# Shorthand > Shorthand is a no-code visual storytelling platform. Publishers, brands, universities, NGOs, and communications teams use it to build immersive, interactive web stories — scrollytelling, digital magazines, annual reports, data stories, and longform features — without writing code or relying on developers. Shorthand stories are responsive, fast, and accessible by default, and can be published to Shorthand hosting or a team's own domain. Plans and pricing are listed at https://shorthand.com/pricing/ and include a free tier for trying the editor. Links ending in `.md` point to clean markdown versions of each page; remove the `.md` suffix for the equivalent HTML page (e.g. https://shorthand.com/pricing.md → https://shorthand.com/pricing/). The most important pages are concatenated in https://shorthand.com/llms-full.txt. ## Product - [Visual storytelling](https://shorthand.com/features/visual-storytelling.md): Overview of the Shorthand editor and story formats - [Editor and layout](https://shorthand.com/features/editor-and-layout.md): No-code editor, section-based layouts, and media handling - [Scrollytelling](https://shorthand.com/features/scrollytelling.md): Scroll-based animation effects such as Scrollmation, Reveal, and Background Transitions - [Section types](https://shorthand.com/features/sections.md): The building blocks of a Shorthand story - [Branding and theming](https://shorthand.com/features/branding.md): Custom themes, fonts, colours, and brand kits - [Customisation](https://shorthand.com/features/customisation.md): Custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for developers - [Collaboration](https://shorthand.com/features/collaboration.md): Team workspaces, roles, and review workflows - [Publishing and hosting](https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting.md): Publish to Shorthand hosting, your own domain, or export - [Sharing and analytics](https://shorthand.com/features/sharing-and-analytics.md): Built-in analytics and integrations with analytics tools - [Integrations](https://shorthand.com/features/integrations.md): Connecting Shorthand to CMSs and other tools - [Security](https://shorthand.com/features/security.md): Security, privacy, and compliance practices - [Support](https://shorthand.com/features/support.md): Documentation, training, and customer support - [Pricing](https://shorthand.com/pricing.md): Plans, pricing, and enterprise options - [Enterprise](https://shorthand.com/enterprise/): Enterprise features, SSO, and dedicated support ## Solutions - [Media](https://shorthand.com/industries/media/): Newsrooms and publishers - [Corporate communications](https://shorthand.com/industries/corporate-comms/): Internal and external comms teams - [Education](https://shorthand.com/industries/education/): Universities and schools - [Government](https://shorthand.com/industries/government/): Government and public sector teams - [Brand storytelling](https://shorthand.com/use-cases/brand-storytelling.md): Content marketing and brand teams - [Nonprofits](https://shorthand.com/industries/nonprofit/): Charities and nonprofit organisations - [Annual reports](https://shorthand.com/use-cases/annual-reports.md): Interactive annual and impact reports - [Digital magazines](https://shorthand.com/use-cases/digital-magazines.md): Magazine-style digital publications - [Data storytelling](https://shorthand.com/use-cases/data-storytelling.md): Data-driven stories and visual explainers - [Longform features](https://shorthand.com/use-cases/longform-feature-stories.md): Immersive longform journalism and features - [Internal communications](https://shorthand.com/use-cases/internal-communications.md): Employee engagement and internal news - [White papers](https://shorthand.com/use-cases/white-papers.md): Interactive white papers and reports ## Customers - [Case studies](https://shorthand.com/case-study/): How teams like Sky News, WWF, the BBC, and Cambridge University use Shorthand - [Featured stories](https://shorthand.com/featured/stories/): A gallery of stories published with Shorthand ## Resources - [The Craft](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/): Shorthand's blog on digital storytelling craft and technique - [Templates](https://shorthand.com/template/): Story templates to start from - [Training](https://shorthand.com/training.md): Live training and onboarding ## Company - [About](https://shorthand.com/about.md): Company background and team - [Careers](https://shorthand.com/careers.md): Open roles at Shorthand - [Security](https://shorthand.com/security.md): Security and compliance overview - [Contact](https://shorthand.com/contact.md): Sales and support contact ## Optional Articles from The Craft, Shorthand's digital storytelling blog: - [10 free annual report templates](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/10-free-annual-report-templates/) - [10 free feature article templates](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/10-free-feature-article-templates/) - [A/B testing guide — how we optimised our way to 50% growth in conversions](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/a-b-testing-guide/) - [The Craft newsletter The best stories on the web in your inbox, every other week](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/add-the-craft-to-your-inbox/) - [Can we slow the pace of storytelling on the web? An interview with Cody Ellingham](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/an-interview-with-photographer-cody-ellingham/) - [The 10 best digital publishing platforms for 2026](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/best-digital-publishing-platforms/) - [Top 10 best SEO tools](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/best-seo-tools/) - [10 of the best visual timeline examples on the web](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/best-visual-timeline-examples-on-the-web/) - [How big tech is reinventing the corporate newsroom](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/big-tech-corporate-newsrooms/) - [Brand blogs aren't dead, but yours might be flatlining](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/brand-blogs-are-not-dead/) - [Brand publishing: your key to a strong online presence](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/brand-publishing-your-key-to-a-strong-online-presence/) - [8 brilliant brand publishing examples (and why they work so well)](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/brilliant-brand-publishing-examples-and-why-they-work-so-well/) - [Death to boring data: How to turn stats into stories people want to read](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/death-to-boring-data-storytelling/) - [Digital detox guide: How to feed your mind again](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/digital-detox-guide/) - [Great digital magazines build brands. Here's how to create them with Shorthand](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/digital-magazines-how-to/) - [We need to talk about engagement: an explanation that starts in the brain](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/engagement-special-report/) - [How to build a stunning photography portfolio](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/how-to-build-a-stunning-photography-portfolio/) - [How to interview like a journalist](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/how-to-interview-like-a-journalist/) - [How to write a content strategy](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/how-to-write-a-content-strategy/) - [Introducing Charts: transform numbers into narratives](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/introducing-charts-transform-numbers-into-narratives/) - [Introducing Shorthand for WordPress](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/introducing-shorthand-for-wordpress/) - [10 listicle examples that will make you love the form](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/listicle-examples/) - [Endless flexibility, effortless structure: meet grids 2.0](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/meet-the-new-grids/) - [A media upgrade for Custom HTML sections, smoother Scrollmation, and more](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/new-in-shorthand/) - [10 tools to make a great pitch deck](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/pitch-deck-tools/) - [Analysis: What's working on Shorthand?](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/whats-working-content-data-dive/) --- # Visual Storytelling | Shorthand Product Features > Create beautiful visual stories for all devices. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/features/visual-storytelling/ # Visual Storytelling ## Create beautiful visual stories for all devices. ### We handle the hard part Shorthand creates multiple versions of your uploaded images and ensures the most appropriate version is served for each screen size. - Have confidence that your scroll-based animations work on all phones, tablets, and monitors. - Set ‘focus points’ to make sure that the most important parts of your images are always shown. - For bespoke illustrations, optionally create separate treatments for mobile screens. ### Media Gallery Incorporate galleries of images and video into your story. - Showcase multiple images and video in a fully responsive grid. - Drag-and-drop multiple media files into the Shorthand editor and resize and arrange them as needed. - Your readers can select individual images or video to view in a full-screen lightbox. ### Simple testing Streamline your QA and easily test your stories on all screen sizes prior to publication with a simple preview link or QR code. - Remove the guess-work from testing on mobile and tablet screens. - Get feedback and sign-off from your colleagues and collaborators — even those outside of your Shorthand organisation. > “Shorthand removes all the technical complexities involved with digital storytelling. The platform allows non-coders to build a creative that has that deep, immersive feel — and in a fraction of the time.” Scott Peakcocke | Senior editor for data journalism | AJC ### Visual Storytelling in action - [ #### A blueprint for the future Council for the European Union ](https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/eu-budget-story/) - [ #### Day of Reckoning Sky News ](https://news.sky.com/story/d-day-the-story-of-24-hours-that-changed-the-world-11732907) - [ #### The boat that disappeared BBC ](https://www.bbc.com/news/extra/vdb6u1mrrv/the-boat-that-disappeared) ## Ready to try the digital storytelling platform used by Honda, University of Cambridge, and the BBC? [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) ### Join these iconic brands - - - - - - - - ## [More Shorthand features](https://shorthand.com/features/) - [ ### Scrollytelling ](https://shorthand.com/features/scrollytelling/) - [ ### Collaboration ](https://shorthand.com/features/collaboration/) - [ ### Customisation & Integration ](https://shorthand.com/features/customisation/) - [ ### Themes & Branding ](https://shorthand.com/features/branding/) - [ ### Sharing & Analytics ](https://shorthand.com/features/sharing-and-analytics/) - [ ### Publishing & Hosting ](https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting/) - [ ### Support ](https://shorthand.com/features/support/) - [ ### Security ](https://shorthand.com/features/security/) --- # Editor — design stunning stories with Ease | Shorthand > Design captivating visual stories fast. Start from AI-powered layouts, polished templates, or customise formats with drag-and-drop editing in Shorthand. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/features/editor-and-layout/ # Built for speed. Designed for creativity. Enjoy complete creative control with an intuitive drag-and-drop editor. Spark your process with AI-powered layouts and ready-made templates. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) ### Powerful. Intuitive. Almost zero-learning-curve. The Shorthand editor empowers non-tech users to craft beautiful stories — in record time. With flexible controls to tailor text and images, switch layouts and modes, and add a little magic to your story, you can build what you want seamlessly. All while staying on brand. ## Creative power in your hands. Everything you need to bring your vision to life. Traditional text formatting Drop caps and block quotes Resize text in all sections Annotations and footnotes Media library Unsplash integration Rich embeds Video transcoding Image filters and enhancements Foreground animations Shapes and corners 3D images and effects Tables Charts Buttons Custom HTML ## Preview & collaborate See your story come to life in real time. Switch between the editor and preview to view your final product as you work — and tweak it to perfection. ### Share Whether or not your team members and stakeholders are on Shorthand, you can securely share and collaborate throughout the creation process. ### Preview Preview your story across mobile, tablet, and desktop modes to ensure a flawless experience for every audience. ### Publish Happy with your story? Share it with the world — publishing is just a click away. [Learn more](https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting/). ### AI that designs with you Need a fresh take? Shorthand’s AI suggestions can help you explore different section arrangements and layouts, giving you a head start on crafting immersive experiences. Upload existing content — **from the web or PDF files** — or **start from a prompt**, and let our AI auto-layout tool structure your story beautifully in seconds. ### Templates to inspire Jumpstart your next story with a range of inspiring, professionally crafted templates. Get ideas for brand publications, features, reports, digital magazines, and more. [Explore templates.](https://shorthand.com/templates/) ## All features Everything you need to tell your story, and more. [Sections](https://shorthand.com/features/sections)[Editor & layout](https://shorthand.com/features/editor-and-layout)[Branding](https://shorthand.com/features/branding)[Collaborate](https://shorthand.com/features/collaboration)[Publish & host](https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting)[Integrations](https://shorthand.com/features/integrations)[Support](https://shorthand.com/features/support)[Security](https://shorthand.com/features/security) ## Let’s build something beautiful. Join thousands of storytellers using Shorthand to publish standout visual comms and content. Fast, flexible, and built for scale. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Scrollytelling | Shorthand Product Features > Build stories with audio and video, with animation effects triggered as the reader scrolls. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/features/scrollytelling/ # Scrollytelling ## Immersive digital stories that your readers will love. ### Tell stories with scrolling Create stunning scroll-based image transitions with our Scrollmation and Reveal story sections. - Create rich no-code data visualisations, including interactive maps, charts, and graphs. - Bring your media to life with rich full-screen image transitions. ### Simple story creation With simple ‘drag and drop’ media uploads and section ordering, anyone can build a Shorthand story. - Choose from a range of flexible and easy-to-use section types. - Anyone can build a story from scratch, including writers, marketers, editors, designers, and developers. - Don’t worry about fonts and formatting — the Shorthand editor will make your copy consistent, on-brand, and responsive. ### Scrollpoints Take your audience on an interactive journey using an uploaded image, such a map, photo, or illustration. - After uploading your image, simply choose which sections you want to highlight, and then optionally annotate them with short sections of text. - As the reader scrolls down your Scrollpoints section, your Shorthand story will automatically pan and zoom into each point in turn. - Like all Shorthand features, Scrollpoints can be created by anyone, without needing any help from a web designer or developer. ### Build with templates Get started immediately with our wide range of built-in templates. - Get a head-start on the most common story types, without reinventing the wheel. - Make it your own with a custom theme, which will set your brand fonts, colours, logo, and more. - ### Rich media Incorporate video, images, and sound directly into your story. - ### Text over media Integrate words, images, and video to create truly immersive digital stories. - ### Accessibility Build accessible stories with Shorthand, including alt-text options and accessible themes. > “Shorthand allows our editors and art directors the flexibility to dream up, execute, and design beautiful multimedia stories — without relying on developers.” Michael Chu | Executive Director for Content Operations & Creative Services | Source Media ### Scrollytelling in action - [ #### Why Amazon knows so much about you BBC News ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/CLQYZENMBI/amazon-data) - [ #### Behind the wheel of the all new Jazz Honda ](https://www.honda.co.uk/engineroom/electric/hybrid/behind-the-wheel-of-the-all-new-jazz/) - [ #### The deadly secret of China’s invisible Armada NBC News ](https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/china-illegal-fishing-fleet/index.html) ## Ready to try the digital storytelling platform used by Honda, University of Cambridge, and the BBC? [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) ### Join these iconic brands - - - - - - - - ## [More Shorthand features](https://shorthand.com/features/) - [ ### Visual Storytelling ](https://shorthand.com/features/visual-storytelling/) - [ ### Collaboration ](https://shorthand.com/features/collaboration/) - [ ### Customisation & Integration ](https://shorthand.com/features/customisation/) - [ ### Themes & Branding ](https://shorthand.com/features/branding/) - [ ### Sharing & Analytics ](https://shorthand.com/features/sharing-and-analytics/) - [ ### Publishing & Hosting ](https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting/) - [ ### Support ](https://shorthand.com/features/support/) - [ ### Security ](https://shorthand.com/features/security/) --- # Storytelling sections — build immersive digital stories | Shorthand > Learn how to use Shorthand’s beautiful and flexible sections — text, media, grids, charts, custom HTML — to craft immersive, scrolling digital stories without code. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/features/sections/ # Build in seconds with sections Your content deserves to be stunning. Shorthand gives you the ultimate storytelling toolkit — beautiful, intuitive, and flexible sections designed to give you visual superpowers. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) ## Explore our building blocks. Curate and craft immersive, interactive experiences with Shorthand sections. Whether you're building a sleek brand story, an engaging editorial, or a data-driven narrative, these sections are the secret sauce to making it all happen. Title section ### A bold entrance Create compelling titles and unforgettable first impressions with text on a full-screen image or video. Text Over Media section ### Words that stand out Seamlessly overlay large text on full-screen media, with enhanced overlay controls for readability and impact. Reveal section ### Scroll to discover Let visuals unfold dynamically as you scroll, with cinematic image and video transitions that captivate attention. Text section ### Focus on the message Keep it clean, focused, and flexible — perfect for delivering narrative, context, or commentary with embedded assets. Scrollmation section ### Scroll-driven storytelling Add motion to your message with animations for foreground and full-screen imagery that evolves step-by-step as the reader scrolls. Scrollpoints section ### Moments that move Sync text and visuals precisely by setting scroll-triggered transitions that guide the reader around an image. Grid section ### Structured creativity Arrange text, media, and more in customisable columns and rows — ideal for complex layouts or side-by-side comparisons. Media Gallery section ### From static to stunning Showcase a diverse collection of media in a grid or carousel that expands to a full-screen slideshow. Media section ### Full-screen impact Embed uncropped, high-quality images or videos that fill the screen for maximum visual immersion. Chart section ### Data that tells a story Transform numbers into narratives with dynamic charts and text blocks — perfect for powerful data storytelling. Custom HTML section ### Total creative control Go beyond the template. Add custom elements, embeds, or code for tailored functionality and advanced design. Collection section ### Curated content at a glance Display a grid of content with thumbnails, guiding readers to explore more of your work in a clean, visual layout. ## Creative control without the complexity With Shorthand’s sections, you’re in control. Easily add, copy, save, duplicate, delete, split, and convert sections to shape your story exactly how you want. Start with any section and make it uniquely yours. Add Copy Convert Save Comment Delete ## See it in action Not sure where to start? Browse our story examples to see how these sections come together to create something truly special. Get inspired to craft beautifully engaging content that gets results. [ Brand publishing ](https://shorthand.com/featured/brand/index.html) [ News & media publishing ](https://shorthand.com/featured/news-and-features/index.html) [ University & research comms ](https://shorthand.com/featured/education-and-research/index.html) [ Government comms ](https://shorthand.com/featured/government/index.html) [ Sports marketing & journalism ](https://shorthand.com/featured/sports/index.html) [ Nonprofit comms ](https://shorthand.com/featured/nonprofit/index.html) ## All features Everything you need to tell your story, and more. [Sections](https://shorthand.com/features/sections)[Editor & layout](https://shorthand.com/features/editor-and-layout)[Branding](https://shorthand.com/features/branding)[Collaborate](https://shorthand.com/features/collaboration)[Publish & host](https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting)[Integrations](https://shorthand.com/features/integrations)[Support](https://shorthand.com/features/support)[Security](https://shorthand.com/features/security) ## Let’s build something beautiful. Join thousands of storytellers using Shorthand to publish standout visual comms and content. Fast, flexible, and built for scale. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Branding & themes — consistent visual identity | Shorthand > Build brand coherence across all content with custom global themes, fonts, colours and styling — keep your storytelling on-brand. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/features/branding/ # Stay true to your brand. Effortlessly on brand, every time. Whether you’re a solo creator, growing your team, or collaborating in an enterprise environment, every story you publish with Shorthand will look and feel distinctly yours. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) ## Trusted by the world’s leading brands ### Your brand, built in Collaborate with Shorthand's expert team to craft bespoke custom themes. Standardise colours, fonts, and typography across stories Apply logos, buttons, and whole sections with brand consistency Ensure content stays visually cohesive across your team and organisation Build custom section templates to accelerate production timelines Theme Builder Use Theme Builder to lock in your fonts, colours, and logo. Set global styles to align everything with brand guidelines. Standard themes Not sure where to start? Save time with curated standard themes that provide a polished, professional starting point for your stories. Advanced customisation Apply custom JavaScript, HTML, and CSS for full control over layout and styles. Integrate third-party tools for analytics, tracking, cookie consent, tag management, and more. ## Where great brands build Some of the world’s most iconic brands use Shorthand. Get inspired by how leading global teams craft powerful stories with Shorthand. [ Brand publishing ](https://shorthand.com/featured/brand/index.html) [ News & media publishing ](https://shorthand.com/featured/news-and-features/index.html) [ University & research comms ](https://shorthand.com/featured/education-and-research/index.html) [ Government comms ](https://shorthand.com/featured/government/index.html) [ Sports marketing & journalism ](https://shorthand.com/featured/sports/index.html) [ Nonprofit comms ](https://shorthand.com/featured/nonprofit/index.html) ## All features Everything you need to tell your story, and more. [Sections](https://shorthand.com/features/sections)[Editor & layout](https://shorthand.com/features/editor-and-layout)[Branding](https://shorthand.com/features/branding)[Collaborate](https://shorthand.com/features/collaboration)[Publish & host](https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting)[Integrations](https://shorthand.com/features/integrations)[Support](https://shorthand.com/features/support)[Security](https://shorthand.com/features/security) ## Let’s build something beautiful. Join thousands of storytellers using Shorthand to publish standout visual comms and content. Fast, flexible, and built for scale. