OK, so with the demise of Softpress and Freeway, I have jumped over into RW + Stacks + Foundation, and am really enjoying the experience so far.
I have quite a few questions, but I’ll start with one about fonts.
In Freeway, I could just add shadows and other effects to fonts on my page, as well as defining any font installed on my Mac, not just the ones in the standard families. The fonts were used as graphic fonts, I think in FW.
Is there a simple way to achieve this in RW? I’ve seen Font Pro, but at $50, it seems a bit over the top for what I need!
Also, it would seem that stuff that was built in to FW needs to be bought to work in RW. For example, is it possible to put a Google map item on a page without buying another stack?
As a former Freeway user myself I think there is a misconception that everything for RW needs to be purchased. With a bit of coding ability you can do practically anything without buying a single stack. Indeed you can create your own stacks from scratch or add code directly to the page if you wish. https://www.stacks4stacks.com/builder/
Sometimes a quick search in Google or asking on the forums will point you in the right direction. This may show you the way for the Google maps http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16055075/how-to-make-responsive-google-map-in-zurb-foundation
The case for buying stacks is usually based more on convenience. Sometimes the cost is justified but there are definitely one trick ponies that are overpriced with some developers. Once you have Foundation you will need very few additional stacks.
On a broader point the great thing about stacks is that code does not spill over to other areas, which allows you to do all sorts of incredible things that would be just about impossible in Freeway.
On the question of fonts I seem to recall Freeway initially offered a very limited choice of fonts such as Verdana etc and anything more exotic had to be added as a Gif graphic until Google fonts came along later.
RW has a wide range of options through FontPro and I know there is a cheaper alternative, however the name escapes me. Check out the font options inside Site Styles of Foundation. From there you can also apply further styling inside RW or with a bit of CSS wizardry.
A nice easy way to add shadows to your headers - while leaving them as searchable text - is to use HeaderPro from Big White Duck. Scroll down the page and you’ll some demos showing the effect. And there’s loads of other stuff this - free or donationware - stack can do.
Rob
Thanks a lot guys, your comments are appreciated.
In the end, I bought Font Pro, and have been pretty impressed, especially the integration with Foundation. Yes, there are so many things that are easier in RW compared to FW!
I’ve downloaded HeaderPro, and I’ll have a look at that later. Looks interesting!
Do yourself a favour and get all the Big White Duck stacks. Foundation is a ok without BWD but amazing with.
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