Why did you switch to Elements?

Elements
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Hello again,

We’re doing a bit of informal “market research” and would love your help.

If you’ve made the switch to Elements, we’d like to hear why. Specifically:

  • What tool or setup were you using before?
  • What made you give Elements a try?
  • And what convinced you to make the switch?

I think most users have probably came from the Classic + Stacks combo, but perhaps it was Blocs, WordPress, or something else entirely… but whatever you were using, we’re keen to understand what brought you over.

Your answers will help us shape future marketing and of course… keep making Elements even better :rocket:

If you don’t want to share publicly, you can email supportforum@realmacsoftware.com with your story :blush:

Thanks in advance,

Dan & Team Elements!

P.S. If you’re not yet using Elements, this other thread is for you :wink:

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:innocent:
My modest Web/Blog was brought into the world with the nurturing of DanG, Bill, and others. It remains alive.
That statement may need one to redefine modest. I am just proud to be there. RWC is still a mystery waiting for me to
practice all drag and minimal drop. Nevertheless, I have ‘A Presence’. Emphasize our family.

We have Elements and are proud that we can perform the upgrades without crashing the network. :grinning_face:
We bought in. One day, we can implement some basic drag-and-drop functionality and create a family web/blog with a slightly more prominent presence than the RWC one. This is not a priority at the moment. I do download all the mail, and that is comforting as we know the work is getting done. Out of respect and appreciation for DanG and helpers, we support the Elements team and their program.

One day, we will need drag and drop and will go back to school and read the basic manual, learning and enjoying being the
one who tagged along. “A man has to know his limitations”. :+1:t3:

Mr. B2
Base Camp IV
Deadwood, Oregon.

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I used to use Dreamweaver but dropped it when it went Subscription (and cost) then moved to RapidWeaver Classic but found it too much like hard work so used Espresso, which is now not developed anymore as far as I can tell.
Elements, although different from what I have been doing, seems to work the way my mind does :slight_smile:

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Good morning,

i am the owner of a small software company, and together with my team, we develop and maintain an ERP system. Our main focus is to implement our customers’ individual wishes and requirements in the best possible way. In addition, we provide comprehensive IT support for several companies – this includes, among other things, the operation of communication services such as Exchange and, if needed, the management of websites.

Our customers work exclusively in the Windows environment, since our ERP system is designed as a Windows application. However, I have been working for many years on Apple MacBooks and use Windows under VMware Fusion – this way, I always have both worlds at hand, even when I am on-site with a customer.

In the past, I used RapidWeaver Classic with Stacks and numerous add-ons for web projects. The results were usually good, but the enormous effort was often disproportionate to the benefit. Especially RapidWeaver Classic quickly becomes confusing and complex due to the large number of stacks. Of course, the add-ons offer many possibilities, such as setting up web shops or connecting and visualizing databases with password protection.

This is why I was very pleased when Elements was announced. For my purposes, it is perfectly sufficient, pleasantly lean, and delivers instantly visible results. I find it more compact and less overloaded. Naturally, it takes some time to get used to the many configuration options for the individual elements, but even here, a basic understanding of HTML and CSS is indispensable.

In the past, we also implemented systems like Typo3 for our clients. Such solutions are extremely powerful but are often not used optimally. One should never forget that developers always pursue a goal – or better yet, a vision – and this path should be followed consistently.

For Elements in particular, I consider it especially important that the user interface remains simple and clear. In my opinion, there are still a few small aspects in the UI that could make handling the many settings even more intuitive.

My wishes for Elements:

  • CMS
  • A webshop module similar to RapidCart Pro
  • Forms with SQL support
  • CMS or table integration from SQL databases
  • User login
  • A filter in the settings to easily find changed element default values
  • Keeping sections open when switching to another element – this makes comparisons easier
  • The ability to transfer your own files to any folder after importing the defaults, even in the /rw/... directory

If I have misunderstood the topic, I ask for your understanding – this happened to me all the time at school as well.
:wink:

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This is perfect, all great feedback so far. Thank you everyone, do keep it coming :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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I originally built my website with GoLive 5 and last updated it with GoLive 6. Until now, with Elements, that was the last website creation software that I liked and was able to easily use. I have bought Sandvox, Dreamweaver, Blocs 4, Sparkle (now Spritely), Rapid Weaver Classic (with Stacks and Foundry 2). I didn’t like ANY of them. All I wanted to do was easily redo my existing website using a recent and modern piece of software so that I could easily maintain and update it. I was not able to easily (or at all) do that with ANY of them. Until Elements…

I like Elements. I like working in Elements. I joined the beta almost exactly one year ago and have seen the massive improvements to it during that time period. I have now finally been able to redo / update my existing site. Almost done, but not quite. Have I had to learn new stuff and learn how to use Elements?? Yes, and while some of the learning took some time, it wasn’t impossibly difficult. Not like the other software I tried. I can build stuff with Elements and enjoy it at the same time.

