What do you like best about Vev?
The simplicity of not needing to know how to write code. I love that there is the possibility of horizontal scrolling. That's the whole reason for me using Vev. The templates are a great way to understand how to best use Vev. Also, the twitch sessions are cool. Really helpful to see how to implement elements. Also being able to communicate via Discord is extremely helpful. I appreciate that I will receive a response in a timely manner and specifically addressed to me, but in a way that others may also benefit. I think it's great that it's possible to create a website/story/content without having to purchase Vev. Even though there is a logo stamped on the page. It allows me to be able to test things out and try out the platform and compare what may be the best tool for my purposes. I appreciate the descriptions of the template elements, but some don't have descriptions. I like this and want it to exist across the board. The preview function is great. The QR code giving you access to the published page is brilliant. The keyboard shortcuts are super useful. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
What do you dislike about Vev?
Some of the functionality seems a bit clunky. After creating a horizontal scrolling page, the published version had shifted the entire scrolling section down on the screen, leaving a white strip across the page at the top. Also there seems to be limited template assets, where I would need to alter the code to achieve certain wanted functions. Something I'm not comfortable, or skilled, at doing - which defeats the purpose of the "no-code" approach. I want to be able to use anchors and a menu to move the viewer horizontally and jump to other sections quickly. I also want to be able to have sounds and video (separately) automatically play when the viewer sees a section. There is a "play on hover" template function, but it's limited. I could use that for my purpose as a workaround, but I would also want to be able to do that with an audio track - so that the viewer could read a paragraph of text while hearing ambient sounds of the "environment" they're reading about. I feel like what I'm looking to accomplish is so simple, but different that this shouldn't be a difficult task. A friend of mine has suggested that I use Webflow, which I imagine is an obvious competitor to Vev, but I was attracted to Vev because I think it is extremely powerful, simple, and user friendly. I was able to start a project immediately without much tutorial. I think there could be some improvement with switching projects. When I select "Copy" to create a duplicate of a project I cannot simply paste it. I feel like there should be a "Duplicate" button that will automatically duplicate the project, no copy/paste. I wish the Image Library had more organizational tools. In the home screen, my projects are found in the "Drafts" section. This might be a personal thing, but I wish it said "Projects" instead of "Drafts". It's the only place where I could find my projects and once I'm in that section the search bar even says "Projects" and the 'with tags' box says "Show all Projects". I just think the wording would be more consistent for me. And when I enter the home screen it's intuitive to me to find my projects in the Projects section. I really think that Vev could be the platform for what I want to create, but it's not quite there just yet. It's so close it's frustrating. In a world where artists are constantly coming up with new ways to deliver information in an impactful way, we are always hitting a wall at some point. I feel like Vev is nearly bursting through the wall I'm at, but when I inquired about how to accomplish my goal in a help thread on Discord, I was told that I could probably make an alteration to the coding. That's not the kind of help I was seeking, and I didn't think that's the response I was going to receive. I thought the response I might receive would have been a description of how to write the code. That sort of thing might be easy for someone so well versed with coding, but not to a user like me who is just trying to create as quickly and efficiently as possible. I am an educated profession with it comes to screenwriting, motion picture cameras, lighting for film, directing actors and crew, editing software (which can easily get complicated), Photoshop, Post-Production Coloring, sound design, music, distribution and marketing. All while researching and developing story ideas continually, and pitching these stories to raise funds to go into production. Which brings me to learning tools like web design and coding. I only have so much time and energy to have to search google for tutorials on coding when I'm just trying to use a product sold to me as no-code. Yeah, I could hire someone who's going to charge me way too much to accomplish something so simple. But I'm not going to do that. I want to use a tool how it's marketed to me as. The switch to mobile function is good, but I wish there was a way to work better for horizontal scrolling. When I view the page on my iPhone the entire page shifts around the screen as I swipe. I want the page to stay put and be able to swipe left or right to move through the content/sections. Right now the horizontal scroll only works as I swipe up and down as if scrolling along a vertical webpage. I understand that this is how the horizontal scroll function works, especially on a desktop, but it's not intuitive on a mobile device. Also, for whatever reason, I cannot scroll all the way to the end on my phone. It just stops somewhere near the end. Making it completely unusable on the phone. This is not a negative rant by the way. I still think Vev has so much potential and would easily be my go to platform to create more content like what I'm trying to make. I could see the potential of making a dynamic side scrolling story as the final product itself or as supplementary material to the movie. There could even be a choose your own adventure style story made with it. The possibilities are limitless. I'm both excited for and frustrated by the ability to almost create the thing I want to create. Please help me get there. Here are some examples of something similar but different to what I want to make: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/07/11/world/middleeast/raqqa-isis-home.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/05/arts/music/25-women-making-best-rock-music-today.html# My guess is that they used a Wordpress page or something to create their stories. I tried reaching out to find out what they used exactly, but I did not receive a response back. The difference in what I want is being able to use the scroll wheel on a mouse or a trackpad to scroll horizontally, and have the "page" anchor or stick like a magnet to the section with the content. And I want there to be a menu so they can skip to another section or skip to the beginning once they get to the end. I should also mention that I think $35 a month, or $420 a year, is astronomical for someone like me. I would never purchase a subscription for that price at my individual level. And it prevents me from recommending it to a friend in a similar position as me. I think as a society we've come to the point where the subscription service business model is overflowing. At this point people are trimming the fat to save as much money as possible. I understand a service like this necessitates a subscription, but I think there might be other ways to keep Vev profitable, while still being competitive, and powerful. For example education discounts. Red Giant is a VFX company that offers education discounts for a limited time. I think it maxes out after four years. There could be more nuanced levels of individual accounts for the limited user like me. Maybe there could be pay per use functionality within the platform. I don't know. I'm just trying to come up with creative ways to make it possible for me to be a paying customer. I just think that you could be missing out on a lot of paying clients that could utilize this platform in ways unforeseen. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
