To strikethrough text on Canva, simply go to “elements” and select the line from “lines and shapes.” Upon clicking the line, that line will appear on the canvas, which you can then move on top of your text. Doing so will result in a visual strikethrough effect.
Here is an example of what the text might look like once the line is placed on top of it. The nice thing about having to add the strikethrough this way is that you have complete control of the thickness of the line, color, etc.
Now, while not difficult, why isn’t this more automatic and easier?
When Canva was first getting started, I felt like I was writing blog posts like this on a weekly basis, like how to flip text, how to rotate a page in Canva, etc.
That is, simple formatting needs and wants that someone would expect to exist as a button or shortcut, but simply weren’t executable in Canva without some type of manual workaround.
Then, things got a lot better. We saw a ton of new apps, effects, and functionalities hit the platform, and now pretty much anything you can think of can be completed within Canva, and with the click of a button.
All that to say, adding a text strikethrough on Canva is still a manual operation.
As to why? I think I understand.
Up until a few months ago with the release of Magic Write and Docs, Canva wasn’t really thought of as much of a word processor. I mean, it’s a design platform through and through, but with many designs comes some text.
So, with many people using Canva for logos, invitations, and other design-heavy projects, there really isn’t much of a need for paragraphs of text, right?
For instance, you’d want to use a strikethrough as a typological effect to indicate changes when reviewing a piece of text. That is, If you are editing content, a strikethrough helps indicate that a word or words should be removed. You see it automatically happen in something like Google Docs when suggesting changes. This way you don’t just change the content without letting the writer know or approve of the action beforehand.
This doesn’t really happen in Canva, so I guess that’s why you don’t see the option as a click-to-format option like bold or italics.
Thus, when you want to use the strikethrough as a design element, you have to go through the process I listed above.
As to why you might want to use the strikethrough as a design element, here are some ideas:
Emphasis and Contrast: You might see strikethroughs when a company is alerting you that something has changed. Rather than simply talking about the new cool thing, crossing out the old with a strikethrough helps emphasize and create contrast between the two.
Playfulness: On the lighter side, a strikethrough can be a playful element in your design to add humor. For example, you could have a slogan like, “I love my new diet” in which case “love” would be crossed out with a strikethrough and the word “tolerate” would be written over the top.
All in all, the strikethrough has its place on Canva, and while creating it is possible, it’s not as easy as expected. That said, as mentioned above, this does allow you to have complete control over the look and feel of the strikethrough, with the option to make the line super thin, thick, of a different color, etc.