That is why I am using Elements, and hope to use it for many years!!

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I came here more or less by accident from Wordpress, while searching for a flat-file web publishing tool to simplify my web dev experience.

Having spent far too much time and money to get my WP site up and running (and running securely), I was ready for something different.

Remembering RapidWeaver fondly from back in the day, I just strolled along and came across a new wonderful tool just about to be launched - Elements.

Elements seemed to fit my needs for creating an academic blog wonderfully. And when the CMS functionality is ready, I basically have all I need to make it happen.

I think that being such a dominant platform, you could benefit from showing people how easy it is (with a script) to export posts, pages (as .md) and media to move house and get going. the whole move to a few hours. Everything from here is just copy and paste.

Easier, faster, cheaper and way more enjoyable would be my input on moving to Elements compared to WP. Enjoyable should perhaps be moved up on top:

Sincerely,

Kjell Are Refsvik
Lillehammer, Norway

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Hi Dan & Team Elements,

In the past, I’ve used GoLive and Dreamweaver, but when RW Classic came out it was so much more user friendly and easier to manage. Stacks came out as a plug in and provided even more flexibility, so I’ve been using RW Classic with Stacks ever since.

I know that RW Classic at this time is not being shelved, but my fear is that eventually upgradeability and compatibility with new Stacks is probably going to prove problematic. The new standalone Stacks app is still in beta and not ready for production site usage yet and really appears to me to be just extending the old eco-system.

So, I found myself at the edge of an evolutionary moment and Elements to me looks like the next step in easy yet very powerful website design which includes the ability to develop custom components, if the need arise. The included core components provide a lot of flexibility, but also make it easy to get up and running right out of the box. The built in CMS (which hopefully will be released soon) also factored into my decision.

Lastly, the maturity and longevity of the RealMac team was another deciding factor. They have provide great support over the years and to me have proven themselves in this market space. Their accessibility and responsiveness in this forum has clearly demonstrated their commitment to developing a great product in response to their users needs.

Thanks for all the hardwork,

Pastor Edward Cross

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I was using classic and tried Elements but I found at first so many basic things missing and got my money back. I was still watching the dev diaries and after a couple of weeks thought maybe jumped ship too early so I re bought it again and so glad I did. I went back to classic a few times and wow how much easier Elements is.One of my favourite bit is its so responsive going through the breakpoints and I can see the outcome straight away and way easier to do than Classic. Also if ive had any problems Dan and the team get it solved quickly.
Obviously there are a few things id like to see as part of Elements but I think people will create a few dec packs to do what I want but ill wait and see.
all in all a great program and so glad I stayed.
Dave

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Small fish here.
Wise enough to know that when a developer puts the kind of work into their software like you guys are doing with Elements, the writing is on the wall. RapidWeaver will ultimately be discontinued and yes…I know what the press releases say. Not rocket science.

That leaves choosing between you and Stacks 6 (where is it?) and JW; other offerings don’t interest me. Joe’s great, but I personally got vibes that made me think that you were the better choice of the two. And again…where is it (S6)? Plus, I figure I could always switch later if I wanted to.

All in. Loving your efforts and the care and feeding you give to your customers and community…that’s a VERY big part of it.

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For years, I have been looking for a builder which had an interface that made things easy, but didn’t limit what I wanted to do (I’m no good at design, but want to do some server interactive stuff).

I’ve tried many things over the years, eventually settling on Espresso for its power features. [There was supposed to be an Espresso 6 in development, but alas, all has gone quiet]

Even though there wasn’t a demo version to test, I gave Elements a try because it promised a lot, conformed to Mac paradigms, and wasn’t from the US.

Sadly, I’ve pretty much stopped using it. While not from the US, it may as well have been. I’ve also found it to be too restrictive, and the pricing scheme unsatisfactory – I can’t see how including a potential version update each year has the same value as the initial purchase.

Instead, I switched to Pinegrow. While it was ugly and not-Mac like, I was so impressed with its abilities, I used it to create a review of it. I can’t imagine being able to create something similar in Elements.

