How Do You Choose the Best Digital Scrapbooking Software? Find Out the Top 5 Most Important Things To Look For!

Digital scrapbooking software has many advantages over traditional paper scrapbooking techniques. For one thing, there’s a huge savings! You only buy the software once, and since it’s all digital you can reuse all those embellishments and papers. Compare that to the expense of paper scrapbooking tools and supplies! And of course, don’t overlook how much time you’ll be saving as well. With digital scrapbooking software, you just turn on your computer and start scrapping – there’s no mess and no clean up either!

Of course, digital scrapbooking software products aren’t all the same. Some scrapbook programs have really fancy boxes and can look fine while you’re standing in the store, but you get them home and regret the purchase. As if that’s not bad enough, some scrapbooking programs look like they are just re-branded “painting” programs. You can’t be creative when faced with cluttered menus, confusing interfaces and a bewildering variety of tools.

On the other side of the spectrum are digital scrapbooking software programs that are very easy to use, but are incredibly restrictive. You find that you are limited to using a handful of templates and have little if any creative control over how your pages look. Though probably most digital scrapbooking software programs are less expensive than what many spend on paper scrapbooking, there are even some digital scrapbooking software programs that are prohibitively expensive for many scrapbook enthusiasts.

So, the question becomes “How do you find digital scrapbooking software that’s creative, affordable and most importantly, will give you excellent results?” Here’s the checklist you’ve been waiting for! The top 5 things to look for as you evaluate your choices in digital scrapbooking software:

1. Free trial. Look for a program that comes with a free trial so that you can check out exactly what the program offers. The best programs will offer a full-featured trial so that you can try everything out and not have to guess at what you might be able to do should you purchase the software. A digital scrapbooking software program that does not offer any sort of free trial should be avoided.

2. Fully-Editable Pages. A good digital scrapbooking software program should offer full creative control over your pages, so you can make exactly the page you have in mind. If it comes with a set of pre-made templates, you should be able to edit absolutely everything on your page. There’s nothing worse than being locked into a design someone else has imagined – that’s not why you got into scrapbooking, is it?

3. Kits … Templates Made By Top Scrapbook Artists. Don’t get taken in by products that come with 50,000 pieces of “clipart”. Do you really want your scrapbook to look plain and generic? I didn’t think so! Look for products that include professionally-designed scrapbooking embellishments, ideally by top digital scrapbook content designers. Insist on being able to see a list of everything that you get. There’s no reason why everything that is included with the software can’t be viewed on their website!

4. Online Discussion Forums. The program you choose should offers free access to their online community discussion forum. This is where you can ask questions 24 hours a day about the software, and get answers back from both the staff and other users of the software. Even more importantly, you can read the honest opinions of others about the software program and its capabilities. Be cautious about any digital scrapbooking software program that doesn’t have an open discussion forum! The size of he forum, will also tell you something about the software. Some products have tens of thousands of users, showing you how popular it is!

5. Scrapbooking Tutorials and Instruction. Look for free digital scrapbooking tutorials on the company’s website. You want to see visual demonstrations about how to use the software. Also look for an extensive User’s Guide and Help File available from within the program. That way you can always get answers to questions, at any time (even if you’re scrapbooking on a plane!) that may come up as you go.

There are a number of products to choose from, so do your research before you put down your money! Again, make sure the products you are looking at have a free trial download, have fully-editable pages, include high quality scrapbooking elements, and feature a huge online community and tons of tutorials to get you started.

Want to learn more about digital scrapbooking software? Visit Gracie Madsen’s site on how to choose the best scrapbook software for your needs.