what is meant by web based presentation

What is Google Slides? The ULTIMATE Guide!

By: Author Shrot Katewa

With the onset of remote working and online education, collaboration tools have gained in popularity. Google Slides is a prime example of that. But, what exactly is Google Slides?

Google Slides is a FREE web-based presentation tool provided as part of the Google Suite. Google Slides allows you to create, modify, and deliver a presentation; all through a web browser. Google Slide is also known for its best-in-class real-time collaboration features.

If you are new to Google Slides or perhaps curious to know more about this tool, then this article is the perfect place for you to start as I will be discussing, in detail, about various key aspects of Google Slides and how to use them properly.

What is Google Slides? What is it used for?

As previously mentioned, Google Slides is an application developed by Google. It was released in 2006 as part of Google’s office applications and was previously known as “Google Presentation”. However, it was officially renamed as “Google Slides” in 2012.

Google Slides is a presentation tool that is used for creating presentations, editing an existing presentation, or delivering a presentation/debriefing your audience in an academic or professional setup. It is very useful in delivering lesson plans and works really well with Google Classroom .

There are several other use cases for Google Slides. More and more startups and corporate organizations are starting to use Google Slides and it is gaining in popularity.

Is PowerPoint the same as Google Slides?

Google Slides is akin to Microsoft PowerPoint or Keynote. It is similar in its objective as the goal of both the applications is to be the most helpful tool for its users in enabling them to create a presentation. However, PowerPoint and Google Slides is not the same as they are two different presentation applications .

While there are several differences between PowerPoint and Google Slides, one of the major differences is that Google Slides doesn’t require you to download a software.

Google Slides completely works on a web-based interface! This means, you don’t have to be using your own computer to access your presentation anymore!

Your Google Slides presentation can be accessed through web browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. It can also be used on iOS and Android devices through its mobile application.

Is Google Slides FREE to Use?

Unlike many of its competitors, Google Slides has the upper hand when it comes to being accessible to people. Google Slides is completely FREE for use and packs most of the basic essential tools for creating presentations. Hence, it is a perfect option for people who are occasionally in need of making a presentation.

Students, small-scale entrepreneurs, teachers, non-profits, or other individuals who are looking for a presentation tool on a budget will definitely find Google Slides as a far more financially viable option as it is completely FREE.

The best part is that in addition to being free to use, Google Slides packs in most of the features and tools required to build an awesome presentation for which many of its competitors charge high prices.

While you surely get additional features when using other presentation applications, but, most users won’t need those features for making a simple presentation. Makers of Google Slides have truly understood the key requirements of the users of a presentation application.

What are the Key Features of Google Slides?

Google Slides comes packed with some unique and awesome features that literally sets it apart. Of course, it definitely has the basic tools that you would expect in any presentation application such as adding and editing text, working with shapes, formatting shapes and fonts, adding background color, etc.

I’ll just list down some of the key features that make Google Slides stand out!

1. Your Presentation is Always Accessible

Since Google Slides is a cloud-based presentation tool that is accessed through a web browser, you don’t have to necessarily be next to your computer to access your presentation.

It offers great flexibility in the ways you can open and edit a presentation. You can literally use any computer that has access to an internet connection and you’ll be good to go.

2. Your Presentation is Auto-saved

One of the best features of Google Slides is that your presentation is always saved.

In this modern technology era, you may be wondering why would any application be built without a feature to save the progress automatically? However, if you have ever used PowerPoint or Keynote before, you surely can relate to the agony of losing hours of hard work simply because you perhaps forgot to press Ctrl+S or save your presentation.

With Google Slides, you never have to worry about saving your files. They are always saved automatically.

3. Awesome Collaboration Tools

One the best features of Google Slides is its ability to allow users for a real-time collaboration on the same project.

This means, multiple users can work on the same presentation at the same time and Google Slides will sync it automatically in real-time!

This feature alone has been one of the key reasons for the rapid adoption of Google Slides among users. Although other presentation applications are now slowly catching up and also building this feature, but Google Slides is way ahead of the curve!

4. Adding YouTube videos to your Presentation

Another unique but useful feature that Google Slides provides is the ability to directly embed YouTube videos in your presentation.

This is a great value add especially for teachers who want to use YouTube video as an educational tool for its students. Likewise, even students can use to embed videos to showcase case studies and examples. Moreover, embedding YouTube videos allows your presentation to be relatively small in size while still showcasing a video.

I wrote a detailed post on how to embed videos (and other elements) in another article on this website. Make sure you check this out. You can click on this following link –

How to Embed in Google Slides? The ONLY Resource You Need!

5. Publishing your Presentation to the Web

This is an extremely powerful feature that currently only Google Slides has to offer.

In addition to sharing your presentation with your audience, team members or even your clients, you can also publish your presentation to the web.

You might wonder what is the difference between sharing a presentation and publishing it on the web. When you publish your Google Slides presentation to the web, Google essentially creates a lightweight webpage (which has its own unique URL) that can be accessed by anyone with the link . You don’t need to own a domain name to publish your presentation on the web.

With this feature, you can now have hundreds of people see a presentation without the need to even own a website. Moreover, it also allows you to make changes to the source file without making it visible to your audience.

This feature is great for giving conference presentations or education institutes that can restrict access to certain group of students.

One thing to note is that publishing your Google Slides to the web can only be done if you/your company has a GSuite account with Google. (which is not free and comes at a price)

6. Huge Font Library

One of the other features that set Google Slides apart is the huge font library.

Although other common presentation applications such as PowerPoint and Keynote also provide a fairly large font library, what sets Google Slides apart is that it uses Google Fonts as part of its fonts library.

This means, your presentation will always look the same even when the recipient doesn’t have the fonts installed on his computer that you have used for your presentation.

Google Fonts are a collection of fonts that are used by the web. This allows your presentation to not just look great and in line with the latest design trends, but also ensures that your presentation looks just the same when you share it with others.

How to Use Google Slides?

Now that you know that Google Slides is FREE and it comes with some awesome features, I’m assuming you may want to give it a try.

If you are new to Google Slides, I shall be sharing with you what you need to start using Google Slides, basic steps on how to get started, and few key customizations that you can make to your Google Slides presentation.

This section will surely be enough to help you get started, and once you get a hang of it, you will be able to explore additional features.

1. Pre-requisites for using Google Slides

If you want to use Google Slides, you don’t have to do much of preparation. In fact, you don’t need to pay for anything, and you don’t need to download any software.

All you need for using Google Slides is a Gmail account. If you don’t have a Gmail account, you can create one for free . Simply click on mail.google.com , and create a new account by providing some basic details. It will just take a couple of minutes.

You’ll also obviously need to have an internet connect. But, since you are reading this, I don’t think that should be a worry for you.

With that, you are all set and good to proceed ahead.

2. How to Open a New Google Slides Presentation?

Once you have created an account, type in slides.google.com in your address bar, and it will directly lead you to Google Slides Application. If you are not signed in already, you may be prompted to sign in using your Gmail account.

The first screen will be something similar to what has been showcased in the image below –

To create a new presentation, you will either need to click on “ Blank ” or choose a pre-existing template from the “Template Gallery”.

Clicking on blank will open up a new blank presentation on Google Slides.

All the presentation that you have created previously will be visible under the “Recent Presentation” section (as indicated in the image above).

The functionality of Google Slides and its contents are the same on both Windows PC and Mac OS . Likewise, you can also use all the functionalities of Google Slides on a mobile device. Thus, you don’t have to really worry about any device restrictions.

3. How to Work on a New Google Slides Presentation?

Google Slides usually houses all the basic tools you would expect yourself to need whenever you’re planning to make a presentation.

Thus, I’ll be showing you how to utilize the most basic functions and tools in Google Slides to get yourself started with making presentations using Google Slides.

Some of the very basic actions to do once you get started with Google Slides are as follows –

Start by simply opening a new Blank Presentation as mentioned above in the article.

Next, choose a theme of your preference by scrolling through the side-bar on your right. You can also import themes from external sources if you wish by clicking on the ‘ Import Theme ’ icon.

It is up to your creative skills and organizing skills to use the basic functions to make your desired presentation. But, if you struggle with designing a presentation, don’t worry, I’ve covered this in the latter part of this article.

The very first slide can be used to come up with your title. You can also choose the font size, color style, etc. as they appear on the tool-bar above.

To change the font, simply select the text box in which you type the text, and then choose the fonts from the title bar.

To create a new slide simply click on the ‘+’ icon on the top left corner of your screen. You can also select the first slide from the filmstrip view on the left (slide preview on the left panel of the screen), and press “ Enter ” to add another slide.

If you want to delete any of your slides, simply select it from the panel on the left by clicking on it and then press ‘delete’ from your keyboard.

These steps mentioned above will give you a basic overview of the interface and by now you should have a fair understanding of how to add and delete slides, how to change fonts and few other editing options.

You can play around a little bit until you get a hang of things.

You can also add media to your presentation such as images, videos, etc. For instance, if you want to add an image, simply click on “ Insert “, then from the dropdown, select “ Image ” and choose the source of your image file.

Likewise, you can also insert other elements such as Text Box, Video, Audio, Tables, Charts, etc.

Now, let us move onto understanding a few other features that will help you get the ball rolling.

4. How to Animate Objects in Google Slides?

Sometimes, you want to avoid a monotonous presentation which may otherwise bore your audience. In such a scenario, you may want to animate the objects on your presentation.

Animating objects like shape, images and other elements is pretty simple in Google Slides.

First, select the object that you would like to animate in Google Slides. Then, click on “ Insert “. A dropdown menu will appear. Scroll down and click on “ Animation “. (Note – if you have not selected the object or element, you will not be able to choose this option).

Then you will see an animation panel on the right side of the screen. This panel provides you with various options to animate objects in Google Slides.

From the Animation Panel, you can start by choosing the animation effect (as indicated in the image above). Then, choose how you want the animations to appear. This could be “ On click ” or “ With or After Previous “.

Choosing “On Click” will allow you to control the animation manually by a click of a button or a mouse click while presenting while the other two options will automatically make the animation appear with or after the previous/other animations.

You can also add multiple animations to your presentation or even to the same object. For instance, first animation can be an “Appear” animation, whereas the second animation on the same object can be set to “Disappear”. This will make the object appear and disappear either automatically or manually during the slideshow.

5. How to Add Transitions in Google Slides?

You can also add slide transitions in Google Slides. Transitions are basically animating or adding an effect between two slides.

Adding transitions in Google Slides is also quite easy.

First, click on the slide that you want to add the transitions. Then, click on “ Transition “. You’ll notice the “ Animation Panel ” appear on the right side of your screen.

Then, under “ Slide Transition “, click on “ None “. A dropdown will appear. Choose any transition effect from the dropdown. That’s it!

You will now notice that the transition effect has been applied. You may also notice a small icon under the slide number tab on the left slide of the screen. This icon means you have some motion effect applied on the slide. (Check slide 2 and slide 1 in the image above for comparison).

6. How to Send (or Share) your Google Slides Presentation with Others?

Once you are done creating your presentation, you may need to share it with your boss or your clients. You may perhaps also want to share it with your colleagues in case you want to leverage the real-time collaboration feature of Google Slides. Either way, you need to know how to share your Google Slides presentation with others.

To share your Google Slides Presentation with others, simply open the presentation and click on “Share” on the top-right corner of your presentation screen. Then, simply add the email ID of the person you intend to share the presentation with or copy the link and share it with the person in a separate email.

TIP – When sharing the presentation with others, make sure you have assigned the appropriate permissions so that the recipients of your presentation do not face an “Access Denied” error.

While sharing the presentation, make sure you have provided appropriate permissions for the intended person to access the presentation file. Otherwise, they may get a “Access Denied” error.

I wrote a detailed article on the various reasons why people get this error and how you can avoid it too. Make sure to check it out!

[FIXED!] Access Denied/You Need Permission Error on Google Slides

I’ve also explained the correct process of sharing the file with others in the above link. So, do make sure to check it out!

7. How to Access your Saved Google Slides Presentation?

There are times when you need to refer back to your presentation that you had created a few weeks back.

Accessing your saved Google Slides presentation might seem confusing at first since it works a bit differently from the traditional methods of saving a file on your computer.

Nevertheless, the process is pretty straight-forward. If you remember the initial few steps of opening a new google slides presentation, then this will be quite easy for you to follow.

Simply type in your address bar slides.google.com (or click on this link). Make sure you are logged in to your Google Account.

You will be welcomed with a screen that may look similar to the image above.

You can easily access your previously saved Google Slides presentation under the “ Recent Presentations ” section. Alternatively, you can also directly search by the name of the presentation by entering it in the search bar.

You can also access your Google Slides presentation files from your Google Drive. The process will be similar to what I’ve just mentioned. However, instead of visiting the link mentioned above, you will need to go to your Google Drive page. Make sure you are logged in to your Google account when accessing your Google Drive.

Personalizing Your Google Slides (Themes, Add-ons, and Other Modifications)

The virtual aesthetic of your slides is also crucial to captivate your audience with your presentation. And, Google Slides does not leave any stones unturned when it comes to personalizing your slides according to your preference.

Themes/Templates

As mentioned previously in an earlier paragraph, you have access to both built-in themes and you even have the option to import templates from external sources to further amplify the visual aesthetics of your slideshow. There are a few third-party vendors from where you can get your Google Slides templates although most of them are paid.

This feature outshines Google Slides as you can further extend this program’s capacity of tools by installing easy-to-use plugins. There’s already a dedicated button for installing Add-ons on the navigation bar.

Thus, you can always get your hands on some cool add-ons. A lot of these add-ons you will come across will let your add icons, charts, diagrams, gifs, and various other things that you usually can’t do with the basic tools of Google Slides

Other Modifications

Depending on your Google Slides usage, there are a few other modifications that you may want to consider.

One of the most important modifications would be to install an offline extension service to run your Google Slides program on your browser even with no internet access. We’ll talk about this in detail later in the article.

You can also add new fonts from external sources in Google Slides. Adding fonts from Google Fonts library is a great place to start.

Can you Use Google Slides Offline?

Google Slides also provides you with the ability to not just work online but also continue working offline in case you internet gets disconnected.

Although using Google Slides offline eliminates the possibility to collaborate with others since that will require an internet connection, it still is a great feature especially if you are in a poor network zone or when you want to work while traveling on a flight.

However, you will need to activate Google Slides’ offline feature before you get disconnected. Fortunately, you don’t have to download any software for this either.

While the mobile application has a built-in feature to support offline, the browser version on laptops and computers has some prerequisites.

In order to run Google Slides offline, you need to go through the following steps –

Step 1 – Install Google Docs Offline extension on Chrome

Install the “ Google Docs Offline extension ” on your Chrome browser by either going to the Chrome Web Store OR by clicking on this link which will lead you to the extension. (Make sure you are using a Chrome Browser)

When the page opens, click on “ Add to Chrome ” to add the extension to your Chrome Browser. Google Chrome will automatically add the extension and activate it for you.

Step 2 – Enable Offline Editing in Google Slides

You need to remember that the offline extension only works if you have the Google Chrome browser. Furthermore, make sure your browser is updated to the latest version for the extension to work correctly.

Now, go to your Google Slides page by visiting slides.google.com (make sure you are logged in to your correct Google Account).

On the top left corner of your screen, click on the hamburger menu (as indicated in the image above).

You’ll then see a drop-down menu on the left side of your screen. Then click on “ Settings “.

A new settings window will pop open. Make sure you toggle the “Offline” button to activate offline editing of Google Slides. Then, click “ OK “

A word of caution here – Working offline on Google Slides still lacks a few key features. Thus, it is best to always work online mode. However, use the offline version when you expect a lack of internet access. This is more of a stop-gap arrangement.

How to Download Google Slides on your Computer?

Downloading your slides on from Google Slides is a very easy task which I’ll be covering in this section.

PRO TIP! The best format to save your presentation file is in the .pptx as we can easily open it in Google Slides, Microsoft PowerPoint as well as other presentation applications.

Furthermore, a PPTX file format is usually compatible with most presentation applications. It is important to remember that most companies will still prefer that your presentation be delivered in PowerPoint rather than Google Slides.

You can also save your Google Slides presentation directly on a flash drive. Either way, you will need to first download your Google Slides presentation.

I wrote a detailed article explaining the various ways in which you can download your Google Slides presentation on a flash drive. I’ll leave a link to that article below –

How to Save Google Slides on a USB Flash Drive? [EASY WAY]

Here’s how to download your Google Slides presentation in a few simple steps –

• Click on the ‘File’ tab and then proceed to the ‘Download’ option on the drop-down menu.
• Another drop-down menu on the side will appear with a list of formats to choose from to save your file.

• As I have discussed above, the safest and clear option is to save the File as PowerPoint (.pptx) format as it is both compatible with slides and PowerPoint.
• The file will be automatically downloaded, and then you will have to open the file click on the Save As option.
• If you want to save the presentation to a flash drive, then navigate through your folders in the Flash drive dialog box and hit ‘save’ to successfully download your project with a title.

How to Open PowerPoint Presentations using Google Slides?

