How to use Canva for Pinterest Pins

Last updated on 7 October 2025

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If you’ve ever sat staring at a blank Canva screen wondering how on earth people create those stunning Pinterest graphics… you’re in the right place. Canva is hands-down one of my favourite tools (I use it for literally everything 🙈), but learning how to use Canva for Pinterest pins can feel a bit overwhelming at first.

But I gotchuuuu. In this post, I’ll walk you through some tips for making pins on Canva that not only look top-notch but actually get clicks. But first …

What does Canva offer?

While there are Pro and Enterprise options with Canva, the free version is incredibly generous when it comes to what you can get. Buuut if you’re planning on using Canva a lot and for the majority of your image creation, then I would definitely recommend upgrading to the Pro plan if it’s in your budget.

My favourite aspect of the Pro plan is the ability to create custom Brands (add in your blog or business’ colours, fonts, logos, photos etc), and also their resize option. Say you’ve created a beautiful Instagram 4:5 ratio image for your feed. But then you think, ‘actually, this would make a great Pin for Pinterest too.’

With just a few clicks you can Resize that image into the correct size for Pinterest. Then all you need to do is adjust any font sizes or image/element placement and you’re done!

It saves so much time and faff! Yes the Pro account is awesome, but I can definitely recommend getting the free one too. As I said, it’s a brilliant tool and if you’re not already using a design programme then this is the one for you.

But let’s get into it!

How to use Canva for Pinterest Pins

Finding Pinterest Pin Templates

Even if your free Canva account you’re going to have access to tonnes of templates that you can use for Pinterest Pin creation, and looking through the templates is a great place to start, especially if you have a bit of overwhelm.

When you’ve created your account, you can pop Pinterest into the search bar and you’ll get a bunch of different templates to work with. You can either choose one from here to get going or simply click the Create Blank option to start from scratch (you can add a template later).

Note: Just be aware that when you’re using the free version of Canva, you’re still going to see all the Pro items. If you hover over templates, photos and elements, then it will tell you whether they’re free or Pro. You’ll still be able to insert Pro content into your images, but they will be watermarked, so I suggest simply staying clear of them to save frustration later.

The difference between a meh Pin and a great pin

As Pinterest is a visual search engine, it’s so important that you Pins are easy to read and the get the point across in an eye-catching way.

Something we really have to pay attention to is what it looks like – it needs to stand out in the middle of a feed full of other Pins of similiar topics. And some Pins out there are just a little bit blergh. They don’t stand out, they’re hard to read, and they’re not going to have me clicking.

Here’s an example of a meh Pin and a great Pin, using the same idea:

The one on the left is hard to read, has a lot going on, the image doesn’t depict what the caption is supposedly telling me, it’s lacking any reference to where the link is going to take me (no name or website listed) and I’m … a bit confused as to what the Pin is telling me.

The one on the right is bright, clean, simple and to the point. I know exactly what to expect when I click that link, where the link takes me (website) and whose blog or business website I’m going to land on (name). Hopefully, you can see the difference!

I find the best way to start to create a Pin is to look at some of the templates to get placement ideas, and insert to play around with.

Let’s create a Pin using a template

Love me some watermelon! But let’s say I like the layout of this watermelon template. I want to create a Pin for a recipe I’m sharing on my food blog, and this is a good starting place.

If you’ve taken a photo on your blog then upload it to Canva (click the Uploads tool on the left, and either drag and drop from your computer or click to Upload an Image or Video). Otherwise, you can search for an image under Photos.

For the purpose of this post, I’m just grabbing one beautiful stack of pancakes from the Photos collection.

Now we want to change the colours and the fonts to match our branding, or to at least match the image. I’m also going to change the title to the keywords of the article/recipe that this Pin is going to take people to, as well as add my website.

And here’s what we’re left with.

Easy, right? The Pin we’ve created is easy to read, it’s eye-catching, it tells the viewer exactly what it is (a pancake recipe) and goes a little deeper into the recipe without filling up the space with nonsense (gluten free stamp).

What to include on your Pin

It’s all very well and good to create pretty Pins but if they don’t clearly state what the person is clicking thorugh to or they’re not using relevent images … it’s going to be a little pointless. You’ve probably already notice a bunch of good things that I’ve done with that above Pin.

Here are some things to keep in mind when you’re using Canva to create your Pinterest pins.

• Simple: Keep it simple, with only or two fonts
• No super fancy fonts: Those fonts need to be easy to read so people don’t have to work too hard to know what it’s about
• Images: They need to be eye-catching and also relevant. No point having a happy woman on the front if it’s a blog post about making pasta. Yes she might be the one eating said pasta, and that’s what making her happy (girl, I get it), but that’s not what the post is about.
• Link: While users will be click a button to go to your website or blog post, you can still pop your link on the Pin itself. But just put thissplendidshamables.com, don’t worry about the show thing (http:// www. thissplendidshambles. com/ blog-post-title). That’s really messy.
• Logo: You could put your logo on it instead of a website link. Or in addtion too. Figure out what works for you.
• CTA: You don’t need to do this all the time, but sometimes it will warrant a Call to Action.
• Additional info: Perhaps like ‘Gluten free’ on the above Pin. Anything that’s short and snappy that will add a little bit more information for people without going over board.

And remember: You can create multiple Pins that point to the same URL, just make sure they’re Fresh Pins (as in they look different). You can also mix up your titles – if you’ve discovered some Pinterest keywords that are going to work, but there are multiple … you can create multiple pins that will lead to the same place, but that might have different titles/text on the image.

 💡Check out more blog posts on how to use Pinterest here

Scheudling your Pin

You can use Pinterest to schedule your pins (and add the various bits and bobs you need like titles, descriptions, alt text, link etc), but you can also use Canva if you wanted to (left image).

Make sure your Pinterest account is linked up, and then from the design page, go to the top right Share, and then select Pinterest. You’ll be prompted to add in some details before hitting schedule.

More templates

One of the great things about Canva is that you can simply play. Have a click of all the templates, images, elements and fonts and see what you can create. Remember to keep your Pins simple. 

If you aren’t inspired by the templates Canva has on offer,  you can use these ones here that I’ve created. There are 10 Pinterest templates that you can use, even on your free account. When the page opens, select ‘Use Template’. Then you can edit it however you see fit.

To use the Template more than once, I suggest you create a copy of the Template for your Pins, so you always have the Templates ’empty’.

If you’re struggling with how to use Canva for Pinterest Pins …

Just remember to have fun with it. Think about the colours and the contrast you’re using. See if you can use images that aren’t as popular so you stand out more on Pinterest. Remember to use your keywords on your Pins and your descriptions, too.

Do you use Canva for your Pinterst pins? Let me know in the comments!