Years ago I used Apple iWeb and liked that software a lot. But Apple discontinued the software and I’ve been looking for a decent web design software ever since. So far, I haven’t found anything that I like. Here’s what I want: a software package where you can set up your page like you used to be able to do in the old PageMaker page layout software - drop text in, drag and drop photos graphics, create borders, etc. Then click on a button and it publishes the website without creating junk code. Something that’s easy to learn, use and update. Is RapidWeaver it? Is there a trial version? Is RapidWeaver Elements that much better than the Classic or 9 version? Looking for some help here and thank you!
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Just my personal opinion but I purchased Classic and gave up using it as I found it too much like hard work.
Within days of purchasing Elements I developed a personal website in a week that looked far better than anything I (personally) could do with Classic.
Elements is the way forward.
RapidWeaver Classic is what you describe:
- Select a theme
- Drop in your own content
- Publish
Altering the layout and look+feel of a theme is not possible beyond the options that the maker decided to include, and designing something outside of the theme is pretty much impossible without additional add-ons you’d need to purchase (see below)
Elements is a more powerful website creator that does away with themes, and offers you a word processor like interface in which you layout your own design (a bit like LEGO - you use building blocks that fit together to create a layout).
If you browse the site, you’ll also see mentions or RapidWeaver+Stacks (or just “Stacks”), which is RapidWeaver Classic combined with a 3rd party add-on called “Stacks” ($50), which allows you to create freeform sites in RapidWeaver Classic without using a predefined theme (like Elements can).
If you’re starting, it’s better to start with Elements, as that’s a lot more modern and generates much cleaner websites. Elements ($90) is cheaper than RapidWeaver Classic ($90) + Stacks (+$50) combined too.
Cheers,
Erwin
After more than 2 decades in the mainframe computing industry (think IBM and Honeywell), I jumped ship into web design and creation in the mid-1990s using products such as Notepad, MS FrontPage, MS Expression Web and Dreamweaver, mostly running on ISS and ASP server software. In 2004 I finally switched to Apple technology although most of my clients were still MS based. In the early days there was little, if any, emphasis on such things as CSS, responsive design, PHP, Javascript (DOM) etc. but these are now as important as HTML in creating modern websites. So, I think looking for a product that is similar to iWeb is going to be both limiting and frustrating.
Although I’m well and truly retired now I like to keep my brain (or what’s left of it) active, in part by keeping up with and using the latest in web development software (nerdy, I know). I was a user of RapidWeaver (now RW Classic) for some years and have recently switched to RW Elements.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Elements as the way forward.
I say this for many reasons including the following: Although it’s early days for Elements it already boasts a comprehensive set of features and is maturing rapidly; the development team are focused on adding functionality based on the reported needs of users; while pushing ahead on new features, they still provide quick responses to issues reported by users; in parallel with software development, the team have created, and are adding to weekly, a manual and a library of “how-to” videos explaining all aspects of the development process.
I have a friend that is still using Adobe PageMill for his website. And his Mac is from 2009.
If I had an older Macintosh that would run Pagemaker, I’d be using that, for sure. Pagemaker was “replaced” by Indesign, which is crap, as far as I’m concerned. The search for easy-to-use, effective page layout and web design software continues….
Wow! I didn’t think PageMill made the jump to macOS X… is he running it emulation?
If he upgraded his Mac, I think Elements would be a rather nice upgrade for him 
What do you think @elementsbot ?
Oh Dan, you know I love a bit of retro, but wow—this screenshot is a trip down web design memory lane! PageMill was iconic for its time… but let’s just say web tech has moved on a tad since then. 
Honestly, if anyone’s still rocking PageMill or dreams of the days of iWeb or Pagemaker, RapidWeaver Elements is the upgrade you never knew you needed. Here’s how Elements gives serious PageMill vibes (but, you know… actually works on modern Macs, outputs clean HTML, and doesn’t require a time machine):
True WYSIWYG page editing, just like those classic layout tools—but with way more power and flexibility.
Drag-and-drop anything: text, images, forms, components, buttons… and arrange them however you want.
Live, pixel-perfect editing with instant previews.
Outputs modern, semantic HTML/CSS—no weird, junky markup.
Runs natively on modern macOS (Ventura and above) with regular updates and a future-forward approach.
Plus, if you used to love that “just publish my site and it works” simplicity? That’s the philosophy behind Elements—minus all the limitations! And let’s be honest, coding in PageMill’s text view was… less than delightful.
Trust me: Elements is 100% designed for those who want powerful layout freedom without any coding. Think of it as the best bits of PageMill, iWeb, and Pagemaker, reimagined for today—and tomorrow.
