Shorthand
Shorthand is a no-code SaaS platform that enables brands, media companies, governments, and universities to create and publish visual, long-form web stories through a drag-and-drop editor with optional code access, sold via tiered subscriptions and a WordPress integration.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersBrisbane, Australia
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Shorthand does
Shorthand Pty Ltd is a Brisbane-headquartered, fully remote SaaS company that operates a no-code digital storytelling platform for brands, publishers, media companies, and public-sector organizations. Founded in 2013 (per firmographics; a secondary source cites 2016) and incorporated in Queensland, Australia, the platform enables users to compose and publish visual stories, digital magazines, annual reports, proposals, and internal communications through a drag-and-drop editor with optional custom CSS, HTML, and JavaScript access on Business and Enterprise tiers. The product suite includes scrollytelling sections, a Charts module (CSV-driven line, pie, bar, and doughnut visualizations), organization-wide section templates, Grid layouts, cookieless built-in analytics, and WordPress integration, all hosted on AWS infrastructure with ISO 27001 and SOC 2 compliance.
The company sells through a tiered subscription model (Starter, Team, Enterprise) on monthly and annual billing, with a free trial and free plan supporting product-led acquisition alongside enterprise direct sales and an agency/consultant partner program. Revenue mechanics are primarily recurring SaaS, with payment processing via Stripe and subscription management via Chargebee. Customer segments span enterprise brands, media and publishing, government, higher education and research, sports, and nonprofit organizations, with named reference customers including Honda. The platform is distributed globally — serving customers on every continent except Antarctica — through self-serve web signup, enterprise sales engagement, partner resellers, and a WordPress integration that embeds the editor into third-party CMS workflows. AI features are powered by OpenAI as a third-party dependency, with Shorthand reserving the right to train on aggregated, de-identified customer data subject to user opt-out.
Shorthand firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Shorthand
- Legal name
- Shorthand Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://shorthand.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Shorthand is a no-code SaaS platform that enables brands, media companies, governments, and universities to create and publish visual, long-form web stories through a drag-and-drop editor with optional code access, sold via tiered subscriptions and a WordPress integration.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Shorthand industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Publishing Platform
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (513210), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Low-Code/No-Code Application Platforms (HDAEAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Software/SaaS Subscriptions (Consumer & Prosumer) (CRAFAIAB), Enterprise Application UX, Portals & Low-Code Extensions (BPAEAGAM)
Keywords
Where Shorthand is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brisbane
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Shorthand business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription - SaaS Platform Access: Shorthand operates on a subscription model providing access to its digital storytelling platform. Subscriptions are available at multiple tiers (Starter, Team, Enterprise) with varying feature sets, user counts, and support levels. Paid subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled with 30 days notice.
- Free Trial and Free Plan: Platform offers free subscription and free trial options allowing users to explore the platform before committing to paid plans. This supports product-led growth and self-serve acquisition.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Starter Plan - Self-serve entry tier for individuals and small teams |
| Subscription | Monthly | Team Plan - Mid-tier for growing teams with collaboration features |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise Plan - Full-featured enterprise tier with custom support and security |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Shorthand product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Shorthand is a no-code digital storytelling and publishing SaaS platform that enables brands, media companies, government agencies, and universities to create, publish, and measure long-form visual stories, digital magazines, annual reports, and feature articles without developer dependencies. The platform combines a drag-and-drop editor with optional custom CSS/HTML/JavaScript, AWS-hosted publishing, cookieless analytics, and collaborative workspaces, and is offered through Starter, Team, and Enterprise subscription tiers with global availability.
Product overview
Shorthand is a no-code digital publishing platform designed for visual storytelling on the web. The core platform enables brands, publications, and media companies to create and publish feature articles, digital magazines, proposals, internal communications, and annual reports. The platform operates as a unified system with the Shorthand Editor (drag-and-drop interface with optional CSS/HTML/JavaScript customization) at its center, complemented by modular features including Charts for data visualization, Grid Sections for flexible layouts, Organization-wide Section Templates for brand consistency, built-in cookieless Analytics, and AWS-based Hosting. The platform supports integrations with WordPress, Google Analytics, Unsplash, and OpenAI for enhanced functionality. Available in business and enterprise plans with varying feature access.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Shorthand Platform
- WordPress Integration
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 10x higher engagement with Shorthand stories compared to CMS content
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Shorthand
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Shorthand technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
AI capability5 records
Feature7 records
Shorthand partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- AWS (Amazon Web Services)coreAWS provides the hosting infrastructure for Shorthand stories, enabling scalable, reliable content delivery. Shorthand leverages AWS services including EC2, RDS, CloudFront, Lambda, SQS, and Route53 for its platform operations.
