mockvid
The Canva method, step by step
If you want to do it by hand, here is the standard workflow designers use. It works, and it costs nothing but time.
1. Capture a full-page screenshot
Install a full-page capture extension (GoFullPage is the usual pick), open the site, let every section load, then capture and download the page as one tall PNG. If the site lazy-loads images, scroll to the bottom first or the screenshot will have gaps.
2. Set up the device frame in Canva
Create a design at your target size (1080×1080 for a feed post, 1080×1920 for a Reel). Search Canva's library for a laptop or phone frame image and position it. You need a frame whose screen area is clean and rectangular.
3. Animate the scroll by hand
Place your tall screenshot over the screen area, mask or crop it to the screen, then animate its vertical position from top to bottom across the timeline. Getting the speed right takes a few tries: too fast looks frantic, too slow bores people. Preview, adjust, preview again.
4. Export, then start over for mobile
Export the video, watch it once more for glitches, and if you also want the phone version (for a Reel, you do), repeat steps 1 to 4 with a mobile-width screenshot and a phone frame.
Realistic total: 30 to 60 minutes per site, and most designers ship one per client project plus portfolio variants.
Where the manual method breaks down
- It flattens the site. A screenshot freezes every animation, parallax effect and video background. The most designed parts of the site disappear from the mockup.
- The scroll is fake. A PNG sliding under a frame has no easing, no momentum, none of the feel of a real page.
- The device is a flat image. No perspective shift, no lighting, no camera movement. It reads as a template because it is one.
- Every revision restarts the clock. Client tweaks the hero after you made the mockup? New screenshot, new mask, new animation.
The 30-second version of everything above.Paste the URL, pick a motion, export. Free in 720p.
Try Mockvid free →The automated alternative
Mockvid replaces the entire workflow with one input: the URL. It opens the live site in a real browser, records an actual scroll on desktop and mobile at the same time, and stages the recording inside a real-time 3D device with lighting, reflections and directed camera moves. Because it records the live page, scroll animations and video backgrounds survive intact.
| Canva (manual) | Mockvid (automated) | |
|---|---|---|
| Time per site | 30–60 min | ~30 seconds |
| Site animations | Frozen | Recorded live |
| Device | Flat PNG frame | Real 3D model, lit and animated |
| Desktop + mobile | Two separate builds | One capture, both devices |
| Revisions | Full redo | Re-paste the URL |
| Cost | Free (your time) | Free in 720p · $9 one-time per site for HD |
Canva remains the right tool when you need a static composition, a carousel or something the site itself cannot provide. But for the scrolling showcase video specifically, generating it beats assembling it. More detail on the scrolling website mockup generator page.
Which should you use?
If you make one mockup a year and enjoy the craft, the Canva method is fine. If you ship sites regularly and every project ends with "now make it look good on Instagram", the math is simple: an hour of masking per site, or 30 seconds and a $9 unlock you can bill to the client. Designers can start with the web designers page, studios with the agencies page.