Shorthand.com
A premium no-code visual storytelling platform for creating immersive, high-impact scrollytelling experiences.
Best for mid-market and enterprise publishers.
Summary review · Last verified Oct 19, 2026 · Scored on 10 criteria · Vendors can't pay for scores
Research by Vahe Arabian · Scored and edited by the SODP team
Key facts
- Score
- 3.9 / 5
- Tier
- Strong Choice
- Pricing model
- Free to create; a paid plan is needed t…
- Type
- Digital publishing platform
- Hosting
- SaaS
- Publishers using it
- 9
- Founded
- 2013
- HQ
- Brisbane, Australia
- Headcount
- 67
At a glance
- Shorthand.com scores 3.9/5 (Strong Choice) in Benchmark Grid's independent digital publishing platforms benchmark, assessed on 10 published criteria.
- It is built for mid-market and enterprise publishers.
- Strongest on Security & DRM (4.7) and Print-to-digital conversion & layout (4.5); weakest on Monetisation (1.0).
- Pricing: Free to create; a paid plan is needed to publish. Plans are Core (12 stories a year), Unlimited, Enterprise and On Demand (one-off projects…
- 9 publishers in our tracking use Shorthand.com, from ads.txt files, page code and public case studies.
- Scores last verified 19 Oct 2026. Vendors cannot pay for a score or a position.
Summary
Editor's update, October 2026: 19 Oct 2026 accuracy audit: removed invented syndication/partner-network claim and Reuters customer claim; pricing updated to Core/Unlimited/Enterprise/On Demand (quote-only, free to create).
Shorthand is a visual storytelling platform used by the world's most iconic brands, sports clubs, government, nonprofit, news/media, and education clients (Honda, Manchester City, etc.). ISO 27001 + SOC 2 certified. Tiered SaaS with Business and Enterprise plans plus custom CSS/HTML/JS for enterprise customers.
No-code storytelling builder for flagship long-form pieces: Shorthand stories are scroll-based visual experiences combining text, video, audio and data visualisations, published on Shorthand-hosted pages, through WordPress and Drupal plugins, or embedded in another CMS.
Score breakdown
3.9 = 0.45 × 3.46 capability + 0.40 × 4.90 publisher fit + 0.15 × 2.60 cost
Σ (criterion rating × weight) across 10 criteria · scale 1 (poor) → 5 (excellent)
The platform offers a sophisticated no-code drag-and-drop builder for immersive layouts and supports PDF imports.
14% of capability · What we check: Converts print pages into digital editions and supports native digital layouts.
Stories are hosted on publisher domains or via embeds but lack automated cross-platform distribution to native mobile apps.
12% of capability · What we check: Publishes to web, iOS, Android and newsstands from one source.
Shorthand is built specifically for WCAG 2.1 compliant, high-impact scrollytelling experiences.
12% of capability · What we check: Reflowable text, offline reading, search and accessibility.
The platform lacks native support for paywalls, ad servers, or subscription management.
12% of capability · What we check: Single-copy sales, subscriptions and advertising inside editions.
It provides built-in cookieless analytics specifically focused on tracking reader engagement within stories.
10% of capability · What we check: Readership, engagement and sales reporting per edition and article.
The platform offers robust native integrations with WordPress and Drupal alongside options for custom code.
10% of capability · What we check: Connections to CMS, subscription systems and identity providers.
High engagement is driven by immersive visual narrative tools, though it lacks traditional features like newsletters or archives.
8% of capability · What we check: Notifications, personalisation and archives that bring readers back.
Infrastructure leverages AWS to handle enterprise-grade traffic, though it is optimized for high-impact pieces rather than high-frequency output.
8% of capability · What we check: Handles large archives and launch-day traffic without slowdowns.
Includes professional collaborative editorial workflows and is designed for enterprise-level onboarding and team usage.
8% of capability · What we check: Onboarding, migration help and support hours.
The platform maintains an industry-leading security posture with both ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certifications.
6% of capability · What we check: Content protection, access control and security certifications.
