Digital planners are a simple and flexible way to organize your schedule, goals, tasks, and everyday life. Unlike traditional paper planners, a digital planner can include clickable hyperlinks that let you move quickly between different pages and sections.
The good news is that you don’t need advanced graphic design skills to create one. With Canva and a few simple techniques, you can build a beautiful digital planner that works on tablets, phones, and computers.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to create a digital planner with clickable hyperlinks in Canva from start to finish.
What You Need to Create a Digital Planner
Before getting started, you’ll need:
A Canva account
A computer or tablet
A basic idea of how you want your planner to look
A note-taking or PDF app that supports hyperlinks
You can start with a completely blank design or customize an existing layout to match your preferred style.
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Step 1: Create Your Planner Document
Open Canva and select Create a Design.
For a planner that will be used digitally, you can use a US Letter or A4 document. The important thing is to keep the dimensions consistent throughout the entire planner.
Choose a clean background and decide on a visual style before adding too many elements.
For example, you could use:
Neutral colors for a minimalist planner
Soft pastel colors for a feminine design
Dark colors for a modern planner
Simple white backgrounds for a professional look
Try to keep the same fonts, colors, and spacing throughout the planner. Consistency will make the final product look much more professional.
Step 2: Design Your Cover Page
The cover is the first page users will see, so keep it simple.
Add a title such as:
My Digital Planner
You can also add the year, your name, or a small decorative element.
Avoid filling the cover with too many graphics. A clean design usually looks more polished.
Step 3: Create Your Planner Sections
Now it’s time to create the actual pages.
Depending on what you want your planner to be used for, you could include:
Monthly Planner
Use a calendar layout where users can see their entire month at a glance.
Weekly Planner
Create sections for each day of the week and leave enough space for appointments, tasks, and notes.
Daily Planner
A daily page could include:
Today’s priorities
To-do list
Schedule
Notes
Water tracker
Habit tracker
Goals & Notes
You can also add dedicated pages for:
Monthly goals
Yearly goals
Habit tracking
Budget planning
Project planning
Brain dumps
Notes
The exact sections depend on the audience you’re designing the planner for.
Step 4: Add Navigation Tabs
This is where your digital planner starts becoming much more useful.
Create navigation tabs that appear consistently on your pages.
For example:
HOME | MONTHLY | WEEKLY | DAILY | GOALS | NOTES
These tabs will eventually become clickable.
You can create them using simple shapes, text, icons, or a combination of different elements.
Keep their position consistent from page to page so users always know where to find them.
Step 5: Add Hyperlinks in Canva
Now you can turn your navigation elements into clickable links.
Select the text, button, icon, or shape you want to make clickable.
Then choose the Link option in Canva.
For internal navigation, you can link the element to the appropriate page within your design.
For example:
The Monthly button → Monthly section
The Weekly button → Weekly section
The Goals button → Goals section
The Home button → Cover or main navigation page
Repeat this process for each navigation element.
Pro Tip
Don’t make every single element clickable.
Too many links can make a planner confusing. Focus on the buttons and navigation elements that users are most likely to need.
Step 6: Add a Consistent Navigation System
A professional digital planner should feel easy to navigate.
One useful approach is to keep a small navigation bar on every page.
For example:
Home · Monthly · Weekly · Daily · Notes
Users can then jump between sections without having to scroll through dozens of pages.
You can also add a small Back to Home button at the bottom or top of each page.
This small detail can make a big difference to the overall user experience.
Step 7: Add Decorative Elements
Once the structure is finished, you can personalize the planner.
Canva has thousands of elements that can be used for decoration, including:
Minimalist icons
Shapes
Illustrations
Stickers
Frames
Dividers
Floral elements
However, don’t overdo it.
A good digital planner should look attractive without making the important information difficult to read.
Step 8: Export Your Digital Planner
When you’re happy with the design, it’s time to export it.
Choose PDF as your export format and make sure the hyperlinks are preserved.
Before sharing the planner, open the exported PDF and test every navigation button.
Check that:
The links work correctly
Buttons lead to the right pages
Text is readable
Nothing overlaps
Pages are in the correct order
Testing the final PDF is important because a small linking mistake can make the planner frustrating to use.
Make Your Digital Planner Even Better
Once you’ve created your first planner, you can experiment with different layouts and features.
For example, you could create separate versions for:
Students
Busy professionals
Entrepreneurs
Fitness tracking
Meal planning
Budget management
Goal setting
You can also create different visual themes while keeping the same underlying structure.
Final Thoughts
Creating a digital planner with hyperlinks may seem complicated at first, but Canva makes the process much easier.
The key is to start with a clear structure, keep your design consistent, and build simple navigation between your sections.
Start with a basic planner containing a cover, monthly pages, weekly pages, daily pages, and notes. Once you’re comfortable with the process, you can add more advanced sections and customize the design to fit your needs.
The most important thing is to create something that is easy to use, visually clean, and genuinely helpful.
Ready to Create Your Own Digital Planner?
Start with a simple layout and build from there. With a little creativity and the right structure, you can turn a basic Canva design into a fully interactive digital planner.
Ready to Create Your Own Digital Planner? ✨
Looking for the right resources to get started?