← Back to blog

Chapters and Navigation in a Long Demo

August 20, 2026

Chapters group a demo's steps into named sections so a viewer can see the shape of what they are about to watch, and jump to the part they care about.

They are the right answer to a genuinely long demo, and the wrong answer to a demo that should have been two.

What chapters fix

  • The unknown length problem. A viewer who cannot see how long a demo is assumes the worst and leaves.
  • Skipping. Buyers arrive knowing what they want to check, and chapters let them go there instead of clicking through nine screens.
  • Orientation. Naming a section tells the viewer where they are, which a step counter never does.

When to split instead

If two chapters serve different people, they are two demos. A chaptered demo covering both means each viewer scrolls past the other's half, and you cannot send a link to just the relevant part.

Separate demos are also easier to keep current, easier to measure — each has its own drop-off — and more useful in sales, where a salesperson wants to send the one that fits.

Naming them properly

Chapter names are read before anything is watched, so they are a table of contents and an argument at once. "Set up in three steps" and "See the profit report" tell a viewer what they will get; "Overview" and "Features" tell them nothing.

Write them in the words a buyer uses, the same rule as captions.

A reasonable length limit

Beyond roughly a dozen steps, most demos are covering more than one question. Chapters will keep that navigable, and it is worth asking whether the demo has an argument or has become a tour.

Chapters are available on every plan, including free — they are a structural tool, not a premium one.

Frequently asked questions

What are chapters in an interactive demo?
Named groups of steps that let a viewer see the shape of the demo before watching and jump to the part they care about. They fix the "how long is this" problem that makes viewers leave before starting.
Should I use chapters or separate demos?
Separate demos when the sections serve different people, since each viewer would otherwise scroll past the other half and you cannot link to just the relevant part. Separate demos are also easier to keep current and give you drop-off data per demo.
How long should an interactive demo be?
Beyond roughly a dozen steps most demos are answering more than one question. Chapters keep that navigable, but it is worth asking whether the demo still has an argument or has become a tour.

Keep reading

This is what Demorta does

Click through it — the same kind of demo you can record of your own product.

Try it on your own product

Record your first interactive demo free.

Five demos on the free plan, forever. No credit card, no trial countdown, no sales call. Install the Chrome extension, click through your product once, and you have a shareable link in about ten minutes.

Start free →