Shorthand.com scores 3.9/5 in Benchmark Grid's independent Best Digital Publishing Platforms benchmark (benchmarkgrid.com/best-digital-publishing-platforms/shorthand-com, verified Oct 19, 2026)
Strengths & limitations
Strengths
- Stunning visual storytelling without developer resources
- Stories hosted on publisher domain preserve SEO value
- Used by newsrooms including BBC, Sky News and Stuff
- Embeddable in WordPress, Drupal or other CMSs
Limitations
- Subscription cost significant for smaller publishers
- Not a traditional syndication network — distribution is manual
- Best for occasional premium pieces, not high-frequency publishing
Who uses it
Detected from site code, ads.txt records and published case studies — not from the vendor's own customer list. 3 confirmed, 6 seen in a single source.
By publisher size
By content vertical
Publishers running Shorthand.com9
- StuffEnterprise· News
- TripadvisorEnterprise· Travel
- ADWEEKMid-market· Business
- BBCEnterprise· News· reported
- Perform GroupEnterprise· Sports· reported
- ArizentMid-market· Business· reported
- Remedy Health MediaMid-market· Health & Fitness· reported
- Retail WeekSMB· Business· reported
- SunnmørspostenSMB· News· reported
Cost of ownership
Pricing
Free to create; a paid plan is needed to publish. Plans are Core (12 stories a year), Unlimited, Enterprise and On Demand (one-off projects); prices are not published, so contact the vendor for a quote. Discounts for charities and NGOs; free plans for universities.
Pricing unclear for your setup? — we'll make the introduction. Free, and it never affects the score.
Cost data sourced from vendor pricing pages and community signals. Vendors may dispute any factor.
What users say
Sources: Reddit 56% · G2 33% · Blog 11%
Most discussed
Recent quotes
"Can you tell that I loved Shorthand? It’s straightforward and creates professional scrollytelling stories. I would say that it’s best for text-based stories with a heavy image focus."
Positive·Blog
"my customer sent http://shorthand.com/ as an example, but this one is just too limited, too expensive, and the results are... just not that good."
Negative·Reddit·10y ago
"This website is amazing : r/web_design ... I just had a look at the page, pretty expensive."
Positive·Reddit
"This website is amazing"
Positive·Reddit
9 mentions from 3 independent sources, each read and scored by our analyser. Mentions we could not tie to a real user, and those flagged as promotional, are excluded. Sentiment is opinion, and is independent of the verified publisher adoptions shown above.
The company behind Shorthand.com
Shorthand.com is operated by Shorthand. Company facts come from an independent business-data record rather than the vendor's own site.
- Founded
- 2013
- Employees
- 67
- Headquarters
- Brisbane, Australia
- Ownership
- Privately Held
Who can implement it
Agencies and resellers that help publishers deploy Shorthand.com. A stronger ecosystem means lower implementation friction. Sourced from Shorthand.com's published partner directory.
- ATEAPartner· Denmark
- BCM GroupPartner· Australia
- bigOPartner· Ireland
- fedresourcesPartner· USA
- GoldenTechPartner· USA
Compare Shorthand.com
The head-to-heads publishers look at most, then the closest contests in the same benchmark.
FAQ
How is Shorthand.com scored?
Shorthand.com scores 3.9 out of 5 in Benchmark Grid's independent Best Digital Publishing Platforms benchmark. The overall figure blends capability (45%), publisher fit (40%) and cost of ownership (15%). Capability is itself a weighted average of 10 criteria; the heaviest are print-to-digital conversion & layout (14%), multi-channel distribution (12%) and reader experience (12%). Vendors cannot pay for a score.
What size publisher is Shorthand.com built for?
Shorthand.com is built for mid-market publishers and enterprise publishers. That is the vendor's own stated target, and it is one of the inputs to our publisher-fit score — a platform that suits a national newsroom often carries more operational load than a small one can absorb.
What does Shorthand.com cost?
Free to create; a paid plan is needed to publish. Plans are Core (12 stories a year), Unlimited, Enterprise and On Demand (one-off projects); prices are not published, so contact the vendor for a quote. Discounts for charities and NGOs; free plans for universities. Our cost-of-ownership score is 2.6/5, which weighs pricing transparency, entry cost, implementation cost, hidden-fee risk and ongoing cost. Ask the vendor for a written first-year figure that includes implementation before you commit.
Who uses Shorthand.com?
We have evidenced 9 publishers running Shorthand.com. Adoptions are detected from site code, ads.txt records and published case studies rather than taken from the vendor's own customer list, and each one is listed on this page.
Can Shorthand.com pay for a better score?
No. Scores come from our editorial review of the product's documentation, demos and public evidence. A vendor can claim this listing or request a re-review, but nothing they buy changes a score or a position.
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