Automate Certificate Generation with Make

1.1 — Find a template

Let's grab a template and customize it:

1. Go to canva.com and sign up (or log in)
2. In the search bar, type "certificate"
3. Browse the templates and select one you like

1.2 — Customize the template

Click "Customize this template" to open it in the Canva editor. Add your branding — logo, colors, fonts.

1.3 — Remove dynamic text

Delete any text that will change per certificate (recipient name, date, etc.). We'll add these as dynamic fields in TemplateFox.

In my case, for simplicity, I'll just remove the student's first and last name.

1. Select the recipient name text
2. Delete it completely

Tip: Keep your design elements (borders, decorations) — just clear the text that will change per certificate.

1.4 — Export as PNG

Export your certificate as an image:

1. Click Share → Download
2. Choose PNG format
3. Click Download

Why PNG? Simpler to work with — no font embedding issues. Your design becomes a background image.

2.1 — Import the design

Create a new template and import your Canva design:

1. Go to Templates in your dashboard
2. Click Create Template
3. Choose Fixed (single-page documents)
4. Change dimension to A4 Landscape
5. Set zoom to 75% to see the full page
6. Extend the initial section to fill the entire page
7. Click New Element → Image
8. Upload your PNG and extend it to cover the whole background — it should fit perfectly

2.2 — Add dynamic fields

Add text fields that will be populated from Make. For this demo, we'll add several fields that cover a typical certificate:

1. Add a Text element
2. Type {{name}}
3. Position it where the recipient name should appear
4. Set the font to Great Vibes at size 90 for an elegant signature look
5. Center the text horizontally and align it to the bottom of the text box
6. Adjust line spacing so the text sits properly at the bottom (for Great Vibes, 0.8 works well)
7. Enable Autoscale Down so long names automatically shrink to fit

Common dynamic fields you can use:

• {{name}}— Student/recipient name
• {{course_title}}— Course or program name
• {{completion_date}}— Date of completion
• {{certificate_id}}— Unique certificate number

3.1 — Create the scenario

Create a Make scenario to connect your data source to TemplateFox:

1. Go to make.com and create a new scenario
2. Add a trigger module:
   • Course platform (Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi) → "Watch Enrollments" or "Course Completed"
   • Google Sheets → "Watch Rows"
   • Typeform → "Watch Responses"
3. Add an HTTP module (Make > HTTP > Make a request)
4. Configure the HTTP module:
   • URL: https://api.pdftemplateapi.com/v1/pdf
   • Method: POST
   • Headers: x-api-key: your_api_key and Content-Type: application/json
   • Body: JSON with your template ID and dynamic data

{
  "template_id": "your-template-id",
  "data": {
    "name": "{{1.student_name}}",
    "course_title": "{{1.course_name}}",
    "completion_date": "{{1.completed_at}}",
    "certificate_id": "CERT-{{1.enrollment_id}}"
  }
}

3.2 — Add email module

Add a module to email the certificate to the recipient:

1. Add a Gmail, Microsoft 365 Email, or SMTP module after the HTTP module
2. Set the To field to the student's email from the trigger
3. Write a congratulatory subject and message
4. Attach the PDF — use the pdf_url from the HTTP module's response

4.1 — Iterator for cohort processing

Make's Iterator module takes an array of items and processes each one individually. This is perfect for generating certificates from a list of graduates.

1. Start with a Google Sheets or Airtable module that fetches all rows (your cohort list)
2. Add an Iterator module — it splits the array so each row is processed individually
3. Connect the HTTP module (from step 3.1) after the Iterator
4. Map each row's fields to the API body — {{iterator.name}}, {{iterator.email}}, etc.
5. Add the email module after the HTTP module to send each certificate

4.2 — Error handling

When processing hundreds of certificates, a single failure shouldn't stop the entire batch. Make has built-in error handling for this.

1. Right-click the HTTP module and select "Add error handler"
2. Choose the Resume directive — this tells Make to skip the failed item and continue with the next one
3. Optionally, add a Google Sheets "Add a Row" module in the error handler to log failures
4. After the scenario completes, check the error log and re-run only the failed certificates