

In 2026, creating brand guidelines online has become the standard approach as brands embrace the advantages over traditional PDFs.
These are often called digital style guides, brand portals, or brand management platforms.
The key benefit is that your brand assets are instantly accessible online to anyone on your team, eliminating version confusion, endless email threads, and attachment chaos.

Think of a digital guide as a dedicated website for your brand where team members and partners can easily download logos and access the latest brand updates.
You can also password-protect sensitive sections or share private links with specific collaborators.
In this comprehensive guide, I compare the top 12 tools for building online style guides in 2026.

I'll share the strengths and limitations of each platform based on my hands-on testing.
You can also watch this video breakdown on my YouTube channel:
Whether you're a design agency delivering brand identities or a startup building your own brand foundation, these tools will help you move beyond static PDFs into the modern era of digital brand guidelines.
Standards tops my list—not because it's objectively the best, but because it perfectly fits my workflow with its intuitive interface, robust customization, and budget-friendly pricing.

Industry leaders like Pentagram, Gretel, and brands including Cash App, Skillshare, and Headspace trust Standards for their brand guidelines.
Browse their style guide gallery for inspiration.
The interface feels remarkably similar to Webflow—clean and intuitive.
I was so impressed that I rebuilt my entire PDF guidelines using Standards—see it here.
Here's a look at their editor:

The free tier includes a small "Made with Standards" watermark.
Premium plans start at just $10/month to remove branding and unlock features like password protection, project transfers, and custom domains.
For my needs, Standards remains the ideal choice in 2026.
BrandPad is a premium option trusted by iconic brands like IKEA, MoMA, and IDEO.

Start with a 21-day free trial to explore its capabilities.
The interface is exceptionally clean and minimalist—clearly designed by designers, for designers.
Read more about BrandPad's approach in this featured article.
Choose to build from scratch or select from their curated template library.
Here's what building a guide looks like in BrandPad:

The tradeoff: the stripped-down interface has a steeper learning curve.
However, you gain exceptional creative control over every visual detail.
Pricing starts at $42/month for 2 brand guidelines.
Frontify is an enterprise-grade platform used by global brands including Uber, Microsoft, Lufthansa, and KIA.

It centralizes all brand assets in one organized, shareable hub.
Extensive integrations connect with Figma, Canva, Slack, and Miro.
The platform offers deep customization for complete creative freedom in designing your brand portal.
Enterprise features include webhooks, APIs, and advanced access controls.
Here's the Frontify interface:

Frontify excels for large organizations requiring complex workflows and deep system integrations.
Start your free trial here.
Corebook powers brand guidelines for top agencies like McCann, Veyner Media, and Mackey Saturday.

The onboarding asks questions about your brand, then provides a visual builder for crafting your guide.
More approachable than BrandPad for newcomers.
The downside: you start from a blank canvas, which takes more time than template-based alternatives.
The upside: complete design freedom without constraints.
Here's Corebook's editor in action:

Corebook includes custom page templates, white labeling, and comprehensive media support.
Direct imports from Figma, Adobe Suite, and Miro streamline your workflow.
Unique feature: Corebook Studio offers a lifetime plan—pay once, use forever.
Monthly subscriptions start at $39/month for up to 5 projects, which you can share with clients or transfer ownership.
BrandingGuide delivers a streamlined, straightforward one-page style guide creator.

Their gallery showcases sample brand guidelines they've created for well-known companies.
I built a draft guide in just minutes.
The format includes two tabs—Style Guide with brand information and Brand Assets for file downloads.
Best part: it's completely free.
Check out my example here.

For a quick, no-cost solution with minimal setup, BrandingGuide delivers.
Baseline takes a different approach than pure guideline creators.

It's a content creation platform—think Canva meets brand guidelines.
Set up your brand identity, and Baseline automatically generates on-brand templates and content.
Once configured, create consistent social media posts and graphics for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest using their template library.
See my brand guidelines example here.

Your brand colors, logos, and fonts automatically apply across all designs.
Baseline also generates CSS code and enables guide sharing.
A free tier is available to get started.
Lingo App combines digital brand guidelines with asset management, trusted by Duolingo, Reddit, Bumble, and Snapchat.

The Figma integration automates asset imports into Lingo.
Upload an SVG logo and it automatically generates JPG and PNG versions.
Track asset downloads, manage access requests, and share private links.
Here's my draft guide in Lingo:

Features include password protection, custom domains, and up to 50GB storage.
Plans start at $30/month for up to 5 users.
Gingersauce focuses on creating downloadable PDF style guides through an automated process.

Upload logos, select fonts and colors, and the platform inserts everything into professional templates.
It transforms style guide creation into a simple fill-in-the-blank experience.
Answer a few questions and receive a polished PDF for online viewing or download.
View my example here.

No complex interface—just a straightforward path to a finished guide.
For simple, automated PDF style guide creation, Gingersauce gets the job done efficiently.
Flipsnack transforms your existing PDF style guide into an engaging online flipbook.

Upload your current PDF and convert it into a polished interactive web publication.
Flipsnack also includes design tools for creating flipbooks from scratch.
Ideal if you want to digitize your static PDF while preserving your preferred layout and formatting.

Flipsnack streamlines converting your PDF into a professional online flipbook.
Bravemark is a rising platform emphasizing simplicity and asset management.

The drag-and-drop builder creates responsive brand guidelines in 10 minutes or less.
Easily organize and share downloadable brand assets—perfect for designers working with clients who need quick material access.
Choose between private and public sharing, plus showcase your work in their designer community.
Pricing starts with a free plan (5 projects), while PRO at $10/month unlocks 15 projects with premium features like private publishing and asset downloads.

I've partnered with Bravemark to offer readers 30% OFF with code "EBAQDESIGN".
Bravemark's strength lies in practicality and speed—the intuitive UI makes sense immediately whether you're converting a PDF or building from scratch.
I created Guidelines.online—a free style guide generator still in beta.

I built guidelines.online to give clients quick, easy access to brand logos, colors, and fonts on any device, anywhere.
Key features:
Sign in with Google and try it today!
Here's a free option for putting style guides online—if you're a designer using Adobe CC, you already have InDesign.

InDesign includes a built-in feature for publishing PDFs online at no extra cost.
I've used it for years with clients including SweetGrass, Periti, Medihuanna, and Lyntics.
InDesign Publish converts print-ready PDFs into functional online publications.
Not responsive, but clients get a clickable PDF they can access online and copy text from (like color values).
I include buttons to download brand assets and logo packages stored on Dropbox.
PS: Check out my Brand Guidelines Kit—a template for quickly building PDF style guides in InDesign.
In 2026, there are excellent options for creating digital brand guidelines.
I favor Standards for its intuitive interface and seamless PDF recreation experience.
Bravemark is equally compelling—either works well.
Bravemark excels for smaller projects, while Standards offers advanced features for larger clients.
Ultimately, the best platform depends on your specific requirements and budget.
Agencies and enterprises may need advanced capabilities like white labeling, integrations, robust customization, and access controls.
For those needs, consider Frontify, BrandPad, Corebook, or Bynder.
Note: I skipped Bynder as they don't offer trial access.
Smaller brands want simplicity and affordability.
For that, BrandingGuide, Lingo App, Flipsnack, or InDesign Publish are excellent choices.
Also watch my YouTube video explaining how I create style guides from scratch (PDF).
I still deliver PDF style guides to clients, but now offer digital guidelines as well.
If you prefer the InDesign Publish approach, check out my Brand Guidelines Kit.
It's the InDesign template I use with clients (SweetGrass, Periti, Medihuanna, Lyntics).
Need a style guide for your brand?—reach out.
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