Yes, it’s that time of the week again, tech tips and tricks time. This time last week I took your requests on what tech related thing you wanted to know how to do. I got messages from an overwhelming number of you who wanted to know the best way to turn a PDF or Word document into an interactive flip page publication, and for free.
So, what is the best way of converting a PDF document into an intercactive flip page publication? I did what I do every week and set aside a whole day to testing lots of different methods and both paid and free flip page creator software packages so that I can present back to you today the best way I could find of converting a PDF/Word document into a flip page publication without spending a dime.
So, in this post I’ll be taking you through my journey on how I found the best free flip page creator for converting stale, boring PDF and Word documents into slick, super attractive interactive flip page publications and outlining why I think the software I finally decided on is so damn great.
Testing Different Paid and Free Flip Page Creator Packages
I started by conducting a large number of super broad Google searches and made a short list of 5 free flip page creator software packages to download and test.
The first piece of software downloaded fine but after I restarted my laptop to try it out I quickly found the whole thing was in mandarin. This wasn’t mentioned at all on their site which was in English and after a whole half hour I couldn’t find the language settings. A call to their support number was also fruitless as I found myself listening to the hold music for 10 minutes. So I had two choices, either learn mandarin or move onto the next free flip page creator in the list. Spoiler alert; I went with the second option.
The second piece of software worked brilliantly and was surprisingly fast and easy to use, but after I clicked the export button I was met with a payment screen demanding I make a payment of $50.00 in order to unlock the exporting feature even though the softwares website clearly said exporting was included in the free version. You must be having a laugh. Onto the next one.
The third piece of software was a disaster almost from the start. It ran fine for all of 2 minutes and then crashed on me. I restarted both the software and my laptop several times but to no avail. It just crashed constantly.
Now it was the turn of the fourth and final software package. I promised myself that if this final free flip page creator was no good I would have to write a public blog post apology letting you all know that for the first time in 2 years of me writing this blog that I have failed to deliver on my tech tips and tricks week.
Converting My Document Into A Flip Page Publication In Less Than 5 Minutes With Yumpu
Thankfully the final free flip page creator I tried was AMAZING. It was called Yumpu. Don’t be put off by the slightly strange name. This software delivered, in a big way.
I signed up in 30 seconds and it was unbelievably simple to use and incredibly fast and glitch free. I went from never seeing this software before to exporting my PDF document as an interactive, engaging, flip page publication in precisely 4 minutes and 11 seconds (yes I timed it).
I then went back into the software to have a poke around and see what else this seemingly simple and completely free tool had to offer and I was unbelievably impressed.
Below I have outlined a couple of the things that really stood out to me, but below is by all means not all this thing has to offer. If I had to detail it all I would genuinely be writing for two days, no joke.
What Makes This The Best Free Flip Page Creator?
Responsive across all screen sizes – Upon going back into the free flip page creator I quickly realised that my exported publication was actually fully responsive across all screen sizes as I opened it on my smartphone and it displayed beautifully. The images were resized whilst maintaining their proportion, text was sharp and not cut off in any major way. This was remarkable!
I then tested the same publication on my Android tablet as well as my laptop. The publication displayed beautifully on these devices too. Why this so important? Well, because you don’t know which device your readers could be using to view your publication. Just because you made it using a laptop doesn’t mean they’re going to be reading it on one.
WordPress plugin – For those of you who have been living under a rock, WordPress is the backend system that powers most of the blogs you read online. In fact it has been recently reported that as many as 25% of all sites online are running on WordPress. None other free flip page creator I tried had any WordPress support or integration facilities which goes to show how behind the times the competitors are.
This is why this feature is so amazing and useful. It lets any WordPress site owner embed their flip page publication directly into a post or page using a shortcode. This means their readers can flip through the digital publication without having to be taken to a different site or having to have an external pop up open. This seamless integration between Yumpu publications and WordPress, the world’s leading CMS, really impressed me.
Tap into a huge community – Brace yourselves for this. Upon looking through the platforms documentation in the help section of the software (yes, geeky, I know) I came across an unbelievable feature. When you export any publication from the online software you have the option of sharing it with their community of millions of avid, engaged community of readers at no extra cost. So, imagine that instead of exporting a flip page publication and placing it on your blog or site and then hoping people will read it that you could put it straight in front of countless of already engaged readers searching for content. Game changing stuff. This is something I haven’t seen from ANY other free flip page creator.
So, there you have it guys. Another successful “tech tips and tricks” blog post. So, for all those that messaged me wanting to know what the most effective way of converting a PDF or Word document into an attractive flip page publication is. My definitive answer, after trying many different free flip page creators is, Yumpu. So, give it a try guys, and let me know how you get on