I have one question in particular for @Dan: I’m still wondering about the opportunity to switch from RWC to Elements. I have a site with a lot of photos (most of them uploaded directly to the host server) and if I have to switch to Elements, it will be a very long job to redo everything.
I started from scratch and my site is multilingual and uses, among other stacks:
Fondation, Total CMS, Swatches, SEO, Accordion, RWML base, Columnist, Vegas, Photo Pro base, Page Safe, Seams, HTML 5 video, Elevator, FormSnap base, …
I’m keen to switch to a more ‘moderne’ tool, but I can see all the work that needs to be done. I’m not a developer, just a hobbyist and I do it for myself. Otherwise, what’s the future of staying with RWC? Will it evolve in parallel with Elements or not?
If I switch to Elements, I suppose that will I be able to built-up my site in the same way as it is now. If so, which Elements formula I should go for? Can I ask your opinion by looking at my site?
Great to hear you’re exploring a switch to Elements — I think you’ll find it a real breath of fresh air. The WYSIWYG editor in Elements is truly a game changer, especially if you’re coming from platforms that don’t offer a live editing experience.
While multilingual support isn’t built into Elementsjust yet, it’s something we want to add in the future. In the meantime, you can absolutely create language-specific folders in your project and use Globals for shared content sections. Globals let you override not only design settings (colours, backgrounds, etc.) but also text content, which means you can tailor the same layout for different languages easily.
If it helps, I’d be happy to create a quick demo showing how this can be done
That’s quite a stack list — and I can imagine it came with a significant investment over time!
The good news is that many of those features are already built into Elements, or planned for it. Here’s a quick breakdown:
Feature-by-feature comparison:
Foundation → Elements is built on Tailwind, the most popular and modern CSS framework today. It offers everything Foundation does (and more), in a cleaner, more maintainable system.
TotalCMS → Our work-in-progress CMS is built directly into Elements. It’s a flat-file, markdown-based system that requires no setup. Watch the Dev Diary previews for a glimpse of how it works. Just today we released a preview of instant search.
Swatches → I think the need for Swatches is eliminated in Elements. Styling is built right into the component system with a far more intuitive and consistent approach.
SEO → Elements includes a suite of SEO tools. If you have specific SEO needs, let us know — we can help guide you on best practices.
Accordion → Built-in! We have a modern, flexible Accordion component ready to use.
Columnist → Tailwind supports native CSS columns. Some users have already created free custom components using this — and we can help you set that up if needed.
Photo Pro → Elements includes a powerful Gallery component with support for remote/warehoused images — just drop in your images and it handles everything else.
HTML5 Video → Elements’ Video component supports MP4, YouTube, and Vimeo out of the box.
FormSnap → Elements has a robust set of Form components built-in. Add fields, configure your SMTP or webhook, and you’re good to go.
That’s totally understandable — you’ve clearly put a lot of time and effort into your current setup. But rebuilding in Elements is a great opportunity to modernise your site and consolidate features in a cleaner, more future-proof system.
We’re committed to supporting RapidWeaver Classic for the foreseeable future, especially for existing users. That said, we can’t speak to the future of third-party tools like Stacks, which are outside of our control.
Elements is a fresh start, built with modern tools — and yes, you’ll find a lot of familiar concepts from Classic. But you’ll also enjoy a more intuitive, flexible experience. Once you get hands-on with the live editor and built-in components, it’s hard to go back.
If by “formula” you mean plan:
The most popular option is the Plus plan.
If you’re building and selling sites to clients, the Pro plan is the one to choose.
Hi @ben,
Thank you for your detailed answer. As I don’t develop anything for clients, but use RW for myself, what I invest is for my pocket (time included)
Elements is certainly a modern way of creating sites. Switching to Elements, I’ll certainly be spending several months in parallel between Classic and Elements and will need to maintain my Classic version active. From this point of view, I have three questions:
If I switch my subscription to Elements and put my Classic subscription on hold, will I be able to update Classic version 9 for ‘minor’ changes or not?
