Why use FlippingBook Online if you host with us?

We offer two products for creating flipbooks: FlippingBook Publisher (software for Windows) and FlippingBook Online (a web-based service). Publisher is the older product and was designed for both self-hosting and cloud-hosting. Online is a newer product, specifically designed for cloud-based hosting. If you host flipbooks with us, FlippingBook Online is almost always the better option. In this article, we will explain the benefits.

Good to know! If you are currently using Publisher Cloud, we can easily and safely move these to Flippingbook Online. Read more about how we can help you and minimize the work involved. Or book a meeting, and your Success Manager will gladly discuss this personally with you.

Benefit 1: more - much more - possibilities

Since FlippingBook Online is designed specifically for publications hosted on our cloud, we can add cloud-only functionality that we can’t offer in Publisher. For example:

Built-in Stats - See how many people viewed your flipbooks and how often - either per flipbook or download a full report for all your publications! Advanced plans even include page-level stats and geo-stats.
Fully customized links. Your flipbooks can have completely customized URLs, making them appear as if they are hosted on your own domain instead of using cld.bz links. For example, if you’re working at Acme, then your 2026 catalog link can look like this: publications.acme.com/catalog2026. This looks much more professional and inspires trust in your readers.
Trackable links. You can create trackable links that you can share one-on-one with a recipient and get a notification if your recipient opens your link.
Restricted access. Allow access to your flipbooks to selected people only. They will receive a one-time password by email and can view your publications for 30 days before requiring re-authentication.
Lead capture forms. Add a form in your flipbook to gather contact details from visitors so they can subscribe to your newsletters, promotions, and updates.
And more: integrations with apps like HubSpot, download your flipbook into a mobile app for offline viewing, and upload video straight from your device into the flipbook without needing YouTube or Vimeo.
Note that the available features depend on the FlippingBook Online plan you select. Your Customer Success manager will be glad to tell you more. Book a meeting here.

Benefit 2: no installation or maintenance

As FlippingBook Online is web-based,

There is no need to install any software. Not just the initial installation, but you will never have to download and install any updates anymore either.
You don’t have to deal with software-related technical issues. If there is a problem, we resolve it on our end, without having to wait for a new release.
You are not dependent on your IT department to solve technical issues on your end (such as firewalls blocking uploads, false positives from antivirus software, or problems in your Windows installation).
You are also not restricted to Windows devices when it comes to creating and managing your flipbooks. It's just as easy to use it from a Mac.
If needed, you can manage flipbooks from another device, even from your mobile phone or from home. Single sign-on support guarantees

Benefit 3: faster and more user-friendly

Creating: creating flipbooks is faster and easier. Just upload your PDF and within seconds, you get a link to your flipbook. You can customize your books while we are converting pages in the background. And when you're done, the book is already online - no need for a separate upload! This way, you can create flipbooks up to 2 or even 3 times faster.
Bulk-updating: Are you making changes in branding, and need to update your logo or styling everywhere? In FlippingBook Online, you only need to update one publication, and can then apply the new styling to all your other flipbooks!
Always up-to-date: We make sure your flipbooks are always technically up-to-date with the latest technologies. No need to ever reupload a flipbook in the latest version again to benefit from performance enhancements or be compatible with the latest technology.

Benefit 4: lower TCO

Pricing depends, of course, on the current plan that you have in Publisher and the new plan you choose in Online. Depending on your needs, you may pay less for FlippingBook Online, about the same, or a bit more.

Even if the price for Online is higher, we advise you to do a quick TCO (total cost of ownership) calculation. Look at how much time you spend importing PDFs, uploading publications, and possibly gathering statistics through Google Analytics, and the time your IT team saves on installation of updates, moving the software to new devices, and technical support. Add a realistic price tag to those hours, based on the costs for your company, and you will see that FlippingBook Online may be the cheaper solution, even if the license fee itself is higher.

Downside 1: No page-level management

There is one scenario where Publisher is the preferred tool: if you have publications where you regularly add, move, or remove individual pages. Especially if you add content manually to these pages. In FlippingBook Online, you can only replace the PDF in its entirety. While we have a solution to move the added content for the occasional page, it is definitely easier to do this in Publisher.

Next steps

Interested in migrating? Read more about how we can help you minimize the work involved. Or book a meeting, and your Success Manager will gladly discuss this personally with you.