If you’ve spent any time online, you’ve probably heard of Canva, the drag-and-drop design tool that makes creating anything from logos to websites incredibly simple. But Canva isn’t just a creative platform, it’s also a real business opportunity. Whether you’re a marketer, freelancer, or small business owner, Canva can become one of the easiest ways to start making money online.
In this post, I’ll break down what Canva is, why it’s worth using, what you can do with it, and how I’ve personally made money by creating simple landing page websites for small businesses.
What Is Canva?
Canva is an online graphic design platform that allows anyone to create professional-looking visuals without needing advanced software or design skills. You can use it for:
Social media graphics
Presentations and pitch decks
Logos and brand kits
Resumes and business cards
Marketing materials
Simple websites and landing pages
The best part about Canva is its simplicity. Everything is drag-and-drop, customizable, and built for non-designers. There are thousands of templates for almost every industry, and you can publish your designs directly to the web, print them, or share them with clients in seconds.
Canva has a free plan, but the Pro version (around $15 per month) unlocks a huge library of premium templates, stock photos, videos, icons, and brand tools that make your projects look polished and professional.
Why Canva Is Important and Why You Should Use It
Before you start trying to make money with Canva, it helps to understand why it’s such a valuable tool.
Here’s why Canva stands out:
It saves time. You can design beautiful, functional projects in minutes instead of hours.
It’s an all-in-one platform. Canva now includes AI tools, brand kits, and website publishing. You can handle an entire project without switching between apps.
No design experience needed. The templates are already optimized to look professional. You just customize the text and colors.
Perfect for small businesses. Most local companies don’t need a large, complex website. They just want something that looks clean, loads quickly, and helps customers contact them. Canva gives you everything to make that happen.
If you’re looking for an easy way to start offering a service or build a side income, Canva is a great foundation.
What You Can Do With Canva
There are many creative ways to make money with Canva. Here are some of the most popular:
1. Sell Templates
You can design and sell Canva templates on Etsy, Gumroad, or your own website.
Popular template types include:
Instagram posts and story templates
Business cards
Resumes
Media kits
Workbooks and eBook layouts
If you focus on a specific niche, like real estate or fitness, your templates become even more valuable.
2. Freelance Design Services
Offer quick design services to small businesses that need branding or marketing materials. You can create logos, flyers, menus, or entire social media kits. Canva’s sharing and commenting features make collaboration simple.
Use Canva to batch-create social media content for local businesses. Many small businesses are happy to pay $300 to $1000 per month for someone to create 15–20 branded posts each month.
4. Print on Demand
Design t-shirts, mugs, or posters in Canva and upload them to print-on-demand platforms like Redbubble, Printful, or Etsy. Canva’s templates make it easy to size everything correctly.
5. Build Simple Websites and Landing Pages
And this is where I’ve personally seen great success.
How I Made Money With Canva by Building Landing Pages
When most people think of Canva, they think of social media graphics, but Canva’s website feature is one of the most underrated ways to earn income.
Here’s exactly how I’ve used it to make money.
1. Find Local Businesses That Need Simple Websites
I started by reaching out to local service providers, like landscapers, barbers, or small contractors, who didn’t have websites. Many of them relied only on Instagram or Google Maps.
They didn’t need a complex site, just something that showed who they were, what they offered, and how to contact them.
2. Build Their Website in Canva
Canva has website templates that make this process fast and easy. I could drag in photos, text, and buttons, then publish it instantly to a custom domain.
The entire site could be finished in under an hour.
A simple layout included:
Header with logo and business name
About section
Services and pricing
“Book now” or “Call now” button
Footer with contact info and links
The end result was a clean, mobile-friendly landing page that looked professional and worked perfectly for what the business needed.
3. Charge for Setup and Maintenance
Once the site was ready, I charged a one-time setup fee (usually $200–$300) and offered a simple monthly maintenance plan ($50–$100 per month). That covered updates, domain help, or analytics tracking.
This turned small, one-time projects into recurring revenue.
4. Reuse Templates and Scale
After finishing a few sites, I built reusable Canva templates that I could duplicate for future clients. This made it incredibly fast to deliver new projects and grow my client base without much extra work.
Why This Method Works
Small businesses are often overlooked by web designers because they can’t afford high prices. But those same businesses still want an online presence. Canva fills that gap perfectly.
Here’s why this method works:
Low cost and high value: Clients get a professional site without paying thousands.
Fast delivery: You can complete a project in one day.
Recurring income: Monthly plans create consistent cash flow.
No coding required: Everything is visual and easy to edit.
You’re helping small business owners present themselves online in a simple, effective way, and that’s something people appreciate and will happily pay for.
How to Get Started With Canva
Here’s a step-by-step way to start making money with Canva right away:
Sign up for Canva Pro. It gives you full access to templates, premium assets, and the website builder.
Choose your focus. Pick a specific niche, like restaurants, service providers, or creators.
Build a few examples. Create sample websites or marketing materials that show what you can offer.
Reach out to local businesses. Offer to create a simple online presence for an affordable price.
Offer maintenance plans. Add monthly services like updates or content creation to build recurring income.
Once you’ve completed a few projects, you can showcase your work and begin growing through referrals.
Final Thoughts
Canva isn’t just for making pretty graphics. It’s a real business tool that lets you create value quickly. Whether you sell templates, design content, or build landing pages for local businesses, there are many ways to make money with Canva.
For me, building simple websites was the easiest way to start. It required no coding skills, minimal time, and created recurring income from clients who needed help maintaining their online presence.
If you’ve been searching for a simple, low-barrier way to make money online, Canva is one of the best tools to start with. It’s beginner-friendly, fast to learn, and capable of turning your creativity into income.
Let’s talk more about it: