Zines used to be about the smell of cheap toner and the risk of getting your fingers stuck in a heavy-duty stapler at a 24-hour Kinko’s. They were messy. They were tactile. Now, everyone is asking how to make a digital zine without losing that raw, independent soul that made the medium special in the first place. You don't need a printing press anymore. Honestly, you barely even need a computer if you’re brave enough to design on a tablet.
Digital zines—or "e-zines"—are having a massive moment because the barrier to entry is basically non-existent. But here’s the thing. Most people just dump a boring PDF online and call it a day. That's not a zine; that’s a manual for a toaster. A real zine needs a vibe. It needs a point of view.
Stop overthinking the software
People get paralyzed by the tech. They think they need a $50-a-month Adobe Creative Cloud subscription just to put some text over an image. You don't. While InDesign is the industry standard for professional layout, it has a learning curve that feels like climbing a glass wall. If you’re just starting out, use Canva. Or better yet, use Affinity Publisher. It’s a one-time purchase, and it’s arguably more intuitive for the DIY crowd.
Some of the coolest zines I’ve seen lately were actually made in Google Slides. Seriously.
Because a zine is fundamentally about the grid (or the intentional breaking of it), any software that lets you drag a text box over a photo works. If you’re a "hand-drawn" purist, you can draw everything on paper, scan it with your phone using an app like Adobe Scan, and then compile those images into a digital file. This keeps that gritty, analog aesthetic while making it easy to distribute to thousands of people instantly.
The software is just the bucket. The content is the water. Don't spend three weeks picking a bucket.
💡 You might also like: Toy Story Fruit Snacks: Why We’re All Still Obsessed With These Little Boxes
Deciding on your "Why" before the "How"
Why are you doing this? If you want to rank on Google or get noticed on social media, you need a niche. General "lifestyle" zines are a dime a dozen. They're forgettable. But a zine specifically about restoring vintage mechanical keyboards or the history of 90s shoegaze in South London? That’s gold.
Specific is better.
The most successful digital zines, like the long-running Razorcake (which has a massive digital presence) or the art-focused Paper Monument, succeed because they know exactly who they are talking to. They aren't trying to please everyone. When you sit down to figure out how to make a digital zine, define your "ideal reader" first. Are they a 20-something artist living in Brooklyn? A retired gardener in Oregon? Write for that one person.
The structure of a digital issue
Most digital zines are between 12 and 40 pages. Anything longer and people lose interest on their phone screens. Anything shorter feels like a pamphlet.
You should probably include:
- A cover that hits like a ton of bricks. High contrast, bold fonts.
- A "Letter from the Editor" or an intro page. This is where you get personal.
- At least three "anchor" pieces. These are your long-form essays or photo spreads.
- Small "filler" items. Horoscopes, fake ads, playlists, or weird poetry.
The technical side of distribution
You’ve finished your layout. It looks incredible. Now what?
You have to host it somewhere. This is where most people trip up. A PDF is fine, but it’s a "dead" file. It doesn’t move. It’s hard to read on a phone because you have to pinch and zoom constantly. If you want a professional feel, look into Issuu or Flipsnack. These platforms create a "flipbook" effect that mimics turning physical pages.
📖 Related: Husky Mixed With Lab: What Most People Get Wrong About the Huskador
However, if you want your zine to be searchable—meaning you want it to show up when someone Googles your topic—a flipbook is actually a bit of a nightmare. Google’s bots have a hard time "reading" the text inside those flash-based players.
The pro move? Create a hybrid.
Host the beautiful, flippable version for the vibes, but post the main articles as blog posts on a site like Substack or a self-hosted WordPress blog. This is how you win at SEO. You get the aesthetic of the zine and the searchability of a standard website.
Accessibility matters more than you think
Don't forget about Alt-text. If your digital zine is just a series of images, screen readers for visually impaired people won't be able to tell what’s happening. It takes five minutes to add descriptions to your images, and it makes your work accessible to a much larger audience. Plus, search engines love it.
Making money (or at least breaking even)
Let’s be real: zines are usually a labor of love. You aren't going to buy a private island off the profits of a digital zine about moss. But you can cover your hosting costs.
Koji and Gumroad are fantastic for this. You can set a "pay what you want" price model. You’d be surprised how many people will toss you $3 or $5 if they like your aesthetic. Another option is a Patreon or a Buy Me a Coffee link in the back of every issue.
Some creators use digital zines as a "lead magnet." They give the zine away for free in exchange for an email address. This builds a mailing list, which is the most valuable asset any creator can have in 2026. Social media algorithms change, but an inbox is direct access.
📖 Related: Panda Express Spicy Wagyu Beef Dumplings: The Honest Truth About That Five-Dollar Upgrade
Designing for the small screen
Most people will read your zine on a subway, holding their phone in one hand.
This means your font size needs to be bigger than you think. A 12-point font on a printed A4 page looks like ants on a smartphone screen. Go for 16-point or even 18-point for body text. Use high contrast. Light grey text on a white background is an accessibility crime.
Vertical scrolling is your friend. While the "side-to-side" flipbook feels nostalgic, the "downward scroll" is how we naturally consume digital content. Consider making a "mobile-first" version of your zine that is formatted as one long, beautiful vertical strip.
Real-world inspiration
Look at The Creative Independent. It’s technically a website, but it functions like a rolling zine. Look at Vibe Check. They use bold colors and experimental layouts that break the traditional "blog" mold. These are the benchmarks for how to make a digital zine feel contemporary.
Promoting your work without being annoying
Nobody likes a spammer. If you just post "Buy my zine!" every day, people will mute you.
Instead, share the "process." People love seeing behind-the-scenes content. Post a time-lapse of you designing a page. Share a rejected cover design. Ask your followers to vote on a color palette. By the time you actually launch, they feel like they’re part of the journey.
TikTok and Instagram Reels are currently the best places to find a new audience for digital zines. Use a "green screen" effect to talk through some of the pages. Show, don't just tell.
Actionable Next Steps
If you’re staring at a blank screen wondering where to start, do this right now:
- Pick a niche. Not "Art," but "Sustainable street art in the Midwest."
- Choose your tool. Download Affinity Publisher or open a new Canva document set to "Magazine" dimensions.
- Set a page limit. Commit to exactly 16 pages. It’s enough to be substantial but small enough to actually finish.
- Gather your assets. Spend one hour—only one—collecting photos, quotes, and writing your intro.
- Export and Upload. Once you’re done, export as a "Smallest File Size" PDF (to keep it fast-loading) and upload it to Gumroad with a "Pay What You Want" setting.
- Share the link. Put it in your social media bio and tell one person why you made it.
The secret to how to make a digital zine isn't having the best gear or the best writers. It’s actually finishing the damn thing. Perfection is the enemy of the zine. Embrace the weird edges, the slightly-off alignments, and the bold statements. That’s where the magic is.