Canva is not a fully accessible content creation platform. They have made meaningful accessibility improvements in recent years and say they are working toward WCAG 2.2 AA standards, but are not yet there. If you are using Canva for digital materials, it is important to understand both its capabilities and its limitations.
Accessibility Features in Canva
Canva will review contrast, text size, and missing alt text and suggest improvements. While helpful, the checker does not guarantee that exported files conform with our accessibility standards.
Built-in accessibility features include:
- Design Accessibility Checker (flags issues with color contrast, typography, and missing alt text)
- Alt text support for images and graphic elements
- Basic PDF accessibility features (tagging, language settings, and reading order)
- Caption support for audio and video
- Accessibility settings within presentations to reduce motion
Canva works well for:
- Printed flyers and posters
- Social media graphics
- Visual aids for live presentations
- Video cover images/thumbnails
We discourage using Canva to create:
- PDFs or images with text that will be hosted or linked from the website
- Presentations that serve as the only source of information
- Full website or newsletter content
How to use the accessibility checker
- Open your design
- Select File in the top menu
- Choose Accessibility
- Select Check Design Accessibility to open the Design Accessibility window in your editor.
Want a summary of accessibility issues to look out for when designing? Check out Canva’s Use Design Accessibility documentation.
Important Limitations of Canva
1. PDF accessibility is not fully compliant
Although Canva includes basic tagging and reading order in exported PDFs, they are not fully WCAG conformant. Exported PDFs may require manual remediation to meet our standards.
Common issues include:
- Illogical reading order
- Incorrect or missing structural tags
- Improper tagging of lists and tables
- Decorative text not exporting correctly
If you export a PDF from Canva, you must review and test the final file before distributing it digitally. In many cases, remediation in Adobe Acrobat Pro is required. For this reason, Canva is not recommended as a primary tool for creating accessible PDFs. Instead, a tool like Adobe InDesign can export more accessible PDFs when properly set up and tagged.
Again, sometimes, it’s best to just create web pages for your content whenever possible.
2. Reading order and structure
Canva does not reliably set a logical reading order, particularly in graphic-style designs. Heading structure works more reliably in Canva Docs, but most visual design formats, like presentations, lose semantic structure when exported.
Without proper structure:
- Screen readers may announce content in a confusing or jumbled sequence
- Headings may not function as navigational landmarks
- Users may be unable to understand the content flow
3. Text inside images is not accessible
Text embedded within images (PNG, JPG, etc.) is invisible to screen readers. Important information should never exist only inside a graphic. If you use Canva graphics in digital communications:
- Provide the same information in plain text alongside the image
- Plain text must be selectable (highlightable), copyable, and readable by assistive technology
4. Color contrast and typography
The accessibility checker can flag some issues, but creators must intentionally select accessible color combinations and readable typography. Designs frequently fail accessibility standards due to:
- Insufficient color contrast
- Small font sizes
- Decorative or stylized fonts that reduce readability
Canva Presentations on a Website
Canva presentations may be acceptable for live, in-person presenting when designed accessibly. However, embedding a Canva presentation on a website or using it as the primary source of required information introduces accessibility concerns.
When embedded or shared as the main source of content:
- Reading order and screen reader experience may be unreliable
- Slide layouts are visual rather than structured HTML
- Complex slide layouts do not always translate into a logical structure for assistive technology
- Keyboard navigation may not align with website standards
- Accessibility behaviors within Canva’s embedded viewer cannot be remediated by the university.
- Content is arranged for visual presentation rather than semantic navigation, limiting accessibility and searchability
Because of these limitations, Canva presentations should be considered supplementary media rather than primary required content.