10 best digital publishing platforms for 2025
Everyone has a story but not everyone has the correct tools to share it. The Craft investigates the 10 best digital publishing platforms to ensure your message is seen, heard and understood.
by Tracey Porter
- Skip ahead to our 10 top digital publishing platforms list
Those who enjoy conjuring up high-quality digital experiences recognise that what you read and write matters.
To create the ultimate interactive digital publications and have them appeal to an engaged audience across multiple channels, the platforms you select must strike the perfect balance of interactive engagement, a user-friendly interface, and innovative content marketing opportunities.
But experienced marketers, strategists, magazine publishers, and other content creators also know that finding the best digital publishing solution is not easy. Not only must the chosen platform meet all the requirements of your chosen publishing format, it must also be affordable and work alongside any existing digital infrastructure.
To help improve your chances of achieving this holy grail, we’ve identified some of the best online publishing platforms below.
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10 top digital publishing platforms
Shorthand
A digital storytelling and hosting platform, Shorthand allows users to create, build, and manage engaging interactive elements like scrollytelling.
The ease at which stories can be embedded into any web page is impressive. With its content able to be published on any domain, the storytelling experience is easily enhanced. Users can build stories with audio and video, and additional animation effects that come to life as the reader scrolls.
User brag list: BBC, Tripadvisor, Dow Jones, Greenpeace
Pricing: Shorthand offers a free trial of the builder. A paid plan is required to publish. Pricing starts at $US40 per month.
10 top digital publishing platforms
Shorthand
A digital storytelling and hosting platform, Shorthand allows users to create, build, and manage engaging interactive elements like scrollytelling.
The ease at which stories can be embedded into any web page is impressive. With its content able to be published on any domain, the storytelling experience is easily enhanced. Users can build stories with audio and video, and additional animation effects that come to life as the reader scrolls.
User brag list: BBC, Tripadvisor, Dow Jones, Greenpeace
Pricing: Shorthand offers a free trial of the builder. A paid plan is required to publish. Pricing starts at $US40 per month.
WordPress
Wordpress is an open-source content management system known for its extensive customisation options.
It's particularly popular with self-publishers seeking to build and maintain their own websites, retailers, and bloggers who don’t have specialised coders on their team.
It includes SEO-friendly features such as optimised title tags and headings, and has ample security safeguards in place including firewalls, encryption and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protections in place to ensure any digital assets remain uncompromised.
User brag list: NewsCorp, Samsung, Meta.
Pricing: A free trial is available, with pricing starting at AU$6 per month.
image courtesy of Wordpress
image courtesy of Wordpress
image courtesy of Wordpress
image courtesy of Wordpress
WordPress
Wordpress is an open-source content management system known for its extensive customisation options.
It's particularly popular with self-publishers seeking to build and maintain their own websites, retailers, and bloggers who don’t have specialised coders on their team.
It includes SEO-friendly features such as optimised title tags and headings, and has ample security safeguards in place including firewalls, encryption and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protections in place to ensure any digital assets remain uncompromised.
User brag list: NewsCorp, Samsung, Meta.
Pricing: A free trial is available, with pricing starting at AU$6 per month.
image courtesy of Ghost
image courtesy of Ghost
Ghost
Founded by a former core contributor at WordPress who wanted to build an online publishing platform with a focus on creator ownership, Ghost is a multimedia app that provides users with the tools to build a website, publish digital content, send newsletters, and offer paid subscriptions.
It has a team of third-party designers and developers to streamline content creation, build e-commerce sites from scratch, and optimise functionality for best effect. Its integrations library is a must-see as it can embed social media, referral programs, payment gateways and push notifications.
User brag list: IBM, Tinder, Sky News, VEVO.
Pricing: Ghost offers a free 14-day trial, after which it introduces a multi-tiered subscription system. Options start at $US9 per month for one user.
image courtesy of Ghost
image courtesy of Ghost
Ghost
Founded by a former core contributor at WordPress who wanted to build an online publishing platform with a focus on creator ownership, Ghost is a multimedia app that provides users with the tools to build a website, publish digital content, send newsletters, and offer paid subscriptions.
It has a team of third-party designers and developers to streamline content creation, build e-commerce sites from scratch, and optimise functionality for best effect. Its integrations library is a must-see as it can embed social media, referral programs, payment gateways and push notifications.
User brag list: IBM, Tinder, Sky News, VEVO.
Pricing: Ghost offers a free 14-day trial, after which it introduces a multi-tiered subscription system. Options start at $US9 per month for one user.
Substack
Substack is a multi-channel publishing platform that provides publishing, payment, analytics and design software to support multimedia content, including newsletters, podcasts and video. Popular with bloggers and podcasters, it helps creators monetise their content independently by eliminating traditional media gatekeepers.
Users are likely to enjoy how content producers can set their own pricing and offer different subscription tiers with various benefits. Likewise, the fact it can monitor content marketing metrics and track performance via real-time data dashboards, is appealing.
User brag list: Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Dan Gardener.
Pricing: Free for creators to use, Substack charges commission from each paid subscription sold through its platform.
image courtesy of Substack
image courtesy of Substack
image courtesy of Substack
image courtesy of Substack
Substack
Substack is a multi-channel publishing platform that provides publishing, payment, analytics and design software to support multimedia content, including newsletters, podcasts and video. Popular with bloggers and podcasters, it helps creators monetise their content independently by eliminating traditional media gatekeepers.
Users are likely to enjoy how content producers can set their own pricing and offer different subscription tiers with various benefits. Likewise, the fact it can monitor content marketing metrics and track performance via real-time data dashboards, is appealing.
User brag list: Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Dan Gardener.
Pricing: Free for creators to use, Substack charges commission from each paid subscription sold through its platform.
screenshot, webflow.com
screenshot, webflow.com
Webflow
Webflow is a versatile, user-friendly platform for editors, designers, and developers to access a drag-and-drop interface to design their website. It also has a content management system that allows users to add, edit and update content at scale.
Users can localise their site for audiences in any location, including leveraging native machine-powered translation, to help drive organic site traffic for a small additional fee. Also has tools for hosting, security, compliance and publishing.
User brag list: Dropbox, Soundcloud, Spotify, and TED.
Pricing: Webflow offers a free starter pack. Basic packages for static sites start from $US14 per month.
screenshot, webflow.com
screenshot, webflow.com
Webflow
Webflow is a versatile, user-friendly platform for editors, designers, and developers to access a drag-and-drop interface to design their website. It also has a content management system that allows users to add, edit and update content at scale.
Users can localise their site for audiences in any location, including leveraging native machine-powered translation, to help drive organic site traffic for a small additional fee. Also has tools for hosting, security, compliance and publishing.
User brag list: Dropbox, Soundcloud, Spotify, and TED.
Pricing: Webflow offers a free starter pack. Basic packages for static sites start from $US14 per month.
Canva Docs
Canva Docs is essentially a document creator publishing solution that pairs word processing features with the ability to supercharge content with integrated videos, images, graphics, charts, and graphs.
It utilises an OpenAI tool called Magic Write as its writing assistant, to generate content or create social media plans, meeting agendas. or job descriptions.
User brag list: GoDaddy, Zoom, Starbucks, and FedEx.
Pricing: Canva users can access Canva Docs free of charge but access to all functionality may be limited compared to Canva Pro subscriptions.
image courtesy of Canva
image courtesy of Canva
image courtesy of Canva
image courtesy of Canva
Canva Docs
Canva Docs is essentially a document creator publishing solution that pairs word processing features with the ability to supercharge content with integrated videos, images, graphics, charts, and graphs.
It utilises an OpenAI tool called Magic Write as its writing assistant, to generate content or create social media plans, meeting agendas. or job descriptions.
User brag list: GoDaddy, Zoom, Starbucks, and FedEx.
Pricing: Canva users can access Canva Docs free of charge but access to all functionality may be limited compared to Canva Pro subscriptions.
image courtesy of Adobe Experience Manager
image courtesy of Adobe Experience Manager
Adobe Experience Manager
Adobe Experience Manager combines digital asset management and content management into a single solution for users to create, optimise and deliver digital experiences across multiple channels.
It offers a live visual editing environment to modify existing pages or create new ones from scratch. It also gives marketers the ability to re-use modular content to manage text or visuals across all digital assets, which can then be dragged and dropped into a live preview environment.
User brag list: Qantas, Foxtel, Westpac, Optus.
Pricing: Contact the Adobe team for customised pricing plans.
image courtesy of Adobe Experience Manager
image courtesy of Adobe Experience Manager
Adobe Experience Manager
Adobe Experience Manager combines digital asset management and content management into a single solution for users to create, optimise and deliver digital experiences across multiple channels.
It offers a live visual editing environment to modify existing pages or create new ones from scratch. It also gives marketers the ability to re-use modular content to manage text or visuals across all digital assets, which can then be dragged and dropped into a live preview environment.
User brag list: Qantas, Foxtel, Westpac, Optus.
Pricing: Contact the Adobe team for customised pricing plans.
Medium
Medium is a community-based social publishing platform where content is written, shared, and curated. Content producers earn money based on engagement from paying members.
It has several options for embedding multimedia within articles, allowing content from third-party services including YouTube, X, Instagram and SoundCloud. It also provides an option to allocate four times the amount to the writers that users read while allowing them to share member-only stories to drive more income for content producers.
User brag list: Hillary Clinton, Bloomberg, The New York Times, Barack Obama.
Pricing: Readers can access the platform through a free account. Memberships start at US$5 per month.
image courtesy of Medium
image courtesy of Medium
image courtesy of Medium
image courtesy of Medium
Medium
Medium is a community-based social publishing platform where content is written, shared, and curated. Content producers earn money based on engagement from paying members.
It has several options for embedding multimedia within articles, allowing content from third-party services including YouTube, X, Instagram and SoundCloud. It also provides an option to allocate four times the amount to the writers that users read while allowing them to share member-only stories to drive more income for content producers.
User brag list: Hillary Clinton, Bloomberg, The New York Times, Barack Obama.
Pricing: Readers can access the platform through a free account. Memberships start at US$5 per month.
image courtesy of Issuu
image courtesy of Issuu
Issuu
Issuu is a platform that converts PDFs into digital magazine flipbooks, allowing users like publishing companies to digitalise their print content and efficiently and effectively monetise their offerings.
It’s handy for promotional marketers and those who do social media posts, as it allows users to create GIF snippets of users’ work. It also allows for GIFs to be sent via Mailchimp and files to be uploaded directly from numerous design platforms including Canva, InDesign and Adobe Express.
User brag list: Guess, Cambridge University Press, NASA, RE/MAX.
Pricing: A free trial is offered. Pricing starts at US$31 per month.
image courtesy of Issuu
image courtesy of Issuu
Issuu
Issuu is a platform that converts PDFs into digital magazine flipbooks, allowing users like publishing companies to digitalise their print content and efficiently and effectively monetise their offerings.
It’s handy for promotional marketers and those who do social media posts, as it allows users to create GIF snippets of users’ work. It also allows for GIFs to be sent via Mailchimp and files to be uploaded directly from numerous design platforms including Canva, InDesign and Adobe Express.
User brag list: Guess, Cambridge University Press, NASA, RE/MAX.
Pricing: A free trial is offered. Pricing starts at US$31 per month.
Quark Publishing Platform NextGen
Quark Publishing Platform NextGen is a SaaS-based content lifecycle management platform that streamlines and automates online content planning, creation, omnichannel publishing, and AI-driven analytics.
It offers a suite of AI capabilities but more importantly allows for ‘bring your own AI’ when creating and editing content and populating metadata. It has a robust reportage system with metrics that deliver ready-made content reuse and delivery reports to measure and improve content effectiveness.
Its client list includes automotive manufacturers, financial services organisations, technology providers, and biotech companies.
Pricing: Contact the Quark team for customised plans.
image courtesy of Quark Publishing Platform
image courtesy of Quark Publishing Platform
image courtesy of Quark Publishing Platform
image courtesy of Quark Publishing Platform
Quark Publishing Platform NextGen
Quark Publishing Platform NextGen is a SaaS-based content lifecycle management platform that streamlines and automates online content planning, creation, omnichannel publishing, and AI-driven analytics.
It offers a suite of AI capabilities but more importantly allows for ‘bring your own AI’ when creating and editing content and populating metadata. It has a robust reportage system with metrics that deliver ready-made content reuse and delivery reports to measure and improve content effectiveness.
Its client list includes automotive manufacturers, financial services organisations, technology providers, and biotech companies.
Pricing: Contact the Quark team for customised plans.
There are many digital publishing offerings out there, all of which offer many bells and whistles; some you will need, but many you won’t.
Whatever your digital publishing requirements — be they online magazines, immersive web pages, personal blogs, or storytelling with interactive features — it’s important to locate a solution that is easily accessible, adaptable, and dependable.
You should also think about these like marketing tools, and aim to find one that is an expert in cross-platform content distribution, offers a broad content ecosystem and most importantly, understands audience engagement and the importance of the UX.
