Guides

Screenshot or HTML: Picking the right demo format for you

Ranga Kaliyur
5
min read
August 30, 2024

If you’ve played around with Storylane, you might have noticed that we support a couple of unique demo formats: Screenshot demos and HTML demos. But how exactly are they different? And when should you use what? 

This edition of The Plot addresses everything you need to know about these demo formats so you can make an informed decision based on your use-case and objective. 

Screenshot Demos

As its name suggests, screenshot demos are image-based demos that capture and compile screenshots from your browser. Screenshot demos are particularly useful in building quick demos that do not require in-image edits. Here’s an example of a screenshot demo:

Steps to capture screenshot demos

  1. Install the Storylane Chrome extension
  2. Open the tab you wish to capture
  3. Launch the extension, select “Create new demo”
  4. Select “Screenshot demo”
  5. Capture a screenshot with every “click”
  6. Select “Stop recording” once complete

Storylane also supports an alternative approach that involves manually uploading screenshots from computers or mobile devices. Once complete, you’ll receive a preview of the capture flow before moving on to edit the demo with guides, hotspots, and more.

The benefits with screenshot demos

Screenshot demos are essentially a series of curated images to showcase what the product looks like.  On one hand, this means it’s harder to edit in-image content such as text, numbers, and graphics. That being said, their straightforward nature translates to valuable benefits in terms of speed and scalability.

  • Speed: Screenshot demos are easy and quick to build. An entire product walkthrough may be captured, edited, and published in under 10 minutes. This demo format is also marginally quicker to load as compared to HTML demos, making it ideal for page-speed conscious websites.
  • Scalability: Given their ease of use, screenshot demos are also relatively more scalable than their HTML counterparts. In fact, the 5-person marketing team at Storylane produced over 1,500 screenshot demos in little over a quarter for our Demo-led SEO tutorial pages. Read more here.

Are screenshot demos for you?

Overall, screenshot demos are highly recommended to new users experimenting with demo automation. Screenshot demos are also the perfect choice for marketing and customer success use-cases, where snappy, attention-sensitive communication takes priority over immersive product experiences. Here are a few use-cases with screenshot demos:

  • Website demos: built to provide top of funnel visitors with a high-level product overview
  • Product tutorials: typically built on an ad hoc basis to guide users on specific workflows
  • Documentation: built for simple troubleshooting or onboarding instructions (as shown above!)

Another nifty advantage with Screenshot demos is multi-tab capture. This lets you capture screens across multiple tabs in your browser. Multi-tab capture comes in handy when your demo entails hopping between multiple websites and platforms.

HTML Demos

HTML demos are exact replicas of your product’s frontend. They’re hands-on experiences that support in-demo scrolling, full fledged editing, personalization, and sandbox environments. Here’s an example:

And here’s a walkthrough on how to capture HTML demos:

Storylane supports 3 capturing methods for HTML demos:

  • Single capture: Manually navigate to and capture individual pages 
  • Continuous capture: Auto-capture pages as you click through the product 
  • Timed capture: Auto-capture 1 page at a time after a 3s countdown

You may also rename screens as you capture them for better sorting or auto link screens as you create a demo to ensure the right buttons lead to the right pages. Learn more about HTML capture here.

The Benefits with HTML Demos

HTML demos provide users with an immersive feel of the product without actually sharing product access. It’s as close to the real deal as it gets. The ability to customize names and logos with tokens, blur sensitive information, and edit in-product text and data make for a rich experience. Benefits include:

  • Immersion: HTML demos are pixel-perfect copies of the captured UI. Accordingly, they deliver true-to-life product experience without the added friction of signing up, onboarding, etc. 
  • Customization: HTML demos offer far deeper customization than screenshot demos. You may edit content, anonymize elements, embed media, deploy text triggers, and more. This results in relevant, personalized experiences that showcase your product in the best possible light. 

Another underrated benefit with HTML demos is its mobile-friendly nature. Since HTML demos capture the front-end of your entire product, your interactive demos will automatically optimize for mobile, so long as your product is too!

Are HTML demos for you?

Overall, HTML demos are strongly recommended for pre-sales and sales use-cases. This is because, by the time your prospects talk to sales, they’re a long way along the customer journey. At this stage, it’s important to deliver a true product experience as opposed to surface level overviews:

  • Live demos: A safe (but immersive) sandbox demo environment for sales reps and AEs to confidently use during live demos. Storylane supports talk tracks and presenter notes to further support salesfolk during customer conversations.

Leave behinds: Rather than boring old sales decks and videos, HTML demos are great leave behinds that help prospects review your product in their own time or confidently champion internal buy-in. Here’s a video on the world of difference that Storylane-powered sales makes:

And there you have it! In summary, both screenshot and HTML demos serve important demo automation use-cases. In fact, we see customers using both formats across functions all the time! That being said, each format has unique benefits that shine in particular circumstances. Overall, we suggest screenshot demos for marketing and customer success and HTML demos for sales and pre-sales.

"Previously, there was scope for error and we’ve gone from a process that could be time consuming and painful to a process that’s super quick."
—CHRIS LANCASTER, SUPPLY CHAIN PROJECT
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What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

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"Previously, there was scope for error and we’ve gone from a process that could be time consuming and painful to a process that’s super quick."
—CHRIS LANCASTER, SUPPLY CHAIN PROJECT

"Previously, there was scope for error and we’ve gone from a process that could be time consuming and painful to a process that’s super quick."

—CHRIS LANCASTER, SUPPLY CHAIN PROJECT

Stay ahead of the sandbox curve with a superior demo environment
Try Storylane
Stay ahead of the sandbox curve with a superior demo environment
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Learn more about how Thrillark Procured over a 60% Increase in
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Capture more leads and close more deals with interactive demos.
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