Shower
An HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript presentation engine with themes, keyboard accessibility, and PDF export.
What is Shower?
Shower is an open-source presentation engine built with HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript, allowing developers to create modern, accessible, and printable presentations directly in the browser. It solves the problem of creating presentations that are both easy to customize and compatible with web standards, without relying on proprietary software or complex frameworks.
Web developers, technical presenters, and educators who need to create presentations using web technologies and want full control over design and accessibility.
Developers choose Shower for its simplicity, reliance on standard web technologies, and separation of themes from the engine, which allows for easy customization and ensures presentations are accessible and printable to PDF.
Overview
Shower HTML presentation engine
Use Cases
Best For
- Creating web-based presentations with custom HTML and CSS
- Building accessible presentations with full keyboard navigation
- Exporting presentations directly to PDF format
- Developing presentations with a clean, themeable design system
- Using a CLI tool to manage presentation creation and publishing
- Presenting in environments where proprietary software is not available
Not Ideal For
- Presenters who prefer graphical, drag-and-drop interfaces like PowerPoint or Google Slides without writing code
- Projects requiring complex 3D transitions or animations common in tools like Prezi
- Teams needing real-time collaboration features or cloud-based editing for presentations
- Developers seeking extensive plugin ecosystems or integrations with frameworks like React or Vue
Pros & Cons
Pros
Built entirely with HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript, ensuring compatibility across modern browsers and allowing easy customization, as highlighted in the README.
Core engine is independent from themes like Ribbon and Material, enabling developers to swap or create custom designs without affecting functionality, a key design philosophy.
Presentations are fully keyboard accessible, making them inclusive for users with disabilities, which is explicitly listed as a core feature in the README.
Can be printed directly to PDF for offline sharing and distribution, a standout feature that addresses common presentation needs.
Includes a command-line interface for creating, serving, bundling, and publishing presentations, streamlining the workflow as detailed in the packages section.
Cons
Lacks advanced presentation features like built-in speaker notes, interactive elements, or live collaboration, which are standard in proprietary software.
Requires knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create and customize presentations, posing a barrier for non-developers or those seeking no-code solutions.
Compared to alternatives like Reveal.js, Shower has fewer plugins and community extensions, limiting ready-to-use enhancements and support resources.
Initial setup involves Node.js installation and command-line usage via the CLI, which can be intimidating for users unfamiliar with developer tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
reveal.jsThe HTML Presentation Framework
deck.jsModern HTML Presentations
bespoke.jsDIY Presentation Micro-Framework
CSSSLean, hackable, extensible slide deck framework. Previously known as CSSS.
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