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Customisation and Integration | Shorthand Product Features > Customise your tools, add third-party tools, and integrate with your existing CMS. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/features/customisation/ # Customisation & Integration ## Integrate third-party tools and your CMS. ### Custom sections Add custom JavaScript, CSS, and HTML to your stories to build out new story sections. - Paste JavaScript into your story’s custom HEAD to add custom analytics to your story. - Combine our flexible story types with custom CSS to create truly original stories. ### Add interactive data and maps Using custom JavaScript, integrate third party maps, charts, or data visualisations to create a truly interactive story. - Add a rich, interactive webmap for your readers — common implementations include Mapbox, Carto, Leaflet, and StoryMaps. - Embed a dynamic chart or visualisation from data platforms like Tableau and Flourish. ### Complete documentation Full, up-to-date, and human-readable documentation for Shorthand is available at Shorthand Support. [View support documentation](https://support.shorthand.com/en/articles/50-custom-css) ### Story API Use our Story API to programmatically access your stories and integrate with your CMS and custom plugins. [View API documentation](https://support.shorthand.com/en/articles/62-programmatic-publishing-with-the-shorthand-api) - ### Inline custom HTML Add a custom HTML block right in a column of text. - ### Custom code Add custom metadata tags to your story, or JavaScript you want to load first. - ### Custom development Our team can build out new themes and custom features for your stories. > “Using Shorthand has brought development time down from several weeks to a day or less. This means we can do many more projects than before. And time on page is always better than normal CMS stories. We’re getting some great results.” Matt Martel | Photos and Presentation Director | Stuff ### Immersive storytelling in action - [ #### State of mind Knowledge Society ](http://stateofmind.vision/) - [ #### The cluster paradox Stuff ](https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2020/coronavirus-covid-19-clusters/) - [ #### An icon in flames NBC News ](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/notre-dame-fire-what-was-damaged-n995371) ## Ready to try the digital storytelling platform used by Honda, University of Cambridge, and the BBC? [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) ### Join these iconic brands - - - - - - - - ## [More Shorthand features](https://shorthand.com/features/) - [ ### Scrollytelling ](https://shorthand.com/features/scrollytelling/) - [ ### Visual Storytelling ](https://shorthand.com/features/visual-storytelling/) - [ ### Collaboration ](https://shorthand.com/features/collaboration/) - [ ### Themes & Branding ](https://shorthand.com/features/branding/) - [ ### Sharing & Analytics ](https://shorthand.com/features/sharing-and-analytics/) - [ ### Publishing & Hosting ](https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting/) - [ ### Support ](https://shorthand.com/features/support/) - [ ### Security ](https://shorthand.com/features/security/) --- # Collaboration tools — team storytelling made easy | Shorthand > Empower your team with a suite of powerful collaborative features like real-time editing, flexible access controls, and smooth, concurrent workflows that keep the whole team creating in sync. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/features/collaboration/ # The best stories are built together Great stories don’t happen in isolation. Whether you’re part of a content team, agency, or newsroom, Shorthand makes it easy to build, review, and publish stunning visual stories — together, in real time. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) ## Trusted by the world’s leading brands ## Seamless collaboration All the essentials, and more, to help your team move fast and create beautifully, without the bottlenecks. Concurrent editing Just like in your favourite design and document editing tools, view, and create content simultaneously. Commenting Add context, feedback, or to-dos right inside the editor. Keep your creative conversations close to the work. Workspace section templates Save and share your team’s best work with reusable sections that streamline and standardise storytelling. Copy stories between teams Working across multiple teams or clients? Easily copy stories between team spaces for a smooth workflow. One-click invite Quickly invite new team members to collaborate on stories. ## Smart workspace. Smarter team. Spend less time managing and more time creating in a workspace that scales with your team. Intuitive dashboard Your ultimate command centre. Quickly access and manage stories, filter by tags, and navigate projects with ease. Story tags Organise and find stories quickly with smart tagging by client, campaign, format, status, and more. Story resource links Add important docs, guidelines, or creative briefs directly to stories so your team always has the context they need. Bulk story operations Make sweeping changes faster — delete, move, or organise multiple stories at once to save hours of busywork. Multiple workspaces Intuitively work across multiple teams, clients, or brands with multiple Shorthand workspaces. ## Easy access, tight security Trust is built into the way you work. Give your team the freedom to create, knowing their work is protected. ### Sharing & previews Get approvals faster with instant, shareable, and secure preview URLs for your stakeholders. ### Set permissions Manage access to content, publishing, and settings with clear, customisable roles. Set permissions at the team or story level with admin controls. ### Built-in safety for teams Shorthand leads with top-tier security designed to protect your stories and data, giving you peace of mind while you create and publish. [Learn more](https://shorthand.com/features/security/). ## You’re in good company Straight from the source: discover what our customers say about partnering with Shorthand. - [ ### Tripadvisor Tripadvisor accelerates global campaigns and closes deals faster with Shorthand—cutting build time, empowering designers, and delivering immersive, multilingual stories that wow clients and win pitches. ](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/tripadvisor/) - [ ### Honda Honda turbocharged its content hub, Engine Room, with Shorthand, boosting dwell time 85% and subscriptions 600% while cutting build time to minutes—fuelling global reach and a 32% ROI jump. ](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/honda/) - [ ### RELX RELX transformed internal comms with Shorthand, driving a tenfold surge in reads and a 20-point NPS lift, while slashing cost-per-read and energising 33,000 employees worldwide. ](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/relx/) - [ ### Imperial College London Imperial College London doubled engagement with Shorthand, achieving 142% more unique views and 50% longer read times, turning alumni magazines and research features into immersive digital showcases. ](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/imperial-college-london/) - [ ### Bonhams Bonhams supercharged organic traffic and smashed KPIs using Shorthand, publishing 490+ rich stories that spotlight world-class auctions and keep audiences exploring long after the hammer falls. ](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/bonhams/) - [ ### Seven West Media Seven West Media’s MINT studio wows advertisers with Shorthand, delivering a guaranteed 20k+ views on immersive sponsored stories and driving repeat business through fast, flawless, scroll-stopping design. ](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/seven-west-media/) ## All features Everything you need to tell your story, and more. [Sections](https://shorthand.com/features/sections)[Editor & layout](https://shorthand.com/features/editor-and-layout)[Branding](https://shorthand.com/features/branding)[Collaborate](https://shorthand.com/features/collaboration)[Publish & host](https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting)[Integrations](https://shorthand.com/features/integrations)[Support](https://shorthand.com/features/support)[Security](https://shorthand.com/features/security) ## Let’s build something beautiful. Join thousands of storytellers using Shorthand to publish standout visual comms and content. Fast, flexible, and built for scale. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Publish & host — share your stories anywhere | Shorthand > How to publish and host your stories seamlessly — export, embed, or use Shorthand subdomains for fast distribution across platforms. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting/ # Publish and host, hassle free Publishing should be as effortless as creating. Shorthand gives you unmatched flexibility to host and deliver stunning, high-performance content your way. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) ## All set to publish With full control of your publishing process, you’ll have the speed and confidence to get your stories out there. Preview before publishing See how your story displays on desktop, mobile, and tablet — so you can be confident it looks great everywhere. One-click publishing Get your content live faster. Ready, set, publish, and republish your Shorthand story with a single click. Flexible visibility settings Confidently control access to your stories. Publish to a private hidden link, or invite viewers with a one-time password to a protected story. Scheduled publishing Publish at the right moment. No need to stay up late or wake up early— schedule your story to publish whenever you want. ## Secure, high-performance hosting Choose the publishing setup that fits your team — from full control on your servers to the ease of Shorthand hosting. ### Host with Shorthand Let Shorthand host, and publish to your chosen domain or subdomain. Backed by Amazon S3 and CloudFront, your stories are delivered at speed and scale. ### Self-hosting Publish via your own S3 bucket, API, or custom infrastructure while still using Shorthand’s powerful storytelling tools. ### Full story export Download your story as a zip archive — including code, media, and a full JSON representation of your story — and host it wherever you like. ### Story embedding Embed Shorthand-hosted stories into any webpage with ease. Simply copy and paste the automatically generated code snippet to integrate your content seamlessly. ### Asset server Host your images and videos separately from your story HTML to boost performance, enhance security, and keep your content loading fast. ### CMS plugins Integrate Shorthand with your CMS using our WordPress or Drupal plugins, or the Story API, to publish and host directly on your platform. ## From idea to publish Bring your vision to life with speed and style — and share it in a way that engages, inspires, and delivers results. ## All features Everything you need to tell your story, and more. [Sections](https://shorthand.com/features/sections)[Editor & layout](https://shorthand.com/features/editor-and-layout)[Branding](https://shorthand.com/features/branding)[Collaborate](https://shorthand.com/features/collaboration)[Publish & host](https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting)[Integrations](https://shorthand.com/features/integrations)[Support](https://shorthand.com/features/support)[Security](https://shorthand.com/features/security) ## Let’s build something beautiful. Join thousands of storytellers using Shorthand to publish standout visual comms and content. Fast, flexible, and built for scale. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Sharing & Analytics | Shorthand Product Features > Share, promote, and measure the success of your digital stories with Shorthand's built-in analytics. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/features/sharing-and-analytics/ # Sharing & Analytics ## Share, promote, and measure your digital stories. ### Built for social sharing Add images and metadata for sharing on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. - Add social sharing metadata, including social card title, description and image. - Support for Twitter and Facebook’s Open Graph standard, supported by all major sharing platforms, including LinkedIn, Teams, and Slack. ### Social sharing buttons Add Facebook and Twitter share buttons with a click, and add other sharing buttons with your custom theme. - Twitter buttons create a pre-filled tweet to streamline social sharing. - Add additional buttons with your theme — common additions include LinkedIn and Pinterest. ### Analytics Measure and track the impact of your stories with Shorthand’s built-in analytics — or add your tracking ID for Google Analytics. - Get a Shorthand-specific view of how your stories are performing, without the noise of third-party analytics platforms. - Track views, time-on-page, and story completions for desktop and mobile. - On applicable plans, have your third-party analytics code or tag manager added to your theme — so you don't have to think about it. - ### Toggle social buttons Optionally remove social buttons for readers on mobile devices. - ### Comments Easily implement your commenting system such as Disqus or Livefyre using our Custom HTML section. - ### SEO Add news keywords, descriptions, authors, and Open Graph metadata. > “Our Shorthand stories are performing on every metric that we've been measuring ourselves on, such as scroll depth, clicks on page, and click-throughs on social media. The targets and stretch targets have been met on all our content.” Andrew Youngson | News and Campaigns Content Manager | Imperial College London ### Immersive storytelling in action - [ #### A journey in the dark CAFOD ](https://projects.cafod.org.uk/uganda/) - [ #### The boat that disappeared BBC ](https://www.bbc.com/news/extra/vdb6u1mrrv/the-boat-that-disappeared) - [ #### Who owns Antarctica? Sky News ](https://news.sky.com/story/who-owns-antarctica-claims-and-pressures-facing-the-continent-11900409) ## Ready to try the digital storytelling platform used by Honda, University of Cambridge, and the BBC? [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) ### Join these iconic brands - - - - - - - - ## [More Shorthand features](https://shorthand.com/features/) - [ ### Scrollytelling ](https://shorthand.com/features/scrollytelling/) - [ ### Visual Storytelling ](https://shorthand.com/features/visual-storytelling/) - [ ### Collaboration ](https://shorthand.com/features/collaboration/) - [ ### Customisation & Integration ](https://shorthand.com/features/customisation/) - [ ### Themes & Branding ](https://shorthand.com/features/branding/) - [ ### Publishing & Hosting ](https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting/) - [ ### Support ](https://shorthand.com/features/support/) - [ ### Security ](https://shorthand.com/features/security/) --- # Integrations — connect Shorthand to your tools | Shorthand > Connect Shorthand with your CMS, analytics and third-party tools — streamline workflows and publish directly through your existing stack. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/features/integrations/ # Integrate your workflow seamlessly Connect the tools your team loves with Shorthand. From content creation to collaboration, publication, and performance, streamline your workflow and optimise results. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) ## Publish seamlessly to your site or CMS Shorthand integrates seamlessly with your website or CMS, letting you craft immersive, on-brand stories without changing your workflows. Publish to your domain or embed in existing pages — the simplest way to elevate storytelling without a tech overhaul. [Learn more.](https://support.shorthand.com/en/articles/56-publishing-options) ### Wordpress ### Drupal ### Sitecore ### Contentful ### Adobe Experience Manager ### Umbraco ### Wix ### Joomla ### Storyblok ### More via API ## Track performance and audience insights Understand how your stories perform with ease. Integrate your favourite analytics and tracking tools to gain deeper insights into audience behaviour. ### Google Analytics Add tracking for Google Analytics and monitor engagement, traffic sources, and story performance. [Learn more](https://support.shorthand.com/en/articles/45-google-analytics) ### Google Tag Manager Take full control of your analytics and tracking. Update tags, pixels, and scripts globally — and add new integrations as your marketing stack grows. ### Trackers & pixels Install Adobe Analytics, Chartbeat, Hotjar, ad measurement pixels, social media trackers, tag managers, and more to get the metrics that matter. ## Bring stories to life with rich media Bring in the best. Whether you're adding stunning imagery or embedding from your favourite platforms, you can create engaging, dynamic experiences — without ever leaving Shorthand. ### Unsplash Access a vast library of high-quality, royalty-free images directly within Shorthand through our Unsplash integration. ### Multimedia Embed videos, podcasts, interviews, or music from YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, Spotify, and more, to create engaging digital experiences. ### Data visualisation Add interactive charts, infographics, and dashboards to make your data come alive with Tableau, Flourish, Datawrapper, Typeform, and more. ## Maximise reach and engagement Share your stories where your audience lives. Distribute content directly to your marketing and social platforms, helping you connect with audiences and drive greater impact. ### Social asset generator Transform your published story into an eye-catching, scroll-through video—perfectly formatted for social media. ### Sharing buttons Insert sharing buttons directly into your story. Make it effortless for readers to post on social and help your story get reach. ### Email marketing Turn readers into loyal subscribers with embedded signup forms for HubSpot, Mailchimp, Campaign Monitor, and more. ## Keep your team in the loop Stay up to date in the tools your team already uses with instant updates when fresh content is published. ### Email notifications Bring teammates into the conversation with threaded in-app Shorthand discussions and email notifications. ### Slack Send notifications directly to a Slack channel when new content is ready. ### Microsoft Teams Let your team know when there’s an update on a story — right in Teams. ## All features Everything you need to tell your story, and more. [Sections](https://shorthand.com/features/sections)[Editor & layout](https://shorthand.com/features/editor-and-layout)[Branding](https://shorthand.com/features/branding)[Collaborate](https://shorthand.com/features/collaboration)[Publish & host](https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting)[Integrations](https://shorthand.com/features/integrations)[Support](https://shorthand.com/features/support)[Security](https://shorthand.com/features/security) ## Let’s build something beautiful. Join thousands of storytellers using Shorthand to publish standout visual comms and content. Fast, flexible, and built for scale. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Security & compliance — keep your content safe | Shorthand > Trust enterprise-grade security with SOC 2 and ISO-27001 compliance. Keep your content secure, private and compliant while you publish. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/features/security/ # Security you can count on Your stories are powerful — and protected. Shorthand is built with enterprise-grade security at its core, so you can confidently create, collaborate, and publish without compromise. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) SAML-based SSO SCIM Self-hosting SSO for previews Password-protected publishing ISO 27001 SOC 2 Type 2 Section 508 accessibility ## Simplified, secure access — at scale Easily manage who can access your stories with streamlined authentication and automated user controls. SAML-based Single Sign-On (SSO) Integrate Shorthand with your organisation’s SSO system. We support providers such as Google, Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory), Centrify, and GitHub. System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM) Efficiently manage user identities and automate provisioning across applications with SCIM support — ensuring consistent, secure handling of user data. ## Reliable hosting and content delivery Take total control over where and how your stories are seen with Shorthand's flexible hosting options and secure publishing controls. Host on your own infrastructure Align with internal security protocols and maintain full control by publishing directly to your own infrastructure. SSO for previews Add an extra layer of security by requiring SSO authentication to view story previews and access unpublished content. Password-protected publishing Manage who can see sensitive content by curating tiered access and visibility options using unique links and One-Time Passwords. ## Compliance Shorthand meets international standards for security, privacy, and accessibility — so you can create with complete peace of mind. Learn more about [Shorthand security](https://shorthand.com/security/). ### ISO 27001 Publish with confidence. Shorthand’s ISO 27001 certification means your data is protected by globally recognised information security standards. ### SOC 2 Type 2 Stronger security, less risk. With SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, you can trust that Shorthand’s systems and operations meet rigorous industry standards for data security and reliability. ### Accessibility Deliver content that’s accessible to all. Shorthand is Section 508 compliant and aligned with the latest WCAG standards. Review our [VPAT](https://shorthand.com/static/Shorthand-VPAT-2.5rev-September-2026-07b18200b1a286c694cee9271965c193.pdf) for full details. ## Trusted by the world’s leading brands > We had a lot of specific requirements, but the team at Shorthand bent over backwards for us so many times. Andrew Youngson News and Campaigns Content Manager, Imperial College London ## All features Everything you need to tell your story, and more. [Sections](https://shorthand.com/features/sections)[Editor & layout](https://shorthand.com/features/editor-and-layout)[Branding](https://shorthand.com/features/branding)[Collaborate](https://shorthand.com/features/collaboration)[Publish & host](https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting)[Integrations](https://shorthand.com/features/integrations)[Support](https://shorthand.com/features/support)[Security](https://shorthand.com/features/security) ## Let’s build something beautiful. Join thousands of storytellers using Shorthand to publish standout visual comms and content. Fast, flexible, and built for scale. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Support — expert help for your storytelling journey | Shorthand > Get white-glove onboarding, editorial guidance, and technical support from an industry-leading support team — we help you build better stories, faster. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/features/support/ # Industry-leading support From onboarding to optimisation, our expert team is available to answer questions, troubleshoot technical issues, and offer design help — ensuring you always have the right guidance and get results. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) ### With you every step We’re here to help your team succeed. Fast average response times — get the help you need, when you need it Top-rated on G2 and recognised by real users for outstanding service Experienced, world-class support team and editorial feedback Trusted by leading brands with proven success across industries ## Your partners in success We partner with you to bring your stories to life, offering creative guidance, expert insights, and dedicated support every step of the way. Co-creation sessions Sit in with our experts to bring your design vision to life and gain the know-how to keep creating with confidence. Design services Need design support or short on resources? Team up with our experienced design partners to craft polished, high-quality Shorthand stories for your brand. Training Access hands-on training sessions tailored to onboard you and your team to Shorthand's features and best practices. Technical support Got a glitch? Our engineers move fast to fix technical issues, which is why our support is top-rated on G2. [Read our reviews on G2](https://www.g2.com/products/shorthand/reviews). ## Get up and running, fast Explore these free resources to help you get started. ### Webinars Sign up for an upcoming free training session, or watch on demand. [Learn more.](https://shorthand.com/training/) ### Shorthand 101 Watch bite-sized video tutorials to help you master the platform quickly. [Learn more](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoaXrNfyvvDZEsbEssAu3lYJJ4WJ21hUo). ### Help centre Find clear answers on every Shorthand feature. [Learn more](https://support.shorthand.com/en). ## All features Everything you need to tell your story, and more. [Sections](https://shorthand.com/features/sections)[Editor & layout](https://shorthand.com/features/editor-and-layout)[Branding](https://shorthand.com/features/branding)[Collaborate](https://shorthand.com/features/collaboration)[Publish & host](https://shorthand.com/features/publishing-and-hosting)[Integrations](https://shorthand.com/features/integrations)[Support](https://shorthand.com/features/support)[Security](https://shorthand.com/features/security) ## Let’s build something beautiful. Join thousands of storytellers using Shorthand to publish standout visual comms and content. Fast, flexible, and built for scale. [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Shorthand plans | Core, Unlimited & Enterprise > Compare Shorthand's Core, Unlimited and Enterprise annual subscription plans. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/pricing/ # Free to create. Pay when you publish. ## Plans for every publisher — whether you're creating a single flagship report or stories at scale. Core For teams publishing a dozen flagship pieces per year. - 12 new stories per year - Unlimited users - 3 teams - 1 co-creation Unlimited For teams publishing at scale, with no limits on stories. - Unlimited stories - Unlimited users - 10 teams - 3 co-creations Enterprise Tailored SLAs, custom terms, and our specialists on hand. - Unlimited stories - Unlimited users - Unlimited teams - Tailored dev & design services - Tailored co-creations - Dedicated success manager On Demand For one-off projects, paid once with no annual commitment. - Projects — build multi-page reports and microsites as one connected piece - Unlimited users - One-off commitment with no expiry Loved by the world's most iconic brands ### Agency pricing Get tailored pricing for client projects — from one-off reports to subscriptions for recurring publications. ### Services Partner with our experts to ship your project faster. Design and dev services can be bundled with all enterprise plans. ### Plans for educators Teach visual storytelling with Shorthand. Free educational plans are available to universities and colleges. [Apply for a teaching plan](https://shorthandstories.typeform.com/to/Fhq7Ye) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### --- # Tell your brand story with Shorthand > Create immersive digital content to promote your brand, market new products, and supercharge audience engagement. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/use-cases/brand-storytelling/ # Tell your brand story with Shorthand Create immersive digital content to promote your brand, market new products, and supercharge audience engagement. [Get started for free](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) - - - - - - ## Premium brand marketing Engage your audience with stunning, visually immersive content that can be accessed on any device. - With simple ‘drag and drop’ media uploads and section ordering, anyone on your team can build a Shorthand story. - No web designers or developers required. Use Shorthand’s flexible templates and content blocks to shortcut the design process. - Create stunning scroll-based image transitions with our Scrollmation and Reveal story sections. ## Perfect for all content types Whatever content you’re producing, make it visually stunning and engaging with Shorthand. - Create feature stories, profiles, reports, white papers, digital magazines, and more. - Elevate your digital marketing strategy with interactive content — without hiring developers or web designers. ## Breathtaking sponsored content Working with brand partners? Create world-beating sponsored content and native advertising. - Create sponsored content that looks as great as the best visual stories on the web. - Share secure story preview links with clients and easily get pre-publication feedback. ## Measure engagement Easily measure and report on the impact of your brand stories. - With Shorthand analytics, get a Shorthand-specific view of how your stories are performing. - Track views, time-on-page, and story completions for desktop and mobile. - Add your third-party analytics code or tag manager. ## Check out these immersive brand stories — built with Shorthand [ ### SurveyMonkey and Adweek ](https://www.adweek.com/sponsored/portraits-in-curiosity/) [ ### Honda ](https://www.honda.co.uk/engineroom/electric/hybrid/behind-the-wheel-of-the-all-new-jazz/) [ ### Gucci and Savoir Flair ](https://savoirflair.com/gucci-epilogue/) [See more examples of brand storytelling](https://shorthand.com/featured/brand/index.html) “Shorthand delivers amazing results for Honda. In our first year, our dwell time was up 85%, and the click-through rate was up 47%.” Nick Bennett, European Brand Marketing Section Manager, Honda “The stories we’re publishing now look simply beautiful. And now we're getting as many as 15 times the number of reads that we used to get.” Paul Abrahams, Chief Communications Officer, RELX [Read our case studies](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/) ## Learn more about brand storytelling with Shorthand [ ### 11 examples of brand storytelling ](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/examples-of-brand-storytelling/index.html) [ ### How Honda use Shorthand ](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/honda/) [ ### An introduction to brand storytelling ](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/an-introduction-to-brand-storytelling/index.html) Ready to try the brand storytelling platform used by Manchester City, Honda, and Adweek? [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Build a beautiful annual report with Shorthand > Drive more engagement, showcase your impact, and generate more support for your non-profit — no code required. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/use-cases/annual-reports/ # Build your annual report with Shorthand Drive more engagement, showcase your impact, and generate more support for your [non-profit](https://shorthand.com/industries/nonprofit/) — no code required. [Get started for free](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) - - - - - ## Accessible by everyone Ensure that your digital content can be discovered and enjoyed by your entire audience, including those who can’t read or access PDFs. - Shorthand content is search-engine friendly, meaning your annual reports are discoverable in Google. - Add your third-party analytics tool and get real data on how your annual report performs. - Unlike most PDFs, annual reports built with Shorthand can be read by everyone, including those using screen readers. ## Invite the entire team Annual reports take a village. Shorthand provides a collaborative workspace, which means you can invite writers, designers, project teams, editors… even managers. - With granular permission controls, grant access to those who need it. - Enjoy concurrent editing by multiple users, giving your team the ability to work on the same story at the same time. - With free webinars and onboarding support from our expert Editorial Success Managers, have confidence that everyone in your team can get started quickly. ## Responsive visual storytelling Build gorgeous visual stories that can be read on small phones, giant monitors, and everything in-between. No more pinching or zooming to read your annual report. - Delight the over 50% — and growing — of web users on mobile devices. - Shorthand stories automatically work on all screen sizes, with in-app guidance on how to optimise your media. - Easily check content on all screen sizes prior to publication with Shorthand’s preview feature. ## No developers required Build gorgeous digital content without writing a line of code. - Include breathtaking data visualisations to showcase your impact, including maps, graphs, and charts. - Embed over 100 third-party applications into your annual report. All it takes is cutting and pasting a URL. - If you have developers on hand, write custom HTML and CSS to make your annual report truly special. ## Check out these stunning annual reports — built with Shorthand [ ### World Vision International ](https://www.wvi.org/global-annual-report-2025) [ ### Save the Redwoods League ](https://www.savetheredwoods.org/resources/annual-report/) [ ### Mineral Resources ](https://reports.mineralresources.com.au/annual-report-2024/) [See more examples of annual reports](https://shorthand.com/featured/reports/index.html) “Shorthand has led to a 358% increase in page views... increased the time users spent actually reading by 271%, and decreased our bounce rate by 405%. A great result!” Camille Layt, Corporate Publications Advisor, University of Queensland “We do find that the dwell time is usually significantly higher with Shorthand pieces, and the bounce rate is lower, which is down to that beautiful first page. It just grabs you, doesn't it?” Hollie Pycroft, Senior Digital Content Editor, ActionAid [Read our case studies](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/) ## Learn more about annual reports with Shorthand [ ### 10 examples to inspire your next annual report ](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/annual-report-examples/index.html) [ ### How to write an annual report ](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/how-to-write-an-annual-report/index.html) [ ### The essential building blocks of an annual report ](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/the-essential-building-blocks-of-an-annual-report/index.html) Ready to try the immersive annual report builder used by Habitat for Humanity International, World Vision, and Oxfam? [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Create a stunning digital magazine with Shorthand > Delight your readers, supercharge engagement, and publish visually stunning stories at scale. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/use-cases/digital-magazines/ # Create your digital magazine with Shorthand Delight your readers, supercharge engagement, and publish visually stunning stories at scale. [Get started for free](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) - - - - - ## Create beautiful reading experiences, without code Publish immersive, interactive content that will delight and grow your digital magazine’s audience. - Publish gorgeous responsive HTML5 stories that can be enjoyed and shared by all your readers. - Create immersive content with your existing media assets, without writing a line of code. - Have developers in your team? Use them to optimise your content with custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. ## Truly accessible digital content Move away from hard-to-use flipbooks and clunky PDFs with beautiful, engaging content — the same shift [nonprofits are making](https://shorthand.com/industries/nonprofit/) for their donor and supporter magazines. - Publish visually-rich content that is accessible to all, including those using screen readers. - All Shorthand stories are fully responsive, which means they can be enjoyed on all devices and screen sizes. ## Drive subscriptions to your magazine Use high-quality content to build your reputation and grow your subscribers. - Win the attention of your readers with stunning, world-beating visual stories. - Have an existing paywall? No problem. Shorthand integrates easily with nearly all paywall solutions. ## A better return on investment Get a better return from your content investment with stronger engagement, audience loyalty, and click-through rates. - Grow your organic traffic with SEO-friendly HTML web pages, and outrank content distributed in PDFs and bespoke apps. - Encourage social sharing with Open Graph metadata for social networks like Twitter and Facebook. - Measure impact using Shorthand’s analytics engine, or embed your own third-party code, such as Google Analytics. ## Explore stunning digital magazines made with Shorthand [ ### UCL's Portico Magazine ](https://magazine.ucl.ac.uk) [ ### Manchester City Magazine ](https://www.mancity.com/features/citymag-june-2025/) [ ### Emory University Magazine ](https://news.emory.edu/features/2022/09/em_fresh_hopes_13-09-2022/) [See more examples of digital magazines](https://shorthand.com/featured/digital-magazines/index.html) “Our Shorthand stories are performing on every metric that we've been measuring ourselves on, such as scroll depth, clicks on page, and click-throughs on social media. The targets and stretch targets have been met on all our content..” Andrew Youngson, News and Campaigns Content Manager, Imperial College London “I’d call it revolutionary. It’s completely changed the way we create digital content, and our engagement has increased dramatically for the better, with people going out of their way to tell us how beautiful the Shorthand stories are.” Camille Layt, Senior Manager Publications, University of Queensland [Read our case studies](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/) ## See why 500+ publishers, brands and universities choose Shorthand for magazines [ ### Retail Week's transition from print and PDFs to Shorthand ](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/retail-week/) [ ### Inspiring examples from the BBC, Adweek and Vogue ](https://shorthand.com/featured/digital-magazines/index.html) [ ### Imperial College London's winning alumni magazine ](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/imperial-college-london/) Ready to try the digital magazine platform used by the University of Cambridge, Bonhams, and Imperial College London? [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Build your data story with Shorthand — no code required > Inform, delight, and entertain your audience with powerful data storytelling. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/use-cases/data-storytelling/ # Build your data story with Shorthand Inform, delight, and entertain your audience with powerful data storytelling — no code required. [Get started for free](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) - - - - - ## Create animated data visualisations without code Use static images to create compelling animations, triggered as the reader scrolls. - Create interactive data visualisations with your existing static charts, graphs, and maps. - Shorthand content is fully responsive, with in-app guides to ensure your data visualisations work on all screen sizes. ## Embed your third-party tool or code Make the most of your data visualisations, no matter how you built them. - Shorthand supports most leading data visualisation platforms. - Embed charts and graphs from Flourish, Tableau, Microsoft BI, Google, Mapbox, and more. - Embed your bespoke data visualisation using our custom code block, with support for custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. ## Data storytelling for all content teams With our intuitive editor, all content teams can include attention-grabbing data visualisations. - Include charts, graphs, and maps in your feature story, annual report, white paper, [nonprofit impact report](https://shorthand.com/industries/nonprofit/), internal marketing, science communication, and more. - No code — or PhD in data science — required. ## Build a story with data Use Shorthand’s leading visual storytelling tools to create a beautiful narrative around your data visualisation. - Create gorgeous visual stories with rich multimedia assets, including video, images, and audio. - Balance text, media, and data to produce a compelling data story that gets results. ## Check out these stunning data stories — built with Shorthand [ ### Sky News ](https://news.sky.com/story/better-for-brexit-how-uk-has-changed-since-leave-vote-11920143) [ ### Stuff ](https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2020/06/unemployment-crisis-covid-economic-recovery/) [ ### The Telegraph ](http://s.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/projects/Africa-in-100-years/index.html) [See more examples of data storytelling](https://shorthand.com/featured/data/index.html) “I like that you can animate without actually animating. The ability to upload images and make them appear to animate is an excellent feature.” Natalie Booth, Digital Marketing Officer, The Doherty Institute “We compared content created with Shorthand to our regular news content and found 142% higher page views, 50% more time on page, and 7% more pages viewed per session.” Andrew Youngson, Communications Insight Manager, Imperial College London [Read our case studies](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/) ## Learn more about data storytelling with Shorthand [ ### 8 examples of stunning data stories ](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/examples-of-powerful-data-storytelling/index.html) [ ### An introduction to data storytelling ](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/data-storytelling/index.html) [ ### How to create great data journalism ](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/how-to-create-great-data-journalism/index.html) Ready to try the data storytelling platform used by the BBC, Salesforce Ventures, and Sky News? [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Create visually rich feature stories with Shorthand > Supercharge reader engagement, drive subscriptions, and grow your media business. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/use-cases/longform-feature-stories/ # Build your longform feature story with Shorthand Supercharge reader engagement, drive subscriptions, and grow your media business. [Get started for free](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) - - - - - ## Create stunning feature stories, no code required Build immersive, interactive features that your readers will love, without hiring developers. - Create interactive scrollytelling stories with your existing media assets. - Include breathtaking data visualisations, including maps, graphs, and charts. - Have developers in your team? Use them to optimise your stories with custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. ## Breathtaking sponsored content Delight your partners with world-beating sponsored feature stories and native advertising. - Create [sponsored content](https://shorthand.com/use-cases/sponsored-content) that looks as great as the best visual stories on the web. - Share secure story preview links with clients and easily get pre-publication feedback. ## Drive subscriptions Build your reputation for high quality content, and give your readers a compelling reason to subscribe. - Blow away the competition with stunning, world-beating visual stories. - Publish your Shorthand content behind your existing paywall solution. ## Embed your third-party tool or code Built a compelling data visualisation using a third-party tool or platform? No problem! - Embed charts and graphs from Flourish, Tableau, Microsoft BI, Google, Mapbox, and more. - Include your bespoke data visualisation using our custom code block. - Shorthand supports custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript on applicable plans. ## Check out these stunning longform features — built with Shorthand [ ### Sky News ](https://news.sky.com/story/better-for-brexit-how-uk-has-changed-since-leave-vote-11920143) [ ### BBC ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/extra/1g500y2qln/From-Trayvon-Martin-to-Colin-Kaepernick) [ ### NBC News ](https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/detroit-segregation-wall/) [See more examples of longform feature stories](https://shorthand.com/featured/news-and-features/index.html) “Shorthand has transformed how we produce our digital longform journalism. From the beginning, we were able to produce stories which were far more visually engaging than our own CMS allows us to do.” Ronan Hughes, Output Editor, Sky News “Shorthand stories published by Stuff usually have really high engagement. Generally, we see two to three minutes, which is really high. And most of our stories also see over 70,000 pageviews — sometimes much more than that.” Kathryn George, Digital Designer, Stuff [Read our case studies](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/) ## Learn more about longform journalism with Shorthand [ ### How Stuff uses Shorthand ](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/stuff/) [ ### 10 examples of powerful investigative journalism ](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/investigative-journalism-examples/) [ ### How Sky News uses Shorthand ](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/sky-news/) Ready to use the immersive content platform used by the BBC, Sky News, and El Periódico? [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Engage your team with compelling stories > Build a vibrant company culture, delight your employees, and grow your internal NPS with beautifully immersive content. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/use-cases/internal-communications/ # Engage your team with Shorthand Build a vibrant company culture, delight your employees, and grow your internal NPS with beautifully immersive content. [Get started for free](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) - - - - ## Beautifully secure publishing Shorthand is enterprise-ready, with publishing workflows that will work seamlessly with your IT setup and security protocols. - Shorthand supports a growing range of services for SAML-based SSO, including Google, Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Azure Active Directory, Centrify, and GitHub. - Shorthand's ISO27001 certification and SOC2 compliance will give your team confidence about our security policies and practices, and streamline your procurement of Shorthand. - Publish stories directly to your own infrastructure, ensuring that you manage your media assets. - [Read more about security at Shorthand.](https://shorthand.com/features/security/) ## Perfect for all content types Great internal communications takes many forms. Whatever content you’re producing, make it beautifully engaging with Shorthand. - Create data-driven business updates, profiles of the team, updates from the CEO, internal reports, product education, and more. - Use Shorthand’s flexible templates and content blocks to shortcut the design process. - Create content as engaging as the best content on the web — without any code or web design skills required. ## Accessible by everyone Build gorgeous visual stories that can be read on small phones, giant monitors, and screen readers. Create internal marketing that can be read by all your employees. - Create content that can be easily enjoyed by all your employees, no matter what device they’re reading on. - Shorthand stories automatically work on all screen sizes, with in-app guidance on how to optimise your media. - Check content on all screen sizes prior to publication with Shorthand’s preview feature. ## Invite the entire team Shorthand provides a collaborative workspace, which means you can invite writers, designers, project teams, editors… even managers. - With granular permission controls, grant access to those who need it. - With full version control, keep track of any changes made in the Shorthand editor. - With free webinars and onboarding support from our expert Customer Success, have confidence than everyone in your team can get started quickly. ## Check out these examples of immersive internal communications — built with Shorthand [ ### RELX ](https://stories.relx.com/relx-environmental-challenge/index.html) [ ### Elsevier ](https://elsevier.shorthandstories.com/10-reasons-to-join-us-at-elsevier/) [ ### Imperial College London ](https://www.imperial.ac.uk/Stories/communications-strategy-2022-23/) [See more examples of beautiful content](https://shorthand.com/featured/stories/) “Net Promoter Scores within RELX have soared. Across the businesses, we've had a 20 point increase in people saying they would recommend RELX as a place to work. Those are record levels.” Paul Abrahams, Chief Communications Officer, RELX “Shorthand has led to a 358% increase in page views... increased the time users spent actually reading by 271%, and decreased bounce rate by 405%. A great result!” Camille Layt, Senior Manager Publications, University of Queensland [Read our case studies](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/) ## Learn more about internal communications with Shorthand [ ### Internal marketing: A guide to boosting company culture ](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/internal-marketing/index.html) [ ### 11 tips for effective internal communications ](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/11-tips-for-improving-your-internal-communications/index.html) [ ### How RELX uses Shorthand ](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/relx/) Ready to try the immersive content platform used by RELX, Honda, and the University of Cambridge? [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Build your beautiful white paper with Shorthand > Drive more engagement, showcase your impact, and get better results for your content — no code required. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/use-cases/white-papers/ # Build your white paper with Shorthand Drive more engagement and get better results for your content — whether you're a brand, research institution, or [nonprofit organisation](https://shorthand.com/industries/nonprofit/) — no code required. [Get started for free](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) - - - - - ## Accessible by everyone Make sure your white paper can be discovered and enjoyed by everyone in your audience, including those who can’t read or access PDFs. - Unlike PDFs, Shorthand content is search-engine friendly, meaning they are discoverable in Google. - Add your third-party analytics tool and get real data on how your annual report performs. - Ensure your white paper can be read by everyone, including those using screen readers. ## Invite the entire team White papers take a village. Shorthand provides a collaborative workspace, which means you can invite writers, designers, editors… even managers. - Grant access to those who need it with granular permission controls. With concurrent editing, allow multiple people to work on the same white paper at once. - Shorthand offers free webinars and onboarding support from our expert Customer Success team. ## Responsive visual storytelling Build gorgeous visual stories that can be read on small phones, giant monitors, and everything in-between. - Delight the over 50% — and growing — of web users on mobile devices. Don’t punish your readers with pinching or zooming. - Your Shorthand white paper automatically works on all screen sizes, with in-app guidance on how to optimise your media. - Easily check content on all screen sizes prior to publication with Shorthand’s preview feature. ## No developers required Build your gorgeous white paper for the web — without writing a line of code. - Include breathtaking data visualisations to showcase your impact, including maps, graphs, and charts. - Embed over 100 third-party applications into your annual report. All it takes is cutting and pasting a URL. - If you have developers on hand, write custom HTML and CSS to make your annual report truly special. ## Check out these stunning reports and white papers — built with Shorthand [ ### Penguin ](https://litincolour.penguin.co.uk/) [ ### The Hamilton Commission ](https://report.hamiltoncommission.org/interactive-summary/index.html) [ ### Gowling WLG ](https://gowlingwlg.com/en/insights-resources/reports/2021/post-pandemic-the-road-to-a-true-new-normal/#) [See more examples of white papers](https://shorthand.com/featured/reports/index.html) “Shorthand delivers amazing results for Honda. In our first year, our dwell time was up 85%, and the click-through rate was up 47%.” Nick Bennett, European Brand Marketing Section Manager, Honda “We compared content created with Shorthand to our regular news content and found 142% higher page views, 50% more time on page, and 7% more pages viewed per session.” Andrew Youngson, Communications Insight Manager, Imperial College London [Read our case studies](https://shorthand.com/case-studies/) ## Learn more about white papers with Shorthand [ ### How to write a white paper ](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/what-is-a-white-paper/index.html) [ ### 10 examples to inspire your next annual report ](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/annual-report-examples/index.html) [ ### 10 white papers that aren’t PDFs ](https://shorthand.com/the-craft/10-engaging-examples-of-white-papers-that-aren-t-pdfs/index.html) Ready to try the immersive white paper platform used by The World Bank, Penguin, and the University of Oxford? [Start publishing](https://app.shorthand.com/signup) --- # Training | Visual storytelling > Register for an online storytelling masterclass with Shorthand. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/training/ # Shorthand walkthroughs & webinars ## Learn the craft of visual storytelling with Shorthand community experts. Watch on demand or join live webinars. - - - [Video library (opens in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/@Shorthand) --- # About Shorthand — The Storytelling Platform for Iconic Brands > Learn how our visual storytelling editor can empower your digital team to communicate thought and emotion with maximum fidelity. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/about/ # About Us ## Learn why Shorthand is the visual storytelling platform for iconic brands ## Shorthand is the platform that brands, publishers, non-profits, universities and others use to create the world's most engaging stories, annual reports, case studies and other content. Trusted by everyone from the BBC to Business Insider, Manchester City to Honda, Amnesty International to the Red Cross, and Cambridge to Harvard, Shorthand elevates your stories and communications from the everyday to the exceptional. ## Committed to the exceptional With best-in-the-business time on page metrics, as measured by Chartbeat and our own customers, Shorthand stories are arguably the most engaging content type on the web today. Our product is thoughtfully designed to enable publishers, agencies, corporate communications teams and others to create memorable reading experiences that audiences can’t ignore, and that move them to action. We promote style in support of substance, gravitas above gimmickry. We encourage our customers to strive for the extraordinary, and we support them in that pursuit. ## Our beliefs _&_ mission We believe a world informed by powerful stories and linked by compelling everyday communications is a smarter, more progressive, more resilient world. So our mission is to connect the world's iconic brands to their audiences, their people and each other. We achieve this mission by undertaking extreme web innovation to create the leading platform for epic storytelling and collaboration for digital publishing teams. ## Our story Born in Brisbane, Australia, but now a truly global citizen, Shorthand is a band of geeks with art and heart. We are an intensely product- and customer-focused team of designers, software engineers, computer scientists, and, yes, storytellers. With customers on every continent barring Antarctica (one day!), we decided their needs could be best met by organizing our team to reflect that reality. So today we are a fully remote team, distributed across four continents and six cities, including New York, London, Seattle, Fukuoka and Sydney. ## Our Locations - **Brisbane**Level 38 Central Plaza One 345 Queen Street Brisbane, QLD, 4000 Australia +61 7 3185 4080 - **London**5 Fleet Place London, EC4M 7RD England - **New York**276 5th Avenue Suite 704 #928 New York, NY 10001 USA - **Postal Address**PO Box 2151 New Farm, QLD, 4005 Australia --- # Careers | Shorthand > We’re on a mission to revolutionise storytelling on the web, and we need your help. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/careers/ # Work with Shorthand ## We’re on a mission to revolutionise storytelling on the web, and we need your help. [View open roles](https://shorthand.bamboohr.com/jobs/) ### Fully remote since 2017 Shorthand is an experienced remote company, with every team member working remotely, including the CEO. Founded in Brisbane but growing globally, we’re a truly international team, and have mature processes and policies to make sure everyone is successful and happy at work. Our team comes from a range of cultures, backgrounds, and countries. _We’re committed to building a diverse, safe, and enjoyable workplace for everyone on our team_. ### Our values At Shorthand, we're creating a place where a group of extraordinary people — a band of geeks with art and heart — can do their life's best work, achieve a sense of fulfilment while they're doing it, and ultimately help our customers to move mountains. _Here’s how we do it._ - #### We simplify We do the hard work of making complicated things simple for the benefit of our customers and our teammates. - #### We work as a team We listen first with the intent to understand, and bring critical thinking and a positive attitude to our team interactions. - #### We think — then act We are comfortable with rapid experimentation and careful deliberation. - #### We’re diverse We bring to work our individual spirit and the diversity and new ideas that come with it. - #### We make magic We enchant our customers with our product and in every interaction. - #### We create impact We take pride in the results we achieve — not by our roles, titles, or the number of hours we work. ### Working at Shorthand Shorthand is a fast-growing company that provides a digital publishing platform to many of the world’s best known publishers, brands, not-for-profits, and universities. With customers on every continent (except Antarctica!), _there’s never been a more exciting time to join Shorthand_. - #### Health and Wellness Annual allowance to help you keep your mind and body healthy. - #### Home Office We help you get your home office sorted with our desk and chair allowance. - #### Hardware We’ll set you up with an Apple Mac and any peripherals you need to do your job. - #### Welcome Gift We’ll post you a little parcel of goodies to welcome you to the team. - #### Employee Options After passing probation, all staff are entitled to join our Employee Share Plan. - #### Uncapped Leave We trust you to take as much leave as you need. [View open roles](https://shorthand.bamboohr.com/jobs/) Don’t see anything that suits? We’re always on the lookout for talented people to join our team. Send an email with your CV to [careers@shorthand.com](mailto:careers@shorthand.com). --- # Security at Shorthand — The Storytelling Platform for Iconic Brands > Learn how our visual storytelling editor can empower your digital team to communicate thought and emotion with maximum fidelity. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/security/ # Security practices At Shorthand, our primary security focus is to safeguard our customers' data. This is why Shorthand has invested in resources and controls to facilitate effective risk management through our comprehensive security programme and governance processes. To formalise our commitment, we are [ISO27001 certified](https://cvs.babcert.com/babcert.asp?c=234513&v=53r3k1irp2) and SOC2 Type II compliant. A copy of our SOC2 report is available on request. ### What data does Shorthand store? When you create a Shorthand account, you must provide personal information such as your email address and full name. We may also store your profile picture. While using our services, the data you enter into your Shorthand story may vary — you may upload or directly enter any data such as text, images, audio, video, or other files. Additional data that we may collect is covered in more detail in our [Privacy Policy](https://shorthand.com/legal/privacy-policy/). ### Where does Shorthand store data? We store your story data in Amazon Web Services (AWS), our primary infrastructure provider. All production data is stored in AWS us-east-1 region located in North Virginia, United States. Where we use third party tools or sub-processors, these are listed on our [Data privacy: sub-processors and third party tools](https://support.shorthand.com/en/articles/97-data-privacy-sub-processors-and-third-party-tools) page with details about the data we use and how it is processed. ## **Infrastructure and network security** Shorthand is powered by AWS, the leading provider of secure computing infrastructure. We chose AWS because of their stringent security measures and industry-recognised certifications, including ISO27001 certification and SOC2 audit compliance — the full list of compliance resources is available on the [AWS Compliance Programs](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/programs/) page. ### Feature-specific infrastructure Shorthand also uses secondary cloud infrastructure providers to process data for specific features of the web application, such as image processing. Data is sent to [these providers](https://support.shorthand.com/en/articles/97-data-privacy-sub-processors-and-third-party-tools) temporarily and stored for a brief period of time to perform the functionality of the feature, and is then permanently deleted after the functionality has been performed. No data is permanently stored or hosted within these infrastructure providers. ### Shorthand hosting Shorthand Hosting is an extremely reliable publishing method and uses a high traffic capable AWS S3 and AWS CloudFront content delivery network. Amazon’s S3 infrastructure is designed to provide 99.99% availability. If you would like to know more about AWS CloudFront’s performance, you can read about it [on the product page](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/). Customers also have the ability to host stories directly on their own servers and have full control over their hosting environment. ### Access controls Shorthand employees have limited access to Shorthand infrastructure, with access always provided on a minimum required and least privileged basis. Access is only granted on a need-to-use basis, based on the responsibilities and duties of the employees. Access is reviewed half-yearly at minimum, and access rights updated accordingly. Access