8 Essential Canva Templates for Substack
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Welcome to your Substack branding kit of 8 Canva templates
Here you’ll find everything you need to create a great-looking Substack publication with a free Canva account.
These 8 carefully crafted Canva templates will:
✅ help you launch with confidence;
✅ save you hours of time by providing the exact shapes and dimensions you need for each visual element of your publication;
✅ inspire you with ideas and options;
✅ give your publication a cohesive, polished look from day one.
What’s Inside This Kit
This collection includes 8 ready-to-customize Canva templates designed specifically for Substack creators:
Publication Logo
Wordmark
Welcome Page Photo
Welcome Page Banner
Page Divider
Email Header Banner Image
Personal Profile Cover Image
Signature
How to Use This Kit
Click on the Canva link for each template below
The template will open in Canva
Click ‘View Template’ and the template will open in your Canva account, or you will be prompted to create a free account
To edit the design, click ‘Edit template’ or ‘Open in Editor’
Edit the design with your own branding, colors and content
Download your finished design (PNG, JPEG or GIF)
Upload to your Substack publication, in ‘Dashboard > Settings’
These templates are yours to edit any way you’d like. Canva licensing allows you to use the image files you create from these templates in your Substack projects.
⭐ Important: Each template has multiple pages, with different ideas to inspire you and show you what’s possible. Choose one page to edit and delete the pages you don’t want before downloading your final image ⭐
If you’re new to Canva…
Canva is a web-based graphic design tool (also available as an app) that lets you create visual content like social media posts, presentations, posters, documents, and short videos without needing formal graphic design skills.
It uses a drag‑and‑drop editor and a large library of templates, images, fonts, and elements so you can quickly customise designs for your professional use.
How Canva is used for Substack
Substack creators use Canva to design images and turn them into image files that can be uploaded to Substack.
Canva can also be used to develop other marketing collateral such as e-books and slide decks.
Getting set up on Canva
Canva has a free account tier that gives you the basic tools you need to create designs for Substack. The free plan gives you access to pre-made templates and allows you to upload your own photos to use in your designs.
For a beginner, the free plan is usually more than enough to create everything you need.
You’ll need to sign up to Canva before you access the templates, but a free account is perfect and you can sign up with just your email – no credit card details required.
Template 1 | Publication Logo
Purpose: The publication logo is a small square image that appears at the top of your publication pages and in places where your Substack is listed or shared, so readers start to recognise you.
Dimensions: 600 x 600 px
Can I skip this? Nope! Every publication should have a publication logo to give it a properly set-up look. The logo doesn’t have to be fancy, and you can change it any time, so don’t sweat the details.
Tip: Make sure your logo design reaches right to the edge of the canvas. If you have a paid Canva account, remove the background to give it a cleaner look in browser tabs.
Click below to open the template on canva 👇