TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Shorthand

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AShorthand enables the user to create interactive multimedia stories for any online audience — all with no code. The vendor boasts that Shorthand is used by hundreds of publishers, brands, non-profits, and more — including the BBC, Honda, Business Insider, and Doctors Without Borders.N/A

    VistaCreate

    Score8.1 out of 10
    N/AWhat is VistaCreate (ex-Crello)? VistaCreate is an online visual editing tool for creating videos, animations, graphic designs for social media, print, websites, or virtually any kind of static and animated design for commercial, business, or personal needs. On October 27, 2021 Crello joined the Vista group of companies and changed its brand name to VistaCreate. It includes 50,000 professionally designed templates that are already preformatted and…N/A
    Pricing
    ShorthandVistaCreate
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    ShorthandVistaCreate
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    ShorthandVistaCreate
    Content Creation
    Comparison of Content Creation features of Shorthand and VistaCreate
    Feature
    Shorthand
    9.0
    1 Ratings
    14% above category average
    VistaCreate
    -
    Ratings
    Content collaboration9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Content Publishing
    Comparison of Content Publishing features of Shorthand and VistaCreate
    Feature
    Shorthand
    6.8
    1 Ratings
    14% below category average
    VistaCreate
    -
    Ratings
    Content hub9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Embedded CTAs7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Content distribution6.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Content promotion5.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    ShorthandVistaCreate
    Small Businesses
    Contently
    Score9.9 out of 10
    GIMP
    Score8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    CoSchedule Marketing Suite
    Score10 out of 10
    Adobe Illustrator
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    PathFactory
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Adobe PhotoShop
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    ShorthandVistaCreate
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    ShorthandVistaCreate
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Shorthand
    Shorthand is ideally suited to visual stories where you have a good number of images and/or embeds or video to include. It is well-suited to long-form stories, where you wish to keep the readers' attention longer than usual. It can help to differentiate particularly important or intriguing stories from others on your website - and for this reason, it could be used as a premium content tool, perhaps for subscribers. It can also be used to showcase stories about awards you've organised, giving them special treatment. It is less suited to breaking news, or very time-sensitive news stories, as it can take some time to prepare, post or update shorthand stories. And it doesn't work well for stories with strong accompanying imagery
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VistaCreate (ex- Crello)
    For creative and captivating presentation slides where you are pitching your ideas to the team, for quick and well-presented pamphlets for the event board, irrespective of university or workplace. I would definitely recommend using existing templates from VistaCreate instead of AI-generated images that are messy and crowded, so you connect with the audience better, and also, of course, people will take it seriously as well..
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Shorthand
    • Enabling visual storytelling with multiple pictures
    • Embedding rich media within a story, including video
    • Engaging readers for longer than average dwell times
    • Making it easy to create striking article design without coding experience
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VistaCreate (ex- Crello)
    • Certificate design
    • Social media communications
    • Conversion of designs into various file formats e.g. mp4, jpg, pdf
    • PowerPoint designs
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Shorthand
    • Additional flexibility in how text is overlaid on pictures would be welcome so that there are more choices on what images to use with particular layouts
    • Enabling users to control the path of text - for example, enabling runaround - could enable some excellent designs
    • Adding additional section templates could speed up design
    • More flexibility in caption placement would be helpful
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VistaCreate (ex- Crello)
    • Difficult to design content on mobile phone
    • Mobile designs do not sync with desktop app
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Shorthand
    No answers on this topic
    VistaCreate (ex- Crello)
    It's a fantastic tool, be it the free or paid version. You can choose different templates from many listed categories and change styles with palettes, add music to your images, and choose from a variety of fonts. All these features are for free users. You unlock gold if you have a paid version of VistaCreate. Some additional useful features like background remover, AI writer, object remover, resize, and many varieties of templates are only for premium users. I give 9 because additional premium useful features are not available for free users
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Shorthand
    I have never known it to be down during my use of it. All you require is an internet connection to log in and you can use it on multiple devices. Adding ease of accessibility, there are simple ways to log in. I've also never known a Shorthand story to go down once live on our site.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VistaCreate (ex- Crello)
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Shorthand
    Due to the integration with our content management software, there is a short delay on our site while it loads, which may cause some readers to drift away. However, I've seen other sites where it instantly loads articles, so I believe this to be down to the content management software behind our site more than Shorthand itself. Once that brief initial period is over, it doesn't require additional loading time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VistaCreate (ex- Crello)
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Shorthand
    No answers on this topic
    VistaCreate (ex- Crello)
    I like to give a chance to other products and try them out. As far as my experience is concerned, I liked the feature of VistaCreate, with palettes, which totally changes the mood and tone of the image. That's something I didn't find in Canva. Additionally, the simplicity and user-friendliness of VistaCreate instead of being crowded with too many features. It's simply the best.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Shorthand
    As a web-based service, it is easy for users to log into from anywhere. Content can easily be shared, as you can set up teams that enable access to each other's work as required. And content can be reviewed by others before publication using the sharing function. You can also view how an article will look on different devices.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VistaCreate (ex- Crello)
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Shorthand
    • Helped us create one of our top 10 most-read and most-shared stories in the last year
    • Enabled us to elevate key pieces of content, boosting dwell time on our site
    • But can also be time-consuming to adopt for some stories, meaning you need to choose well what stories really deserve the investment in time
    • Boosted collaboration between teams via its ability to share, including offering the chance for others to preview content prior to publication
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VistaCreate (ex- Crello)
    • Improved communication with staff
    • Improved brand presence on social media
    • Ability to appeal to all age groups
    • Improved staff morale
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Shorthand Screenshots

    Screenshot of Easily add sections and adjust styling.

    VistaCreate Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot