9 Reasons Why You Can’t Download Your Canva Project (and Their Fixes)
Imageby Canva Studio via Pexels. No attribution required.
It can be frustrating when you’ve slaved away creating a design in Canva, only to find it won’t download when you need it to. There’s a plethora of reasons your Canva project isn’t downloading, and—depending on the reason—there are solutions to fixing it.
Let’s go over the reasons your Canva projects aren’t downloading and their solutions.
1. Using Pro Elements on a Free Canva Account
Screenshot by Ruby Helyer, author. No attribution required.
While using Canva Pro elements doesn’t stop you from downloading your Canva project, it won’t let you download a clear view of your chosen images. If, after saving, there are Canva watermarks over some of the images and elements you’ve used, it can be a problem.
Watermarks are unsightly and look unprofessional, so it’s best to save a design without Canva watermarks. They distract from your design and it means you can’t use your Canva projects in any professional capacity—it may as well not download.
How to Fix It
To remove watermarks,upgrade to Canva Pro, which has many benefits—including access to all Pro elements and images.
To avoid a Canva Pro subscription, you can individually buy or license Canva elements. Hover your cursor over Pro elements in the Elements tab to see their prices. This avoids the subscription, but even with only a few individual licenses, it could stack up to Canva Pro’s monthly price without all the benefits.
Alternatively, change your elements and images to Canva Free options. This can be images you’ve uploaded or Canva elements without the crown icon. See ourlist of Canva element codesfor an abundance of element options.
2. Lost Connection
A bad internet or network connection won’t solely be attributed to Canva—you’ll notice this issue on any web platform you try to access. Because Canva is a browser-based platform—its app also requires an internet connection—you won’t be able to access anything with a lost connection.
Check your network connection and Wi-Fi signal. Try the good old “turn it off and on again” technique that often has successful results.
If your connection is out for good, use the screen-free time for idea generation, or inspire yourself in traditional ways like reading design magazines, or going for a walk. By the time you’ve got new ideas, your connection might be back up and running.
3. Incorrect File Format
Ever try to download your Canva project but it’s possible to’t save it in the format you need? That could be an issue preventing you from downloading your Canva files and projects.
Canva Free users are restricted to certain file types and quality limits when saving Canva projects. For example, although you’re able to save your project as a PNG, you cannot use a transparent background unless you use Canva Pro.
If your project has anyCanva animation elementsor videos, it needs to be saved as a GIF or MP4 to work. You can’t save an animated file as a JPG or PNG, otherwise, you’ll only save a static image. Setting the correct file format for the media type means there will be no issues when you download your Canva project.
You can use the free version ofCanva to export JPGs and MP4s for Etsy listing images and videos, for example, but SVGs are not available for Canva Free users—so upgrade to Canva Pro or save your project in a different file format.
4. Unsupported Browser
We often prefer a certain browser when using internet apps. Whether you’re using Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or something else, your browser may present issues that affect how Canva works or whether it lets you download projects or not.
Routinely keeping your browser updated helps with successfully downloading Canva projects, but also ensures your security and quality of use when exploring the internet.
Some browsers or their versions aren’t supported by Canva. CheckCanva’s technical requirementsto see supported browsers. If yours is unsupported, it could need updating, or you may have to switch to another browser to use Canva.
5. Not Enough Storage Space
Not having enough storage space to download your Canva projects could be a Canva issue or an issue with your system. Whichever one it is, there’s an easy fix to get you on your way to saving your Canva projects.
Canva’s browser or app saves any project you open or work on. Whenever you log into your Canva account, you’ll find your previous projects, but only if there’s enough storage for Canva to hold them.
Canva Free offers 5GB of cloud storage—this is plenty for a hobby user, but if you’re a heavy user, then it may not be enough. This will affect your projects even before you strive to download them.
Upgrading to Canva Pro will relieve you with 1TB of cloud storage. This is a large amount of storage, so you’ll likely never run into Canva storage issues again.
If your computer, phone, or tablet runs out of internal storage, this will also prevent you from downloading your Canva project. Delete and clean up storage on your device, or connect to an external storage or cloud storage.
6. The Canva Servers Are Down
We take constant access to the internet for granted, and occasionally, website servers are an issue preventing anyone from accessing anything. If you can’t access Canva, or you’re having problems downloading your Canva project, and nothing else is fixing it, the Canva servers might be down.
If you’ve tried every other avenue, check out theCanva status pageto see if Canva itself is having issues. You’ll see first-hand if the issue is from Canva’s servers.
The status page gives a general overview of whether the servers are running correctly. It also provides a breakdown of Canva functions showing if individual features are presenting issues. There’s a date log of previous issues and their fix statuses, including the global regions those issues affected.
7. The File Is Too Large
Most people use Canva to design for social media or web graphics, but Canva also offers printed graphics likestickers designed by you and printed by Canva, or promotional stationery like flyers or banners.
When making large-scale designs, you may find issues with saving them if the files are too big. Canva’s maximum dimension allowance is 8000px x 3125px.
If you need a larger scale than Canva can handle, proportionately scale your design down by half or another dimension. When printing or using the design, you could scale up while keeping it in proportion.
For digital designs, it’s best to follow smaller or specific dimensions. Mostsocial media sites have a list of recommended dimensions. You should design for the size you need from the beginning.
8. Too Many Elements
If creating complex designs in Canva, you might find yourself with too many graphic elements or images, or perhaps a document with many pages. While Canva can handle a lot, going over the maximum limit presents issues with downloading your Canva project.
Canva can’t save designs with more than 50 video or animated elements, and it can’t download if there are more than 300 design elements or images—that’s a lot of elements for one design.
The proverb “less is more” comes to mind with this fix. Too many elements can be too much of a good thing. Remove some or save your design as individual pages rather than a multi-page design that goes over the limits.
9. The Editor Is Locked
If the Canva editor is locked, it could be a Canva server problem. But if you’ve already checked for that as well as the other tips in this list, you might be blocked due to using a VPN or browser extension.
VPNs, firewalls, proxies, antivirus, or browser extensions occasionally affectCanva’s WebSockets, which results in connectivity issues.
If you use VPNs, firewalls, and the like, you should turn off one at a time to test if Canva allows you access. By switching them off individually, you may see for certain which is responsible, and turn off just the one rather than everything.
Resume Downloading Your Canva Projects
This list will help you overcome a whole host of problems that might present themselves when trying to download your Canva projects. Most of them have simple explanations and easy fixes. There’s no need to stress or worry next time it’s possible to’t download your project; just refer back to this list of tips.
You can easily save your favorite templates and elements in Canva for quicker access later. Here’s how to do it.
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