How to Send a Canva Invitation on WhatsApp

You've designed your invitation in Canva — the colours and wording are done. The next question is usually: how do I get it to my guests, and how do I find out who is coming? This guide covers exactly that step — sending the design to every guest on WhatsApp instead of printing it, and collecting the answers on one screen.

To be clear from the start: there is no technical connection between Canva and Davetimo. You download your design from Canva as a file and upload that file to Davetimo. That's all.

Finished in Canva — Now What?

Once the design is done, you have three options.

1. Print it. You send the file to a print shop and hand out the cards. You get something guests can hold — but you can't tell who has seen it, and you collect replies by phone, one by one.

2. Drop the file into a chat. You forward the image to WhatsApp groups or to people individually. Quick — but the invitation is just a file. To find out who is coming, you still have to ask everyone separately.

3. Send it to each guest personally. The same design goes to every guest in their own name, they reply from it, and you see who is coming and how many on one list. This guide is about the third option.

For a wider look at what a digital invitation is and the different kinds: What Is a Digital Invitation? What It Does and How It Works

Which File Do You Upload to Davetimo?

The file type matters, because the invitation shows up inside the WhatsApp message.

• Image: PNG, JPG or WEBP — up to 5 MB. The simplest option for a one-page invitation.
• Video: MP4 or MOV — up to 90 seconds. If you made an animated invitation, upload the video as it is; it is automatically converted on upload into a format WhatsApp plays on Android and iPhone.
• PDF is not accepted. If you downloaded a PDF from Canva for printing, download the same design once more as a PNG or JPG.

If your design has several pages, pick the page that carries the invitation itself; the date and venue name are written out separately in the invitation message. Canva's menus can change over time — for the download steps, see Canva's own help centre.

Uploading and Sending

Davetimo is a platform for every kind of invitation, from weddings to corporate events: send your personalised digital invitation via WhatsApp and collect RSVPs on a single screen.

For a design you made in Canva, the type to use is the Event Invitation: it works for any kind of event, weddings included, and doesn't need a design studio. You upload your image or video, add the date and venue, and add your guest list — import it if it's already in a spreadsheet, and enter guests abroad with their country code. Each guest receives the invitation on WhatsApp in their own name, and guests you set to English receive it in English. The step-by-step flow is in How to Send an Event Invitation on WhatsApp.

Seeing Who's Coming

Guests see the invitation in WhatsApp and confirm whether they're coming, and with how many people, without leaving WhatsApp. The answers collect on your dashboard:

• Who's coming, and how many — every guest who replies appears on the list with their status; those who haven't replied yet show as "No Response".
• Did it arrive? — you can see that the message was delivered to the guest's phone; a read receipt is usually visible too, though it depends on the guest's own read-receipt setting.
• Replies left halfway — a guest who stops partway through replying gets a gentle reminder automatically.
• Hundreds of conversations — you don't need to read them one by one: AiReport summarises who is coming, who stopped halfway, and which guests are waiting for a decision from you.
• Guests WhatsApp can't reach — you can also send the invitation by SMS. Because replies are collected on WhatsApp, you enter the reply of a guest without WhatsApp on the dashboard yourself; if a message didn't arrive and you passed the invitation on another way, you can mark it as "delivered".

More on why RSVP tracking matters: How to Track Wedding RSVPs Online

What Should Go on the Design?

With digital sending, the design and the message work together — so you don't have to fit everything onto the design.

• Put on the design: names, the type of occasion, the date and a short line of invitation. It's the first thing a guest sees when they open the message.
• Fine to leave off: long directions, a map, the full schedule. The date and venue name are written out in the invitation message. Keep the time on the design, though — it isn't in the message.
• Leave off entirely: a note like "call this number to RSVP". Replies are already collected on WhatsApp; a second channel only splits them in two.

Keep the text short and readable on a phone: small type, or light text on a light background, can look lovely in print and disappear on a small screen.

Print and Digital Together

You don't have to choose between printing your Canva design and sending it digitally. You can print a few cards of the same design for older relatives and send it on WhatsApp to everyone else. Add the people who received a card to your list and enter their replies on the dashboard, and you still see who's coming in one place.

For a wedding, if you'd rather use a ready-made, designed invitation page than your own design, there's another route: the Concept Invitation, where guests reply on the invitation page itself, with twelve distinct design worlds to choose from.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I send an invitation from Canva to WhatsApp?

Download it from Canva as a PNG, JPG or MP4 and share it on WhatsApp. If you also want to see who is coming, upload the file to Davetimo and send it to each guest in their own name; the replies collect on one screen.

Can I send the invitation as a PDF?

A PDF arrives in the chat as a file, which the guest has to open to see. Uploading to Davetimo also needs a PNG, JPG or WEBP (up to 5 MB) or an MP4/MOV video (up to 90 seconds). Downloading the same design once more as an image is enough.

How do guests reply?

The invitation arrives on WhatsApp, and guests confirm whether they're coming and with how many people without leaving WhatsApp. There's no app to install and no account to create.

Are Canva and Davetimo connected?

No — there is no technical connection between the two. You download the design from Canva and upload it to Davetimo yourself.

To see how the Event Invitation and the RSVP dashboard work in Davetimo, explore the features →. To talk about what fits your guest list, get a quote →.

Davetimo is not affiliated with Canva; Canva is a trademark of its respective owner.

Davetimo Editorial