Zoho CRM Canvas: Design Your Own Record Pages

A common complaint about Zoho CRM is that record pages are busy: salespeople scroll past dozens of fields to find the three they need. Canvas is Zoho's design-your-own-CRM tool — think Squarespace or Wix, but for your record pages. You drag and drop elements, change colours, and put the information that matters front and centre.

Create a canvas

1. In Setup, open Canvas and create a record detail page.
2. Choose the module (e.g. Leads) and pick a template — or start from scratch. Some templates look very different from standard CRM; others stay close to the built-in design if you only want light changes, such as new colours.
3. Drag elements from the sidebar: fields, buttons, related lists, tabs. Style them as you would on a website.
4. Save and test on a real record, then set it as the default view once you're happy.

A good layout puts key contact details, recent notes and upcoming meetings at the top, with tabs for the timeline, emails and other related lists.

Show data from related modules

Canvas can display related module fields. On a contact, drag in the account's owner or credit limit; on a deal, show the contact's phone and email and the account's details. This removes the need to copy fields between modules with workflows — which always risks data getting out of sync. It's just a view onto the other record.

(You can now do something similar on standard layouts with mirrored fields.)

Different canvases for different teams

You can create multiple canvases per module and assign them by profile. Sales might see notes, open deals and next meetings; marketing might see lead source, campaign, the ad and the web form that brought the lead in. Canvas also works on list views, not just record pages.

Make it work on every screen: Flexbox

A canvas designed on a large monitor can overlap and break on smaller screens. The Flexbox element lets content reflow to fit the screen size. Use it for your main sections, and test on the smallest monitor your team uses.

Save time

• Clone a canvas for another module and swap the elements rather than starting again.
• Save organisation templates, and export/import canvases to reuse designs across Zoho systems.

Is Canvas right for you?

Canvas sits between system configuration and design, so it takes a little more care than editing a standard layout — especially around sizing. But if your team finds the CRM cluttered, it can transform how it feels to use. Pair it with layout rules to show fields only when they're needed.

Watch the June 2025 What's New in Zoho webinar to see a canvas built.