Where Canva keeps its most-used templates
Canva shows you trending designs in two main places: the Trending tab on the home page, and the Favorites section where you save designs you want to use again. The Trending tab displays templates that other Canva users are using right now, updated throughout the day. Your Favorites list is personal — it holds only the designs you have marked with a heart icon.
These are different things. Trending shows you what is popular across Canva's user base. Favorites shows you what you have personally saved. Both are useful, but for different reasons: Trending helps you discover new design ideas; Favorites helps you find designs you have already decided you like.
Key Takeaways
- The Trending tab on Canva's home page shows templates other users are currently using, updated throughout the day.
- You save designs to your Favorites by clicking the heart icon, and access them later from your profile menu under Favorites.
- Trending designs are sorted by category — social media, presentations, documents — so you can browse only what you need.
- Searching by design type (like "Instagram post" or "flyer") often surfaces trending templates faster than browsing the Trending tab itself.
Finding designs in the Trending tab
Open Canva and look at the home page. Below the search bar, you will see tabs labeled Trending, Templates, and sometimes others depending on your account type. Click Trending. Canva will show you a grid of designs organized by category — Instagram posts, presentations, social media graphics, flyers, and more.
Scroll through the category cards to see what is popular in each one. Click on any category card to see more designs in that category. For example, clicking the Instagram post card will show you dozens of trending Instagram templates. Each design shows a thumbnail, the template name, and sometimes how many people have used it recently.
The designs in Trending change throughout the day as usage patterns shift. If you see something you like, click it to open the editor and start customizing it. You do not have to use a trending design just because it is trending — this section is meant to show you what is available and what other people find useful.
Saving designs to your Favorites
When you find a design you want to keep, click the heart icon in the top right corner of the template card. The heart will fill in with color, and the design is now saved to your Favorites. You can heart a design from the Trending tab, from search results, or from inside the editor before you start customizing.
To see your saved Favorites later, click your profile icon in the top right corner of Canva, then select Favorites from the dropdown menu. Your Favorites list shows all the designs you have hearted, organized by the date you saved them. You can click any design to open it and start editing, or heart it again to remove it from Favorites.
Favorites are stored in your Canva account, so they stay with you across devices. If you log into Canva on your phone or a different computer, your Favorites list will be there.
Using search to find trending designs faster
If you know what type of design you need, searching is often faster than browsing the Trending tab. Click the search bar at the top of the home page and type what you are looking for — "Instagram post," "business card," "newsletter," "flyer," or any other design type. Canva will show you results, and the most popular templates usually appear first.
You can narrow results further by clicking filters. Look for options like "Free" or "Pro" (depending on your account), and sometimes category filters like "Social Media" or "Marketing." These filters help you see only designs that match what you need.
Search results are not exactly the same as the Trending tab — search shows you the most relevant matches to your query, while Trending shows you what is popular across all design types. For a specific need, search is usually more direct.
Understanding what makes a design trending
Canva's Trending section is based on how many users have opened, customized, or used a template recently. A design becomes trending when many people create something from it in a short period. This happens for several reasons: a design might be genuinely useful for a common task, it might be new and catching attention, or it might be seasonal (holiday templates trend around holidays, for example).
Trending does not mean a design is the best or most professional. It means it is being used a lot right now. You might find a trending design that does not fit your needs at all, and that is fine. Trending is a starting point for discovery, not a recommendation that every trending design is right for you.
Organizing designs you use repeatedly
If you use the same design template many times — for example, a weekly social media post or a monthly report cover — save it to Favorites so you can find it quickly. You can also create a team project or folder in Canva to group related designs together, though this requires a Canva Teams account or Canva Pro.
With a free Canva account, your Favorites list is your main organizational tool. Heart the designs you use often, and you can access them all from one place. If you have dozens of favorites, you can search your Favorites by typing in the search bar while viewing your Favorites list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I see what designs other specific people are using?
No. Canva's Trending tab shows aggregate data — what many users are using — but not individual user activity. You cannot see what a particular person has created or is working on unless they share a design link with you directly.
Do I lose my Favorites if I delete a design?
No. Your Favorites list is separate from your created designs. If you heart a template and then delete a design you made from that template, the template stays in your Favorites. You can still open it and create a new design from it.
Why do some trending designs say "Pro" next to them?
Canva Pro templates require a paid Canva Pro subscription to use. Free account users can view Pro templates in Trending and search results, but cannot open them to edit unless they upgrade. Free templates are marked "Free" or have no label.
Can I make my own designs show up in Trending?
No. Canva's Trending section shows only official Canva templates, not user-created designs. If you create a design and want to share it, you can send the link to others or publish it to your Canva profile, but it will not appear in the Trending tab.
How often does the Trending tab update?
Canva updates the Trending tab throughout the day as usage patterns change. There is no fixed schedule — it updates based on real-time user activity. If you check back a few hours later, you may see different designs in the Trending section.