The definitive Shorthand alternative
Looking for an alternative to Shorthand? Here’s a clear, matter-of-fact comparison so you can choose the platform that actually scales with your needs.
Delivering sustainable growth through creativity and innovation.
Annual Report
Luca
Paige
Elena
Yes, many of our clients switch from Shorthand
Teams often come to us after outgrowing Shorthand, when they need more design freedom, broader use cases, and enterprise-ready workflows.
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What is Shorthand? Content builder for templated storytelling. It’s quick and easy for simple stories, but teams say they soon run into limits when they need more flexibility or want to scale beyond articles.
What is Vev? The enterprise‑first no‑code content builder for building interactive content at scale. Teams use for robust use cases, from scrollytelling sites and pitch decks, infographics to full reports—faster, cheaper, and without compromise.
Pitch deck
Quiz
Annual reports
Sports marketing
Science communication
Sponsored content
Brand storytelling
Campaign landing pages
Microsites
Presentations
Live, interactive decks that don’t feel flat.
Annual reports
Scrollable reports stakeholders actually read.
Sponsored content
Polished, on-brand partner content built fast.
Quizzes
Engaging experiences that capture leads.
Presentations
Live, interactive decks that don’t feel flat.
Annual reports
Scrollable reports stakeholders actually read.
Sponsored content
Polished, on-brand partner content built fast.
Quizzes
Engaging experiences that capture leads.
Sports marketing
Engage fans and deliver ROI for partners.
Science communications
Complex ideas with visual storytelling.
Campaign landing page
Campaign pages shipped in hours, not weeks.
Microsites
The go-to format for marketing campaigns.
Sports marketing
Engage fans and deliver ROI for partners.
Science communications
Complex ideas with visual storytelling.
Campaign landing page
Campaign pages shipped in hours, not weeks.
Microsites
The go-to format for marketing campaigns.
From campaigns to editorials—build it all with Vev
Launch editorial content, product showcases, immersive data visualizations, and full websites—all in one collaborative, no-code platform built for scale.
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See how Vev compares
Creative freedom
Free drag and drop canvas like Figma; build content with a wide selection of animation presets and native interactions.
Pre-built sections only. Content could easily look similar across brands.
Templates
Build your own branded library; reuse across markets and brands.
Relies on fixed section templates and themes. Custom theming usually requires Shorthand services or higher-tier plans.
Collaboration
Real-time multi-player co-editing, element-level comments with @mentions, and version history.
Comments can only be pinned to sections. Undo/redo conflicts can happen as acknowledged in their own documentation.
AI features
Vev’s AI is brand‑aware. It drafts layouts based on your variables, components, and libraries, delivering on‑brand content faster.
Auto Layout (beta) suggests section styling from text; no layout generation tied to your brand.
Hosting
Flexible hosting: host with Vev or your own servers with embeds, webhooks, and automatic DNS support built in.
Subdomain and custom domain hosting, but no webhook support and only basic DNS setup.
Code Flexibility
Extend with custom React components where developers can build custom React component and designers then tweak them visually without touching code.
Only minor changes in CSS and JavaScript are supported.
Embedding in CMS
Shadow DOM embeds—stable, isolated, fully customizable.
Basic script embeds; prone to conflicts with external styles/scripts.
See how Vev compares
Creative freedom
Pre-built sections only. Content could easily look similar across brands.
Free drag and drop canvas like Figma; build content with a wide selection of animation presets and native interactions.
Templates
Relies on fixed section templates and themes. Custom theming usually requires Shorthand services or higher-tier plans.
Build your own branded library; reuse across markets and brands.
Collaboration
Comments can only be pinned to sections. Undo/redo conflicts can happen as acknowledged in their own documentation.
Real-time multi-player co-editing, element-level comments with @mentions, and version history.
AI features
Auto Layout (beta) suggests section styling from text; no layout generation tied to your brand.
Vev’s AI is brand‑aware. It drafts layouts based on your variables, components, and libraries, delivering on‑brand content faster.
Hosting
Subdomain and custom domain hosting, but no webhook support and only basic DNS setup.
Flexible hosting: host with Vev or your own servers with embeds, webhooks, and automatic DNS support built in.
Code Flexibility
Only minor changes in CSS and JavaScript are supported.
Extend with custom React components where developers can build custom React component and designers then tweak them visually without touching code.
Embedding in CMS
Basic script embeds; prone to conflicts with external styles/scripts.
Shadow DOM embeds—stable, isolated, fully customizable.
Myth:
"Is Vev more difficult to learn?"
Myth:
“Shorthand is the only option for quick long‑form stories.”
Facts:
Absolutely not. Designers pick it up fast (it feels like Figma) and marketers use content-only modes and libraries to launch quickly.
Facts:
Shorthand's pre-made scrollytelling can be replicated in the exact same manner in Vev. You just have greater flexibility, combining the best of both worlds.
Your next launch could be faster
Book a 1:1 session to see Vev in action. We’ll walk you through how it fits your creative workflow and content strategy.