Tech Desk 
Sep 26, 2024
Canva recently unveiled new advancements to its developer platform, including premium apps with its Pro subscription, a translation feature for apps, better discovery mechanisms, and new application programming interface (API) functionalities.
Previously in 2023, the creative tool company commenced its developer program to allow developers to build add-ons that people can use in Canva. Think of them as Chrome extensions but for Canva. Canva said that developers have built more than 300 apps, and they have been used more than one billion times.
With this new announcement, Canva is set to make some premium apps available to users paying for Pro or higher plans. Apps could already charge for their services without Canva taking any cut. However, this is a new monetisation ability Canva is offering to select developers.
The company has a $50 million developer innovation fund. It is said to reward apps participating in the monetisation program based on aggregate usage.
Moreover, Canva has confirmed to make it simpler for users to discover these apps. Previously, they used to live in a separate apps tab on the platform. The apps you used were also shown in a different section.
Currently, these apps would show up in various places, such as the Text tab, the Elements tab, and the Photo Editor. They will also be available inside Canva Docs, alongside Canva’s editing tools.
Read more: Google Photos update — New AI-powered video features
In addition to those changes, the company is launching a translation tool for users so they can translate an app’s content into their preferred language.
In addition, Canva is launching new API capabilities for apps to use.
Content Query API: It enables apps to read and update text, unlocking possibilities for translation apps, document AI assistants, writing assistants and more.
Design Editing API (beta): It makes design and layout automation easy, like for an app that adds or modifies elements in a plain design based on prompts.
Tables API: It allows apps add tables with content to designs.
Authentication API: It simplifies authentication for apps, making it simpler to implement industry-standard OAuth protocol.
Canva General Manager (GM) and Head of Ecosystem stated: “We have taken our time to build 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 monetisation models.”
Additionally, Canva provides a Connect API, which companies can use to invoke Canva’s functionality within their environment to its enterprise customers.
