Frequently Asked Questions

On Guest Blogging

What does “Guest Blog” mean?

“Guest Blog” means that a user can join website(s) from niches of his/her choice and submit Web Stories (earlier known as AMP Stories) on the same. The guest blogging feature allows you to post content on one or more websites in the Visual Stories Network, an ever-expanding network of websites that are powered by the Visual Stories technology. They form a common userbase and harness the Web Stories format.

On what basis do I choose a website for my Story?

Refer to the list of websites in the Visual Stories Network and select an appropriate website for your Story.

How to post content in Visual Stories categories?

Signing up with Visual Stories lets you create content in several different categories that range from animals, travel and lifestyle to technology, finance and health. These categories are websites in themselves, created on subdomains of Visual Stories. Examples:

Signing up once, you can create Stories in any of the categories with the Visual Story Builder tool and access a library of images, videos and music that can be included in your Stories for free. Learn more in Niches to Create Stories.

How to structure or construct a Story?

  • A Story should have multiple slides.
  • Add content that is related to the topic of your Story.
  • Use images, videos and music to enhance your content.
  • In each slide, you can add multiple elements like text, image, video, link and HTML.
  • To add an element to a slide, click on the ‘+’ sign beside the toolbar below that particular slide and select the element.
  • You can add multiple elements in a slide. Drag and drop elements to align them in ways that suit your Story. Place them in such a way that they do not superimpose each other.
  • Select the background color and text color such that the image/video is visible and the text is readable.
  • You can customize your Story at Story-level and element-level. Customize each element using the options in the toolbar below the slide. For Story-level customizations, click the ‘Story Design’ icon that appears to the left of settings icon in top-menu. Story-level customizations will apply to the whole Story but element-level customizations will override them.
  • You can also add a background music to your Story by selecting an audio file from the free music library. To access the music library, click the music icon in the right-menu of Story Design.

Is there any character count limit for fields?

Yes. Here are the character limits for -

  • Story Title – 70
  • Story Description – 240
  • Card Text – 360

Are multi-lingual Stories accepted as submissions?

Yes, we accept submissions in the following languages: Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese.

Are links allowed in a Story?

Yes, provided that they are authentic. Spamming the Story with too many links is discouraged and it may lead to the Story being rejected. To add a link in a slide, click on ‘Link’ in the toolbar and you will be able to fill the link URL and the button text. The button can be customized using options in the link customizations.

Is my Story shareable from the “Preview”?

No, a Story is not shareable from the “Preview”. A Story will be shareable once it is published.

What should I check for before submitting a Story?

  • A Story should have minimum 3 slides.
  • It shouldn’t have too many links or spammy links.
  • Your content should be original and not plagiarized.
  • Use images/videos that you are authorized to use legally.
  • Don’t spam your content with keywords.
  • Ensure that there is no text in the background image as it hampers the readability of the slide text.
  • Submit your Story only after it is completed.

Can I edit my Story once I submit it?

Yes. You can take your Story back for editing after it has been submitted. However, you cannot edit your Story if it has already been taken for editing by an editor.

What are the criteria that can get my Stories rejected?

A Story will be rejected if:

  • Your content is plagiarized, copyrighted work of others or is already published elsewhere.
  • Your uploaded images/videos are copyrighted by others or if you are not authorized to use the uploaded images/videos (legally or ethically).
  • Your content, in any case, endorses/promotes any kind of violence and/or obscenity.
  • Your Story lacks sufficient content. In that case, it will be sent to you for re-evaluation stating the required changes, after which you can resubmit the Story.

Refer to our submission guidelines for further details.

In how much time will my Story get published?

Depending on the quality of content and length of your Story, it may take anywhere between 2 to 8 days for your Story to be published.

Where will my Stories be hosted?

Your Stories will be visible on the website that you submit a particular Story to.

Where can I see all my published Stories?

Go to visualstories.com/@yourhandle to view your profile. Or Click ‘User Profile’ in the overflow menu on the right.

Can I change the host website of my Story?

Yes, you can. Click Settings icon. Click Website. In ‘Change Website’, select the website and click Submit.

Can I edit the Stories once they are published?

Yes, you can edit the Story once the Story is published on the website. You will need to forward it again to the moderator, who will then publish it. Changes made to the story will reflect only after it is published.

How can I get in touch with the editorial team?

If you wish to contact the editorial team in case of any difficulties while creating a Story or regarding any other queries, email us at hello@visualstories.com.

