Beware of the Canva Trap - Top Local Marketing Mistakes with Flyers Online

Canva is an amazing tool for creating beautiful designs, especially for those without a graphic design background.

Beware... if you’re using it to create flyers and then uploading those images to your website without adding text, you’re making a big mistake - one that could lead to an ADA violation and even a lawsuit.

The Problem: Flyers as Images Are Inaccessible

Many businesses, nonprofits, and even municipalities rely on flyers to promote events and announcements.

The issue?

When you upload a flyer as an image without including the content as actual text, you create three major problems:

• No SEO Value - Google can’t read images, so your flyer content won’t help your website rank in search results.

• Not Mobile-Friendly - Flyers shrink on mobile, making them unreadable and frustrating for users.

• ADA Violation Risk - Screen readers can’t interpret text inside an image, making the information inaccessible to visually impaired users. This can put you at risk of lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 compliance laws.

Real-World Examples: The CANVA Trap

The screenshot above from a community bank highlights a common mistake: using text-heavy graphics - like sponsorship packets or event promotions - without including that same content as real, readable text on the webpage.

These materials may look good, but:

• Search engines ignore them

• Mobile users can’t read them

• Screen readers can’t interpret them

And in some cases, like a recent example from a bank’s homepage, even clickable elements (like a Facebook logo) embedded in a flyer image become completely nonfunctional.

The Right Way to Use Flyers

If you want to use a flyer on your website or social media, follow these best practices:

1. Include all critical details in text format somewhere on the page - event name, time, location, and a short description.

2. Make sure text is visible on mobile and not just part of an image.

3. Use alternative (alt) text when uploading images to social media, so screen readers can describe them.

4. For emails, don’t send only an image - include text to improve readability and avoid being marked as spam.

The key thing to understand is that good marketing and avoiding ADA violations actually go hand in hand.

Ensuring your content is accessible, searchable, and readable helps reach more people, improve your SEO, and avoid legal risks.

Visuals are great - but they shouldn’t come at the cost of usability or compliance. Add text. Make your content accessible.

Don’t let something as simple as an image flyer limit your reach or invite legal trouble.