I am almost daily prompted to switch from Classic to Elements, but those of us who have not made the switch have decided to continue using Stacks.
I have been using RapidWeaver for 21 years, and have purchased stacks and other third-party plug-ins worth thousands of dollars. Everything works seamlessly with Ulkit-3 by Archetypon, and I currently have close to 20 domains (including subdomains) running.
This is how I see it: If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
I just hope that RapidWeaver will continue to support Classic and, if not, advise me where else to go.
I originally thought I’d stick with Classic or maybe switch to Stacks Pro, but after building my first site with Elements, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it is. I do believe Classic will be supported for quite a while, but that doesn’t necessarily mean all the stacks you’ve purchased will be. If I were you, I’d seriously consider making the move at some point.
If or when Stacks Pro launches, most stack developers will likely focus on building for that platform and stop updating their Classic versions. I totally get your “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mindset—but progress sometimes means letting go of what’s comfortable so you can embrace what’s new.
Trust me, I manage about 25 websites, so I’m very familiar with the headaches of switching to something new… lol. Best of luck with whatever you decide!
Can’t wait to see how Stacks 6 is going to be like.
In the meantime, I am still with Classic 9. With thousands of dollars spent on add-ons, themes, etc. Not renewing subscription because updates/upgrades are not frequent enough to justify renewal price.
At the moment, looking into alternative web creation application. No subscription, quite regular updates. And fair use.
I am holding from moving to Elements. Or maybe not at all. Not at current terms and pricing.
After trying out Elements, it is a very good application.
Everyone has their own unique situation and reasons for using RW, Stacks, or Elements. Personally, I don’t mind a subscription as long as the app is being actively supported and updated—developers have to feed their families too.
The way I see it, I make thousands of dollars a year building client websites with their software, so giving them a couple hundred back feels like the right thing to do… lol. That said, I know not everyone uses RW or Elements as a business tool to make money.
I was staying with classic also - until Dan redid my site in a web video and I saw how easy Elements is…
Pick your top ten needed features from classic to Elements.
9 out of 10 - for me -were answered in Elements
No joke my sites shrunk in size and increased in speed
I too spent A LOT of money on plugins - the only ones I miss are some 1LD animations - a pop up for people leaving - and a pop up for visitors
I’m not sure they couldn’t be done in elements - haven’t explored that feature yet…
My sites finally look the right size!! Always looked to big on a windows machine and now scale beautifully.
I finished the last port over to elements from classic yesterday… very happy and enjoying now going back and adding subtle animations/improvements…
Once you work with elements you begin to see how easy it is to make ‘master’ pages and turn appropriate sections into globals that update across the site, then duplicate and rename - then your site is practically done…