5 best Online Scrapbooks for 2021
An online scrapbook is more than just a few pictures and physical memories glued to a page, it’s a unique and interactive story creatively expressed through text and images.
From remembering your trip to Europe to celebrating everyday moments and family recipes, digital scrapbooking has changed the way we preserve the most memorable moments of our lives.
What are the benefits to digital scrapbooking?
There are a number of benefits to online scrapbooking Vs traditional scrapbooking. Some of these include:
Customisable - Going digital gives you many more options for easily customizing your look. Many programs have extensive libraries filled with various easy-to-use themes and templates if you don’t feel the desire to create something from scratch.
Editable - By digitizing old physical assets such as photos, posters, plane tickets, school reports and birthday cards, you can easily tweak the image size to whatever works best for the template you are using — try doing that with a traditional scrapbook.
Less of a mess - No glue, no paper cuttings and no glitter means there is not as much of a mess to deal with.
Long Lasting - With online scrapbooking, you don’t have to worry about wear and tear or pictures fading. Memories are kept safely in the digital cloud for easy access at anytime.
Accessible - Many platforms allow you to share your digital scrapbook and even invite others to contribute, making it a collaborative project for all to participate in.
What do I need to start digital scrapbooking?
If you’re serious about digital scrapbooking, there are three things you will want to consider having:
1. A Computer: While you can do basic editing on tablets and mobile devices, computers offer the best control and software for design work.
2. Photographs and Imagery: Digital images are going to make online scrapbooking easy as most platforms allow you to upload images with ease.
3. Videos: One of the benefits of an online scrapbook is the ability to store videos. There are some platforms like Memories that host videos as part of their offering so this feature is worth considering if you do have videos.
Can I combine physical and digital scrapbooking?
If you want to get the best of both worlds, you can create a hybrid scrapbook combining elements of physical and online scrapbooks.
After using digital software to place your digital assets, print your page and then personalize your project with traditional craft supplies and techniques.
Make sure to check your printer is equipped to deliver high quality prints, it’s also wise to consider the size of the pages that can be printed.
The quality of your paper is also very important to get the best quality — thick, glossy photo paper will deliver the most professional result.
If you don’t want to print yourself, you could easily outsource the job to a professional.
Sharing your digital scrapbook
Printing your scrapbook will allow you to share digital copies, while your online version can often be shared digitally depending on the platform you are using.
So what are the best Online Scrapbooks?
We have listed our top 5 Online Scrapbooks below:
1. Memories
Memories is more than an online scrapbook. It allows people to create a Memories Timeline which helps people to upload their memories to a safe, secure online vault.
The benefit of Memories.net vs other platforms is it allows you to upload videos, create a timeline of events while inviting others to join and contribute to your Timeline. They currently do not provide the printing functionality to convert these digital memory books directly into a physical hard copy. However they work with providers who can assist with this.
Users can create an online scrapbook on Memories for free with up to 1 gig of storage for photos, videos and documents. You can also invite friends and family to the online scrapbook timeline all for free for up to 3 timelines.
Memories is an ad free platform with full privacy control. To register for an account, sign up on their home page.
2. Mixbook
Mixbook is an online scrapbook which focuses more on the physical print copy. However they are have software functionality to create the photobook very easily. If the physical memory book is the most important element for you, Mixbook is one of the best options to consider.
Mixbook have a number of different themes to choose from in a variety of shapes and sizes. Simply choose which one is best for you, use their software to create the book then print when ready.
3. Smilebox
Smilebox focuses is a design platform with more of an online slideshow type format for digital scrapbooks. In addition they also provide designs for brochures, cards and invitations so it has more of a broader appeal for both a personal and business context.
They have a library of templates to choose from across all these categories with the ability to upload photos and share with friends and family.
Smilebox operates on a subscription basis with their Pro offering at $12 per month. This allows you to remove their logo from your page amongst other features.
4. Shutterfly
Shutterfly is a platform like Mixbook that allows you to create scrapbooks online with the option to print them straight after.
Shutterfly was founded in 1999 and that reflects somewhat in their website design. Compared to the others, it seems a bit more old fashioned. However the fact that they have been around so long gives them decent credibility.
Shutterfly offers a range of templates and custom options to choose from.
5. Canva
Canva is a well know design platform that offers a wide range of design templates for both business and personal reasons. As Canva is a design platform, it allows users with more flexibility on editing their photos and images with different colours, backgrounds and textures.
With this level of flexibility comes an additional skillset which can take time to learn. However they have one of the largest library of templates to choose from.
Canva works on a subscription model with a freemium version. The first level of subscription is around $14 — $18 month. Subscription can be on a monthly on annual basis.
An Online Scrapbook for every occasion
Whether it’s for a wedding, birthday, life story or as an online memorial, digital scrapbooking can help to keep your memories alive for longer rather than letting them fade away.
