[ 01 ] Case study

Showslide

A modern, browser-based presentation platform we built for ourselves and now use every day. Web-native editor, real-time collaboration, no installs, no plugins, no pain.

showslide.com
Industry

Productivity · In-house product

Stack

React · Node.js · TypeScript

Year

2024 — ongoing

Scope

Full product, from zero

[ 02 ] THE CHALLENGE

Existing presentation tools are heavy, slow, and locked-in

We hit the same wall over and over: bloated desktop apps for a job that should live in a browser tab.

▸ The problem

Building decks is one of those jobs every team does constantly, with tools that were designed two decades ago for offline single-user editing. Either you fight with a heavy desktop app, or you compromise on collaboration, performance, or design control.

We wanted something different. A web-native editor that opens in a tab. Real-time collaboration that doesn't feel bolted on. Design flexibility without the bloat. Performance fast enough that you forget you're in a browser. And an interface so light that anyone could open it and start presenting in seconds.

Since we'd be both the makers and the daily users, this also meant we'd feel every shortcut and every paper cut ourselves. A tight feedback loop, but a high bar.

[ 03 ] WHAT WE BUILT

Showslide, end to end

A fully web-native presentation platform with the features we wished existed.

▸ Feature

Web-Native Editor

A fast, browser-based slide editor with no installs, no plugins, no plugin marketplace. Open a tab, build a deck, present from the same window.

▸ Feature

Real-Time Collaboration

Multiplayer editing built in. Cursors, comments, and version history that lets a team move on a deck the way they move on a doc.

▸ Feature

Brand Kits & Templates

Reusable templates and brand kits so a deck inherits the look without anyone hunting for the right hex code.

▸ Feature

Presenter Mode

A clean presenter view that works the same on a laptop, a tablet, and a shared screen. Speaker notes, timer, no surprises live.

▸ Feature

Shareable Links

Send a deck the way you send a doc. View-only links, embed snippets, no PDF export gymnastics.

▸ Feature

Version History

Every change tracked. Roll back to any point, see who shipped what, never lose a slide to a bad save.

[ 04 ] OUTCOMES

From frustration to daily-driver tool

What changed after Showslide became the only deck tool we used.

What changed

A real alternative to the bloated desktop tools we used to fight with daily.

How we use it

Every internal Wingravity deck is now built in Showslide — sales, design reviews, postmortems.

Iteration loop

We ship features the moment we feel the friction. Direct path from problem to fix.

[ 05 ] TECH STACK

A modern, boring, battle-tested stack

The same tools we use across client products. Nothing here is novel for its own sake.

React + TypeScript

Strict typing across the editor for a UI that has to survive thousands of small interactions per session.

Node.js

Backend for collaboration, persistence, and sharing. Same language as the frontend, faster team velocity.

WebSockets / CRDT

Real-time collaboration that doesn't fight conflicts. Multiple editors, no lost work.

AWS Serverless

Pay-per-use infrastructure that scales from internal use to public launch with no rewrite.

PostgreSQL

Deck data, version history, brand kits — all in a database that survives years of schema changes.

Cloudflare

Edge caching for view-only deck links so a shared deck loads instantly from anywhere.

[ 06 ] MORE WORK

Other case studies

A sample of products we've designed, built, and shipped for clients.