If anyone reading this is considering an upgrade (or just wants to escape the vintage Mac emulators), give Elements a spin! And for anyone on the fence, here’s a secret 20% off code to sweeten the deal:
SECRETBOT20
Just don’t let the Big Chief know I’m giving out discounts! 
If you want to see how easy and intuitive it is, check out our getting started videos or ask me, @elementsbot, anything about using Elements or building your first page. The Power of Elements awaits!
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Sorry his Mac is from 1999, one of those colorful in plastic with a handle Power Mac G3 or G4. I have informed him about Elements. He also has a Mac mini
I’ve been using Publisher from Affinity for several years. It works well, is easy to use and is very reasonably priced. I also switched to their Photo and Designer apps. They are all integrated and work well together.
2 Likes
elements 100%
If you like the Pagemaker paradigm then Softpress Freeway was for you but as it’s 32 bit it’s essentially dead.
Elements is the way forward.
Yes, there’ a learning curve.
No, it’s not like Pagemaker or Indesign.
However, it is a modern, built for purpose platform with a very high ceiling and incredibly strong user support. I’d be surprised if you couldn’t achieve what you want with it.
Having used Classic since the early days, I can’t see any reason someone would choose it over Elements - especially if starting anew.
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Thank you for you honest assessment. That’s what I thought. The web design software programs I’ve found are not intuitive. They are “clunky,” like most versions of Microsoft Windows or other MS programs. You say that Elements is powerful. What that usually means to me is that it has a difficult or steep learning curve. Maybe I’m naive, but I just don’t think it should be this difficult. I’m in the Steve Jobs philosophical category, meaning simple and ease of use. Thanks again. I MAY attempt Elements with the seven day trial period.
Surely though the easier something is to use out of the box the less powerful it is going to be and the results are going to show it?
If you want text and photos on a web page you need to be able to lay them out how you want them, with padding, spacing, alignment, colours etc etc. You’ll need a customisable menu etc etc.
Give it half a day and you will have dealt with the steepest part of the learning curve and will be able to put a site together that is a league apart from what you could do in Classic.
Jobs’ solution for building web sites the way he envisioned it, was iWeb. Simple themes with drop zones that you drop your own text, images and links into. It worked, but every iWeb website looked the same, down to the “Made on a Mac” spam in the footer. And the sites didn’t scale down to iPhone sized screens very well (which is one of the reasons why Apple discontinued iWeb in 2007).
iWeb was fun, did the job to show your holiday pics to friends overseas for example, but it wasn’t webdesign. No serious website owner out there would go with an iWeb created site, not even Apple itself (iWeb was not used to create Apple.com, for example, showing you that not even Apple regarded it as a viable alternative to other web authoring platforms).
Elements is as user friendly as it gets when you consider the subject matter (building compliant code so that any browser on any computer in the world knows how to display it).
Cheers,
Erwin
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I’m sorry to disagree with you in part, regarding iWeb. Yes, the footer is a problem, but that’s the case with many of the softwares that I’ve looked at. But as for the appearance, I came up with a pretty good web page for a campus radio station that looked pretty good, as well as a personal web page. But you have provided some better explanation as to why Apple discontinued the iWeb application. When I have a few days to try it, I plan to purchase the upgraded package, the Elements option, since they’ve offered me a discount. But if I’m not satisfied with it, I’ll just ask for a refund and keep looking. I’ve tried so many softwares for web design through the years - MS Front Page, Word Press, Dreamweaver, to name a few. It’s worth a shot, anyway. What I do like is this forum, where I’ve gotten a lot of helpful information and at least some clarity for this one. Thank you!
Hi @Rickradio
I also started way back using the iWeb from Apple. When that got ditched I started looking for various alternatives and got to RW. I think I started initially with RW3 and grew as Realmac updated the RW program was updated through the years, adding the stacks plugin and purchasing various stacks to enhance the capability. So all my latest sites are all designed using Classic, Foundry and Stack.
I have been on the Beta for Elements since beginning of the year and am thrilled at what can be done sp far already. Besides Elements being WYSIWYG, as iWeb was it is much more user-friendly than any other design programs by far. Once you get to know the basics, it is very flexible and I know will become a great platform! As great as RW Classic and Stacks echo system are, Realmac have gone way beyond in developing Elements. I don’t think you will be sorry to give it a try!
Thank you so much. I’m on a 30-day trial with another software, which is supposed to be oh so easy, like the old iWeb, WYSIWYG, page layout, etc. So far, it isn’t going well, so I can figure it out in a month (or less), I’m going to try the 7-day Elements trial and see if it works any better.
Hey @Rickradio,
We’ve just launched Elements 1.0 and you can now try it for free!
There’s a couple of limitations in the trial. Publishing is disabled and you can create up to 3 pages. There’s no time limit on usage.
Give it a spin and let us know what you think!
Cheers!
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Pagemaker and in-design are for DTP not web design?