This article was contributed by Steve ONeil from WOWEssays, an essay writing service for students.
This program is so popular that its name has become a household name. When it comes to presentation software, PowerPoint is the first thing that most users come to mind.
It is worth mentioning that this popularity is well-deserved. PowerPoint offers all the features you need to create a stylish and interactive presentation. A lot of editing tools, backgrounds, templates and fonts, the ability to work in teams over the web, insert video, audio, tables, and charts – all this and more is in PowerPoint.
Truth be told, there are so many features and settings that this abundance can be confusing to the novice user. But for each author who creates sophisticated professional presentations, PowerPoint is perfect.
Apple Keynote is another heavyweight in the world of presentation software that can comfortably compete with Microsoft PowerPoint on equal footing. Keynote contains a rich set for professional design of your ideas: beautiful effects, themes, fonts, and versatile tools for text editing. The project allows you to work together over the Internet and is compatible with PowerPoint formats.
The main differences between the two products are the cost and the number of supported platforms. Apple Keynote does not have a version for Windows (although it is available through the website) and Android but is offered free to all owners of iOS devices and Mac.
Impress is a simplified alternative to PowerPoint and other professional presentation software. This program lacks a nice interface, some design features, and online features for working in teams. On the other hand, Impress for mobile devices lacks some very limited features.
On the other hand, unlike many of its competitors, Impress is absolutely free, is available on all platforms, and is even compatible with older operating systems like Windows XP.
Google Slides service attracted a huge number of users working in teams. All because the developers put a special emphasis on the collaborative editing of presentations, the best part of the project being the online part. You can make changes to slides together with your colleagues in real-time. Changes made by each user are recorded in a special journal.
At the same time, presentations can be edited and saved offline. It is enough to install an extension for your browser. Google Slides offers most of the basic features for working with slides that are present in PowerPoint. In addition, Google Slides works perfectly with PowerPoint formats, is very easy to learn, and is available for free.
Among other programs from the list, Prezi stands apart. The creators of this project refused the usual format of slides. Your presentation looks like a big card on which you can place text, videos, photos, and other information. During the presentation, the image moves not from slide to slide but from one part of the map to another. At the same time, the areas you want are enlarged with beautiful effects.
Prezi can also be used for business presentations, but it’s best suited for creating presentations of ideas. Even without any design skills, you can create a dynamic, non-linear presentation that can present absolutely any topic in an engaging way. There are plenty of design features in Prezi. It is also possible to work with your colleagues online.
Canva is an ideal tool for those who do not do presentations all the time but want to make something simple and stylish in no time. The service offers a large collection of ready-made backgrounds, images of graphic elements, and fonts. You can also add music and video to your creation.
You can export your presentation in PPTX format, publish it as a one-page website with parallax effect or mobile site with navigation bar, insert it as HTML code. In addition, there is a speaker’s mode and a live broadcast in which the audience can send questions. In both the free and paid versions, presentations can be edited together.
Canva can be used completely free, as the Canva Pro subscription is designed more for those who need unlimited access to graphic libraries and brand settings.
WPS Office is an analog of Microsoft Office from Chinese developers. It fully supports PowerPoint files. The presentation program in the package offers almost all the same features as PowerPoint. There is a heap of animations, effects, and transitions between slides.
The user interface is very annoying – it’s an attempt to copy Microsoft products and make something of your own at the same time. But it’s not hard to understand. WPS Office provides access to its own cloud, which allows you to share and edit documents from any device.
About the author
Steve ONeil is a writer and translator with a master’s degree in marketing. He is also has expertise in various fields, including social media marketing, lifestyle, and data analytics. Now, he is a team lead editor at essay service WowEssays who provide writing help for students.