On Creating a Website with Visual Stories

I own a website, how can I host Web Stories on my website, created by the Builder?

You can get Web Stories on a subdomain of your existing website or in a sub-directory of your existing website.

Step 1

Go to https://visualstories.com/siteconfig. Fill in the website where you wish to get the Web Stories feature. Select the language of your website. Choose the registrar or nameserver provider where your domain is located. Click Continue.

Step 2

If you wish to get the Web Stories feature on a subdomain of your website, click ‘Subdomain’. If you wish to get the feature on a root domain or on www.rootdomain, click ‘Root Domain’.

Step 3

If you selected Sub Domain, in this step, you will have to fill the name of the subdomain where you wish to get the Web Stories feature. If you selected Root Domain, in this step, specify www if you wish to get the Stories feature on www.yourdomain, or leave the field blank. You should select Root Domain only if no website already exists on your root domain.

Step 4

Log in and complete the steps to configure your website. You will be given the DNS setup steps.

Step 5

Click ‘Yes’ if you have pointed your website to the right IP address.

Step 6

Fill in the name and description of your web app. Click ‘Submit’.

Step 7

You will see a message that your web app details have been submitted successfully. From here you can go to Manage Web App.

Step 8

In Manage Web App, you can edit your web app’s name and description, change your web app theme, link to your social pages, and get online training for creating Stories.

Step 9

You can change how your website appears, by selecting one of the several free themes.

How can I host a new website with Visual Stories?

Step 1

Go to https://visualstories.com/addsite. Specify the subdomain where you wish to get the Web Stories feature, select the language of your website, click continue.

Step 2

Fill the name and description of your web app. Click Submit.

Step 3

You will see a message that your web app details have been successfully submitted. From here you can go to Manage Web App.

Step 4

In Manage Web App, you can edit your web app’s name and description, change your web app theme, link to your social pages, and get online training for creating Stories.

Step 5

You can change how your website appears, by selecting one of the several free themes.

Is my website’s niche a criterion for the website’s approval?

Your website will not be approved if the subject of the website is one of these or if the website’s name implies any of the following subjects:

  • Medicinal drugs, medications
  • Health supplements
  • Acai Berry
  • CBD products
  • Steroids
  • Hemp oil
  • Diets, Diet Pills
  • Astrology
  • Debt Relief
  • MLM
  • Hacking
  • Ringless Voicemail
  • Reverse Phone Lookup
  • Gambling (casinos, roulette, poker)
  • Background check
  • Free Music or Movie Downloads
  • Animal Experiments or Animal Abuse
  • Substance Abuse
  • Drug Abuse
  • Marijuana
  • Weed
  • Addictions (will be approved if website is about overcoming addictions)
  • Sexual health
  • ED
  • Suicide, Violence, Offense, Weapons
  • Racism
  • Escort Services
  • Dating

Do I need to have technical/coding skills to host a website with Visual Stories?

No, our technical team will take care of all the setup. No coding skills are required on your part.

Can I earn from the website created with Visual Stories?

Yes, you can monetize the website you create through revenue sharing with your own AdSense account.

How should a website description be written?

In a sentence or two, the website’s intent and subject should be described. This description gets applied as the meta description of your website and is applied by default as the description of your PWA. The character limit for PWA description is 132.

  • Website description can be edited from the website’s Homepage.
  • The PWA description can be edited from ‘Manage Web App’.

Where will my Stories be published and seen?

Your Stories will be published and seen on the website where you create them.

Can I get Free Content on my website?

  • You can get free content on your website by enabling Guest Blogging feature.
  • In Manage Web App, enable Guest Blogging.
  • On the profile page of your website (Example:https://visualstories.com/apps/@inspihub), there will be a button ‘Join as Contributor’, if guest blogging is enabled.
  • Writers/Guest bloggers will be able to join your website and post content.
  • Your website will have an editorial workflow, which means you will be able to monitor the content being posted by guest bloggers. You will be able to decide whether to approve of the content posted on your website.
  • Thus, by enabling guest blogging and allowing authors to join your website, you can get free content on your website.

Can I Guest Blog on the other websites in the Visual Stories Network if I have my own website in the network?

Yes, you can guest blog on any website in the Visual Stories Network; the website should have the guest blogging feature enabled.

A new story does not show up on my site's homepage right away.

It's the expected behavior for a PWA. We use amp-install-service-worker and it's a standard in PWA building. A PWA is offline by nature and takes some time to update itself. So it’ll take some time for the homepage to have the link to the new Story. In our tests, we have found that it sometimes takes even an hour.

