HTML5 Flipbook ▷ It is absolutely easy and 100% Free

Printing a magazine can be expensive, especially when trying to self-publish. Reaching a large audience can also be expensive. With more and more people turning to e-books or online HTMl5 flipbooks, printed magazines are also becoming less profitable for smaller companies or individuals such as myself. Starting a printed magazine is also far more expensive than a normal person can reasonably afford. So when I wanted to start my own magazine, I was extremely discouraged when I discovered how expensive it can be. I couldn’t afford to risk that much money to start a magazine that may or may not take off. So I decided to search for a less expensive way to get my ideas out there.

An Alternative to Printed Magazines: The HTML5 Flipbook

After extensive research and searching for a low-cost alternative to printed magazines, I came across a website that introduced me to the wonderful world of HTML5 Flipbooks. They feel almost exactly like reading a real magazine. As well as including a number of more advanced features that you just can’t get with printed magazines. Such as embedded links, changing images, and more. Even if you already run a successful print magazine, supplementing that with an online flipbook version could get you more publicity from social media sites and the rest of the internet.

E-readers and digital content are becoming incredibly popular, but, they’d never really captured the feel of reading a real book or magazine. This is why I have always preferred to read printed PDF magazines. Or at least I used to before I discovered HTML5 Flipbooks. They feel like the real thing, they’re easy to distribute, easy to read, you don’t need to print them, and the best part? Most of the online flipbook services offer a plan for free! Meaning that I didn’t have to spend anything to get my magazine out there.

Creating My Free PDF Flipbook

The process of converting from PDF to flipbook was extremely easy. All I needed to do was sign up to the website, and upload the PDF by dragging it into my browser window. Then I just had to make a couple of minor tweaks and click the “publish” button. I had released my first issue! Now I could send out the link to people, share it on social media, or even embed the magazine into my website! I could even make some money with my magazine by integrating ads into it using the handy embedded link features.

They’re not just great for magazines either. They can be used for nearly any type of document. Instruction manuals, presentations, catalogs, and more. With all the great high-tech features, I’m surprised more people don’t use online PDF  flipbooks.

Which Online Flipbook Service is Best?

There are a lot of online Flipbook services. The most popular free PDF Flipbook software is by far Issuu, YUMPU Publishing, and Joomag, but there’s also Flipsnack, EPage Creator, Flipbuilder, and Flipviewer. Each of them has its own strengths, and depending on the specific needs of the person creating the PDF Flipbook, the best one varies.

Issuu is one of the juggernauts of the online Flipbook industry. They have more than twenty-five million PDF flipbooks published, and over a hundred million visitors per month. If you’re looking to go with high-quality and professional service, Issuu may be the best choice. But their free plan is a bit lackluster. If you go with the free plan, you’ll have ads put into the reader, very few statistics, and no standalone reader. In addition, you’ll be limited in the number of documents you can publish. However, with the paid plans, there are a huge amount of innovative features you have access to. Such as social controls, advanced statistics, unlimited publications, and access to an advanced API. If you want something high-quality and professional and are willing to pay for that quality, then Issuu is one of the best choices out there.

YUMPU Publishing offers a bit more with their free plan, giving users unlimited magazines, and unlimited pages. As well as support for HTML5, Flash, and JavaScript, so you can get your documents to as wide of an audience as possible. The lowest tier of premium service is also a bit cheaper than Issuu’s and will remove advertisements, and offer support for analytics. But their higher-end tiers can get quite a bit more expensive than Issuu, and don’t really offer the same amount of features. If you’re looking for something that can offer more for a lower price (or for free), then YUMPU Publishing is probably one of the best choices.

Joomag strikes a balance between the two. It has a great free plan, a high-quality editor, and a lot of great features, but there are also some downsides. Depending on which plan you go with, your maximum number of subscribers will be limited to between one hundred for the Free plan and one thousand for their Business plan. The only plan without a subscriber limit is their Enterprise plan, which will require you to call them to receive a quote on pricing. All of their plans have a fairly low price and great features, but the subscriber limit can be a bit of an issue. If you’re looking for something that offers great features for someone with a smaller following and has great pricing, then Joomag is probably the best choice.

The software YUMPU Publishing probably offers the best service for small to medium magazines that don’t need a lot of features and don’t have a very large budget. Issuu is by far the best for a large magazine that needs a lot of features and has a large budget. Joomag’s Enterprise plan is also great for large magazines as well. But their other plans are better suited for small magazines or documents, due to the subscriber limits and low pricing.

Conclusion

I use a lot of HTML5 Flipbook services, and most of them are quite good. I’d recommend them to anyone looking to try out online publishing. These kinds of services are really great and offer people like me a place to publish our magazines and other documentation pages. In addition, there’s no hassle, and it costs nothing to start out, thanks to the majority of the services having great free options.