There are various ways to open PowerPoint files on Google Slides. Though some methods may seem more complicated than others, I’ll focus on the easier method of converting a PPTX into Google Slides Format and vice versa.

Here are the steps that you need to follow in order to open a PowerPoint file in Google Slides –

Step 1 – Open Google Slides, a Bank Slide for a presentation will show up.

Step 2 – Click on the ‘ File ’ tab and then proceed to ‘ Open ’ on the drop-down menu.

Step 3 – A dialog box will appear that will allocate several bars for you to choose your PowerPoint file from. If your (.ppt) slides are saved in your computer, choose ‘ Upload ’ and proceed to your folders to find the desired file and click ‘ Open ’.

If it is shared or uploaded to your drive, then resort to the ‘Shared with me’ or ‘My Drive’ section of the dialog box and open accordingly. Step 4 – Voila, now you can access your PowerPoint presentation in Google Slides with ease!

Is there an App to Use Google Slides on the Phone?

Google Slides not only can be accessed on a browser, but it also comes with an app.

Google Slides has an app for both Android and iPhone. It can easily be accessed from the play store on android and the app store on iPhone.

The Google Slides app is great for reviewing presentations. You can also use the app to deliver a presentation directly from your phone. However, the Google Slides app is limited in functionality. You can edit text on the app, but working with shapes is rather difficult.

The best use of the Google Slides app is really to view the presentation, download the presentation, make it available for offline use or even deliver a presentation using the phone directly!

That said, if you want to create a presentation, I wouldn’t recommend using the app. In fact, your time would be best served if you create a presentation on a computer.

Is Google Slides App FREE to Use?

The Google Slides app, just like the application itself, is completely FREE to download and use. It is FREE for both Android and iOS devices.

That said, as mentioned above, the app doesn’t have the full functionality of Google Slides that you can see on a browser. It only has limited use cases and works well for the purpose it is designed for.

Can You Use Google Slides on an iPad?

You can definitely use Google Slides on iPad too. You can download the Google Slides app for an iOS device to use it on an iPad. However, in my opinion, the best way to use Google Slides on an iPad is by installing a Chrome Browser!

By using Google Slides through a Chrome Browser on an iPad, you get many more functionalities than a traditional Google Slides app.

Simply open your Chrome Browser, and visit the Google Slides Home Page . Make sure you log in to your Google Account while using Google Slides. Then, on your chrome browser on your iPad, go to the settings tab, and enable the desktop version of the site.

Google Chrome will then convert your browser to a desktop version providing you with many more functionalities such as adding and removing transitions, working with shapes, and adding animations to your Google Slides presentation directly on your iPad!

Benefits and Limitations of Using Google Slides

If you are still unsure of using Google Slides, let me share with you some benefits as well as limitations of using Google Slides.

I hope these will help you make your decision.

In fact, I wrote a detailed article highlighting several benefits and limitations of using Google Slides. I would highly encourage you to check it out. I’ll leave a link below –

17 Pros and Cons of Google Slides! (Should You Use it?)

For your convenience, I’ll list a few key benefits and limitations below. However, I’d highly recommend that you check out the above article.

Benefits of using Google Slides

Here are a few key benefits of using Google Slides –

• Google Slides is FREE to use.
• Accessibility – Google Slides presentation is always accessible.
• Cross-platform availability.
• Google Slides is a web-based tool. It doesn’t require a software.

These are just a few of the benefits. For a full list and a comprehensive explanation, make sure you check out the other article by clicking on this link .

Limitations of using Google Slides

Here are some of the key limitations of using Google Slides –

• Limited number of built-in themes.
• Lack of Advanced features.
• Limited options for animations and transitions.

These are just a few of the limitations. For a full list and a comprehensive explanation, make sure you check out the other article (mentioned above) by clicking on this link .

Is Google Slides Safe to Use?

When it comes to safety concerns regarding Google Slides, one thing to consider is the fact that it’s developed by Google. Google’s security protocols include strict password protection.

They have also pledged to protect your privacy and data unless you’re willingly sharing your files.

All your data and files are protected on secure data servers where they stay protected and out of reach from others. Google refuses to discuss in-depth about their data protection protocols for security measures, however, rest assured, you don’t have much to worry about your data or files being hacked as Google’s servers are some of the most secure in the world!

According to Google’s copyright policies, Google claims no content from its users is exploited and all users hold their ownership rights. Thus your Google slides files will always be safe from exploitation. If you’re still concerned about safety measures, try changing your password once in a while and link your Google Account to a backup account. Make sure your Google Drive stays private at all times and only share your files with trusted contacts.

Lastly, when sharing presentations with others, share it by adding the email address of the concerned person rather than creating a shareable link. This will act as a deterrent and will serves as another way to avoid unwanted intruders from accessing your Google Drive files.

Google Slides vs PowerPoint vs Keynote – A Quick Comparison

You might be wondering; how does Google Slides compete with its more renowned competitors? Well, let’s understand this in a quick comparison.

PowerPoint is the earliest presentation program and has many dedicated users. This makes it the most reliable and popular presentation application in the market. Bigger and more professional companies will prefer a presentation made using PowerPoint due to its compatibility.

The number of ways you can use PowerPoint for design projects is also quite large. In that sense, it is a more complete program when it comes to presentation design. While it can be used by beginners, but it is most well-suited for pro-level presentation creators.

PowerPoint has a better reputation and many more features than any of its competitors. That said, it is also the most expensive of the three. However, PowerPoint houses the most number of animations and effects in its default library. It is also available on mobile devices, Windows, and Mac OS. You will also find a lot of help if you choose PowerPoint as your go-to presentation application.

Keynote, on the other hand, only works on Mac OS and is free on the latest ones but needs to be bought for previous versions of Mac. It has more features as compared to Google Slides but less than PowerPoint.

Using Keynote does give you a premium feel and also helps you bring out your creativity. But, it still lacks the charm of both Google Slides and PowerPoint when it comes to having unique features. Moreover, it is not really compatible enough as it is not available for Windows and can only be used with Apple devices. Keynote also lacks a huge community due to its lower number of users as compared to PowerPoint. That said, it is a robust presentation software. If you are a Mac user and do not want to spend money using PowerPoint, Keynote is a great alternative!

Google Slides is the only free option that comes with a full package filled with the basic tools to execute a perfect presentation option. It is even compatible with PowerPoint formats. You can further extend the tools in its inventory.

Google Slides has the strongest collaboration features out of all. You can share and backup your files with ease. However, being a web-based free app has its drawbacks. It lacks the more advanced features compared to its other full-featured desktop presentation competitors.

That said, in my opinion, it is THE BEST tool for beginners, students or even people who need to create presentations but are not comfortable spending money on a presentation software.

Final Thoughts

Starting from, “ What is Google Slides ?” to “How to use Google Slides?” I’ve discussed various basic aspects there is to know about Google Slides. I hope I’ve been able to cover all of your concerns and questions about Google Slides, and that this article has made it easier for you to make your decision.

Hopefully, the knowledge you attained throughout reading this article was helpful and productive.

Our goal of this site is to provide you with similar helpful content. Make sure that you bookmark this site, and if you have any questions or topics that are related to presentation, make sure you check it out on our website!

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A Deep Dive Into Virtual Presentations

Head of Product at Gloww

• Published on November 1, 2023

Virtual presentations are becoming increasingly common. With more businesses now embracing remote work, they’re an unavoidable adaptation that is essential for onboarding , employee development , and more. However, it’s not as straightforward as transplanting in-person presentation scripts into the virtual world. If you want to host virtual presentations that strike the right note, you need to think carefully about readying your material for online audiences. 

What is a virtual presentation? How can you keep online audiences engaged? These are the questions you should be asking yourself if you want to make effective use of the virtual format. 

How Are Virtual Presentations Different From Regular Presentations?

While the ultimate goal of virtual presentations is the same as in-person presentations, there are a lot of differences between the two formats . For starters, there’s generally less performance involved. When delivering an in-person presentation, a lot of focus is placed on keeping an audience engaged . A good presenter needs to be comfortable with public speaking and a master when it comes to body language. 

When presenting online, there’s far less pressure when it comes to performance. This is despite the fact that a presenter may be broadcasting to dozens, if not hundreds of people. An effective virtual presentation is generally more informal and relaxed. 

However, there are some downsides to delivering a presentation online. One of the biggest issues that presenters face is that they’ll have to contend with more distractions than if they were presenting to an in-person audience. These same distractions are what can render a standard conference call a challenge, and presenters often have to work extra hard to maintain audience engagement. 

What’s more, while the usual presentation skills aren’t always necessary, different proficiencies come into play. Body language doesn’t read as well when presenting online, but a speaker will still need to project a message virtually. Tone of voice is crucial, and a speaker needs to consider pauses carefully. Additionally, it’s important to constantly engage the audience if you want to maintain their interest levels. Relying too heavily on slides or failing to interact with an audience is a surefire way of dooming a virtual presentation to failure. For some inspiration you can find our employee engagement calendar on our blog too.

Why Are Virtual Presentations Important?

If your business operates in the virtual space and your teams are working remotely, you need to be thinking seriously about virtual presentations . It’s simply not practical to bring remote teams together for in-person training and team-building exercises, especially if employees are dispersed across the globe. 

Virtual presentations can be used as a learning tool to develop your workforce and introduce them to new ideas and ways of working. Some businesses utilize digital training documents for this purpose, but there’s little scope for interactivity here. With virtual presentations, you’re giving yourself the chance to connect with remote teams . As well as being a powerful tool for communication and instilling a sense of company culture , a live virtual presentation provides you with the chance to gauge engagement and understanding levels. 

How Do You Create a Virtual Presentation?

Is this your first time staging a virtual presentation ? Adapting your in-person approach to the virtual world might seem like a good idea, but you won’t achieve good results this way. To make your next virtual presentation a success , we’ve put together some handy tips. 

Start with Your Content 

This is the most important thing to consider when readying your presentation material for an online audience . While the bare bones of your in-person presentations can be used, they’ll need to be refined for the virtual space. Are you delivering training content to an online audience? All the key information can be captured here, but make sure it’s accessible and not overbaked. Is your presentation more client-facing? Make sure you’re capturing key selling points and considering what can be shared in other formats. 

Think About Your Slides 

Cramming too many slides into your presentation is a guaranteed way of sending your audience to sleep. If you want to maintain high engagement levels, keep slides sparse . During an in-person presentation, it’s easy to read the room and elaborate on complex slides if you feel the need to. When presenting online, this isn’t always possible. If your presentation has to be slide-heavy, try and stick to a single slide for every minute of speech. Ensure the slides you are using are concise and capture key information. 

Focus On Your Audience 

When presenting to an audience, you need to constantly reaffirm the fact that the information you’re discussing is relevant to them. Reading body language and audience responses can be a little tricky when presenting online, but keeping the focus on participants is crucial if you want to achieve good results. Regular interaction is a good way of keeping presentation material focused on your audience. Make a point of underlining how what you’re talking about applies to them and how it can help them achieve their everyday goals. 

Even if the material you’re covering in a presentation is pretty dense, you need to remain lively and dynamic to capture audience attention. Avoid leaning on your slides too heavily and make sure you’re not bound to a script. A little deviation can work wonders for audience engagement. 

Involve Your Audience to Avoid the Ringelmann Effect 

The Ringelmann Effect is something you might encounter if you’re presenting to a large audience. The bigger an audience gets, the less likely it is that individual participants are going to engage. By constantly involving your audience, you can overcome this. If you need to bring a hypothetical scenario into play , put someone on the spot. This way, everyone’s kept on their toes and constantly braced to interact. 

Remove External Distractions

While there’s not much you can do to ensure participants aren’t dealing with their own distractions, you can eliminate distractions from your presenting environment . Make sure your schedule is completely cleared to avoid any unwanted phone calls or interruptions. Are you presenting from an office location? Let anyone who is sharing your space know you need complete quiet so you can concentrate on delivering the best virtual presentation possible. 

Be Enthusiastic 

Even if the content of your presentation is on the dry side, you need to be able to sell it to your audience . If you’re not animated and engaged with the material, you can’t expect your audience to show an interest. Familiarizing yourself with presentation content will go a long way in ensuring you can deliver a lively and passionate event for participants. 

Professional Surroundings and Backgrounds 

No matter how animated you are during a presentation, you’ll still need to keep things professional . A low-key background will not only eliminate distractions but set the right tone for learning and development. Here’s our list of best backgrounds .

Best Virtual Presentation Tips

Now you’ve created a compelling outline for your virtual presentation , you’ll need to work on your presentation skills and deliver a memorable event. Below are some handy tips to get you started. 

Proper Webcam and Lighting 

Production values count when it comes to virtual presentations. A standard laptop webcam probably isn’t going to cut it if you want to make the right impression. An external webcam is therefore a must. You’ll also want to play around with lighting to make your presentation as effective as possible. 

Check Your Internet Connection 

Technical issues are sometimes unavoidable. However, even the slightest lag can render a virtual presentation pointless. Check your internet connection ahead of time to ensure you’re not going to have to contend with this issue. 

Talk to the Camera

It’s tempting to check the reactions of your online audience, but this isn’t really practical if you’re delivering a presentation to a large number of people. Rather than work overtime in an attempt to make a personal connection, talk to the camera instead. This gives you the best chance of making a connection with everyone who’s watching.  

Use Body Language 

Body language is very important when presenting online. While you won’t be able to make eye contact with individual audience members and use the space around you, you can make use of hand gestures and facial expressions to strengthen your message. However, remember to keep things simple.  

Engage Your Audience Members 

If you’re planning a longer virtual presentation or covering a lot of key topics, you need to make sure your audience is engaged . Constantly reach out to participants to hammer out specifics with examples or use quick-fire quizzes to keep everyone engaged. You can even use one of the 49 icebreakers to spice things up .

Be Yourself 

Authenticity matters when presenting online. It’s particularly important if you’re an employer presenting to remote teams. Make sure the persona you’re projecting is true to the one you’ve already established. The more authentic you are, the more credible your message will seem. 

What is the Optimum Amount of Time You Can Keep People Engaged Online? 

Most people will struggle to remain engaged with a single topic beyond five minutes. Your presentation is going to be longer than this, so avoid dwelling on specific topics for too long. For best results, try and keep your overall presentation no within 45 minutes . 

How Often Should Your Audience Share Their Thoughts?

Reach out to participants once every five minutes or so. You can ask individual participants to reflect on topics you’ve just covered, or break things up with more interactive elements like quizzes and polls. 

How Many Presenters Should There Be in a Virtual Presentation? 

With shorter presentations, it makes sense to keep things simple with a single presenter. If you’re planning a longer event and want to keep things as dynamic as possible, consider using two or three speakers. 

Host Your Next Virtual Presentation with Gloww 

Ready to unlock the potential of virtual presentations? Whether you’re presenting to prospective clients or need to reach out to remote teams, virtual presentations are the way forward . However, you’ll need a reliable video conferencing solution to stage a successful virtual presentation. 

With Gloww, you have everything you need to deliver memorable presentations that strike the right note with audiences. You can adapt your existing presentation material for the virtual space or explore brand-new elements to bring interactivity to your sessions. Add existing slide decks to readymade templates, make things more interesting with polls and quizzes, or integrate multimedia assets to take your presentations to a whole new level. You can get started with Gloww today. If you want to learn about Gloww can help you fine-tune your virtual presentations, explore our pricing plans , and discover more about our premium features. Do you still have questions about Gloww? Get in touch with the team.

Want to learn more? Here’s everything you need to record your meeting , a template for your monthly business review meetings , virtual meeting etiquettte , and all about how video conferencing works .

Ben Aflalo heads Gloww's product team with over two decades of leadership experience. Passionate about leveraging innovative technology, he is committed to building products for the greater good.

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What is Digital Presentation: A-to-Z Guide for Beginners!

‍In this article, I am going to tell you about What is Digital Presentation . so if you want to know about it, then keep reading this article. Because I am going to give you complete information about it, so let’s start.

A digital presentation is a way of sharing information or ideas using digital tools and technology. It involves using software like PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Keynote to create slides that can be shown on a screen.

Digital presentations have benefits like looking good, being flexible, interactive, and easy to share. They can include text, images, videos, and audio to help presenters communicate their message effectively and engage the audience.

Today’s article focuses on the same, i.e., “What is Digital Presentation” The articles entail each bit of information necessary for you to know.

Let’s get started!✨

Table of Contents

What is Digital Presentation

A digital presentation refers to the use of digital tools and technologies to deliver a visual and interactive presentation. It typically involves the use of software applications, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Apple Keynote, to create slides or visual content that can be projected or displayed on a screen.

Digital presentations allow presenters to combine text, images, graphics, videos, and audio to convey information and engage their audience. These presentations can be created in advance or developed in real-time during a presentation using presentation software. They are commonly used in various settings, such as business meetings, conferences, educational settings, and sales pitches.

The advantages of digital presentations over traditional methods, such as physical slides or transparencies, include the ability to easily edit and revise content, incorporate multimedia elements, and deliver dynamic and engaging presentations. Additionally, digital presentations can be easily shared and distributed electronically, enabling remote viewing and collaboration.

Digital presentation tools often provide features like slide transitions, animations, embedded multimedia, speaker notes, and the ability to include hyperlinks and interactive elements. These features enhance the visual appeal, interactivity, and overall effectiveness of the presentation.

Overall, digital presentations offer a flexible and multimedia-rich approach to delivering information and ideas, allowing presenters to communicate their message more effectively and captivate their audience.

Types of Digital Presentation

There are several types of digital presentations that can be created using various software tools and techniques. Here are some common types:

• Slideshow Presentation : Slideshow presentations are the most common type and are typically created using software like Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Apple Keynote. They consist of a series of slides containing text, images, graphics, and other visual elements. Slideshow presentations are widely used for business meetings, educational lectures, and conferences.
• Interactive Presentation : Interactive presentations involve engaging the audience through interactive elements. This can include clickable buttons, hyperlinks, quizzes, polls, or embedded videos that allow viewers to actively participate and navigate through the presentation at their own pace. Interactive presentations are often used for e-learning, product demos, and sales presentations.
• Video Presentation : A video presentation involves creating a video file that combines audio narration or background music with visuals, such as text, images, and animations. Video presentations are useful for storytelling, marketing campaigns, and online tutorials. Tools like Adobe Premiere Pro, iMovie, or online video editors can be used to create and edit video presentations.
• Web-based Presentation : Web-based presentations are designed to be viewed and interacted with online through a web browser. These presentations are often created using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript or web-based tools like Prezi, Sway, or SlideShare. Web-based presentations allow for seamless sharing, collaboration, and the integration of multimedia content.
• Infographic Presentation : Infographic presentations utilize visually appealing graphics and data visualizations to present information in a concise and easily understandable format. Infographics can be created using specialized software like Adobe Illustrator, Canva, or Piktochart. These presentations are effective for conveying complex information or statistics in a visually appealing manner.
• Storyboard Presentation : Storyboard presentations are commonly used in creative industries such as film, animation, or advertising. They involve presenting a sequence of visual frames or sketches to outline a story or concept. Storyboard presentations are created using software like Adobe Photoshop, Storyboarder, or specialized storyboard software.

These are just a few examples of digital presentations, and there are many other variations and combinations depending on the specific purpose, audience, and content requirements. The choice of presentation type will depend on the goals and preferences of the presenter and the nature of the information being communicated.

Tools for Digital Presentation

There are numerous tools available for creating digital presentations. Here are some popular ones:

• Microsoft PowerPoint : PowerPoint is one of the most widely used presentation software. It offers a wide range of features for creating slideshows, including text formatting, slide transitions, animations, multimedia embedding, and collaboration options.
• Google Slides : Google Slides is a web-based presentation tool that is part of the Google Workspace suite. It allows users to create and collaborate on presentations online. Google Slides offers similar features to PowerPoint and provides easy sharing and real-time collaboration.
• Apple Keynote : Keynote is a presentation software developed by Apple for macOS and iOS devices. It offers a variety of visually stunning templates, animations, and effects. Keynote is known for its smooth transitions and multimedia capabilities.
• Prezi : Prezi is a cloud-based presentation tool that offers a unique zooming and panning interface, allowing for non-linear presentations. It enables users to create dynamic and visually engaging presentations with a focus on the big picture.
• Canva : Canva is a versatile graphic design tool that offers pre-designed templates for presentations. It provides a user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop functionality and allows users to create visually appealing slides with ease.
• Adobe Spark : Adobe Spark is a suite of creative tools that includes Spark Video, Spark Page, and Spark Post. Spark Video allows users to create animated videos with narration, while Spark Page helps create web-based presentations. Spark Post is useful for designing social media graphics and visual content.
• SlideShare : SlideShare is an online platform owned by LinkedIn that allows users to share and discover presentations. It is commonly used for sharing slide decks, infographics, and documents. SlideShare supports various file formats and provides a platform for showcasing and distributing presentations.
• Powtoon : Powtoon is a web-based tool for creating animated presentations and videos. It offers a range of templates, characters, and animations to help create engaging and dynamic content.
• Haiku Deck : Haiku Deck is a presentation tool that focuses on simplicity and visual impact. It offers professionally designed templates and access to a vast library of royalty-free images to enhance presentations.
• Visme : Visme is a versatile visual content creation tool that allows users to create presentations, infographics, reports, and more. It provides a wide range of templates, charts, icons, and multimedia options to create visually appealing and interactive presentations.

These are just a few examples of the many tools available for creating digital presentations. The choice of tool depends on the specific requirements, preferences, and available resources of the presenter.

Pros and Cons of Digital Presentation

Digital presentations offer numerous advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional methods. Here are some pros and cons of digital presentations:

• Visual Appeal : Digital presentations allow for the incorporation of multimedia elements like images, videos, and animations, making them visually appealing and engaging for the audience.
• Flexibility and Interactivity : Digital presentations offer flexibility in terms of editing, rearranging, and adding content. They also enable interactivity through hyperlinks, clickable buttons, quizzes, and other interactive elements, enhancing audience engagement.
• Easy Distribution and Sharing : Digital presentations can be easily shared electronically via email, file-sharing platforms, or online presentation hosting services. This allows for easy distribution to a wide audience and facilitates collaboration.
• Multimedia Integration : Digital presentation tools offer the ability to seamlessly integrate various multimedia elements, such as audio, video, and interactive charts. This enables presenters to convey information in a more dynamic and impactful manner.
• Real-Time Updates : Digital presentations can be updated in real-time, allowing presenters to make changes or add new content during the presentation itself. This is particularly useful for adapting to unexpected circumstances or incorporating audience feedback.
• Remote Presentations : Digital presentations can be delivered remotely, allowing for virtual meetings, webinars, or online conferences. This eliminates the need for physical presence and enables global participation.
• Technical Issues : Digital presentations rely on technology, and technical issues like software glitches, compatibility problems, or connectivity issues can occur. These issues can disrupt the presentation flow and require troubleshooting.
• Dependency on Equipment : Digital presentations require the availability of appropriate equipment, such as computers, projectors, or screens, to display the content. Inadequate or malfunctioning equipment can hinder the presentation.
• Distractions and Overload : The use of multimedia elements in digital presentations can sometimes lead to information overload or distract the audience from the main message. It is essential to balance the use of visuals and ensure clarity of communication.
• Lack of Personal Touch : Digital presentations may lack the personal touch and human interaction that can be experienced in face-to-face presentations. Non-verbal cues and physical presence may be diminished, affecting the overall engagement and connection with the audience.
• Learning Curve : Using digital presentation tools effectively may require a learning curve for presenters who are unfamiliar with the software or lack technical skills. This can lead to difficulties in creating and delivering polished presentations.
• Accessibility Concerns : While digital presentations offer numerous advantages, accessibility can be a challenge for individuals with disabilities. Presenters need to ensure that the content is accessible to all users, including those with visual or hearing impairments.

Overall, digital presentations have revolutionized the way information is conveyed, making it more dynamic, engaging, and accessible. However, it is important to be aware of the potential drawbacks and take necessary measures to mitigate them for a successful presentation experience.

Popular software options for creating digital presentations include Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, Apple Keynote, Prezi, Canva, and Adobe Spark, among others.

You can enhance the visual appeal of your digital presentation by using high-quality images, well-designed templates, consistent color schemes, appropriate font choices , and incorporating visual elements like charts, graphs, and videos.

Yes, digital presentation tools often allow you to add multimedia elements like images, videos, audio, and animations. This can help make your presentation more engaging and dynamic.

You can make your digital presentation interactive by incorporating elements such as hyperlinks, clickable buttons, quizzes, polls, and interactive charts. These features can encourage audience participation and engagement.

Yes, digital presentations can be easily shared with others. You can share them via email, file sharing platforms, or by using online presentation hosting services. This allows others to view and collaborate on your presentation.

Yes, digital presentations can be presented remotely. You can use video conferencing tools, webinar platforms, or screen sharing features to deliver your presentation to remote audiences.

Read also:)

• What is Digital Storytelling Software: A-to-Z Guide for Beginners!
• How to Sell Digital Products Online: A-to-Z Guide for Beginners!
• 10+ Best Tools for Digital Marketing: A-to-Z Guide for Beginners!

So hope you liked this article on What is Digital Presentation . And if you still have any questions or suggestions related to this, then you can tell us in the comment box below. And thank you so much for reading this article.

April 4, 2024

11 Best Websites for Making a Presentation (And How to Choose One For Your Needs) 

Here are 11 of the best websites and programs to create free presentations online

Co-founder, CEO

The best websites for making presentations equip you with all the tools needed to build a professional, attractive, and informative slide deck quickly and efficiently. But with dozens of slide makers claiming to be the best, it’s hard to choose an app that suits your needs best. 

We’ve done the legwork for you and scoured the web for the best presentation websites. We based our evaluation on factors such as functionality, ease of use, AI sophistication, collaboration tools, and value for money. Below is the result — a comprehensive overview of the 11 best web-based slide creation apps based on our findings.  

Short on time? Summary of the best sites for making a presentation

1. plus ai — best all-round presentation maker.

Key Features

• Adds easy-to-use AI to Google Slides
• Affords customization options for slide templates, colors, and logos 
• Allows slide deck generation via different methods 
• Facilitates collaboration within teams on Google Workspace 
• Features a setting-rich but straightforward user interface
• $10/month for Basic and $20 for Pro versions when billed annually ($15 and $30, respectively, with monthly billing)

Plus AI is a powerful and user-friendly presentation maker that’s suitable for any purpose, whether you’re a professional, student, or amateur user.  

Plus AI gives you a robust selection of AI slide creation methods. You can generate presentations straight from text, work on them slide-by-slide, design them from scratch, or use existing templates. Regardless of the method, the tool’s AI technology does all the heavy lifting design-wise and the interface is a breeze to navigate, so you can sit back and focus on the content. 

Meanwhile, the customization options allow you to tailor the slides to your desired aesthetic, content type, and audience, and you can create your presentation in 80 languages. The resulting slide decks are elegant, professional, and appropriate for any use case. 

Plus AI is an affordable presentation maker, with pricing that starts at $10 per month with annual billing, or $15 when billed monthly. Each of the plans includes an AI extension for Google Docs; this feature helps you compose and edit text. If you’d rather not spend money without taking the tool for a test drive, Plus AI offers you a 7-day free trial.  

Here are the key pros and cons of Plus AI — they should help you decide if this presentation maker is right for you: 

• Generates professional and visually appealing presentations in minutes — no design skills needed
• AI function allows you to edit and format slides without manual effort
• Lots of ways to customize the presentation
• Vast selection of templates and example presentations  
• Text-to-slide and from-scratch creation
• Allows team collaboration in Google Workspace 
• Integrates with Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint
• Budget-friendly plans and a 7-day free trial 
• Plus creates presentations in Google Slides or PowerPoint format, which may be harder for newer users to edit

2. Canva — Best free presentation site 

• Offers mobile presentation templates 
• Web- or mobile-based Canva app supports collaboration 
• Remote Control feature lets you run the presentation from your smartphone
• Canva live feature allows viewers to join QA sessions during a presentation  
• Presenter mode lets you see your speaking notes and upcoming slides while you present 
• AI assists in slide creation and can present on your behalf
• Individual Free Plan: $0 per month
• Individual Pro Plan: $14.99 per month
• Teams Plan: $29.99 per month

Canva is a web-based template editor with graphics creation tools and a powerful presentation builder in its free plan. Canva offers you an array of slide templates designed for virtually any purpose, along with a suite of customization tools to tailor the presentation to your topic and setting. 

Canva has made a noticeable effort to optimize presentations for the smartphone. The app’s most striking feature is its selection of mobile presentation templates, which don’t lag their desktop-based peers in either aesthetics or utility. But whether or not your presentation is designed for a mobile screen, Canva lets you run it right from your smartphone, with a presenter view that shows your notes and upcoming slides. The audience can likewise engage with your presentation from their mobile devices during Q&A sessions.     

Depending on your use case, you may be able to get away with Canva’s comprehensive free plan. The free Canva has presentation creation and editing tools and gives you access to a huge selection of professional templates. However, it’s the $14/month Pro plan that lets you unlock all the premium tools and graphic assets. And if you need Canva to collaborate with teams, you’re looking at $29.99 per month for the first 5 users. 

To help you decide whether Canva is worth trying out, we’ve made this quick summary of the app’s pros and cons: 

• Solid free plan with basic features and a large selection of graphic assets 
• Optimized for mobile presentations 
• Elegant templates for any use case 
• Intermediate design skills required 
• No direct integration with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 (possible through third-party apps)

3. Prezi — Best slide tool for creative users

• Web-based tool for creating presentations, videos, and infographics 
• Asset library includes templates, ready-to-use story blocks, and stock images from Unsplash and GIFs from 
• Integrates with Webex, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other video conferencing apps to show presentations and the presenter on the same screen 
• Lets you convert PowerPoint presentations to Prezi

Pricing (all plans are billed annually)

• For students/educators: $3-8 per month
• For individuals: $7-19 per month
• For businesses: $15-29 per month

Prezi is a web-based tool for creating presentations, videos, and infographics that are suitable for business and educational settings. The tool offers a wealth of image and icon assets, as well as templates to get you started on your slide deck. The templates do not constrain your creativity with linear slides the way PowerPoint does — you can create your presentations on an open canvas. Prezi even lets you import and customize PowerPoint presentations in its app. And, with the help of Prezi’s new AI tool, you can create and edit entire presentations quickly. 

One of Prezi’s most defining features is its integration with popular video conferencing apps, such as Webex, Zoom, Teams, and Meet. Crucially, Prezi lets your slides appear on the same screen as your own video feed while you’re presenting. 

Prezi offers three pricing tiers. Students and educators get the least expensive options, with plans that range between $3 and $8 per month. For individual users, plans cost $7-19 per month, while business users pay between $15 and $29 per month. All of Prezi’s plans are billed annually, but you can try the tool for 14 days without committing to a subscription. 

If you’re not sure whether this presentation tool is right for you, consider Prezi’s pros and cons below: 

• Design freedom and for creating unique and attractive slides
• Graphic assets are readily available
• Integrates with video conferencing apps 
• AI assistant generates and edits presentations 
• Inexpensive plans for students and educators 
• Video and infographic creation part of each plan
• 14-day free trial 
• Design skills required to create quality presentations 
• Lack of integration with Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint
• No monthly billing options 

4. Visme — Best for graphics and special effects

• Tools for creating special effects and animating graphics 
• Ability to import and edit Microsoft PowerPoint presentations 
• AI designer helps create a presentation draft 
• Integration with Google Drive, DropBox, Mailchimp, Slack, and other apps 
• Presentation analytics tools 
• Basic package: $0/month 
• Starter package (individual): $12.25/month 
• Pro package (individual or team): $24.75-$79+/month

Visme is a web-based app for producing various types of visual content, including presentations. The app’s most distinct feature is its suite of special effects you can use to make the slides’ content and graphics more engaging. The app also lets you animate the images and insert video and audio features into the slides. 

Visme integrates with a whole host of other platforms and apps. These integration options are largely designed to let you import content seamlessly into Visme. For example, you have the option of importing your PowerPoint files into Visme, enhancing them there, and exporting them back in the .ppt format if you like. That said, Visme does not work as an extension in popular slide makers, like Google Slides or PowerPoint. 

You have three main pricing options with Visme. The Basic plan is free, but you’re limited in access to collaboration tools, assets, interactive, and AI features. The more comprehensive Starter plan costs $12.25 per month (billed annually), and equips you with Visme’s more premium tools. Finally, the Pro team plan sets you back $79/month for a team of 5 and lets you use Visme’s entire suite of interactivity and collaboration functions.     

Here are a few vital pros and cons if you need help deciding whether Visme is right for you: 

• Vast selection of special effects 
• Ability to animate graphics on the slides 
• Simple file movement between different web-based apps
• Free plan available 
• Free plans extremely limiting 
• No direct integration with Google or Microsoft slide tools 

5. Powtoon — Best for slides with animation

• Templates with configurable graphics and animation
• Customizable fonts, colors, and logos
• Access to stock images, videos, and soundtracks 
• Lite plan: $50/month ($15/month when billed annually) 
• Professional plan: $190/month ($40/month when billed annually) 
• Agency: $117/month (annual billing only) 

Powtoon is a visual web-based content creation platform with tools for making videos, animations, and presentations. The app’s presentation function lets you build slides using professional templates, in which you’re free to customize the fonts, colors, logos, and graphics. You can even animate the graphics and build custom avatars to present on your behalf — it’s one of Powtoon’s unique selling features. 

Powtoon’s suite of slide tools includes a database of royalty-free stock images, video footage, and music. You can use all of these assets in your slides, or upload your own as you see fit. However, how much of these shiny tools you can use in your slide decks depends on the chosen plan. 

There are three pricing plans available, and the discrepancy between monthly and annual payments is striking. Most presentation sites charge a few dollars more if you opt for monthly instead of annual billing, but Powtoon’s monthly prices easily triple and quadruple. For example, the Lite plan costs $15/month with annual billing, but $50 if you wish to pay every month instead. You get very basic features with this plan, especially as far as animation and interactivity are concerned. Likewise, the Professional plan jumps from $40 to $190 if you choose monthly payments. You get a bit more for your buck, but some rudimentary features are still absent (like font uploads). Meanwhile, the Agency plan costs a whopping $1400 annually (no monthly option), and this plan gets you all of the app’s bells and whistles. 

Not sure if investing in a product like Powtoon is worth it? Consider its pros and cons below: 

• Comprehensive animation and video creation features 
• Graphic and audio assets available with subscription 
• Fonts and logos can be uploaded
• Most customization, animation, and AI features only come with the expensive Agency package
• Monthly payment options are not reasonable 

6. Haiku Deck — Best site for image editing options 

• Minimalistic interface 
• Graphic design tools for improving slide aesthetics 
• Pre-loaded templates and image assets 
• Cloud-based file sharing for team collaboration 
• AI presentation builder (Haiku Deck Zuru)
• Pro plan: $9.99 per month billed annually, or $19.99 monthly
• Premium plan: $29.99 per month, billed annually

Haiku Deck is a web, desktop, and mobile-based presentation builder with a significant focus on design aesthetics. The app’s design tools allow you to refine the graphics in the preloaded templates and images you’re using in the slides. You can source the images right from Haiku’s repository, which boasts over 40 million assets. 

To help you create your slide decks, Haiku offers its AI assistant. The AI feature can create new presentations from your outline, or enhance your existing drafts. Since the AI learns from other Haiku users, its algorithms are now trained to outfit slides with contextually relevant imagery and graphics.    

Haiku Deck’s pricing has two tiers: Pro and Premium. The Pro plan costs $9.99/month when billed annually and affords full access to the slide creation tools. Meanwhile, the Premium plan will set you back $29.99/month (again, billed annually), and equips you with features such as analytics, live web tracking, and priority support. 

Here’s a summary of Haiku Deck’s most prominent pros and cons: 

• Visually appealing slides 
• Large database of graphic assets 
• Advanced tools for editing images 
• Capable AI-powered slide builder
• No free plan
• No integration with Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint 

7. Zoho Show — Best presentation site for budget-minded users  

• Clean interface with tools changing depending on the task 
• Library for templates, slides, and fonts to facilitate team collaboration 
• Over 100 templates 
• Imports/exports PowerPoint files 
• Presentations can be controlled from smartphone or smart watch
• For individuals: Free
• Professional Plan: $2.50/month and up (billed annually)
• With Zoho Workplace Standard: $3.00/month (billed annually) 

Zoho is a web-based suite of business tools, and Zoho Show is its slide creation app. Zoho Show is a straightforward, inexpensive, yet fully functional slide maker that offers most of the same features you’ll get from pricier presentation sites. You can build your decks using over 100 preloaded templates, work on PowerPoint presentations before exporting them to their original file format, and run your slideshow from a smart device. Show’s most unique feature is its clean, contextual interface that only displays tools that are relevant to your current task (whether that’s handy or limiting depends on your preferences). 

Zoho Show’s pricing has three tiers. First, there’s the Free plan. This package lets you build basic presentations, but you miss out on key collaboration features and have limited access to graphic assets. Next, you get the more comprehensive Professional Plan, which costs $2.50; you must sign up for Zoho WorkDrive and have a team of 3 people to get this plan. Finally, you can get the entire Zoho Workplace suite for $3/month — this option unlocks the full functionality of the Show app and lets you use other Zoho tools, such as their Office Suite, Mail, and Workdrive. 

Have a look at Zoho Show’s pros and cons below to see if this presentation website is right for you: 

• Interface automatically shows tools relevant to the task
• Ability to add custom fonts and embed files into slides
• Templates, graphic assets, and collaboration tools included
• Supports PowerPoint file formats 
• Subscription to Zoho Workdrive or Workplace required to access paid plan — unnecessary if all you need is a presentation tool
• Some plans require a minimum of 3 users 
• Free individual plan limits use of graphic assets, templates, and collaboration tools 
• No direct integration with Google Slides 

8. Pitch — Best presentation site for use in business and sales 

• Lets you build presentations with AI, from a template, or from scratch 
• Supports custom fonts and colors 
• Provides team collaboration tools 
• Allows you to embed presentations on the web 
• Offers engagement analytics tools 
• Pro plan: $25/month
• Business: $100/month 

Pitch is a web-based presentation maker designed primarily for business use. The app helps streamline slide deck creation with its AI tool, which generates a first draft based on your prompts and leaves your team with the task of refining the slides to your liking. The slides have shareable links, so your entire team can collaborate on the slide deck. You can even invite consultants from outside your workplace to edit the presentations. 

Once your slide deck is complete, Pitch allows you to embed it on the web in your CMS — much like you’d do with a YouTube video. And to give you a feel for how audiences engage with your presentation, Pitch equips you with engagement and analytics performance tools.  

There are three pricing options with Pitch. The free plan comes with all the presentation creation functions, but you get no tracking and limited collaboration tools. The Pro plan costs $25/month (or $22 per month when billed annually), and gives you more freedom to use Pitch in a team environment. Finally, the Business plan costs $100/month (or $85/month with yearly billing) and gives you access to the full suite of features. 

Can’t decide if Pitch is the best presentation website for your team? Have a look at its most vital pros and cons: 

• AI slide creation feature 
• Performance analytics tools 
• Integration with various productivity and collaboration apps
• Media asset library 
• Engagement tracking only available in paid plans
• No integration with Google Slides or Microsoft 365

9. Beautiful.ai — Best site for no-frills AI-generated presentations

• AI-powered presentation maker 
• Slide creation from user’s prompts 
• Automated slide formatting 
• File sharing within the team (requires Team Plan) 
• Graphic assets database 
• Pro: $144 per year  
• Team: $40/month per user with annual billing ($50 with monthly billing)
• Enterprise: Pricing available on request 

Beautiful.ai is an AI-powered presentation builder that leverages full automation to make slide creation quick and easy. All you need to do is enter a prompt for your slide deck, and beautiful.ai will generate your first draft. These AI-generated drafts are quite simplistic in terms of both content and graphics, but they serve as a good starting point. Moreover, beautiful.ai’s presentations are formatted consistently, which should save you time as you edit each slide. 

You get three pricing options with beautiful.ai — Pro, Team, and Enterprise. The Pro package is meant for individual use, and costs $144 per year (there’s no way to pay monthly). The plan equips you with the AI slide maker but limits your use of assets and team collaboration features. The Pro plan costs $50/month for each user, or $480 annual for each license you purchase. This plan affords access to more customization and teamwork functions and lets you use graphic assets. Finally, the Enterprise plan includes all the features of the Pro plan, but with more dedicated training and support for your team. You’d have to reach out to beautiful.ai’s sales team to get a quote for the Enterprise plan. 

Beautiful.ai helps create slides quickly and with little skill. However, if you’re not sure this app is right for you, consider its most vital pros and cons below. 

• Quick way to create and format slides
• Inexpensive plan for personal use
• Elegant slide templates
• No integration with Google Slides or Microsoft 365 
• Slide content is very basic 
• Limited customization and branding options 

10. Google Slides — Best for Google Workspace Users With Basic Presentation Needs 

• Basic presentation creation tool 
• Limited selection of templates, fonts, and colors 
• Supports import/export of PowerPoint files 
• Allows collaboration within the Google Workspace
• Free with a Google account 

Slides is the web-based presentation tool you get with your Google account. This rudimentary app features a limited library of templates, fonts, and colors, along with a basic suite of tools for formatting the text and graphics in your slides. You can insert your own image, video, and audio files into the slides, but there is no access to a library of royalty-free assets. 

Despite its functional constraints, Google Slides is a useful app because it lets teams using Google Workspace collaborate easily on presentations. To get the most of Slides, though, you need to boost its functionality with a suitable extension. Google Gemini now works as an extension within the app, but for the $30 it costs you, the output is disappointing. All Gemini knows does is generate simple, low-quality images; it won’t help you produce, format, or edit presentations. 

In contrast, an app like Plus AI leverages artificial intelligence algorithms to give Google Slides powers it lacks on its own. By using the Plus AI extension, you can create entire Slides presentations from a single prompt, automate slide editing and formatting, and access a rich library of templates and ready-made slide decks. Meanwhile, Plus AI’s customization features help you brand your presentations with custom fonts, colors, and your company logo. 

Not sure if Google’s slide creation tool is right for you? Have a look at its pros and cons below. 

• Allows collaboration in the Google Workspace 
• Compatible with PowerPoint files 
• Supports AI-powered slide-creation extensions, such as Plus AI
• Free to use with a Google account 
• Limited capabilities without third-party apps 
• No library with image, video, or audio assets

11. Microsoft PowerPoint — Best For Highly Skilled Presentation Designers 

• Vast library of slide themes, variants, and layouts 
• Database of stock images and videos 
• Massive array of slide editing, formatting, and customization tools 
• Supports collaboration in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem 
• As a standalone product: $159.99 (one-time fee) 
• With Microsoft 365 apps, for home use: $6.99-$9.99/month 
• With Microsoft 365 apps, for business use: $6.00-22.00/user/month 

PowerPoint is one of the world’s oldest presentation builders that’s been part of Microsoft’s arsenal since the early 1990s. To this day, PowerPoint has been the most commonly used presentation app. But there’s a reason we’ve ranked it last on our list. Buoyed by its popularity, PowerPoint hasn’t evolved much over time; you won’t get anything beyond the most basic and uninspired presentations out of it unless you’re an advanced user with lots of time on your hands. 

The app’s user interface immediately overwhelms you with options and settings. Some of these seem similar in how they function, and you won’t know which tool to use until you’ve experimented with them all. Apart from the cluttered interface, PowerPoint disappoints with its simplistic selection of templates and designs. 

You can use Microsoft’s Copilot to forgo the tedious task of creating your own PowerPoint presentation, but beware: like Gemini, Copilot is still limited in its slide-making abilities. You can get it to create a slide deck from a single prompt, but the output will feature basic and repetitive along with lifeless images. 

PowerPoint’s pricing is a bit convoluted at a glance — you get different options whether you want the standalone product ($159.99) or the entire Microsoft 365 suite. If you choose the latter, the Home options range in price between $6.99 and $9.99 per month, while the Business plans cost between $6.00 and $22.00 per month per user. 

We don’t believe that PowerPoint is worth your time considering the vast selection of more powerful and user-friendly presentation apps on the market. However, you can review the app’s pros and cons below and decide for yourself. 

• Massive selection of design and customization tools 
• Integrates with Microsoft Copilot 
• Lets team members using Microsoft 365 work on the same presentation simultaneously  
• Overwhelming user interface 
• Very basic templates and designs
• Creating professional presentations is a challenge for novice users
• AI assistant cannot produce elegant, content-rich slide decks 

How we ranked the best presentation sites 

To make your selection process simple and effective, we ranked the best presentation websites based on these vital criteria: 

• Functionality
• Level of AI sophistication
• Ease of use
• Collaboration options

Integration with popular slide creation tools 

Value for money, functionality .

The best presentation sites are loaded with handy functions that enable you to make visually appealing, info-rich, and engaging presentations with little effort and minimal editing. These include customization tools, templates, image assets, and graphics refinement features. 

Level of AI sophistication 

AI technology is at the forefront of slide makers’ drive to create the best product for their clients. AI-powered presentation sites save you from spending long hours on writing content, digging up graphics, and then formatting every slide — AI handles these tasks for you. But not all AI slide creators are made equal. Some leave you with rudimentary decks that feature repetitive content and unrelated imagery. Others give you a solid starting point for an informative and captivating presentation. 

Ease of use 

The best presentation sites greet you with an intuitive and uncluttered interface that takes you minutes (if not seconds) to master. But usability goes beyond navigating the UI. That’s why we also assess the simplicity with which you can actually produce presentations. Simply put, how easy is it to create and edit slides? Do you need advanced design skills to manipulate the graphics and give the slide deck your desired aesthetic ? The best slide makers take these questions into account, so that their product makes presentations a breeze. You worry about the content, and let the app do the rest. 

Collaboration options 

High-quality presentation apps allow team members to create, edit, and give feedback on presentations remotely. That’s because today’s business needs, along with hybrid work arrangements, mean that more and more teams are forced to collaborate electronically. Features such as cloud-based file sharing and integration with communication platforms help different members of your team work on the presentation from wherever they are. 

Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint are the most commonly used presentation programs in the world. These two giants are the natural, go-to option for slide creation in the corporate, educational, and institutional world. Any presentation app that’s worth its salt should integrate with at least one of these tools. At the very least, a quality independent slide app should be able to import and export files that can be used in Google Slides or PowerPoint. 

The best presentation apps are usually not free, but the money you pay for them should be worth the features and benefits you get in return. That’s why we’ve evaluated each of the slide makers above based on the balance between their price point and their offerings. 

How to choose the best presentation website for your needs? 

You can’t really go wrong by opting for any of the 10 presentation sites above; however, to get a tool that’s tailored to your use-case, you’ll have to do a bit more research and analysis. The four steps below should help you zero in on the optimal presentation maker for your needs.   

• Consider the purpose of the presentation. Some slide tools cater to sales teams (think Pitch), others to graphic-minded users (Haiku Deck comes to mind), while others, like Plus AI, are excellent all-rounders. 
• Decide on the level of customization you need. How concerned are you with personalizing and branding your slide decks? If a generic, templated presentation is all you need for a school project, investing in a feature-rich, customizable tool may be overkill. But if you need your slide decks to feature custom colors, fonts, and convey your brand identity, opt for a tool (and pricing package) that has this functionality. 
• Decide if you want AI help. Unless you’re a skilled designer with a passion for creating and formatting slides, AI can be incredibly useful. Consider this: would you rather spend hours on refining your slides and ensuring consistency, or have the AI tool produce a uniformly formatted first draft? Check out the best AI presentation makers here.
• Factor in your budget. Most presentation sites have similar pricing, with monthly plans ranging between $0 and $40. However, some charge more — much more. Of course, the higher price points generally translate into richer offerings that may include other apps for visual content creation. Consider whether you need these extras or if a capable slide creation tool will suffice. 

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Virtual presentation framework: Your guide to presenting online

Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.

Michael Lee March 01, 2021

By now, virtual presentations are a staple in the way many organizations conduct business. But just because most people are used to presenting online doesn’t mean they’re any good at it. The best virtual presentations require more than just appearing on screen or sharing content. To really connect with your audience, you need to follow the virtual presentation framework : Establish credibility, build trust, and appeal to your audience’s emotions.

This presentation framework serves as an online presentation guide to help you make sense of the most common elements of successful online interactions. As you get more comfortable with all the elements, you’ll be able to use the presentation framework as a digital toolbox of sorts, calling on the right skills at the right time.

It’s important to note that these segments are not mutually exclusive, but should work together. After all, you can be credible without earning trust, and you can be informative without eliciting any emotion. The best online presenters and speakers will apply the presentation framework as a whole to both their content and delivery. Read on for a more detailed look at each segment in the virtual presentation framework. 

Presentation framework: Establish credibility 

Credibility is a measure of how qualified you are (or at least, how qualified you seem) to speak on your topic. Basically, do you look like you know what you’re doing? On virtual presentations, you’ll need to consider:

How you set up your space

It may seem like a minor detail next to everything else you have to do for your presentation, but your home studio setup can greatly impact audience perceptions. If your face is dimly lit or your audience can’t hear you, it’ll make your entire presentation feel less professional. 

Position your light source in front of you (whether it’s a window or a lamp). Also, test out different microphones to find the one with the best audio quality. You’ll also want to avoid distracting your audience with busy backgrounds. Though, don’t be afraid to show more personality than a blank white wall! Even small, inexpensive adjustments can make a big difference. 

Get more tips from Jessica Chen , the founder, and CEO of Soulcast Media and an Emmy Award-winning journalist:

How you present yourself 

Any online presentation guide will tell you that to deliver an engaging presentation, you’ll need to practice. While one of the benefits of virtual presentations is the ability to include presenter notes , you also don’t want to look like you’re reading the entire time. Practice speaking with confidence, paying particular attention to your pacing and volume. Also, try cutting out filler words like “um” and “like.” Lorraine Lee , the Managing Editor here at Prezi, shares how standing while you present and projecting your voice can help:

How well do you know your material?

It can sometimes be painfully obvious when someone speaks on a topic they don’t actually know much about. If you’re giving a virtual presentation, it means you’ve had the time to prepare and pick your topic. Make sure you’re speaking to your subject matter expertise, whether it’s for a keynote, webinar, sales pitch, or just an internal presentation. 

Richard Mulholland , a global speaker and founder of presentation agency Missing Link , highlights the benefits of finding your “area of authority” and then focusing the vast majority of your attention on that subject: 

Presentation framework: Build trust

While trust may seem very similar to credibility, there’s a key difference. Credibility determines if your audience finds you qualified to speak about your topic. However, trust determines whether they’ll actually believe what you say. To build trust with your audience on virtual presentations, you should: 

Appear on the screen 

Body language and facial cues are crucial in conveying meaning, which is why it’s necessary to appear on-screen if you want your audience to trust what you’re saying. This also applies to screen sharing. If your camera’s on, but nobody can see you, then you’re going to lose out on opportunities to connect with your audience. 

Vanessa Van Edwards , a keynote speaker and Lead Investigator at Science of People , explains that hands act as “trust indicators.” That’s why you should use tools like Prezi Video to bring your content on-screen with you, so that you can show your content while still using hand gestures to keep your audience engaged . Watch Vanessa’s video to learn more and to see these principles in action: 

Back up your claims

With enough practice, you can say anything with confidence, but empty promises and hyperbole will only erode your audience’s trust. Make sure you use trusted sources while researching, and present facts and data as necessary. 

For example, see how Brian Xu , a Senior Data Scientist at LinkedIn , uses data to analyze the economic impacts of COVID-19: 

Respect your audience

Don’t forget that while you’re the one presenting, your audience is also investing their time and attention into your content. Make sure your content is tailored and relevant, and be mindful of sticking to your allotted time. 

You may also want to consider employing a more conversational approach to your virtual presentation. In a remote sales pitch , for instance, you don’t have to go through all of your content from start to finish. Instead, find out what your buyers are most interested in and only focus on those topics.

Presentation framework: Appeal to emotions 

Even if your content is well-researched and expertly presented, it ultimately won’t matter if your audience can’t remember any of it. Part of what makes content impactful and memorable is having it resonate on an emotional level. Be sure to include these elements in your virtual presentations: 

Displaying a wall of text on the screen is only going to result in glazed eyes. Use visual communication to help your message resonate with your audience — whenever possible, replace text with images, videos, and charts. 

In this webinar with Tiffani Bova , the Global Growth and Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce , she uses both photos and designed graphics, and clever placement of her visuals, to support her message. When illustrating the divide between sellers and buyers, she puts photos on either side of her screen. This creates a more visceral and memorable message than a bullet point:

Interactivity

Because you’re working with limited screen real estate on virtual presentations, you’ll need to work harder to keep your audience invested and engaged. That means you should avoid becoming a static talking head or hiding behind your screen share. Take advantage of Prezi Video to add some interactivity to your presentation. With Prezi Video, you can point at graphics you want to focus on or emphasize your message with gestures. 

Plus, there are currently a wealth of tools that can help you better connect with your audience. Take advantage of the chat, poll, and Q&A functions on your video conferencing tools, or use third-party apps like Slido to create impactful conversations . 

Storytelling

Stories are still one of the best ways to connect with your audience. They can take complex ideas and recontextualize them in a way that feels relevant and evokes emotions. And, our brains are already wired for stories (which is why they make up two-thirds of our daily conversations). 

Try starting your virtual presentation with a story or anecdote to capture your audience’s attention quickly. Elena Valentine , the CEO, and co-founder of workplace media company Skill Scout Films , explains how stories and anecdotes can make you seem more human instead of just “the expert,” and why that works in your favor:

Using the virtual presentation framework

This virtual presentation framework is by no means comprehensive. However, it can serve as a useful guide to online presentations. As you start putting content together for your next presentation, refer to the framework to pinpoint areas that you’re still missing and start incorporating them. You can also get even more advice and insights from our Virtual Presentation Innovators .

If you’re speaking at an upcoming virtual conference or event , drop us a line at [email protected] for a chance to work together on a virtual presentation that your audience won’t forget.

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What is Presentation Software?

Presentations provide a platform for people to share their message. Entrepreneurs, independent contractors, enterprise businesses, educators, and students can all benefit from presentations to learn, inform, sell, or persuade. Effective presentations will engage an audience with a clear message and call to action. Many businesses leverage presentation software to help them create visually appealing decks quicker, and more efficiently. 

If you’re not clear what presentation software is, and how it can help your productivity, you’re in the right place. 

Understanding presentation software

Presentation software is a type of computer application software that is designed to help users create digital presentations, or slide shows, to convey information in a more engaging way. Most presentation software will come fully equipped with tools and features for creating and editing digital slides that can include text, images, audio, video, charts, graphs, and other multimedia elements. Some key functionalities to look for in presentation software include slide creation and organization, formatting and design options, multimedia integrations, animations and transitions, collaboration, and sharing capabilities. 

Key features and functionalities

When you’re comparing different types of presentation software, these are the key features and functions that you should look for.

Slide creation and organization

It goes without saying, but the number one functionality of presentation software is slide creation. Whether you’re starting from scratch, or using a pre-built presentation or slide template, presentation software allows you to structure your thoughts in a way that makes sense. It also acts as a repository for old and new presentations so you can easily save and find what you need, when you need it.

Formatting and design options

One of the biggest challenges in the presentation creation process is deciding how to format your content without making a mess of the design. Many presentation softwares will handle that for you by offering design guardrails, drag-and-drop templates, and smart recommendations. The benefit of formatting and design options is that even non-designers have the tools they need to create something professional and on-brand.

Multimedia integration

A presentation without visual assets is a lot more likely to lose the audience. Presentation softwares will offer multimedia integration with images, videos, icons, and gifs. Every presentation software allows you to upload your own multimedia to your deck, but only select programs offer a free stock library to choose from. 

Animations and transitions

The average attention span of humans is 8 seconds, which means an engaging deck is critical to your presentation. Presentation software makes it easier to hold the focus of your audience with animations and transitions. Many platforms offer features that allow you to choose the speed and transitions to which your content builds and progresses to the next slide.

Collaboration and sharing capabilities

The whole goal of presentation software is to make the design process more efficient, and a big part of that is collaborating with your team. Newer presentation software— especially web-based or SaaS presentations— will allow teams to work together on the same deck, under the same roof. Similarly, the same web platforms have more flexible sharing capabilities through shared links or embed codes.

Types of presentation software platforms

There are various types of presentation software platforms available, and the industry continues to expand and evolve with new technologies. 

Traditional presentation

Traditional software refers to computer applications or programs that are typically used to create and deliver visual presentations. These programs are designed to allow users to create slideshows containing text, images, charts, graphs, and other visual aids. 

Web-based or SaaS presentation

Web-based or SaaS (Software as a Service) presentation software refers to programs that are accessed through a web browser and do not need to be installed on a user's device. These programs are hosted on the cloud and can be accessed from any internet-connected device.

AI presentations

AI presentation software is a type of presentation software that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help users create and design presentations. AI presentation software typically includes features such as automated design suggestions, layout recommendations and image recognition to streamline the presentation creation process.

Video presentation

Video presentation software is a type of software that allows users to create and deliver video presentations. These presentations can include a combination of video footage, images, text, and audio. Video presentation software typically includes features such as editing tools, visual effects, and transitions to help users create engaging and professional-looking presentations.

Nonlinear presentation

A nonlinear presentation is a type of presentation where the viewer can navigate the content in a non-sequential order, rather than proceeding from one slide to the next in a linear fashion. In a nonlinear presentation, the content is organized using hyperlinks or other interactive elements that allow the viewer to jump back and forth between different parts of the presentation, depending on their interests and needs.

To learn more about the differences between presentation software, visit The Ultimate Guide to Presentation Software .

Benefits of a dedicated presentation software platform

Using a specific presentation software for every business need helps teams stay consistent across all internal and client-facing decks. 

Enhancing visual appeal and engagement

Presentation software— like Beautiful.ai— gives teams more control over the deck design which helps them maintain branding. By using the same presentation design software each time, you are ensuring consistency from deck to deck across each department. 

Simplifying content creation and organization

Like any productivity tool, presentation software is all about simplifying the process. You’ve heard of rinse and repeat. By using the same platform for each company or team deck you can automate and recycle things like colors, fonts, logos, and even branded slides. On the same coin, if you’re creating every deck in the same platform, it acts as a library for all of your presentations, making it easy to organize and find existing content. 

Facilitating effective communication

Communication is the backbone of any successful organization, so the ability to communicate effectively in the presentation design process is important. When the entire team is working in the same presentation software, it makes collaboration and communication more efficient and seamless. In Beautiful.ai, for example, teams can add comments and provide feedback in real-time to help eliminate any bottlenecks. 

Enabling seamless sharing and collaboration

When you're working with a presentation software in the cloud, teams can simultaneously make edits or contributions to the same deck at the same time. Gone are the days of lengthy email chains sharing various revisions of the same deck. Presentation software allows you to share the most updated version and invite stakeholders or external partners to collaborate with you in the platform. 

Tips for using presentation software effectively

Now you know what presentation software is, but how do you use it effectively to scale your business efforts? Keep these tips in mind for your next presentation. 

Planning and structuring your presentation

Planning and structuring your presentation effectively is crucial for delivering a clear and organized message. You should think about how you want to format your story before you even open up a presentation software. 

Six things to consider when planning your presentation anatomy;

• The audience
• Overarching message
• Clear objectives
• One key point for each slide
• A strong call to action

Utilizing design principles and visual elements

Presentation softwares have design principles in place to help take on some of the burden of deck creation, and you should take advantage of that. Using a pre-built template can help you think of new ways to structure your presentation, while lending the ability to customize it where you see fit. As a good rule of thumb, less is more in presentations. Your design should be clean and professional, while keeping your company branding in mind. 

Creating concise and impactful slides

With new technology, many presentation platforms (excluding PowerPoint) will actually limit how much you can add to each slide to help avoid Frankendeck situations. Creating clear, concise slides are more impactful than cluttered ones. Make sure to stick to one key point on each slide so that your audience knows exactly what you want them to pay attention to. 

Using multimedia wisely

A picture is worth a thousand words. Your audience will likely remember the multimedia in your presentation over any bullet point or statistic, so choose your visual assets wisely. They should be relevant, high-quality, and on-brand, always. The multimedia is meant to complement your story and drive the point home.

Practicing and rehearsing 

Presentation software and deck design is important, but so is your delivery. Don’t spend time crafting the perfect presentation deck only for your actual presentation of it to fall flat. Practice, practice, practice. And even when you think you’ve practiced enough, do a full dry-run one more time. This allows you to test the presentation software, the technology required for the meeting or conference, and the timing of any video or animations within the deck.

Jordan Turner

Jordan is a Bay Area writer, social media manager, and content strategist.

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Prezi  - What is Prezi?

Prezi  -, what is prezi, prezi what is prezi.

Prezi: What is Prezi?

Lesson 1: what is prezi.

Prezi is a web-based tool for creating presentations (called prezis for short). It's similar to other presentation software like Microsoft PowerPoint, but it offers some unique features that make it a good alternative. In recent years, it has become popular in schools and businesses. If you're looking to create a presentation that's a bit more eye-catching and engaging, Prezi may be for you.

How does a prezi work?

Most types of presentation software use a slide-based approach, where you move back and forth between individual slides, kind of like pages in a book. Prezi, however, uses a canvas-based approach. Instead of using slides, Prezi has one very large canvas that your presentation moves around on, zooming in and out to view various frames .

This concept is much easier to describe with a visual aid, so we've embedded a sample prezi below. Simply select Start Prezi , then use the arrows at the bottom to navigate through the presentation.

Why use Prezi?

You might be wondering what makes Prezi different from other presentation software, like PowerPoint or Keynote . For one thing, Prezi is completely free to use. There are upgrades you can pay for to unlock additional features, but everything you need to create and share a dynamic prezi is available free of cost.

Another great reason to use Prezi is that it is run entirely through your web browser, meaning there will be fewer compatibility issues than with other programs like PowerPoint. Your prezi will always look the same , no matter what computer you're viewing it on.

Because of its unique presentation style, Prezi can use movement and metaphor to help communicate a point you're trying to make. If you want your audience to really feel a sense of space and distance between locations, you could use a map template , like in the prezi below.

Or maybe you want to illustrate how there's more to a certain topic or viewpoint than there appears to be. In this case, perhaps an iceberg template would be more effective.

In the next lesson, we'll show you how to create and edit prezis of your own!

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Review: Top 5 Web-based Presentation Tools Compared

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Google Slides

Bottom line, frequently asked questions about web presentation tools.

Recently we looked at a few alternatives that can help you translate your raw data into some delicious visual goodness. Today I thought we’d talk about ways you might present it.

Most of us — at some point in our careers — need to present our ideas to an audience.

Maybe it’s a client pitch? Sometimes it might be for colleagues or even potential employers. Other times it might be for a bigger audience at a meet-up night or conference.

While your data may be easy to read and understand, applying it to some slides and adding some text can actually benefit you. Now, not everyone has access to the established desktop presentation applications such as PowerPoint or Keynote.

Happily, there are now some great online alternatives out there. And being ‘web-native’, means they’re not only better suited to social sharing platforms than their desktop brethren, but can be launched from ANY computer with a web browser — a huge relief during rare but inevitable hardware disasters.

Today I’m sharing my first impressions on five online presentation services that will keep your audience engaged without tapping your wallet.

This is where the fun part comes in. After choosing to “create a deck” I was taken to the very sleek editor workspace. While Slides clearly wants to make things as self apparent as possible, it does offer a nifty walkthrough tutorial — a thorough guide that shows you where everything is and the function such as the “Top Level Options”.

Slides is friendly enough that you’ll most likely quickly figure this out through trial and error, but it is nice to have an option.

Creating your slides is really an easy task. With ten default slides designs to choose from, you can do everything from upload background images, tinker around with your type and even add speaker notes.

Speaking of type, there are 12 distinct type options to choose from. If that’s not enough variety, you also have multiple color style choices to choose from as well as transitions.

All in all, I think Slides is a winner. However, if I were to have one complaint, it’s the fact that you have to go Pro in order to export your deck to either PDF or sync it to your Dropbox. Until then you’re only options are to export as an HTML doc or to embed it (and pray your WiFi doesn’t fail at the wrong moment).

• View your slides either online or on the go via your mobile device
• Control your presentations through the power of any touch enabled mobile device
• The ability to present your slides live in real-time anywhere in the world
• Variety of themes and transitions at your disposal
• Teams can streamline their presentation workflow
• Share and fork your presentations
• Revisions are saved so you can always go back if you make a mistake
• HTML ability allows you to edit your markup and customize your decks

First Impression : To get started on your first presentation with Zoho Docs, you do have to register for an account. Thankfully, if the last thing you need is one more login to remember, you can sign in via your Google, Google Apps, Facebook or Yahoo accounts.

Once that’s done it’s time to start creating. The workspace is rather attractive and user-friendly, guiding you along without actually forcing you into a structured tutorial from the get go. Presentation formats are broken up into three options: document, spreadsheet or presentation. Take each one for a test-drive by clicking the “Create” button on the left hand screen.

Creating a fresh presentation opens up a new tab to pull up Zoho Show. While this may not be appreciated by everyone, it does allow you to switch back to your Zoho Doc’s workspace whenever you need it without having to press the back button.

Right away you’re prompted to choose one of the 17 available themes as well as selecting a preferred aspect ratio (16:9 or 4:3). This is a nice touch especially if you know you will be presenting on a wide-screen monitor or projection screen. I don’t believe any other tool offered this functionality

While choosing your theme, you can also decide your preferred color palette and font. From there you are taken through a thorough walkthrough of the creation process. There are tons of customization options plus you have four export options for your presentations.

• Unlimited users with the Free Forever plan
• Shared storage is more than generous even with a free account
• Share your work through email, embed it into your sites or even publish it publicly
• Word documents, spreadsheets and presentations can be easily created
• History of your changes in documents are there for you if revisions are needed
• Ability to sync right to your desktop
• Enabled document and user management
• Export your presentation as a PDF, PPTX, ODP or PPSX

First Impression : I must admit that I have used Google Slides once in my life, but that was for a film presentation during my last year of university. If you, like most people, have a Google account, you already have access to Google Slides ,so no registration is required.

To get started you only have to go to your Docs/Drive, open the hamburger menu to the left and click “slides”. Should you have no presentations already created, you only have to click the “+” in the bottom right corner to get started. As with Zoho, you’re immediately tasked to choosing your theme and aspect ratio.

While there are 20 available theme options, they are rather plain when compared to the templates offered by competing products .

While other apps do a good job at ‘prepping’ first time users, this is a case where Google won’t take your hand and walk you through you what Slides has to offer. This may not be a big issue for most, but is likely to discourage anyone who isn’t 100% confident with web apps.

That being said, the UX of Slides isn’t very different to the UX of other Google apps, so many users will feel a sense of familiarity from the start. Adding images and text or even aligning them, changing the type or color are all just a matter of a few button clicks. To add in a new slide you but only need to press the “+” button to the far left on the toolbox.

In order to change up your slide’s layout you need to click the “layout” button which is between “background” and “theme”. This will give you a few more options to choose from and add some dynamic to your final presentation.

As expected there are some transitions to make the slides run smoothly and a bit more options to get something you’re proud of before you share it.

• Similar Google Docs layout makes using Slides relatively easy
• 6 available download formats including SVG, PDF and PNG
• Edit and collaborate on your work in real-time
• Chat and comment right there in your window
• Changes are automatically saved as you work
• PowerPoint compatible
• Enabled offline editing for when you need it
• Absolutely free

First Impression : Emaze prides themselves on allowing you to easily create your own presentations so that you can “emaze” everyone.

Once you register with e-mail address and password, you’re ready to start building your first presentation.

Of course you have to decide which plan you want: Free, Pro or Emazing. Choose and you’ll be immediately presented with an excellent selection of good quality templates — from fun to professional-looking.

Unlike some of the other presentation creators, these templates are thoughtfully categorized to make it easier for you to find the best fit for your presentation. Even though some categories only have one available color choice for that particular theme, there are still 34 themes to choose from.

Like Zoho, creating a presentation in Emaze pulls up a new tab to bring you to the workspace. Instead of the typical walk-through, Emaze uses animated arrows to show exactly where things are and what they do, which is a nice take on the general tutorial.

Because the templates are pre-conceived each new slide template already has a built in layout that only requires you to insert your desired graphics, video and text. Emaze has some cool features as well which include adding sections to your presentations and even adding effects to create motion to your objects.

Creating and editing your presentation with Emaze is rather simple and can be done relatively quickly if you know what you’re trying to achieve. Clicking on text will automatically open a text editor tool to allow you to change text sizes, color, as well as add effects.

There are some limitations to Emaze however. The preset font for your chosen template is the one you’re stick with, plus you have limited color palette to apply to your text. Also, as is often the case, free accounts are always publicly accessible. Not a big deal for many, but a consideration for some.

• Automatic translation tool allows for your presentation to be seen by everyone
• Multi-device compatibility lets you view and edit your work no matter where you are
• 3D effects can be added to your elements
• Share and download your presentations
• Cloud based and HTML5 enabled to allow for seamless and efficient workflow
• A variety of pre-designed templates

First Impression : After getting yourself signed up with Visme you are thrown right into creating by first naming your project. Once you have your project named it’s time to decide whether you want to create a presentation, infographic, banner ad or a blank canvas.

The first thing you will notice is the comparitively low number of templates available to you when creating your presentation. There are 7 templates in total. Of course, you’re quite free to design your own layout by choosing a blank canvas, but it’s a little disappointing when Visme’s own marketing boasts about the ‘ tons of template and presets ‘ that are available to you.

The dashboard for your presentation is mapped out for you in your first go round, in a very similar method to Emaze’s approach.

The layout for creating is as simple as you can get so if you don’t need or want all the fancy effects and all that jazz Visme is definitely for you. While there isn’t anything amazingly new that Visme brings to the table, their presentation creator there are some nice touches.

The first thing worth noting is the thousands of free stock images that are available for you to use in order to make your presentation stand out. Simply search on a given topic and ninety percent of the time a viable result will seem to pop up. Photos aren’t the only visuals available — you’ll find hundreds of vector images too.

In my opinion, whatever Visme may lack in features, they certainly make up for with their easy-to-use editor and their large, free asset library. Visme also does allow you share, embed and download your presentation, but unfortunately you’re stuck with the branding and fewer options unless you upgrade.

• Free templates and presets available to you from the start
• Customizable assets
• One-click security settings to keep your work hidden from the public
• Pre-loaded fonts, images and vectors all for you to use
• Share via social networks or URL links
• Downloadable and embeddable for when you want to share offline or online
• The ability to create anything from presentations to banner ads

While everyone is going to have different needs, I can tell you that these five should be high on your list to visit when choosing a solution. Each presentation builder offers something different but most of all they are all user-friendly.

If you’re looking for top-notch slide builder with an impressive, free option, I’d currently recommend Emaze and Slides. But don’t let that stop you from trying out the other three as well. This is a competitive sector with new features and improvements being rolled out regularly.

What are the key features to look for in a web presentation tool?

When choosing a web presentation tool, consider features such as ease of use, customization options, collaboration capabilities, and the ability to share presentations easily. Some tools offer interactive features, analytics, and the ability to embed videos or other media. The best tool for you will depend on your specific needs and the audience you’re presenting to.

Are there free web presentation tools available?

Yes, there are several free web presentation tools available. Some of these include Google Slides, Prezi, and SlideShare. However, keep in mind that free versions may have limitations or include watermarks on your presentations. For more advanced features, you may need to consider a paid version.

How can I make my online presentation more engaging?

To make your online presentation more engaging, consider incorporating multimedia elements such as videos, images, and interactive quizzes. Use storytelling techniques to connect with your audience and keep your content concise and focused. Also, consider using a tool that allows for real-time audience interaction, such as live polls or Q&A sessions.

Can I collaborate with others on my presentation using these tools?

Yes, many web presentation tools offer collaboration features. This means you can work on a presentation with a team, even if you’re not in the same location. You can share the presentation, make edits in real-time, and leave comments or suggestions.

Can I use web presentation tools on different devices?

Most web presentation tools are compatible with various devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. This allows you to create, edit, and present from anywhere. However, it’s always a good idea to check the specific device requirements for the tool you’re considering.

How can I share my online presentation with others?

Most web presentation tools allow you to share your presentation via a link, embed it on a website, or download it as a PDF or other file format. Some tools also offer the option to present live online, allowing your audience to join from anywhere.

Can I track the performance of my online presentation?

Yes, some web presentation tools offer analytics features. These can provide insights into how many people viewed your presentation, how long they stayed, and which slides they interacted with the most. This can be useful for understanding your audience’s engagement and improving future presentations.

Can I customize the design of my presentation?

Yes, most web presentation tools offer a range of customization options. You can usually choose from a variety of templates, change colors and fonts, and add your own images or logos. This allows you to create a presentation that aligns with your brand and captures your audience’s attention.

Are there any limitations to using web presentation tools?

While web presentation tools offer many benefits, there can be limitations. For example, some tools may require an internet connection to access and edit your presentations. Also, free versions of these tools may have limitations on features or the number of presentations you can create.

How can I improve my presentation skills?

Improving your presentation skills involves practice, feedback, and continual learning. Consider joining a public speaking group, taking a course, or reading books on the subject. Also, take advantage of the features offered by web presentation tools, such as rehearsal modes and presenter notes.

Gabrielle is a creative type who specializes in graphic design, animation and photography.

Hello and welcome to our integrated advertising, branding, design and digital agency.

The benefits of a web based presentation solution //.

It’s time to update your Prezi or PowerPoint presentation.

If you’re thinking it’s time to make amends to, or replace, your Prezi or PowerPoint presentation, it might be worth considering a bespoke web based presentation solution…

Prezi allows you to present and animate information beautifully, but in this information sharing time, Prezi is limited. Either you pay a licence fee to host it online (and are then reliant on an internet connection), or you purchase and install the software on each computer that you want to present from. Neither of which are ideal as many of you have probably experienced times when you’ve been out at client offices, and their facilities have let you down.

Similarly, PowerPoint has its limitations. PowerPoint is a much more powerful piece of software than it used to be, but the animations aren’t quite as slick, and still requires a file to be sent between users to share the information.

So, what is the alternative? A web based presentation solution may not be your first thought for an alternative, but it can provide the same animated and interactive experience that you’d expect from a Prezi through the powers of JavaScript, CSS3 and HTML5!

Impress.js has an impressive demo which shows some of the possibilities of using such a solution (please watch it as it will help make sense of the rest of this blog).

This demo may be a little ‘OTT’, but it shows how much can be achieved visually with a web based presentation solution.

Here are some of the reasons why we think it’s worth considering…

It’s interactive

Many people have access to touch screen devices these days. Mobile phones, iPads at home, Microsoft Surfaces in the office, touch screens on trade stands etc. These solutions can be operated with a finger to click or swipe through the presentation and keep the user’s interest.

We can design multiple workflows for different scenarios

Although it’s possible to achieve multiple workflows within a linear presentation, this is the web, it can spider in any direction you wish. This is particularly handy for E-Learning presentations as you could setup multiple chapters, or at trade shows where you could allow visitors to interact directly with it to learn more about your company and/or products.

You may have a process that you take clients through, where you ask questions along the way. Each junction can take you down a different workflow, all beautifully animated, interactive and RELEVANT.

You can easily share it online

The presentation can be hosted on your web server, or possibly in its own location, with a special URL. That link can then be shared with anyone on social media, in an email campaign, on your main website or through any other means.

You don’t necessarily need an internet connection

The files required to make this solution work do not require a web server, so you could host them locally on your computer and run them without the need of an internet connection.

It can work on multiple devices

These days we expect our web software to be responsive, and this is no exception. Care needs to be taken when planning your presentation to ensure the volume of information per screen is appropriate for the device sizes you expect your target audience to view it on. However, it’s possible for your presentation to be viewed on any type of device, in any type of browser.

Impress your audience with engaging rich media

Again, this is the web, so all of the usual types of media can be included in the presentation. If you’d like users to watch a video, you can embed one. If you want to include infographics, downloads, links to other websites, you can do that. This type of solution doesn’t need to be limited to just text and graphics.

You can track, measure, report and refine the content

Once you have your solution set-up, you’ll want to know just how much it’s being used. Using Google Analytics, you can track which slides in the presentation are viewed, which elements are clicked on (for example, is anyone watching the video that you’ve embedded?), what is being downloaded, and what appears to be more / less popular. Collating this information will allow you to measure the performance and track the goals you’ve set. If you need more information than just analytics data, you can also install Hotjar, and watch videos of how users are interacting with the presentation to get an even deeper insight of how well your presentation is doing the job.

Use it to capture leads

If the presentation is to be provided in a location where a company representative isn’t available, you can add a lead generation form and/or contact details. Again, these can be tracked through analytics as goals, and you can discover how many leads your investment is creating for you.

Generate real return on investment

Marketers are frequently under pressure to provide details to the board of how the investment is benefiting the business. With the analysis reporting and leads generated, this approach makes it much easier to demonstrate return on investment.

So, the next time you’re ready to update your Prezi, PowerPoint or Keynote presentation, Interactive portal or even a simple e-learning module, open your mind to the possibilities of a web solution. It can take you wherever your imagination (or ours) will allow you to.

How to Make a Web Presentation

• Small Business
• Business Communications & Etiquette
• Presentations
• ')" data-event="social share" data-info="Pinterest" aria-label="Share on Pinterest">
• ')" data-event="social share" data-info="Reddit" aria-label="Share on Reddit">
• ')" data-event="social share" data-info="Flipboard" aria-label="Share on Flipboard">

What Are Some of the Benefits of Presentations in Business & Professional Settings?

How to use an ipad with a mac for whiteboard presentations, how to transfer a powerpoint presentation from a macbook to an ipad.

• How to Play a PowerPoint Presentation on an iPad
• Marketing Plan Presentation Examples

Web presentations allow you to share speeches and training seminars with audiences you otherwise couldn't reach. A number of software programs and online services provide you with the tools you need to deliver a presentation over the Web. Some are simple presentation and screen viewers while others allow for flexible, creative presentations. Products exist to help businesses tightly control who can see their presentations and ensure they can reach the largest audience possible when desired.

Share a PowerPoint presentation online if you're most comfortable working in that application. Add narration to the PowerPoint, and convert the presentation into a video using software such as Leawo PowerPoint to Video. Upload the video to your website or your favorite social website to share it with others. Post the presentation on SlideShare.net if you don't need to include audio or animations in your Web presentation.

Use Prezi if your intent is to brainstorm or discuss ideas with colleagues or present information in a visually-compelling way. For example, group similar items together and use Prezi's zooming feature to pull out and show your audience the big picture. Add audio to turn your Prezi into a standalone Web presentation. Sign up for a free account account at Prezi.com that allows you to share your presentations with others over the Web or purchase a paid account for premium features and support.

Broadcast your presentation as a streaming video over Livestream or a similar Web-streaming service if you want to deliver your Web presentation live. Download Livestream's Procaster software and sign up for a free ad-supported account or purchase a premium plan. Connect a microphone and camera to your computer, and use the software to broadcast anything on your computer screen or in the camera's view while speaking to your audience live.

Share a PowerPoint presentation through Adobe Connect if you need more extensive features. Integrate your video and audio conferencing equipment into the presentation, restrict the times the Web presentation can be viewed and password-protect your presentations as needed. Share your presentation over the Web with mobile users and ensure people with visual and hearing impairments aren't excluded from the presentation.

• Adobe: Adobe Connect 8
• Leawo: Leawo PowerPoint to Video

Michelle Castle began writing professionally in 2005. She has written technology news and tutorials for consumers, brochure and web copy for the Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation, and promotional materials for religious nonprofits including the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. Michelle has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Oklahoma State University.

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Does powerpoint have an option that would allow someone to open & print but not allow them to edit, ways to promote your business presentation slide, how to prepare your business plan on a video, the disadvantages of presentation technology, things you need to know about webinars, difference between webcast & podcast, embedding live stream into keynote, how to use windows 7 to transcribe audio, how to make youtube videos work on tumblr, most popular.

• 1 Does PowerPoint Have an Option That Would Allow Someone to Open & Print but Not Allow Them to Edit?
• 2 Ways to Promote Your Business Presentation Slide
• 3 How to Prepare Your Business Plan on a Video
• 4 The Disadvantages of Presentation Technology

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Unit 5 Create a Web Presentation Using PowerPoint

24 Create a Web Presentation

Create presentations for the web, topics include:.

• Save a PowerPoint Presentation as a Video file

View a Presentation on the Web

Edit a presentation for the web, save a powerpoint presentation as a video.

PowerPoint can save your presentation as a Windows Media Video (.wmv) file to distribute on the Internet. Presentations in this format can easily be shared around the world.

To save a presentation as a Video:

• With the presentation open in PowerPoint, click the File , choose Save & Send and select Create a video .
• Click the Computer & HD Displays down arrow and select one of the following: Computer & HD Displays or Internet & DVD or Portable Devices, click Create Video .

Browse to the location where you want to store your presentation, enter a file name and click Save .

To Play your video, go to the folder location and double-click the file.

How to Share your Video

• Embed the video into a Web page
• Send the video file by email
• Upload the video to a sharing Web site like YouTube
• Save the video to a file share site like Windows Live.

Tips recording your presentation as a video:

• record and time voice narration and laser pointer movements in your video.
• include animations and transitions in your movie.
• viewers do not need to have PowerPoint installed on their computers to watch it.
• if your presentation contains an embedded video, the video will play correctly without your needing to control it.

Depending on the content of your presentation, creating a video may take some time. You can continue to use PowerPoint while the video is being created

The Broadcast Slide Show feature in PowerPoint 2010 enables presenters to share a slide show with anyone, anywhere, over the Web. You send a link (URL) to your audience, and then everyone watches a synchronized view of your slide show in their browser.

Choosing a broadcast service The Broadcast Slide Show feature requires a network service to host the slide show. You can choose from among several services, including a SharePoint server within your organization but for this course we will use the PowerPoint Broadcast Service . This service is available to anyone with a Windows Live ID . Anyone on the Internet will be able to access the URL for a slide show hosted on this service.

Before you broadcast your presentation:

• The presenter and audience need to be connected to the Internet . The broadcast slide show feature can be viewed in the Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari for Mac browsers.
• There may be a limit on the file size for broadcasted slide shows depending on the broadcast service
• all transitions in your presentation appear as Fade transitions in the browser
• audio (sounds, narration) is not transmitted to the audience through the browser
• you can’t follow a hyperlink in your presentation to a Web site, the attendees will only see the last slide you showed in the original presentation
• you can’t run a video in your presentation, the browser does not show it to the audience.

Broadcast a Presentation

1. Select File, Save & Send then select Broadcast Slide Show .

2. The Broadcast Slide Show dialog box opens. Click Start Broadcast .

3. The presenter will need a Windows Live ID to sign in to the broadcast service.

4. PowerPoint creates an URL for your presentation.

To send the URL for your presentation to your audience, do one of the following:

• To send the URL for your presentation by email, click Send in Email.
• To copy the link, click Copy Link.

5. When your audience receives the URL for the slide show, click Start Slide Show to begin your broadcast.

Audience View Before the Broadcast Begins

6. The audience follows your slide show in their browser while you present within PowerPoint 2010.

Presenter View

7. After you finish presenting and are ready to end the broadcast, press ESC to exit Slide Show view and then click End Broadcast .

• Adjust the Presentation after the Broadcast ends
• Rebroadcast the Presentation by following the steps above.

Presentation Software Copyright © 2013 by bpayne is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Blog Beginner Guides

What Is a Webinar & How Does It Work? [Beginner’s Guide With 10+ Presentation Templates]

By Aditya Sheth , Apr 08, 2021

With a global pandemic taking the world by storm and forcing people to work from home, webinars have seen a resurgence in popularity and usage across the globe.

In the last decade (especially in the last few months) webinars have become a staple for educating students and potential customers, lead generation for your business, and captivating large online audiences.

If you’re new to webinars, you’re probably asking yourself…

• What is a webinar?

How does a webinar work?

• Why are webinars so effective?

What are the different types of webinars?

• How do I create and host a webinar?

