Canva adds new abilities for app developers and improves discoverability

Canva just announced new enhancements to its developer platform, such as including premium apps with its Pro subscription, a translation feature for apps, better discovery mechanisms, and new API functionalities.

The creative tool company started its developer program in June 2023 to let developers build add-ons that people can use in Canva. Think of them as Chrome extensions, but for Canva. The company said that developers have built more than 300 apps, and they have been used more than 1 billion times.

For instance, Meta has built a Meta Design Check app to help users apply the company’s best creative practices.

With this new announcement, Canva will make some premium apps available to users paying for Pro or higher plans. Until now, apps could already charge for their services without Canva taking any cut. But this is a new monetization capability Canva is offering with select developers.

The company has a $50 million developer innovation fund. It will reward apps participating in the monetization program based on aggregate usage.

Canva is also making it easier for users to discover these apps. Earlier, they used to live in a separate apps tab on the platform. The apps you used were also shown in a different section. Now these apps will show up in different places, such as the Text tab, the Elements tab, and the Photo Editor. They will also be available inside Canva Docs, alongside Canva’s own editing tools.

In addition to those changes, the company is launching a translation tool for users so they can translate an app’s content in their preferred language.

Canva is also launching new API capabilities for apps to use. For instance, the new content query API lets users ask questions about content present in the design. Plus, it allows apps to read and update text with user consent. The new design editing API, which is launching in beta, can create some design elements and layouts based on prompts by the user. The company has also introduced a new API for authentication through a Canva account and a tables API to create tables within the design.

“We have taken our time to build out a developer platform because we thought a lot about how we should tackle data sharing with developers and how much flexibility we should give them. We also wanted to make sure that we can sustain this program in the long run, and that’s why we have looked at different monetization models,” Anwar Haneef, GM and Head of Ecosystem at Canva, told TechCrunch over a call.

Canva also offers a Connect API, which companies can use to invoke Canva’s functionality within their environment to its enterprise customers. Last week, the company unveiled Canva for Salesforce to convert customer data into presentations. For instance, sales teams could use it to build a deck based on account information.

The company is also allowing developers to apply for Leonardo.Ai APIs, a startup Canva acquired earlier in the year, and get credits to build their apps.