities as Microsoft Word – a striking contrast with Canva’s limited features.

Templates and Design Options

This is PowerPoint’s forte: the capability of using third-party presentation templates, like the ones provided by SlideModel . Users can buy pre-designed slide decks from professional vendors and ease the need to make design-related decisions. On top of that, Microsoft already includes some basic templates with its 365 subscription.

Advanced Features

Offers a broad range of features, including detailed animations and transitions, which can enhance presentations. For example, the ability to work with SVG graphics allows presentation designers to make pixel-perfect presentations without losing image quality. This is available to all users, unlike Canva, which requires a subscription to unlock certain elements.

Multimedia Capabilities

Supports embedding of various multimedia elements like audio, video, and images directly into presentations. You can use hyperlinks to embed content or work with third-party plugins for specific tasks.

Extensive Support and Resources

As a long-established tool, users can find tutorials everywhere, support communities, and additional resources available online.

Cons of PowerPoint for Presenters

Some features can be complex to use, and the interface may be overwhelming for new users. In particular, this is linked to editing PowerPoint Shapes and graphs, working with Slide Master , applying advanced animation effects and so on.

Unlike Canva or Google Slides, PowerPoint requires purchasing Office 365 or a standalone license.

Heavy Files

PowerPoint files, especially those with multimedia content, can become large and difficult to share via email. As a side effect, those heavy files can be complicated to handle in computers that lack sufficient RAM and processing power. Moreover, they require significant free disk space on your PC.

Time-Consuming

Creating a high-quality presentation with custom animations and graphics can be time-consuming. That’s the reason why we highly recommend users work their way with PowerPoint templates, and mix and match designs to create a unique slide deck .

Learning Curve

Users need to invest time in learning the software to fully utilize its advanced features. This applies to both acquiring the knowledge and practicing the skills you learned. And still, for some users, it feels frustrating not to achieve results relatively quickly. 

In this section, we will learn how to use Canva to create graphics for a product presentation. The idea is to create placeholder graphics containing images of a product; then, we will export that content to continue creating our presentation in PowerPoint.

After creating our Canva account, we find ourselves at the Home screen. Go to Templates, and you will see something similar to this UI. 

We can go straight to the Presentations (16:9) option or use the search bar to locate the template we want. In this case, we will opt for that scenario and search “Product.”

The images that show a little crown at the low right corner are premium templates, which means we cannot use them with a free account. We will pick a template that fits the needs of our presentation by clicking over it. At the contextual window that opens, select Customize this template .

The Canva builder may take a bit to load, especially if your internet connection is slow. You will find yourself with a window like this one, opened at the Design tab, which offers alternatives for other templates similar to the one you chose.

The Styles tab allows us to quickly change the layout, altering color themes and fonts. Sometimes, that can suit our needs immediately; sometimes, it requires extra work to customize to our preferences.

We can click on any element in this design and customize its content. Depending on the element type, the options are available for us. For this presentation, we will change the text and images, and alter font color at the button to make it stand out.

Next, it’s time to replace the images. We can drag and drop the image into Canva, or we can go to the Uploads button and add the content from there.

In this case, we’re using DALL-E-generated images for this product presentation, you can also use illustrations, photos, videos, or Midjourney illustrations . Once the images are uploaded, drag and drop them to replace the images in the placeholder areas. To complete this design, we removed the shape that came with the template – you can add a new shape by going to Elements > Graphics .

Learning how to use Canva for PowerPoint is pretty straightforward. Download your Canva design as a PowerPoint presentation, which you can do by accessing your design and going to the top-right corner to locate the button Share . Click on it, and then click on Download .

Under File Type , we will select PPTX , as it’s PowerPoint’s native format. Click on Download , and wait for the process of downloading the file to be completed. Depending on the graphic assets included, it can take a while.

At this point, don’t be surprised if you’ll be prompted to upgrade your Canva plan (if you don’t have a premium account). The reason is that Canva will charge you for exporting what they call premium graphics, and since most of the Canva presentation templates use premium graphics, this will be a limitation when exporting your Canva slides to PowerPoint. 

A simple workaround is removing the premium graphics before exporting from Canva to PowerPoint. Although, take in mind this may affect the overall design of your presentation.

As you can see below, the PowerPoint file is entirely editable. Something to consider is that unless you have the font installed on your computer, PowerPoint will reassign to a generic font.

Remember the design we created before? Well, it’s time to use that image as part of a marketing deck presentation , which will represent a social media post to be used by the marketing team to promote the brand.

The first step is to download the design we created as PNG. We can close Canva after that.

We opened our PPT template, which is the Annual Marketing Plan PowerPoint Template , and customized the PowerPoint theme colors . Go to Insert > Pictures > This Device .

Select the image we created in Canva and upload it here. We will add some image shadow effects via Shape Format, and a textbox below that describes what the image is about.

And that’s how easily we can use graphics from Canva in our PowerPoint presentations. Remember, it’s best to work with PNG images rather than JPG to reduce file size and preserve image quality.

You can invite others to collaborate on your design by sharing a link to the editable design or by adding them via email as team members on your Canva account.

Canva uses standard cloud storage security measures to protect your data, but like any online platform, it’s important to use a strong password and follow good security practices.

There are two methods for this. You can upload a PPT template into Canva via the Canva Homepage by clicking on Projects , and then go to the Uploads folder. Drag and drop or click on Upload, as we’ve seen before. Once imported, you must click on that file to open it in the Canva editor. The second method is on the editor: go to the Uploads button and upload your PPT file as if it were an image or another media asset.

Yes, you can use SlideModel presentation templates in Canva. As a SlideModel subscriber, you can download .pptx files to import into Canva presentations. This way, you can enjoy the creative slide templates and graphics provided by SlideModel in your Canva presentations

Unfortunately, no, as Canva doesn’t have the same toolset to enable editing functions. That also applies to changing color, so we highly recommend you work with a final PPT file before switching to Canva.

Objects like charts, SmartArt, 3D objects, and WordArt aren’t supported in Canva and won’t be rendered if you upload a slide that contains them.

Yes, all users can download Canva presentations to PPTX format. In case the original Canva design isn’t a presentation file, like a banner or social media post, you won’t be able to resize for that output unless you have a premium account.

Yes, the file must be smaller than 70 MB, and you can import up to 300 slides.

Canva and PowerPoint can collaborate as complementary tools to help presenters overcome the limitations of each individual tool. It takes a while to create your desired workflow, but once that’s accomplished, you can elevate the quality of your PowerPoint or Google Slides presentations with Canva. 

We don’t advise using Canva as an alternative to PowerPoint as the current state-of-the-art indicates it won’t support data representation or other PowerPoint stellar tools that make part of most PPT templates. 

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Design, Microsoft PowerPoint Filed under Design

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