to infrastructure configurations and logs is managed by the AWS IAM (Identity and Access Management) service. Roles are used in conjunction with named user accounts to give fine-grained control of user rights to any resources. Multi-factor authentication controls are enforced on all user accounts. All access attempts to the hosting platform or servers are logged and monitored. Alerts are in place to expose any abnormal activity. Shorthand uses AWS for its primary infrastructure. AWS data centers feature a layered security model, with physical and environmental controls implemented as [outlined by AWS](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/data-center/controls/). Shorthand employees do not have physical access to AWS data centers, servers, network equipment, or storage. ### Penetration testing Shorthand is reviewed yearly by a well-respected third party security consultancy, and any findings are actioned within a time frame as determined based on the severity assessment of the issue. The testing represents a point-in-time assessment of the Shorthand application against potential or existing vulnerabilities that may lead to compromise of the environment. Testing is based on best practice methodologies such as the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) and CWE/SANS Top 25 Most Dangerous Software Errors. ### Vulnerability management Shorthand uses automated testing to ensure new features do not weaken our application security model. Automated patching is in place for all servers in our hosting platform with the latest available patches from relevant vendors. New security threats and emerging vulnerabilities are continually being found through automated dependency and security scans, and we monitor bulletins to identify threats that could affect our platform. Shorthand defines the severity of an issue using Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) scores, which is an industry recognised standard. Once vulnerabilities or threats are found, findings are actively investigated and remedied based on their severity. Compliance of vulnerability resolution times are enforced via compliance software, [Vanta](https://www.vanta.com), and tracked with Linear. ### Intrusion detection and prevention Shorthand's network security design uses a defense in depth approach, with network firewalls (AWS Web Application Firewall) supplemented by Virtual Private Cloud network segmentation rules and per environment security groups, and IAM policies. Shorthand uses CrowdStrike Falcon for Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR). Amazon GuardDuty is used for Intrusion Detection (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention (IPS). GuardDuty uses machine learning, anomaly detection, and integrated threat intelligence to continuously monitor and identify potential threats. ### Data encryption Clients access our services over the internet using a secure connection. All data is encrypted in transit using current cipher suites and protocols which are reviewed regularly, and at rest using AES-256 encryption. Communication between clients’ browsers and the application are transmitted over HTTPS (TLS 1.2, or TLS 1.3 if available) and are secured using SHA-256 encryption. Any data leaving the data centre is transferred on an encrypted channel. ### Secure development lifecycle Shorthand is designed and developed in accordance with the principles of secure software development consistent with industry best practices, including protection against commonly known vulnerabilities such as OWASP Top 10 for web-facing applications. Internal security reviews are conducted on all new feature work, and as part of business as usual. Code reviews and automated code scanning tools are used before anything is released to production so that flaws and human error can be identified before they can cause security concerns. When a third-party application or service intends to replace existing or introduce new functionality, these are assessed and demonstrated to satisfy existing business use cases without increasing the risk of exposing sensitive data to unauthorised third parties. Separate Development, Test, and Staging environments are used to validate and test changes made to the production code and infrastructure configuration. These environments resemble the configuration and makeup of the production environment as closely as possible to allow effective testing and to reduce the effect of environmental differences. ### Logical separation Shorthand uses a multi-tenant architecture where all customers share the same computing resources and customer story data is stored and processed in a shared database. Logical segregation of data between customers and correct access is enforced using program logic and unique customer identifiers. ### Incident response Our team has a clear process to manage incidents through to resolution as outlined within our Incident Management Plan. Incident reporting includes investigation of findings, scope of the data or services affected, and what remedial actions will be taken to reduce the risk. In the event of a data breach, it will be reported to the relevant authorities and the affected clients within 48 hours. ### Logging and monitoring Logs are configured to include, but are not limited to: - authentication activities, whether successful or not, - activities or occasions where the user's privilege/permission level changes, - administrative activities on the application or any of its components, - transaction events related to interaction (read, change, copy, move, delete) with business-critical data and sensitive data, - detailed HTTP logs, - system information and errors, and - application errors. Logs are scanned by automated tools and alerts are raised to the centralised alerting and monitoring system (AWS Security Hub and Datadog) for identified issues or anomalies. Sentry and Amazon CloudWatch logs are used for application logging and monitoring to assist in the diagnosis and correction of issues within the Shorthand application. Amazon CloudWatch and CloudTrail are also used to log, monitor, and alert on resource allocation and operational performance of the Shorthand infrastructure. Vanta is used to enable governance, compliance, and operational risk auditing of operations, security related events, and misconfigurations. Logs are centrally stored for up to at least 2 years, with 3 months’ worth of logs readily available to assist in the diagnosing of security issues. ## **Product Security** ### Single sign-on and passwords Where possible for customers, we recommend the use of SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) or Google Sign-In to access our platform. If this isn't a viable option for you, then user access is controlled by unique usernames and passwords aligning with elements of the NIST Digital Identity Guidelines (800-63B). Users can reset and manage their own passwords within the platform. These may not be blacklisted (where the blacklist includes known compromised values in breach corpuses, dictionary words, repetitive or sequential characters), are stored using one-way hashing with a per-user salt, and are never sent or able to be viewed by either the user or Shorthand’s staff. ### Session management Shorthand provides the ability for users to manage their active sessions where they are logged into their accounts. Users can review their active sessions to proactively manage the security of their account and prevent unauthorised access, including the option to end any active session at any time. ## **Compliance** ### SOC 2 Type II Shorthand has received a SOC 2 Type II report demonstrating that appropriate controls are in place to mitigate the risks related to security. A SOC 2 audit report provides detailed information and assurance about Shorthand’s security, providing assurance about the effectiveness of our controls. The report is the outcome of an external audit performed by an independent third-party firm certified by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). Shorthand was assessed against the AICPA’s Trust Service Criteria for Security (also known as Common Criteria). The Type II audit proves that we have controls in place for a sustained period of time, with reliable and consistent safeguards in place to protect our customer’s data. Our reporting period concludes in December each year and we are committed to carrying out an annual SOC 2 audit. ### ISO 27001 Shorthand is ISO/IEC 27001:2013 (also known as ISO 27001) certified. ISO 27001 is a security management standard that specifies security management best practices and comprehensive security controls. The standard lays out a framework and controls which allows Shorthand to ensure a comprehensive and continually improving model for security management. Shorthand’s Information Security Management System (ISMS) supports the operations underlying our product and is governed by the implemented controls in accordance with the organisation’s Statement of Applicability. Shorthand was certified following an external audit performed by an independent third-party firm accredited with UKAS, the only government-backed body for ISO certification in the United Kingdom. Our certification was issued on 30 November 2021, and we are committed to carrying out an annual ISO 27001 audit. ### PCI DSS All payments made to Shorthand are securely processed by Stripe. [Stripe](https://stripe.com/docs/security/guide) has been audited by an independent PCI Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) and is certified as a PCI Level 1 Service Provider. This is the most stringent level of certification available in the payments industry. ## **Business continuity and disaster recovery** ### Backups Shorthand has documented application and data backup policies and procedures that ensure all systems supporting our service are regularly backed up and securely stored. Data is backed up using Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Relational Database Service (RDS) backup and recovery solution. Daily full backups are retained for 7 days, and transactional logs are taken every 5 minutes, with all backups encrypted at rest. All story related assets are stored using Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) with versioning enabled. All backup processes are tested periodically to ensure that backup data can be restored to a production environment. ### Disaster recovery Shorthand has a structured disaster recovery plan with detailed procedures to recover service operations after a disruption resulting from a disaster. A disaster is defined as a disruptive incident which has occurred which significantly affects the delivery of the Shorthand application, making it unavailable to users. This may be due to infrastructure or software failure, loss of services, a cyber incident or some other reason. While Shorthand aims for zero data loss and high availability, we understand that this may be impractical as systems can go wrong and such targets may be unattainable or extremely expensive. As part of our Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan, we set Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) that aim to strike a balance between cost, benefit, and practicality. RTO refers to the amount of time it takes to restore critical functionality to Shorthand during a period of unavailability. While we aim to keep this as minimal as possible, there may be scenarios where this may take longer than expected. As a result, we advise a RTO within 48 hours of failure. RPO is the time an organisation accepts it may lose in a recovery operation. Full database backups are performed every 24 hours, and database transaction logs are maintained. In an ideal scenario, this means we can restore our database to within minutes of when service is interrupted, with minimal data loss, if any. Failing that, we expect to be able to restore to a full database backup and as a result, we advise a RPO of 24 hours. Coordinated testing and rehearsals of both business continuity and the disaster recovery plan are conducted annually. This includes a retrospective to identify lessons learned and improvements to playbooks and operating procedures. --- # Get In Touch | Contact Shorthand for Beautifully Simple Storytelling > Contact us about Shorthand, the beautifully simple storytelling tool for the web. Get in touch about our plans for publishers, brands, universities & not-for-profits. Canonical: https://shorthand.com/contact/ ### How can we help? Contact us to learn more about creating stunning, immersive reading experiences in record time; to subscribe to a Shorthand plan; or to discuss partnership opportunities.