Yes - there is another new kid on the block! It’s called ‘Source’ and it is a new lightweight CSS ‘micro’ framework for your RapidWever projects.
Why would you choose Source?
There are already some great frameworks available for RapidWeaver but there are a few reasons / scenarios where I think using Source might well appeal to you:
It’s FREE!
That’s right, it costs you nothing to get access to a framework that you can use to build great sites. Now, on top of having to buy RapidWeaver and the awesome Stacks plugin, you no longer need to also buy a framework before being able to build beautiful free form sites.
It’s lightweight
Source uses only the bare minimum code to set up your sites - e.g. to set up your colours and your fonts etc. (If that is all that you are currently using the likes of Foundry or Foundation to do then you are adding a lot of unnecessary code and bloat to your sites!)
It’s fast
Because it is lightweight, it operates really fast in Edit, Preview and Publish modes.
It’s powerful
Source comes with its own small set of stacks which are enough to build amazing sites. (There is also a completely optional addon pack which lets you make even more amazing sites!)
It doesn’t try to be all things to all people
Source is all about forming a base for your sites. It doesn’t (and never will) include a Slider stack or a Gallery stack or an Accordion stack or a Tabs stack or a Contact Form stack etc etc. Source is there to let you use all of the great (non-framework dependant!) stacks that you no doubt already have in your collections!
So, they are the main reasons why I think Source is awesome (I’ve also written a blog post with a bit more detail if you are interested). Go give it a spin and let me know if you agree!
I’ve been playing with this for an hour and I think it looks really interesting. I’ve started to build the occasional website pro bono for local clubs and charities and the idea of using a simple, lightweight framework like this that’s still got a lot of flexibility is really appealing.
Do I recall there’s an introductory video somewhere to help people like me with some of the basics?
I have added quite a lot of support materials to our Knowledge Base. I’ll keep adding to this, including adding some videos. There are a couple of videos there already but I do need to get a few more sorted. Will have a bit more time to do so now that I have finally got this released!!
Ah, you see that’s already answered one question - what the purpose of having the option to define two backgrounds in the Container Base (Source) stack.
The use of the Container Base stack is completely optional. What it does is allow you to set up some defaults for padding, margins and backgrounds. These can then be applied to any Container (or Container Plus) stacks that are added to the page. It’s a quick way of adding your commonly used settings to any new Container and also makes the code lighter (by sharing it between numerous stacks). There are 2 background options simply so that you can apply either / or to any container stack.
The core Container stack also allows you to add other coloured backgrounds. The Container Plus stack allows for a lot more (including images).
Pop Drop is used for the Quick Links bit (that is in the Source Navigation bar) and Chroma is used to make the Nav bar ‘sticky’ and for the ‘return to top’ button that appears at the bottom.
All 3 of the ‘Monochrome’ demo project pages are built using only Source stacks.
The idea behind Source though is that it doesn’t try to do things that are already better done elsewhere (like the aforementioned BWD stacks!). It is really a platform to use all of the great stacks from the community of stack developers.
Wow! I’m bl**dy loving this! Fantastic control over grid items (I bought the add-on’s of course). I’m doing things with ease that I found impossible before… I’d have paid good money for this so to get it for free is doubly brilliant.
My plan (when I get a chance) is to build a Source page for a load of different developers to showcase their stacks on Source! A big part of my thinking behind Source was for it to be a platform for people to make use of all the great specialised stacks out there in the RW dev community!
I think the Grid and Grid Plus stacks are great and worth putting a bit of time in to learn as the possibilities for what you can do with them are virtually endless! I plan to get a load of video tutorials together when I get a moment.
Also, in case you hadn’t noticed, I added quite a few ‘templates’ into the downloads. These are a great new feature of Stacks 4 and means that I can share various grid setups etc for easy use in your projects!
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