Recently, RW has taken two paths: alongside the Classic version, a “spin-off” continues to grow in the form of Elements. Each new feature is tempting and brings its own innovative aspect. However, the Classic version continues on its path, with new features as well.
There have been suggestions that Classic should gradually give way to Elements, but the news does not seem to be moving in that direction.
On the one hand, Elements comes with a more modern structure, but on the other hand, Classic is bringing out the big guns, such as TCMS 3. So how should we interpret headlines such as ‘Goodbye Classic. Hello Elements’? Both will be designed and aimed at different forms and different public ?
I would like to have a clear position on both sides of the line that separates them today. What are your thoughts?
After 5 months of customer support and my first 1,000 hours on Elements, I’ve gathered some data and will create a guide on my website to explain the differences to Classic users. I’ll analyze the mental and practical approach, starting from the Classic experience.
Since I’m promoting the switch from Classic to Elements (I was the first to do so), I get a lot of questions from existing Classic customers, and this helps me understand what advice to give.
It certainly is not "‘Goodbye Classic.” I do 100% of my work in Classic. The mature framework has a vastly better more extensive feature-set and I’ve certainly looked at converting Classic files. The trouble is even relatively simple layouts are too much of a hassle to convert over. Recently I was trying to add a YouTube link to an elements file and you do it by dragging the icon in the URL bar over to elements. The problem is Firefox doesn’t have an icon in the URL and there seems to be no way to just paste the URL in like you can in Classic.
If it is that difficult to do something simple it is going to be way to complex to do a complex task. It is still way too early for them to have focused on a component store. It would be better for to hire those developers of the add on components to help built the core elements app so they have more then three people trying to build everything by themselves. As of the next billing cycle for elements I’m going to have spend at least $650 on the app (including the price of an add-on or two) and I have nothing to show for it.
Even some of the elements most touted features are not even all that superior when you think about it. The way Classic lets you switch between edit and preview allows for you to test how a page will work without needing to do the round-trip to the browser. Being able to hide certain stacks that are you experimenting with it edit mode is a function I rely on all the time. It is sort of similar concept to how graphics apps have a pasteboard for ideas that you are thinking about but don’t want to throw out just yet.
You can copy and paste YouTube and Vimeo URL’s into the “Remote Resource” window. Just right-click on the resources heading. You can even paste in multiple and they’ll all be added to your project. Hope that helps.
Cool, glad to see all the core video features coming to version one of elements. Having all the basics videos is a good goal for the first version I’d say.
OK, thank you for all your feedback. Let me return to the original topic. If both the Classic and Elements versions are going to evolve in parallel, that’s fine. Perhaps, depending on the content, they won’t focus on the same audience.
With Classic, if we switch to the new version of TCMS 3, there is also a cost to consider. So it’s something to think about. Stay with Classic or switch to Elements and start from scratch.
As far as I’m concerned, I only use Classic for myself, I don’t develop it for third parties. It’s a platform for showcasing my photos, videos and texts, with a view of the world. Until now, I’ve found stacks that suit my needs, which I haven’t seen (yet) in Elements. I was wondering if Classic was going to stop this niche, but if I understand correctly, the answer is no, it’s continuing.
I admit that the team behind Elements is doing a very good job, but so does the team behind Classic too.
You seem to not know that Stacks is releasing its own dedicated app that will keep backwards compatibility with all of the stacks that you have invested in. It’s in beta and Total CMS 3 already works with it.
Zdenek might have been comparing Elements to Classic due to the fact that Classic has put out numerous shipping updates over the last couple years alongside the updates to Elements. Those two products are not just betas so the comparison makes more sense.