In this guide, I’ll give you a crash course on what is a webinar, how you can create a webinar and showcase plenty of presentation examples to answer all your webinar-related questions!

Let’s dive right in.

What is a webinar? Webinar definition:

According to  Merriam-Webster , a webinar (or web seminar) is “a live online educational presentation during which participating viewers can submit questions and comments.”

You might be wondering, “well, what is a seminar?” Seminar definition: “a meeting for giving and discussing information.”

Webinars are events, video presentations, workshops, seminars, training sessions, or classroom lectures hosted and delivered online using webinar software .

What makes webinars effective is that they’re a two-way form of communication where the attendees and presenters give, receive and share information with each other, in real time.

Webinar vs. Webcast

A webinar is not a webcast. Webcasts are pre-recorded sessions that broadcast online (on TV or YouTube). Webinars are live sessions allowing real-time interactivity between the presenter and attendees.

For example, our growth by content live webinar teaches business owners how to use content marketing to drive business growth without a massive budget:

If you’re new to webinars, a great way to familiarize yourself is to attend other webinars (like the one above) and take notes.

Hosting webinars has plenty of uses and benefits, but before we dive into creating a webinar it’s important to understand how and why webinars work in the first place.

Webinars allow presenters to share documents of all kinds including but not limited to voice notes, videos, presentations and other documents, etc with their attendees.

Webinars have plenty of uses (often business-related) but the most important and biggest use for webinars is to educate and engage an audience).

Your audience could be anyone from new or existing customers, industry peers or even the students in your classroom.

This means webinars are useful in any industry where communicating with your audience is a key factor in your personal or professional success.

Webinars can also help you with all of the following: 

• Educate your audience about your business.
• Build authority in your industry or niche.
• Demonstrate your product to customers. 
• Onboard new customers to your product. 
• Training both new and existing employees. 
• Generating leads for your business. 

In the marketing world, the main use for webinars is lead generation.

For example, our “ Infographic Design 101 ” webinar is aimed at helping our current customers visualize their ideas and attracting potential customers to sign up for Venngage:

If you’re new to webinars or want to learn how to visualize your ideas, I highly recommend checking out this webinar.

Another way marketers use online webinars is to build authority, credibility and thought leadership in their industry.

Drift ’s approach to thought-leadership webinars is a prime example:

Drift leverages webinars for multiple purposes ranging from educating new and current customers, establishing thought leadership, and collaborating with other SaaS companies.

This helps Drift position themselves as a subject matter expert in the SaaS industry.

Another example is  R&D tax credit software  Boast.AI.

Boast Events  produces two webinars per week in their community, branded Traction, bringing founders and leaders from some of the fastest-growing companies to share actionable, tactical advice on business growth.

If you’re creating a marketing plan and your goal is consistently generating high-quality leads for your business, webinars should be a crucial piece of your strategy.

Webinars are also used extensively in eLearning. As an educator, your ability to reach more students expands dramatically. Right from the comfort of your home.

Students don’t need to travel and with the current crisis that’s forced everyone to stay home, online webinars can be the most important learning tool in a teacher’s arsenal.

Here’s an example of how HBR approaches educational webinars:

After reading this guide in its entirety, you’ll have a better understanding of how to replicate their approach to webinars for your own institution or classroom.

Why are webinars effective?

What makes webinars effective (compared to physical events or workshops) is that with webinars, you don’t need to rent out a physical location or deal with complex logistics that arise from hosting in-person events. 

In fact, in 2020, the number of organizations planning a virtual event has doubled .

With a plethora of webinar pros (vs physical events), rich-feature sets, support for multiple content types, the possibilities are essentially endless.

Advantages of webinars

Since webinars are online events , they’re convenient for both presenter and attendee as you can host and attend webinars right from the comfort of your office (or home.) 

Whether it’s presenting to a small group or a group of 100+ attendees, webinars work in both these scenarios.

Webinars can be pre-recorded and played at any time for participants. This makes them easier to set up, repurpose, and budget-friendly compared to in-person events.

Offline events have their own merits, but with live webinars you don’t need to spend time agonizing over venue rentals, food, beverages or making sure your presentation equipment works. 

People have used webinars creatively for education, marketing, sales, branding, human resources, user onboarding, etc. So when it comes to what you can do with webinars: the sky’s the limit.

A lot of webinar tools come with interactive whiteboards, surveys and polls, live-chat features which make them far more personalized, engaging and interactive for your audience.

These are just some of the reasons why webinars have been exploding in popularity in recent times. 

Webinar formats

Webinars come with tons of customizable features as well as support various content formats such as:

• Live video: the most common type of webinar. Live webinars tend to garner the most engagement.
• Pre-recorded: most webinars are live, but you can always record a live webinar and future participants can register for them as they please. Most Ideal for evergreen topics.
• Text: Most webinars tools come equipped with text chat features. Ask and answer your audiences’ questions, in real time.
• Whiteboard: used to draw out and explain important concepts.
• Surveys and polls: want to keep your audience engaged? Use surveys and polls to get attendees to answer questions and organize it all in one place.

But the most common way to conduct webinars is by creating and presenting a slide deck presentation .

Here’s an example of a webinar presentation you can edit and customize right now:

Once you learn how to make a great webinar presentation, you can always kick things up a notch by experimenting with different webinar tools as well as whiteboards, polls, surveys, etc.

Venngage has a fair amount of experience when it comes to participating and hosting webinars for marketing, lead generation, and joint collaborations.

But that’s not their only use. Here are just some ways you can harness the power of webinars:

Webinars for marketing, lead generation and partnerships

When it comes to lead generation, there’s a lot you can do: 

• Creating in-depth industry white papers , 
• Publishing case studies to promote your product, and 
• Designing ebooks and offering them up as lead magnets.

But, the greatest bang for your marketing buck can come from hosting webinars due to the high-quality leads they help generate.

Companies like Drift , ConvertKit , G2 , etc have successfully leveraged webinars to scale their lead generation and in turn, increase revenue.  You just need to learn some essential webinar statistics if you’re planning to create one. If webinars worked for them, they can work for you too. 

For example, G2 hosts webinars regularly with the goal of generating leads for their software:

G2 covers a wide variety of topics in their webinars. Not only that, joint webinars are the perfect way to team up with other companies and subject matter experts in your industry. 

Conducting joint webinars allows you to:

• Partnering with other companies gives you access to their audience. They could even be potential customers who would otherwise be oblivious about you. 
• Collaborating with other companies adds credibility and authority to your content establishing you as a thought leader in your industry. 

At Venngage, we use webinars to educate our audience and lead generation becomes a natural by-product of this goal:

With this webinar our goal was simple: helping businesses navigate the pandemic by outlining how they can grow using content marketing (like we have).

With physical event cancellations and the world being forced to work from home, companies are slowly transitioning from hosting physical events to events hosted virtually (with webinars).

For example, Wishpond opted for a virtual event to make it easier for participants and attendees to partake (even from home):

Pro Tip: If you provide massive value to your audience in your webinars, chances are you won’t even need to promote your product. Help your audience with their struggles, and they’ll not only become a customer but also a raving fan.

Webinars for education

Webinars have exploded in popularity in the last few years as a powerful learning tool, not only for marketers but also for schools and universities.

For educators, webinars are the best way to reach and engage students. No classroom required. For students, they get to learn from the comfort of their own homes.

Due to the pandemic, colleges and universities have transitioned to distanced learning. So webinars as a learning tool have surged in popularity.

My alma mater, Seneca uses educational webinars for all occasions—from educating potential students to onboarding new students and also hosting virtual open houses:

If you’re a college or university trying to onboard incoming students for the new semester, webinars are an absolute no-brainer. Here’s an onboarding webinar template you can use:

I f you’re a professor looking to experiment with webinars as a learning device, you can use this webinar presentation template for your next online class:

Pro Tip: Want to make your webinar even more engaging? Invite external educators and subject matter experts to collaborate with you on your next webinar.

Webinars for product demos

Companies have started adopting webinars for product demos to strategically sell their products and build a deeper relationship with prospective customers.

But when is the ideal time to start using webinars for product demos? The answer: Now!

Today’s buyers are digitally savvy and comparing competing products to make the best buying decision. Sending over a business proposal and hoping for the best isn’t going to cut it anymore.

A product demo webinar is an opportunity for you to showcase real case studies of your current customers, how they’ve used your product successfully, and how your prospect can achieve the same results.

OroCommerce, the B2B eCommerce platform  does a great job with product demo webinars . Every time they release a major product update they hold product demos going over the benefits of every new feature.

When presenting a live webinar that targets your audience’s pain points , strategically tie in your product into your presentation and how it helps your attendees solve their burning problems. 

Here’s an example of a product demo webinar presentation you can use to demo your products or services:

Pro Tip: Product demo webinars also helps you gather critical customer feedback . If you’re a startup, start conducting regular webinars to gather crucial feedback to make your product better.

Webinars for employee training

Webinar tools can double as meeting software and training tools for training both new and existing employees.

This is especially useful if you’re communicating with a remote team . Or even a team that’s too big to sit in one room together.

You can start by including webinars in your onboarding materials or conduct a webinar-esque orientation where you outline your company’s expectations, vision, mission and address questions your new hires might have.

They can also be used to showcase your company’s culture and how it will matter to your new recruits. 

Related : How to Create a Successful Employee Training and Development Program

Webinars are the perfect tool for educating your employees on niche but important topics like productivity, workplace diversity, safety, employee engagement, etc.

Want your next company-wide webinar to cover the topic of workplace accessibility? Here’s a presentation you can use for your next webinar:

Webinars for user onboarding and retention

Webinars have been among the most popular marketing  trends among SaaS businesses .

If you’re a digital storefront or Software as a Service (SaaS) company like us, you know how important customer onboarding and retention is for the bottom line of your business.

You may already have onboarding flows in your product, but it’s never a bad idea to explain to your new customers how your product works by inviting them to a user onboarding webinar. Also, utilizing a user onboarding software can help create a seamless user journey.

With your user onboarding webinar, make sure you cover the most important aspects of your products, keep the learning curve as low as possible and invite users to ask questions while you’re presenting.

Saas company Drift takes the cake with their ingenious use of webinars (especially the third one) to onboard new customers:

Once you sign up for Drift, they send you an email with a webinar-style video tutorial on how to get started with Drift. Genius.

Pro Tip: It’s 5x more expensive to acquire new customers than to retain an existing one. Use tools like onboarding emails, push notifications, webinars, etc. to retain your new customers so they stick around, upgrade to your paid plans and spread the word about you.

How to create and host a successful webinar

There are plenty of free, paid as well as ad-supported webinar tools available in the market. And most of these webinar hosting tools come with similar features.

Picking a webinar tool that’s right for you comes down to your business goals, budget as well as what you value in a webinar tool.

Here are some webinar tools to help you get started:

• Zoom (freemium): The most well-known online meeting tool also doubles as a webinar tool. Starts with a free plan and offers paid business plans with robust features.
• WebinarJam (paid): Starts at 499$/year and includes features such as live chat and automated recordings.
• WebinarNinja (paid): Starts at 39$/month for upto 100 attendees. It also comes with a free 14-day trial so you can take them for a test drive.
• ON24 (free trial): Comes with powerful attendee, reporting and marketing features. Integrates with plenty of other tools, but every integration is priced.
• Zoho Meetings (paid): Starts at 15$ for 25 attendees. You can also host up to 250 attendees for just 63$/month.

Want to dig deeper? Our friends at G2 have reviewed every popular webinar tool to help you make the right buying decision for your specific needs.

Create your own webinar in five steps:

Once you’ve spent the time on picking the right webinar hosting tool, now onto better things: creating your first webinar!

Creating your first webinar can be overwhelming but I’ll outline the exact steps you need to follow to make your first webinar a roaring success. Here they are:

1. Identifying the goal of your webinar

Webinars have many uses and by extension, webinars also help you accomplish different goals.

Start by asking yourself, “What’s my goal with this webinar?” Is it:

• Generating more leads for your sales team?
• Educating your students studying from home?
• Selling an idea or concept to potential customers?

Once you’ve identified the goal of your webinar, think about what your key performance indicators ( KPIs ) will be to determine the success of your webinar. 

After determining your goals and KPIs, make sure everything you do: creating your webinar content, promoting it, etc ties back to this goal.

If the goal of your webinar is to teach potential clients motivation 101, your best bet would be a purely educational and non-salesy presentation:

Pro Tip: Above all else, put your audience first. What are their pain points? What kind of content do they care about? If you tailor your webinar to your audience’s needs and pain points, success is imminent.

2. Attend other webinars

The best way to plan, create, and host a webinar successfully is to scope out the competition.

Look at your industry and start researching companies that are successfully using webinars to educate or sell to their audience.

What can you do differently or do better? Can you better interact with your audience? Can you ask better questions? Can you improve the content of your webinar?

Be curious and take notes whenever you can.

Once you attend a few webinars, you’ll have a general understanding of which webinars are hits and which are misses. All that’s left is to emulate webinars that were a roaring success.

To start, check out our webinar on driving business growth with the help of content marketing:

3. Plan and outline your content

In this step, you’ll start putting together your webinar outline and lay down the groundwork i,e. Invite your attendees, plan your event logistics, and decide on a webinar promotion strategy.

Creating an outline for your webinar content is easy if you already have a goal in mind.

For example, if the goal is to educate new users on how to create an infographic using Venngage, here’s what an outline might look like:

• Introduction
• What is an infographic?
• Use cases for an infographic
• How to make an infographic?
• How companies use infographics

A webinar outline can help you stay focused on the topics your audience cares about (based on research) and prevent you from getting side-tracked. 

The best part? You will eventually end up with a webinar presentation like this:

Pro Tip: Like any presentation, you need to rehearse for your webinar. This is even more important if you’re presenting to a large crowd online many of which could be potential customers. First impressions are everything, as they say.

4. Design your webinar presentation slides

Once you’ve identified the contents of your webinar, time to start designing the actual webinar presentation!

To start off, hop onto Venngage and pick a presentation template you like. We’ve got 100s of templates for all occasions and types ranging from professional to quirky:

Starting from a blank presentation is hard. Trust me, I’ve tried. 

So pick a presentation template you like, you can customize it to your heart’s content anyway.

Start playing around with the template, editing various elements like fonts, headers as well as the presentation layout .

If you’re on our business plan, you can use MyBrand Kit to automagically import your brand guidelines (logos, colors, and fonts) into your designs:

Need a helping hand? Bring on your team to edit your presentations and bring your webinar to life! Turn on real-time team collaboration (a business plan feature):

Once you’ve put all the final touches, export or download your presentation:

The real kicker? Venngage’s presentation maker can export your presentation in a .pptx format for importing within Powerpoint. Pretty cool right?

If you’re a fan of keeping it simple, you can present your webinar from right within Venngage using our presenter view feature.

And that’s it — once you’ve made an engaging presentation , prepared your speaking notes, and tested your webinar you’re officially ready to present your webinar to a live audience! 

Pro Tip: Don’t forget to collect feedback from your audience after the webinar! A tool like Paperform can help you survey attendees and improve your future webinars.

5. Marketing (or Promoting) your webinar

You’ve front-loaded the most important work: planning your webinar, setting up webinar tools, goal setting, competitor research, etc.

But unless you promote your virtual event , nobody will know how valuable it will be for them. So the final piece of the puzzle is webinar marketing.

Webinar marketing isn’t complicated, all you have to do is create event posters , social media visuals as well as event timelines informing attendees about the agenda of the event.

Here’s an example of a virtual event poster template you can edit (paid plan only) right now:

If you’re a business that engages in email marketing and has an existing email list, leverage it.

 If not, use email marketing software like Brevo or Hubspot to build your email list and automate your email marketing campaigns.

We promote all our webinars to our customers through our email newsletter and I recommend you do the same. 

Here’s a webinar invitation newsletter template you can send out to your email list:

Promoting your webinars on different social media networks is the lowest hanging fruit you should go after.

Head over to our templates page and you’ll find a huge collection of eye-catching designs for every social network (all sized to the right dimensions).

Need to promote your next non-profit webinar on Instagram? But don’t want to use boring stock images? We’ve got you covered:

Creating, customizing, and sharing promo materials for your next webinar is easy and intuitive with Venngage.

With access to 1000+ professional templates, an ever-growing collection of icons and illustrations (all of which are free), features like Brand Kit and real-time team collaboration :

Looking for a one-stop shop to design event posters , banners , social media graphics , email newsletters , and much more? Sign up for Venngage today!

Now you know the basics of everything from what’s a webinar, how to make a webinar, and the webinar conferencing software you will need to host a webinar. 

If you’re ready to start creating webinars that educate and captivate your audience regardless of industry or profession, make sure you keep the following webinar hosting best practices in mind:

• Pick the right webinar tool. This comes down to your budget, goals as well as features you want in your webinar hosting software.
• Identify your goal. What are you trying to achieve with your webinar? What content does your audience care about? What are their pain points? Clarity on your goals is crucial above anything else.
• Snoop on your competitors. How are your companies leveraging webinars? Take notes and think about what you can do differently or better with your webinars.
• Promote your webinar. You’ve worked days, weeks (or even months) to create an awesome webinar. Let the world know about it! 