Our Services

What services do we offer?

What does the Content Writing Services package include?

The highlights of the package are:

  • You can get Web Stories written for as little as $12 per Story.
  • Images and videos will be included as required by the content of your Story.
  • You could take the Jump Start Package, which includes SEO guidance, content writing services, and content marketing services, apart from technical help in setting up your website. The total price is $300.

For further information, refer to Content Services.

Adding Images, Videos and Music to Stories

How do I add images to my Story?

You can use images from our free library or upload your own images and add them in your Stories.

To add an image from the library, click image icon from toolbar, click library and you will see an image library on the right. Click on the image you wish to add to your slide and you will see it added.

In the library, you will see the tabs ‘My Images’, ‘VS’ and ‘Unsplash’. Click ‘My Images’ to access the images from your library (the images you uploaded). Images in the free library are accessible from the VS and Unsplash tabs.

How do I add videos to my Story?

You can access a library of vertical videos (Google Earth videos included), that can be added in your Stories for free. You can also upload your own videos and add them in your Stories.

To add a video from the library, click video icon in the toolbar, then click library. You will see a video library on the right. Click on the video you wish to add to your slide and you will see it added to the slide.

Can I upload my own images/videos?

Yes, you can upload your images/videos as long as they are not explicit, obscene, offensive, someone else’s copyrighted work, or trademarked. These uploaded images/videos will be added to your personal library and will be accessible only to you.

What should be the file format of the uploaded images?

The uploaded images can be in .jpg/.jpeg/.png format.

What is the size of the images that can be uploaded?

You'll have to crop the uploaded image(s) to the Portrait size. Size requirement is 928 px or higher (height).

How to crop and upload an image to my personal library?

To upload an image, click the image icon in the toolbar, then click ‘Upload’. You will see the ‘Add Image’ interface on the right. Crop the image, change Alt text if required and click Upload. If you wish to credit the image source, switch ‘Show Image Credit’ ON and fill in the credit text and credit URL.

What are the requirements for video uploads?

  • The uploaded videos can be in .mp4/.webm/.ogg format.
  • The videos should be less than 10 MB, and can be of 30 minutes’ duration at the most. However, as recommended by AMP, the video file size should be less than 4 MB. Prefer smaller files for faster downloads.
  • You can upload portrait, landscape and square videos. Portrait videos are preferred.

How to upload a video to my personal library?

To upload a video, click the video icon in the toolbar, then click Upload. You will see the ‘Add Video’ interface on the right. Select a video file from your device, capture a snapshot, fill Title and Keywords and click Upload. The snapshot will be used as a poster image; the image which is displayed till the video loads.

How do I customize a Story?

Element-Level: If you hover on a particular element’s icon in the toolbar, you will see the customization options for that layer. Click on the option to apply that particular customization to the element.


The images below are examples of text customization options.

The image below displays how to change the background color of a slide.

The image below shows how to drag and drop elements to place or align them on a slide.

Here is an example of tilting the text and selecting font family.

Story-Level: To access Story-level customizations, click the icon to the left of Settings icon. You will see three icons on the right; music, color and SEO.

Click the color icon to apply color settings to your Story.

Click SEO icon to edit the Story title and description.

Note: Customizations selected through Story Settings apply to the entire Story. Element-level customizations override Story-level customizations.

General

What is the Visual Story Builder?

The Visual Story Builder is a one-of-a-kind tool available openly on the web for any user to create Web Stories. It taps the potential of Google's AMP technology and the Stories format to create an immersive and visually rich experience. The tool is fully mobile-compatible, WYSIWYG, has a drag-drop feature and extensive customization options. You get free access to a library of images, videos and music that can be added in your Stories.

How can I change my password?

Go to “Settings and Privacy” and click on “Change Password”. Follow the prompts to change your password.

How do I recover my password?

If you have forgotten or lost your password, click on “Forgot Password?”, enter your email id and your password will be emailed to you. You can then login using that password.

What does the “Get Link” button at the end of the Story do?

The “Get Link” copies the link of your Story, allowing you to share it across multiple social media platforms of your choice.

Note: A Story can be shared using the “Get Link” button only after it is published.

Can I share my Stories on social media?

Yes, once published, you can share your Stories on social media platforms like Twitter, WhatsApp, Pinterest, Gmail, LinkedIn and Tumblr.

In case you have any further queries, Contact Us

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