Canva Accessibility

Summary

View this article for tips on making your Canva designs accessible.

Body

Does Canva have an accessibility checker?

Yes, Canva has a built-in accessibility checker that automatically identifies issues with color contrast, font size, and missing alternative text. This tool can be accessed by selecting  File > View Settings > Check design accessibility(or in the top menu bar) to ensure designs comply with web accessibility standards.

Key Features of Canva's Accessibility Tools

  • Alt-Text Support: Allows users to add descriptions to images and elements, or mark them as decorative.

  • PDF Accessibility: Supports basic tagging and reading order for exported PDF files.

  • Color Contrast Check: Automatically checks if text color contrasts well enough with the background.

To use it, go to File, then View Settings, and select Check design accessibility. It is recommended to run this tool before finalizing any design.

What will transfer to PDF if I export a Canva document?

Accessibility changes made in Canva, such as alt text and, to a limited extent, heading structures, do transfer to PDFs, but often result in a document that still requires significant manual remediation to be truly accessible. While Canva provides features to improve accessibility, experts advise that these exports are not fully WCAG compliant and often have poor reading order or tag errors.

How to Export

For the best results, use "PDF Standard" or "PDF Print" and ensure you do not "Flatten" the PDF, as flattening removes all accessibility tags.

What Transfers

Alternative text (alt-text) added to images in Canva should carry over, and recent updates have added basic heading tags.

Limitations

Complex layouts, tables, and reading orders often break, making the PDF hard for screen readers to navigate.

Recommendation

For truly accessible documents, it is recommended to use Adobe Acrobat Pro to remediate the PDF after exporting from Canva or to create the document in more accessible, native software like MS Word or Adobe InDesign.

 

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Article ID: 21346
Created
Fri 3/6/26 11:38 AM
Modified
Thu 3/12/26 4:00 PM

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