Basic Questions  |  Advanced Questions  |  Contact Us


Basic Questions


1. Why is this free?

Our hope is that as many churches/organizations/websites as possible can have a great resources that shares the Gospel in a creative and clear way. We want you to be able to use this resource on your website and customize/brand it to look like you've created it, to reach people with the gospel.

If you haven't read The Story yet or seen the website version, .


2. Who is "The Story" for?

The booklet content and design was created for the believer and unbeliever, to clearly present the Gospel of Jesus.

ViewTheStory.com, the online version, was setup for churches, ministires, and individuals to embed on their website! We've created the online version specifically for churches, but anyone can use it as a tool to share the Good News.

Who created The Story?
Spread Truth Ministries created The Story. They provide various Gospel Resources, Training, and missional Experiences. Learn more by going to SpreadTruth.com.



3. Why do I need to create an account to link to it?

With your account, you get access to all of these features:
  • Custom Title
  • Share with a Friend 
  • Share via Facebook/Twitter 
  • Ask A Question Feature 
  • I Made a Decision Feature 
  • Custom Background Color/Images 
  • Intro/Outro Text in the Flash 
  • Service Times/Info 
  • Stats and Tracking (with Google Maps)
  • Monthly E-mail Reports (Stats & Tracking)



    • 4. How does it work?

    You create a free account. Once you activate your e-mail address, you can customize your settings (title, colors, features, etc.) We wanted you to be able to customize the look and feel and basic text to match your website!

    Then, you can get the Javascript code by copying and pasting it into your website.

    Once setup on your website, users will click on the text/image link and a full-screen window will be launched that loads the flip book allowing users to "flip" through the booklet.

    All visitors and views are tracked and you can later view stats and a Google Map with markers from where people were from that clicked and viewed your customized verison of "The Story."


    5. Is there a hardcopy version of The Story?

    Yes there is. The booklet is a high-quality printed, 12 page booklet (4.5" x 5.5"), printed on FSC Certified (Forest Stewardship Council) paper. You can order them here.

    Learn more about our Training Curriculum, called The Story Guide, see a free preview or order it online: CLICK HERE.


    6. Is there an iPhone app?

    Yes there is. You can download the iPhone app for free here: Download the App.

    We hope to add an iPad app and Android app in the future. If you don't have an iPhone, you can still utilize the mobile site here: m.viewthestory.com.




    Advanced Questions



    1. How do I embed the link/code on my site?

    After logging into your account, you can click on the link entitled "Embed/Link Options." There, you can choose from 1 of 3 options to create a link from your site.
      Option 1 allows you to copy/paste basic Javascript code that creates a text link.

      Option 2 also allows you to copy/paste basic Javascript code that creates a clickable image link to your customized version of "The Story."

      Option 3 is only the URL to enter into a content management system or use in other applications that only allow a URL to be used (instead of Javascript).



    2. The text on some pages is kind-of hard to read?

    Unfortunately, we are depending on the user's screen size and resolution.

    However, with Javascript functions, we try to maximize the browsers window as big as it can (usually as big as their resolution settings). Then, the Flash is scalable and renders the images as large as possible in the current window size.

    Also, users can click on any page of the booklet to "zoom in" on that page, then, using their mouse and moving it up and down the zoomed page will automatically scroll the image up and down (if it doesn't quite fit on the page in zoomed format).

    We recommend using options 1 or 2 in the Embed Instructions as they will pop up a browser window without any toolbars. This will then maximize the content area and allow the booklet pages to display larger.


    3. Why do two of your embed options use Javascript?

    The reason we use the Javascript is (1) it checks the computer's screen size, and determines what quality of graphics to use in the flipbook (the larger the screen, the highter the quality). Also, we can pop up a window that goes full screen and does not display any toolbars/search bars that will cause the Flash to be smaller. This maximizes the graphic sizes and makes it easier to read.

    All browser can run Javascript functions.


    4. Does the flip book use Flash?

    Yes, it does use Flash. This way we can render the graphics and text in the best possible format, and allow the "fun" page turns. The Flash has been setup to load as quickly as possible, and the images are cached for quicker loads in the future.

    For mobile devices, the site will auto detect mobile smart phones (Blackberrys, iPhones, Androids, etc.) and will display the mobile version of the site and the Conversation Tool which does not use flash and is specifically designed for mobile devices. Just go to "ViewTheStory.com" or "Story4.Us" on your mobile device to view!


    5. How does the visitor tracking work?

    The visitor tracking looks at the IP address of the computer when the user opens "ViewTheStory.com." Each IP address is only tracked once, but multiple views are tracked separately. A cookie is written in each browser, that lasts until the end of the current month. This way, we can track how many times that computer viewed "The Story" in a month.

    If the IP is shared (for instance, an entire school network uses a shared IP address), we still validate each computer with a cookie, so if 10 hits came out of the same IP address, but it was from 10 different computers, it would be 10 visitors even though they came from the same IP address.

    When viewed with your custom link and ID number, the location and current date/time is recorded. When you view your results, they will be mapped by city,state,country. You can view how many visitors came from that city, and how many times they viewed the your link.

    Each IP Address is looked up in a database provided by MaxMind, Inc., that has international GPS locations for most IP addresses. If an IP address's location cannot be determined, the visitors and views are trakced (and a part of your stats), but are not mapped.

    You can look at each month's individual stats (and see a map, powered by Google Maps) or view a map of all time visitors (since you created your account). You can also have them e-mailed to you the 1st of every month to see how your version of The Story has been viewed!


    6. Can I add my own analytics code?

    Yes. If you use your own Google Analytics (or other Java-based tracking code) you can turn that feature on and paste in your code on the Account Settings page if you'd like to track hits with your current analytics software/service. (Server-side functions will not work, only client-side with Javascript).


    7. Who can I contact if I'm having problems or am getting an error?

    We'll do our best to help you sort out any issues or fix any errors you find, please contact us.


    8. What do you have in the future for ViewTheStory.com?

    We have a lot of ideas and new features we will continue to roll out with accounts. When we do release major upgrades or new features, we'll let you know via e-mail.


    9. What new features are you working on?

    Get the latest updates by going to our News & Updates page to see what we're working on!