Evernote is this awesome cloud-based system that helps me remember everything. I use it as an app on my iPhone and iPad and Android phone, and as an installed program on my Windows PC and my Macbook.  But another version is available, and I think overlooked – the web browser version, called Evernote Web.

It seems like the installed program has been bogging down on my Mac and my PC lately, which is causing me to rethink how I use Evernote.

I always assume the web browser version of an app is the weakest on features and works the worst, but perhaps I need to challenge my thinking there. After all, I use Salesforce, the world’s leading CRM, on a daily basis. It’s a web app. I also use Trello, a list tool, and Smartsheet, a sharable spreadsheet system. Both of these function purely in a browser tab when on a PC. And of course I use WordPress as a browser app. Never had any complaints there, either.

Advantages of Browser-based Evernote

From my personal experience, browser-based apps are fast. They update quickly, load quickly, and run quickly.

Because of Chrome’s ability to sync bookmarks and browser home pages across all your accounts on any device, that makes accessing browser-based apps very easy.

Evernote’s browser version just underwent a facelift, and frankly, it’s amazing looking. What a pleasure to use!

It’s also instantly productive. The moment you log in, you are at a blank note – optimal speed for the most obvious task you will do in Evernote.

I’ve tried the search feature, and it’s super fast. No frustration at all in using it. This alone might be reason enough to switch to the browser version.

Disadvantages of Browser-based Evernote

Evernote Web loses its place when Internet is spotty. It’s frustrating to watch the page try to reload when you knew the information you needed was right there already. 

Because of the way I work, I tend to get too many browser tabs going. When my head starts to hurt from the sheer quantity of information in my face, that’s when I blow it all up and close the browser. Then Evernote disappears.

Hunting through browser bookmarks for Evernote is a pain, and typing it directly in the address line seems too clunky and not fast enough. I just want to just push a button and have Evernote stay on all day. Is that an old school attitude?

Interface a bit TOO clean? I write that with a question mark because maybe I can play with it for a few weeks and get used to it. I started with the very structured environment of Microsoft OneNote and had to unlearn some that with Evernote’s installed program. Perhaps that will change some more.

Wish List

Evernote has this awesome new feature called Present. It allows me to show a nice clean view of the note I prepared as if it were a PowerPoint presentation. This means it’s possible to get on a screen share like join.me from a PC and present the Evernote. And the fact that the browser version also has this feature means that it might be possible to present Evernotes from iPad screen sharing apps like Fuze eventually (Evernote Web is not supported on iOS or Android browsers). If you know of a screen share app that runs on iPad which will allow showing Evernote present mode, won’t you let me know in comments?