Gerry Palmers Tech 09.15.2022 05:Sep AM EDT

Google, Microsoft Beware! New Canva Visual Worksuite Goes Beyond Simple Office Tools

A new player in the worksuite race has made its presence felt, targeting longtime market titans Google and Microsoft.

Canva, which is known for its online graphic design offering, is now expanding its product lineup to cover visual communications with its Canva Visual Worksuite, which offer design-driven alternatives to popular offerings from Google and Microsoft. This includes Canva Docs and Canva Whiteboards, and other new features to current tools part of the Canva product family.

New Way of Creating, Collaborating on Documents with Canva Docs

First in the Visual Worksuite is Canva Docs, a collaborative online document creator and editing tool, that enables users to utilize Canva's 100 million-plus library of design assets as they create text documents. Users can also create and embed designs, such as whiteboards, banners, and they could brainstorm directly within the Doc, instead of exporting created designs and importing them into Google Docs or Microsoft Word. An additional feature on Canva Docs, called "Docs to Decks," allows users to convert a finished document into a full presentation with just a simple click.

Canva Docs can likewise be used collaboratively across both desktop and mobile devices, letting teammates collaborate in real time wherever they are while leaving comments and suggesting actions. If the document creator does not want to offer absolute freedom, the permission to view, comment, or edit the Doc can be controlled, while Canva Insights can even monitor interactions and edits to your Canva Doc over time.

Easily Create Web Presence with Canva Websites

Google and Microsoft are not the only companies that need to watch out for new competing software from Canva. The Australian company is also entering the website creation space with Canva Websites, an easy-to-use website builder tool that could draw users of Wix or Squarespace to its fold. Canva Websites is set to offer hundreds of responsive templates for users with zero coding experience to create a websites in minutes.

While using Canva Websites, site creators can choose a free domain, take an existing domain name or buy a new domain directly, and every website created using the tool will automatically be fully responsive, optimizing it for any device. Password protection can also be set, allowing site creators to control who can access or create a private space for you and your team.

Track Metrics with Design Insights

Data Analytics can also be accessed directly through Canva through the Design Insights tool, allowing site admins to track metrics such as views, traffic, and engagement across websites, social media posts, presentations, documents, or shared designs.

Visual Worksuite also introduces another tool called Canva Whiteboards, which merges current Canva features onto a brainstorming interface for all team members. This toolcan be utilized to create mind maps and flow charts, with users able to include video and audio assets. Along with Canva Whiteboards, Quick Flow tools function like a task management system that are part of diagrams and flowcharts, assisting users to adhere to schedules using a synced timer and further allowing users to track what part of a project a team member is working on by clicking on the teammate's avatar.

Here, Canva is likewise expanding its existing Canva Print feature, allowing the creation of over 35 different products, such as leaflets, flyers, mugs, and baby outfits, and allow the sending of the physical products right to your doorstep. More updates are coming, and this includes cinematic presentations offering new transitions, remote presentation controls, and the roll out of Data Visualizations 2.0, which metamorphoses typically boring static data into dynamic, interactive visualizations as a result of Canva's acquisition of Flourish.