Is RapidWeaver Classic nearing end-of-life?

RapidWeaver Classic
21

I looked at the site (and the original poster says no Stacks were used) and would agree: it should be relatively easy to move from RapidWeaver to Elements. I didn’t see anything on the site that would constrain that.

The problem many face—and this has been basically true of every major change in Web publishing to date—is that the UI and specific tools change. This requires that you re-center your thinking to the new UX, and that’s not always obvious. I would say that a move from RapidWeaver to Blocs or Sitely would actually be more difficult because of this (at least Elements will inherit the structure and some components).

That said, we certainly need more examples with clear explanation of how to move from RapidWeaver to Elements.

I can tell you how I’d approach moving that site to Elements (assuming that you take the time to learn Elements, at least at a solid basic level):

  1. Collect all the visual assets (JPEGs, logos, etc.) into a folder. You’ll eventually move those into Resources in Elements.
  2. Run MarkDownload on every text page (not the blog) on the site to collect Markdown versions of the text.
  3. Use the built-in RapidWeaver-to-Elements beta to transfer the structure and as much of everything as possible.
  4. Use a Markdown Component for all those text pages, and copy in what you did in Step 2.
  5. Move the visual assets you collected in Step 1 into Resources, and then add them in, as necessary (this may require editing Markdown, as some are embedded).
  6. Figure out how you’re going to do the “blog.” I put that in quotes because this actually appears to be an outside feed, not a site-contained blog, so there’s likely some HTML code in the original site that’s doing that. That should transfer over by creating an HTML Component and copying the code, but I didn’t look to see exactly what was going on).

The biggest issue I see is that a lot of the images are embedded with text wrap. This requires some knowledge of Tailwind/Twig to accomplish. I tend to avoid that at the moment, as it complicates responsive design things, so I’d be using flexes to isolate image from text.

But I understand the OP’s concerns. It is a learning issue moving from one idiom to another. However, once you fully make that leap, it is easy to develop and maintain a site in Elements. And less limiting.

22

Basically RealMac is a company that make a programme called Rapidweaver (RW), it came in many guises unto v8 then became Classic. This is a programme Stacks 5 uses as building blocks to make a website. Stacks Developers e..g Joe Workman, 1LD etc are people that make ready to use building blocks to suit your needs - stacks. A short while ago, RealMac decided to start a new platform Elements which is based on Tailwind CSS and not the old architecture RW uses. Since this ‘split’ in the architecture the programmer of Stacks - Issaiah - decided to make STACKS v6 which is a replacement for RW programme. This has been a long time coming as he had an accident and was “out of it” for a while. I think were on beta 48+ on this but most probably more than that now.

So going forward - how long’s a piece of string - you have two camps RW Elements and Stacks 6 as newer foundations for your web builds, Classic will still work as long as the IOS allows but the future is most probably Elements for RW users as this is now maturing and lots of the old developers are now coming on board. Also there is a custom component where you can write your own HTML or drag snippets in from programmes e.g. e-commerce sites or even get AI to help you make amazing things.

This is only my opinion and is written in a format for those who need the basics of the differences. Good luck in whatever path you choose but remember the community is always here to help and the Elements community is brilliant in helping with everything.

23

Thom, thanks muchly for taking the time to document the steps. And, yes, there are issues. I just had hoped that continuing to support Classic would including updating for new web techs. I really don’t want to learn Elements even at a basic level. Also, all the steps you talk about include things like MarkDown and flexes (which I haven’t learned either). BTW, you’re right that the ‘blog’ is elsewhere, a separate wordpress site (because I got the domain name and started blogging there, and it’s been there for two decades now!, and the thought of trying to port over the thousands of posts is, well, overwhelming). AFAI Can Tell, Elements wants to give me great control of the design, and I don’t want that. I want to choose a design and then just dump content in. If there’s a learning curve, maybe it’s best spent on another tool to do what I want, not the direction Elements seems to want to go that doesn’t include my preferences. Thanks again, greatly appreciate your effort and thoughts!

24

Hi @Quinnovator

You could always purchase a pre-built template/project so you don’t have to build the layout/design yourself. Then you could just drop your content in like you did in Classic and before..

Now that the Elements Store is opened there are more and more pre-built templates/projects that you can purchase so you don’t have to worry with building out the layout/design by yourself..

25

As I said, the announcements seemed to be about templates for design-driven sites - photos, vids, etc - and that’s not me, but you’re absolutely right that I haven’t perused all the latest templates. Will do. Thanks!

26

No problem, you can also ping @Fuellemann as he converts old Classic built websites into a new Elements site. His site is here https://pretty-good-websites.com/ and you can contact him if you are interested in procuring his services.

27

I’m sure you’re on the Internet to try to drive business. Here’s the problem: the rules keep changing. Google has changed them a number of times (literally every month these days), and AI is about to do that some more. Sites get “penalized” for not staying current to the rules and expectations of the big players that are making the rules.

What happens over time if you don’t keep up is that your search results go down and down. Some sites will refuse to link to you. Tracking mechanisms get “attached” to older tech (like using downloadable fonts), and some users will block sites that do behind the scenes tracking. Europe has one set of site compliance regulations, and here in the US we have individual states adding regulations every year.

Meanwhile, to make sites stand out we’ve gone from simple HTML to HTML+CSS to, well, way more than that.

Simply put, older “Web Site Builder” applications don’t play well in the world as it keeps changing. Their underlying architecture was designed to support what was known at the time. Early apps such as RapidWeaver came before all the rules started changing, mostly driven by technologies that weren’t 100% predictable, thus they face a “redesign or die” decision at some point.

To make RapidWeaver keep up Realmac would have had to do about what they essentially did with Elements: write it again from scratch. I doubt that you could slide that underneath an existing Web site without having to learn all that new tech, just as you will with Elements. In the 30 years I’ve been doing Web sites, I’ve seen dozens of what were once considered to be state of the art programs to fall by the wayside, leaving sites built with them to have more and more trouble competing. And that’s not about design (fancy fonts, effects, graphics, etc.), it’s about fundamental underpinnings.

If you want to be competitive in business, you need to move with the flow. The bad news is RapidWeaver will stop being able to move with the flow probably at the next big macOS or Web plumbing update. The good news is that Elements seems well positioned to move with the flow for a number of years into the future.

Your Web site claims “helps clients take performance to the next level. We apply a balanced mix of technology and strategy…” Yet you’re balking at doing that for your own business! When your next client asks you “how do I get my site positioned for both the changes in Google Search and AI?” what are you going to tell them? Use RapidWeaver? I know I’m being harsh here, but I’ve watched so many people try to get off the technology rocket ship and then wither, I really am trying to help you here. We’ve hit one of those times when it will pay off better for those that move to the new than those who try to stick with the old.

28

Thank you for your post - it is always great to learn… your explanations are pro level - and easy to understand - I really appreciate that…

I ‘fell’ into elements after Dan’s video redoing my website

Glad to know it’s the smart decision…

29

I was a ‘victim’ of the Adobe Muse event. They announced the end-of-life in 2018, but I still have a site up and running OK in 2026. Through all the web browser and Mac OS updates. Go figure.

I switched to Rapid Weaver around v6 or v7 and converted most of my client sites to RW. Now I am working in parallel with Elements. However, I keep reading Dan’s email updates in which he states that Real Mac are continuing to support RW alongside Elements.

Am I missing some stated intent to declare an end-of-life. And if so will it suddenly stop working due to a Mac OS release or a significant change to the way the major browsers write and read a web page? Either way, does anybody have any insight into the likely timeline for this to happen?

30

I really think you’re OK and good

As stated up above, if the app gets re-compiled, it could be good for years, perhaps even a decade
(To my limited understanding)

You’re already using the elements.

Have you noticed the higher rankings on search engines and speed improvements?

Elements is amazing! But the old classic still has some life in it yet :slight_smile:

31

Apple could turn round next week and make a change to the OS that would break RW and make any fix too troublesome, timeconsuming and expensive for Realmac to invest the money to fix on an app that can’t sell much these days and will bring in very little income. Hard fact but at some point they will have to make the decision to set it adrift and that decision may be forced on them. Not sure anyone would be able to put a timeframe on that.

As stated elsewhere, if you have a working copy of RW now you will always have a working copy if you don’t upgrade the OS to whichever version breaks it.

Let’s not forget, Rapidweaver is over 20 years old and technology has moved on a tad in that time. Not even sure I had a mobile telecommunications device back then.

dan (Dan) 32

Just to reassure everyone, RapidWeaver Classic isn’t going away anytime soon. We absolutely understand how many people still rely on it, and we’ll continue doing our very best to support it for as long as it makes sense for us to do so.

We’re basically trying to encourage Classic customers to make the switch to Elements before it ever becomes a problem. Of course, with software that’s been around this long, there may eventually be factors outside our control, like major macOS changes, but there are absolutely no sudden plans for us to pull the plug.

At the same time, Elements is very much where we’re building for the future, so if anyone reading this has not yet made the jump, we’d love to help make that easier… We’ve currently got a special offer running here: :backhand_index_pointing_right: Save 30% on Elements

Hope that helps clear things up!

1 Like