The difference between the ‘Base’ and ‘Plus’ formula in terms of the number of components included: if I take the ‘Base’ formula, I’ll probably have to buy the extra components I’m interested in every time - correct? Are the components included in the “standard” Elements version (for exemples Gallery, TCMS, Video) in the 3+2 components mentioned in your formula ?
I’m keeping my entire website in the host server. Do I need your cloud storage ? For which purpose this 1 GB could be used ?
Compared to the list of stacks I mentioned in my previous post, I would certainly need several components for my site.
Totally understand where you’re coming from, and yes, I think working in parallel while you get to grips with Elements would be the way to go!
You can cancel your Classic subscription and still get updates until your renewal date.
All the components you’ve seen us demo are included in all versions of Elements. The Base license just limits the amount of Globals and Custom Components you can create. By looking at your site, I’d say you should go for the Plus version of Elements.
This is just for backing-up and sharing your project(s), it’s not hosting.
Once you start building in Elements, it’s hard to go back to the old ways of Classic. But if you give it a try and decide it’s not the right fit, no problem, I can give you a full refund, no questions asked. Hope that makes the decision easier for you
Could you please explain what Globals and Custom Components are ? Similar to third party development ? From my side, I do not foresee any personal development, but focus on what you guys are nicely proposing (as I do it with stacks for RWC).
In case of a specific request - for exemple if I would have a colored curve under a text column (as the Seams stack does), would it be feasible and will you wish to enter into the matter?
I have hundreds of ressources (mostly photos, video) directly uploaded to my host server in order to keep my RW file lighter (with Elements, I would go even farer and maximize the warehousing). In one of your video you explain how to design the web site with CMS. If I am not mistaken, you are using the local ressources. In case of warehousing, can I do it also easily? Will I need to open in parallel a second address in the host server during the building up?
Also, how to do it for get the Classic abo on hold and to switch to Elements ?
Globals are reusable sets of components — perfect for things like headers, footers, banners, or call-to-actions that you want to use across multiple pages. If you update a Global, it updates everywhere it’s used. You can also override both the design settings and content, which makes them really flexible.
Custom Components are like supercharged HTML stacks. You can create your own components — whether it’s embedding third-party code snippets or designing full custom elements using the same styling controls used in built-in components.
Could you share a screenshot or a link showing exactly what you’re trying to achieve?
In many cases, you can recreate these kinds of effects with the built-in components in Elements — especially using background layers, SVG shapes, or clever use of spacing. Once I see the design, I can suggest the best way to do it in Elements
Yes! The CMS is still in development, but we hope to have a public beta available in the coming weeks.
In most of the demos, I’m using local resources, but you can absolutely use remote (warehoused) resources too. Just enter the full URL of the image or video in to your CMS file, and it will “just work”
You can also right-click in the Resources panel and choose “Add Remote Resource” to add a linked reference. Just keep in mind: this will not import the file into your project — it will remain an external link.
If you’re warehousing files yourself, you’re in full control of those resources.
Cancel your RapidWeaver Classic subscription — you’ll still be able to use the app, and you’ll continue to receive updates until your current billing period ends.
Then, go ahead and purchase Elements — Our most popular plan is Plus, as it gives you unlimited Globals and unlimited Custom Components.
Our Billing Manager can help you cancel your Classic subscription. All you need is access to the email address you used when purchasing.
Using the Seams stack, I can add a curved surface below or above another container and with the same color for both of them, it generates a curved (not rectangular) colored part of the page
For the remote ressources, is possible to use a batch - i.e. generate a folder in the host server and put several pictures inside, then, use only this folder as ressource address, so everything which is inside this folder will appear on the page? I’m using this for my dozens of photographs related to one subject.
I could go on with other questions, but I think it would be wise to discuss them once I’m on Elements. I think you have a place to post requests and suggestions.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work for me. I’m not getting any emails back. This may be because my very first RW purchase was made under a different email address and although I’ve changed it in my profile, it may not be taken into account for accounting purposes. What should I do?
Feature-by-feature comparison:
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