This article is also available in Portuguese: O que é um webinar e como ele funciona? [guia para iniciantes]

Did you enjoy this in-depth guide on webinars? What was your favorite tip? What are you struggling with? Drop them in the comments below, and let’s talk about it! 

Check out some of our other popular design and how-to guides:

How to Make an Infographic in 5 Steps (Guide)

How to Write a Business Pro posal [Examples & Templates]

20+ Amazing eBook Templates + Design Tips [Beginner Guide]

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Creating Web-Based Presentations

Updated on: May 1, 2007 / 7:36 PM EDT / MoneyWatch

Remote presentations—those delivered to customers online—are very different from presentations made in person. Their purpose is the same—to convey information in a way that has an impact—but they require important adaptations.

Web-based presentations serve some important purposes. First, they can add a rich dynamic to your company's web site; new customers can access them anytime from anyplace. They are also a great way to showcase an idea or a service to distant customers anywhere on the globe, when presenting in "real-time" or delivering in person is impossible.

Whatever the reason, your presentation will need to compensate for the dislocation of the audience from you, the presenter.

The presentation must

• reinforce the image, brand, and overall message of your company;
• engage the audience's attention;
• anticipate and answer as many potential questions as possible; and,
• be very user friendly.

Consider how your presentation looks and feels, how you can involve your audience, and what technology or software you will use to create it.

Yes and no. It is most important to decide who your audience is, what you want to say; and, how to prepare and present your slides.

But, there is one huge difference: because you won't be there to explain the slides, visuals, or screens, each slide will have to be self-explanatory. The presentation must stand-alone and not just be the written speech you would have given had it been delivered in person.

It is very tempting to write pages and pages of text to explain everything. Don't! Web page designers work on the premise that reading speeds are more than 25 per cent slower from computer screens than from paper. But that doesn't mean you should write 25 per cent less—you should write 50 per cent less. They also work from the old adage that a picture is a worth one thousand words.

A good structure is essential in this context. People tend to scan the page, picking out individual words and sentences after they are attracted by the graphics and are motivated to learn more. Thus, your copy needs to be very clear and easily readable in order to get the message across quickly but only when it is accompanied with a lead graphic that enhances your point.

Heed the following:

• when using text, keep sentences short and punchy;
• limit each line to 12–13 words;
• highlight keywords to catch, and keep, the reader's attention;
• use one idea per paragraph, and keep paragraphs short—no more than three or four lines each;
• break up the text wherever appropriate with sub-heads, bullet points, or numbered items;
• make sure to use correct spelling and grammar.

Many people are more casual in virtual communications than in other business materials, but avoid idioms, slang, abbreviations, and, especially, internal acronyms. Remember; keep language simple but accessible to a global audience. It is best to write in International English.

To determine the right amount of copy, first write out your presentation text as if you were going to deliver it to an audience in person. Then cut it in half. Then cut it in half again. That should leave you with the essence of what you need to say.

As with other presentations, it is important that the look and feel of an online presentation is consistent with the rest of your company's image. Your audience should receive the same key message from the web presentation as it would from any other contact with your business as from your catalogue and stationery. Since you won't be there in person to reinforce the impression the presentation makes on your audience, it is critical you get it right before placing it on the web site.

When designing the look of the presentation keep, in mind these additional points:

• avoid crowded text and use lots of white space;
• use a light background with dark text;
• choose your colors wisely. Although these should complement your corporate colors and logo, bright reds and yellows, for example, can be hard to read on a computer screen; paler shades or dark colors are easier on the eyes;
• use a simple, non-serif font (like Arial) and a standard font size between 10–12 point;
• illustrate key points with clear tables or graphics;
• keep each page to one 15"- 17" screen length to reduce the need for scrolling.

Inconsistency or poor design will hurt your image and you will lose business. Attention to detail will demonstrate your professionalism and may even compensate for small shortcomings in content.

Use the full power of the web to increase the chances of catching an audience's attention. However, don't overdo it—less is often more! Here are some features that you could use:

• using dynamic audio-visual effects to present your information more interestingly.
• reveals. This feature allows only one piece of information at a time to be presented to the audience by using a "grey-out" capability that hides old content and reveals new content in stages.
• build-ups. Similar to the reveal, this technique adds information in steps.
• overlays. This often involves the complete image being presented but each overlay highlights or expands the initial image. It can be used to create easy navigation through complicated diagrams. Internal document links also helps to connect pieces of a diagram.
• variety. While all your slides should have a uniform look and feel, it is boring when every screen is identical. Build in some variety. You could, for example, color-code different sections.

As you create your presentation, keep the needs of your audience in mind. They're also busy people with little time to spend figuring out what you mean. Therefore, make it as easy as possible for people to access the information they need.

Explain your main point clearly on the first page. You will loose them if they have to search around to figure out what you are trying to tell them. Consider beginning with a summary of the points you are presenting. Provide links that click directly through to the different sections so readers can go straight to areas that interest them. As with any good web site, your presentation should be easy to navigate. It is even better to give readers several ways to access the information they need—for example, place navigation buttons down the side as well as links at the bottom of each page, and cross-reference hyperlinks within the text. If there's a lot of material include a simple search function. If you need to provide a lot of detailed information—such as technical specifications, for example—think about including it as an attachment rather than in the main body of the page. That way people who need additional information can get it while you keep the main pages uncluttered. Also, make it easy for readers to contact you should they have questions or require additional information. Make sure your contact details are clear and are easy to find.

It's a good idea to give your presentation a human touch by including a short bio and photograph of yourself. It personalizes the presentation and makes a connection with the reader. Besides, it feels more honest and real that way.

See what's out there. Keep connected to the latest techniques and creative possibilities by checking in with Internet based shared networks such as slideshare.net.

If you were the reader and didn't know much about the subject but wanted to learn, what questions would you have after reading your presentation? Provide the answers in a separate FAQ (frequently asked questions) section. It will demonstrate that you're ready to help. This section may save you time and money later by addressing some of the more basic and obvious questions right away. You may also want to encourage readers to contact you.

Including an e-mail link or embedded comment form for additional questions or reader feedback is useful, but if you do this, you must make sure you respond promptly or you'll undo all your good will and leave the user with a very poor first impression of you and your organization. It undermines the very trust you are trying to build.

Presenting your information via the web makes it much harder to engage your audience. However, various techniques can be used to keep readers involved.

• interactivity. This is a natural online asset. Make your presentation as active as possible but not distracting with competing pop-ups or simultaneous video graphics. Consider placing accessible tools on the site, however, such as calculators, quizzes that are scored instantly, images to be selected or even a selection of short video games that demonstrate points you raise. If they're useful, viewers will return or share the link with friends.
• changing content. Add visibly new content on a regular basis. For example, embed a database of tips, quotes or other features that change daily. Think of ways to get visitors to return by adding new information frequently. This is what is known as creating "sticky content." This does take time, however, but can become a major channel for conveying certain kinds of information to visitors.
• freebies. If you can supply useful information that can be downloaded in a portable document format (PDF), your presentation can be tagged as a useful site in addition to being informative. By asking for a registration, you can also build a database to keep track of the market you have reached for future contact. That is optional and dependent on the nature of your presentation and what you offer. Templates, printable posters, and articles are popular. You could also provide incentives like an entry to a free prize drawing, if the reader fills out a feedback form.

It is critical to update your material regularly—otherwise readers will be put off if they return and notice nothing has been changed, or the original date is still on the page. Be vague about revision dates, if possible.

Forget all the bells and whistles. First, your presentation must deliver its objective. Second, interactivity doesn't have to dazzle, it just has to be engaging. Resist the temptation to add tools and gizmos simply because you can.

Don't make the presentation attractive and engaging and then bury it in an obscure spot on your site. Think about whom it is for and deliver it in a way that is easy and convenient to the targeted reader. Besides placing it on the Internet, you can post it on your home page, email it, or make a CD and send it out. The Internet location is cheapest, can be updated regularly, can track visits and can often capture reader email addresses. In that way, it is the strongest option. Emails and other advertising channels could direct people to the site and may actually be more effective in that way because it is easier for a person to reach your presentation from their desktop than to handle physical media that may not be compatible with their available technology.

As always, determine the strategy based on knowing your audience, but remember to keep things as simple as possible and use the most accessible (common) software.

Atkinson, Cliff, Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft PowerPoint to Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate, and Inspire . Microsoft Press, 2005.

Wempen, Faithe, Advanced PowerPoint Presentation Techniques . Wiley, 2004.

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Cheat Sheet For Presenting Your Website Designs

Written by: Tyler Morian - Nov 22nd, 2021 - 6 minute read

The process of creating a new website for your clients involves several different benchmarks. First, you conduct your research of the client and their target audience. Next, you present wireframes. Once wireframes are approved, you come to the stage of designing your client’s new website.

It’s easy for a presentation to become daunting if you don’t feel prepared to explain design choices or features. Clients may fixate on a trivial detail, and thus, slow down the web project (meaning more time and less profit for you).

This post is a how-to guide on ways to make a successful website presentation by adding context and annotations to help your client better understand the design elements and design decisions. Whether you are a designer about to share your designs or an account manager getting ready to present, this post will guide your discussion and help you present with confidence.

How to Make A Website Presentation

One of the most important first steps in the presentation process is determining how you plan to present your work to your client. Knowing beforehand how your client will be viewing the presentation is necessary to guide how you will create annotations.

There are a few different ways to go about presenting. You may choose in-person if your client is local or over the phone/video conference. Either way you decide to present, follow these few steps to make your meeting run as smoothly as possible.

1. Create an Annotated Presentation

In previous posts, we discussed the importance of annotating wireframes for your clients. Wireframes are tricky to present, because they are the bare bones of a site structure. Clients don’t always visualize what you have in mind for them and it leaves room for too much feedback on their end.

Website design presentations are a whole different challenge. At this point, your design team (or you, if you’re the designer) has likely spent weeks working on these designs. They feel personal to you. Presenting the new designs can often feel nerve-wracking because you don’t know how your client will perceive the designs.

The best way to prepare yourself (and your client) for your design presentation is to annotate. What do we mean? 

Back when design feedback software didn’t exist, we would simply send our design files via email and hop on a call ASAP. We’d avoid allowing the client to sit with the designs too long before we tried to give our best explanation for how and why the designs look the way they do.

Nowadays, we can send design files via design feedback software, such as SimpleStage , to create a guided presentation for web projects. Send multiple designs with annotations on every page to help your clients understand the user flow, see what content you are using as placeholder, what features are designed to increase sales, etc.

Sending files with no context whatsoever leaves your designs up to their interpretation. Annotating designs allows for a more seamless client experience, especially when you use a design feedback software to collect their thoughts.

Pro Tip: If the website you’re designing has more than 15 unique pages, it may be worth setting multiple design meetings to break up the presentations. 

2. Show Examples of Website Features

Your website designs will likely include features that are difficult for your client to conceptualize from a flat design file. Include examples from other websites to demonstrate these types of features to paint a clear picture for your client, helping them imagine how the features might fit in and benefit their website.

Curate a custom list of websites that include the key features or animations that you are proposing, and whether conducting the presentation virtually or in-person, be prepared to visit these websites as you go.

3. Document User Flow

Walk the client through the user flow focusing on the customer perspective. Annotating features like scrolling down to see the CTA or using headers to break up content demonstrates thoughtful documentation of user flow.

Highlighting how your designs improve the user experience for your client’s customers can be a big win for your presentation. This is particularly true if your proposed user flow solves a problem in the existing site or otherwise greatly enhances the overall experience. Be sure to call out these features and explain them clearly.

4. Ask Clients for Feedback with Guided Questions

In an ideal world, clients offer timely and useful feedback. Unfortunately, real world client feedback can be vague, insignificant, and needless. Knowing the right questions to ask during your new website presentation will encourage your client to give clear context to their feedback.

It can be meaningful to know how your client feels about the website and why. For instance, asking them to describe how they feel about specific design elements and what elements they feel are missing will shorten the amount of sharing back and forth. Using the word “feel” also offers an empathetic point of view, making your questions less likely to come off as defensive. This disarming tactic helps your clients to receive your questions more positively.

Clients typically only spend a set amount of time giving feedback, so breaking up your requests is a great way to receive more timely and targeted feedback, rather than asking open-ended questions, such as what they think about the site in general.

Asking “Why?” goes a long way . When a client fails to give precise feedback on your designs, asking them why gives them the chance to expand on their comments.

Reminding your client to consider their customer is also important to include in your questions. The target audience is an essential part of their goal for the site, so encourage clients to view the site from the perspective of their ideal customer to help them offer constructive feedback.

5. Use A Design Feedback Software

The days before design feedback software meant emailing design files to waiting for your client to meet you for an in-person presentation. Both have their own sets of challenges and if you aren’t prepared for a presentation, you may feel overwhelmed walking your client through several pages of designs.

Design feedback software allows digital agencies and freelancers to share their design files online, while providing context and annotations for their clients. So regardless if your meeting is in-person or virtual, your clients have all the information they need to give feedback on their designs.

Design Feedback Software exists to:

• Showcase your own annotations to explain how a feature will look once live, what is placeholder, and how the user experience is taken into consideration
• Collect client feedback directly on the designs
• Give multiple stakeholders the opportunity to give feedback without their notes being redundant

6. Anticipate Answering “Why?”

Negative feedback from a client is inevitable. Occasionally, your client may struggle to comprehend why you designed something the way you did. You want them to understand and be confident in your choices, so back up your explanation with logic and reason to support and validate your work.

• Have onboarding notes readily available to refer to
• Show your research on their current brand, competitors, and target customers
• Include designers in the presentation to give more context

Looking for a way to improve the way your agency collects design and website feedback?

SimpleStage is the only platform that unifies the client experience by providing tools to help agencies collect content, feedback and track bugs.

Purposeful Context For a Successful New Website Presentation

By incorporating these strategies and tools into your design process, your team is more likely to maintain clear context, making your website presentation a success. Whether you are face-to-face or sharing a screen, you and your client can better remain on the same page from start to finish.

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View, manage, and install add-ins for Excel, PowerPoint, and Word

When you install and use an add-in, it adds custom commands and extends the features of your Microsoft 365 programs to help increase your productivity.

Note:  This article only applies to add-ins in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. For guidance on how to view, install, and manage add-ins in Outlook, see  Use add-ins in Outlook .

View installed add-ins

You can directly install add-ins from this page or select  More Add-ins  to explore.

In the Office Add-ins dialog, select the  My Add-ins  tab.

Select an add-in you want to view the details for and right-click to select  Add-in details  option.

Install an add-in

Tip:  If you selected  Home  >  Add-ins , directly install popular add-ins from the menu that appears, or select  More Add-ins to view more options. 

Select  Add  from the add-in you want to install.

Manage installed add-ins

To manage and view information about your installed add-ins, perform the following:

Select  File > Get Add-ins .   Alternatively, select  Home  >  Add-ins > More add-ins .

In the Office Add-ins dialog, select the  My Add-ins tab.

Select  Manage My Add-ins . This opens the Office Store page in your preferred browser with a list of your installed add-ins.

Remove an add-in

To remove an add-in you installed, follow these steps.

Select  File  > Get Add-ins . Alternatively, select  Home > Add-ins .

In the Office Add-ins dialog, select  My Add-ins  tab.

Select an add-in you want to remove and right click to select  Remove  option.

Note:  Add-ins that appear in the  Admin Managed  section of the Office Add-ins dialog can only be removed by your organization's administrator.

Cancel an add-in subscription

To discontinue your subscription to an add-in, do the following:

Open the Microsoft 365 application and select the Home  tab.

Select  Add-ins from the ribbon,   then select  More Add-ins .

Select the My Add-ins tab   to view your existing add-ins.

Select  Manage My Add-ins .

Under the Payment and Billing section, choose Cancel Subscription .

Select  OK ,   then Continue .

Once you've cancelled your subscription, you should see a message that says "You have cancelled your app subscription" in the comments field of your add-in list.

Manage an add-in's access to your devices

Note:  The information in this section only applies to Excel on the web, Outlook on the web, PowerPoint on the web, and Word on the web running in Chromium-based browsers, such as Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome.

When an installed add-in requires access to your devices, such as your camera or microphone, you will be shown a dialog with the option to allow, allow once, or deny permission.

If you select  Allow , the add-in will have access to the requested devices. The permission you grant persists until you uninstall the add-in or until you clear the cache of the browser where the add-in is running.

If you select  Allow Once , the add-in will have access to the requested devices until it's relaunched in the browser.

If you select  Deny , the add-in won't be able to access the requested devices. This persists until you uninstall the add-in or until you clear the cache of the browser where the add-in is running.

If you want to change an add-in's access to your devices after selecting  Allow  or  Deny , you must first uninstall the add-in or clear your browser cache.

Add or load a PowerPoint add-in

Add or remove add-ins in Excel

Get a Microsoft 365 Add-in for Excel

Get a Microsoft 365 Add-in for Outlook

Help for Excel for Windows add-ins

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