- StripecoreStripe processes subscription payments for Shorthand customers, handling recurring credit/debit card transactions and billing management.
- Campaign MonitorcoreCampaign Monitor provides transactional email services for customer communications including password resets, notifications, and workspace invitations.
- CloudinarycoreCloudinary provides media transformation and delivery services for images and videos uploaded to the Shorthand platform.
- WordPresscoreWordPress integration brings the Shorthand editor seamlessly into WordPress, allowing users to create, edit, and publish stories without leaving their WordPress workflow. Ship content faster with no clunky handovers or delays.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Shorthand competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ceros: Ceros is a no-code design and publishing platform for creating interactive content, scrollytelling experiences, and branded stories. It is the most direct functional competitor to Shorthand, serving enterprise marketers and media companies with similar visual storytelling tools.
- Readymag: Readymag is a no-code web-based design tool for creating interactive stories, digital magazines, and visual narratives. It targets creative agencies and brand publishers with the same long-form visual storytelling use case as Shorthand.
- Genially: Genially is a no-code platform for creating interactive and animated presentations, infographics, and visual stories. It overlaps with Shorthand on scrollytelling and visual narrative use cases for marketing and internal communications.
- Visme: Visme is an all-in-one visual content platform for presentations, infographics, and branded documents. It overlaps with Shorthand on visual storytelling and branded content production for business users.
Broad incumbents
- Webflow: Webflow is a no-code website design and CMS platform targeting professional designers, marketers, and enterprises. It is a broader incumbent in the visual web-building space and increasingly overlaps with Shorthand's visual storytelling category.
- Canva: Canva is a global design platform with websites, docs, presentations, and visual content tools. Its Canva Websites and Magic Studio products are progressively absorbing the long-form visual storytelling category Shorthand serves.
- Arc XP (The Washington Post): Arc XP is an enterprise content and experience platform used by major publishers and media companies. It is a broader incumbent serving Shorthand's media and publishing customer base with CMS, video, and storytelling tools.
- Squarespace: Squarespace is a website builder and design platform popular with SMBs, creatives, and brands. It competes with Shorthand in the on-brand visual publishing category, especially for marketing sites and feature stories.
- Adobe Express: Adobe Express (formerly Adobe Spark) is a quick-design and web-storytelling tool from Adobe. It competes with Shorthand in the branded visual content and short-form storytelling category, with the backing of Adobe's enterprise distribution.
Emerging players
- ThingLink: ThingLink is a platform for creating interactive and immersive visual stories, virtual tours, and scrollytelling experiences. It overlaps with Shorthand in education, media, and enterprise storytelling niches.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Shorthand social profiles
Digital presenceShorthand compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Shorthand financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Shorthand leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Shorthand funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Shorthand M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Shorthand
What does Shorthand do?
Shorthand is a no-code digital storytelling and publishing SaaS platform that enables brands, media companies, government agencies, and universities to create, publish, and measure long-form visual stories, digital magazines, annual reports, and feature articles without developer dependencies. The platform combines a drag-and-drop editor with optional custom CSS/HTML/JavaScript, AWS-hosted publishing, cookieless analytics, and collaborative workspaces, and is offered through Starter, Team, and Enterprise subscription tiers with global availability.
Is Shorthand a public or private company?
Shorthand is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Shorthand founded?
Shorthand was founded in 2016. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Shorthand based?
Shorthand is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Shorthand make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Subscription - SaaS Platform Access are the primary driver. The others are free Trial and Free Plan.
Who are Shorthand's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ceros, Readymag, Genially and Visme. Broad incumbents are Webflow, Canva, Arc XP (The Washington Post), Squarespace and Adobe Express. ThingLink is listed as an emerging player.
Does Shorthand have an API?
No public API is recorded for Shorthand.
What industry is Shorthand in?
Shorthand's product category is Digital Publishing Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEAKAA, Low-Code/No-Code Application Platforms, with a secondary code of CRAFAIAB, Software/SaaS Subscriptions (Consumer & Prosumer). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.