How to turn a Canva design into a flipbook

Canva is where a lot of brochures, menus, catalogs and magazines are made now. Sharing them is the harder part. A Canva link opens the design on canva.com, not on your site, and a PDF download sends readers off the page. A flipbook shows the same pages on your own site, where readers can turn pages, zoom, search and click links.

The flipbook shows exactly what is in the PDF, so most of the work is in the download settings. Here is what to choose.

1. Lay out the pages like a book

A flipbook shows the cover on its own, then pairs the pages: 2 and 3 face each other, then 4 and 5, and so on. Plan the design for that.

• One page per Canva page. Don’t design a two-page spread as one wide page. The flipbook would show it as a single page and squeeze it to fit.
• Facing pages. Even pages sit on the left and odd pages on the right. If an image runs across two pages, split it so each half is on its own page, an even page followed by an odd one.
• An even number of pages. That way the last page is a back cover on its own. Add a blank page or a contact page if you need one.
• The same size throughout. Mixed page sizes work, but the book looks uneven as pages turn.

2. Download the right PDF

In Canva, click Share, then Download, and pick PDF Standard.

PDF Print is for a print shop. It is larger, and a larger file is the most common reason a flipbook is slow to show its first page. PDF Standard is usually sharp enough, and in the PRO version of the WordPress plugin the pages are rendered again at a higher resolution as readers zoom in. If small print looks soft in your test, try PDF Print and compare the file sizes.

Leave Flatten PDF off. It is useful when a print shop has trouble with fonts, but it makes every page an image. Readers can’t select a phone number or a product code, and search finds nothing.

3. Check the PDF before you upload

Open the downloaded file in a desktop PDF reader and spend a minute on three checks:

• Select a word. If you can, the flipbook’s search will find it.
• Click a link. Links you added in Canva are kept in the PDF and stay clickable in the flipbook.
• Look at the file size. A 20-page brochure is often a few megabytes. If yours is much larger, large photos are the usual cause. Why a flipbook loads slowly covers what to change.

4. Create the flipbook

Upload the PDF the same way you would any other. Nothing has to be converted first, because the pages are generated from the PDF.

• WordPress: create a flipbook from the PDF and place it with the block or the shortcode. The steps are in how to turn a PDF into a flipbook on WordPress.
• Shopify and Wix: select the PDF in the app. On Shopify you can also link pages to your products, as in shoppable catalogs on Shopify.

In the WordPress plugin, clickable links and text search are part of the PRO version. Lite vs PRO has the full comparison.

5. Add what the PDF doesn’t have

Canva doesn’t add bookmarks to its PDFs, so the flipbook has no table of contents to read from the file. Make one in the flipbook editor instead: add an item for each section, point it to a page and drag the items into order. For a catalog, thumbnails often work better than a list. Navigating a long flipbook covers both, along with links to a page.

Then pick a view mode. Canva designs are often brochures and lookbooks, where the realistic 3D page turn suits the content. If most readers are on phones, swipe is easier to read. See which flipbook view mode to use.

Updating it later

Edit the design in Canva, download it again with the same settings, and replace the PDF in the flipbook. The page on your site keeps its address, so links you have already shared, and any QR code printed on a flyer, still work.

If the page count changes, check the facing pages again. One page added near the start moves every spread after it by one.

Questions about Canva flipbooks

Does Canva make flipbooks?

Canva makes the pages and can share a link to the design on canva.com. To show the design as a book with a page turn on your own site, download it as a PDF and use a flipbook plugin or app.

PDF Standard or PDF Print?

PDF Standard, in most cases. It is made for screens and loads faster. Use PDF Print only if fine print looks soft in your test, and keep an eye on the file size.

Why can’t readers search my Canva flipbook?

Usually because the PDF was downloaded with Flatten PDF turned on, which makes every page an image. Download it again with Flatten PDF off.

Will the links from my Canva design work?

Yes. Canva keeps the links in the PDF, and the flipbook makes them clickable. In the WordPress plugin, that needs the PRO version.

Can I use a free Canva account?

Yes. PDF Standard is available on the free plan.