Shorthand
Content creation software
Content experience platforms
Owned media software
Web content management software
Desktop publishing software
Content marketing software
Graphic design software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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$60 per month
Free Trial unavailableFree version unavailable
Small
Medium
Large
- Arts, entertainment, and recreation
- Media and communications
- Public sector and nonprofit organizations
What is Shorthand
Shorthand is a web-based platform for creating and publishing long-form, interactive stories and branded content experiences. It is used by marketing, communications, and editorial teams to produce scrollytelling pages that combine text, images, video, and embeds without requiring custom development. The product focuses on template-driven creation, collaborative workflows, and publishing to a hosted URL or to an organization’s web properties.
Interactive long-form storytelling
Shorthand is purpose-built for scrollytelling and immersive narrative layouts rather than standard web pages. It supports rich media sections, embeds, and interactive components that help teams present campaigns, reports, and feature stories in a single experience. This aligns well with use cases where presentation and engagement matter more than SEO tooling or blog-scale publishing. Teams can produce visually consistent experiences without building custom front-end code for each story.
Template-driven creation workflow
The platform provides structured templates and reusable blocks that speed up production and reduce reliance on designers for every page. Non-technical users can assemble pages using a guided editor, which is useful for distributed marketing and comms teams. Templates help enforce brand consistency across multiple stories and contributors. This is particularly relevant compared with tools that focus more on analytics/SEO or document-style publishing rather than page experiences.
Publishing and sharing options
Shorthand publishes experiences to hosted pages and can support embedding or integration into existing web properties depending on implementation. This makes it suitable for owned-media campaigns, newsroom-style features, and corporate storytelling hubs. The output is web-native and shareable, which fits social distribution and email promotion workflows. It also reduces the operational overhead of maintaining custom microsites for each campaign.
Not a full CMS replacement
Shorthand is optimized for story experiences, not for managing large, multi-section websites with complex navigation, permissions, and content types. Organizations that need enterprise web content management features (e.g., extensive site governance, multi-site management, or deep personalization) may still require a separate WCM. As a result, Shorthand often complements rather than replaces an existing CMS. This can add integration and governance work for web teams.
Limited SEO and marketing suite
Compared with platforms centered on SEO research, keyword tracking, and content performance planning, Shorthand is less focused on end-to-end content marketing operations. Teams may need additional tools for search strategy, competitive research, and optimization workflows. Analytics and measurement may rely on external services and tagging rather than being fully native. This can create a more fragmented toolchain for performance-driven content programs.
Design flexibility trade-offs
Template and block-based editors can constrain highly bespoke layouts or interactions that require custom front-end development. Teams with strict brand systems or unique interaction requirements may find they need workarounds or custom services. Desktop-publishing-style precision and complex typographic control are typically less granular than specialist design tools. This can be a limitation for design-led teams seeking pixel-level control across all breakpoints.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $60 / month (billed yearly; Save 20%) | 1 member (additional members $60/month each); 12 new published stories per year; $60 one-off payment per additional story; Fast, simple publishing with Shorthand themes and hosting. |
| Team | $875 / month (billed yearly; Save 20%) | Unlimited members; 12 new published stories per year; $300 one-off payment per additional story; Brand control and customization options; options for volume pricing on annual plans. |
| Business | $1,750 / month (billed yearly; Save 20%) | Unlimited members; 24 new published stories per year; $300 one-off payment per additional story; Advanced integrations and upgraded support; options for volume pricing on annual plans. |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing (Contact sales) | Tailored plans and terms; volume pricing; security & compliance (SOC2/ISO); options for custom development and design services. |
Seller details
Shorthand Pty Ltd
Brisbane, QLD, Australia
2013
Private
https://shorthand.com/
https://x.com/shorthand
https://www.linkedin.com/company/shorthand/