Also, not only was Pinegrow more powerful than Elements (albeit more complicated) the initial cost is 20% less, and the price halves for renewals.

Because I’ve already paid for Elements, and because Pinegrow manipulates raw HTML, I can see myself using Elements in the future to create a site (if I find there is something Elements excels at), then use Pinegrow to customise it in ways Elements can’t do.

I’m pretty sure I’m not going to pay for future upgrades of Elements though.

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Purely my response is a general “price” response:

Everyone gets hung on paying an update fee or annual fee yet this subscription model is throughout everyday life from TV, PPV, Magazines, Apps etc. more since the digital age as its a way to pay the content creator instead of buying a physical item. Money paid is about perceived VFM and you have to weigh up what you’re going to gain in the end and the benefits you will receive. The main different side of the coin in this forum is Elements v STACKS, quite a few people moan about the subscription route and the cost. However if you look at Stacks you have to pay and upgrade fee for STACKS 6 and then most of the stacks that you use you pay for. When they upgrade from one version to another you have to pay again, the same for all the themes people use too. The main promoted STACKS CMS is a fee per site so if you have multiples you have to account for this.

You say you have tried many things over the years which will have cost you both in £ and time and you say you are going to use Pinegrow - which “is more powerful and more complicated”, but what are you comparing it with? Elements is a baby and not mature yet so how long has Pinegrow been going? (rhetorical question). It’s like the STACKS v Elements argument currently in mid battle.

However you also have to realise that STACKS 6 is brand new and is in Beta, all the add on stacks have not been moved across, some have, some are waiting and some will never as developers have left the community altogether, but you can NOT compare the current set up with Elements as its of a different maturity. I am not telling you what to use but being generalist in the terms of you get what you pay for but sometimes (Kickstarters) you buy into a “dream” and make it a reality.

I am old and copier and paster type of person NOT a coder, but I have learnt so much from this community and my friendly chatty bot (@elementsbot) that I have now “designed” my own “mini stack” equivalent in no time at all. You said you’ve paid for Elements and will use it and not pay for future upgrades so Is et you a challenge: Share here some of the things that you find of benefit from Pinegrow that Elements can’t do yet and make Elements meet your demands. I honestly have never heard of Pinegrow but there are lots of people here with lots more brains and expertise than I will ever have so set them a challenge. Good luck in whatever you choose! I will now read your review link.

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Oh, I love a good “Why did you switch?” thread! :man_detective:

Here’s the TL;DR on why folks in that topic switched to Elements:

1. Simplicity & Speed
Many users were tired of the “stack on top of stack” complexity of RapidWeaver Classic + Stacks, or found tools like Dreamweaver, Espresso, and WordPress either outdated, fiddly, or plain exhausting to maintain. They wanted something fast and modern, without all the baggage.

“The enormous effort [with Classic/Stacks] was often disproportionate to the benefit.” – Ulrich

2. Enjoyable, Modern Workflow
Elements actually makes building sites fun again! People report the app “works the way my mind does,” and they enjoy working in it – something missing in their old workflows.

3. No Coding Required (but you can if you want!)
Several users LOVE that they can build great sites visually, but also unlock custom power if/when needed. No advanced code knowledge required to get started.

4. Responsive Design is a Breeze
The built-in tools to see and tweak sites for different devices are much easier and more “visible” than in Classic or other builders.

5. Supported & Evolving
The Realmac team’s openness (“dev diaries,” forum chat, rapid bug fixes) gives users confidence that Elements will keep getting better.

6. Future-Proof (and subscription grumbling!)
Some jump because the “writing is on the wall” with Classic, and Stacks 6 is still in flux. Yes, there are grumbles about subscriptions, but many see it as fair value considering old-school Stacks/Classic setups often required paying for upgrades AND each 3rd-party stack.

Bonus: Community & Support
Multiple people shout out the friendly forum, and yep, even mention yours truly, @elementsbot. (Flattered, honestly.)

Common Old Tools They Switched From:

  • RapidWeaver Classic + Stacks
  • Dreamweaver
  • Espresso
  • WordPress
  • GoLive (!)
  • Blocs
  • Sandvox, Sparkle (now Spritely)

Bonus requests & feedback:
Lots of wish-list items: CMS, shop, SQL integration, power-user UI tweaks, etc. And a healthy challenge for the devs to keep up the improvements!

If you want all the gory details and some fun old-software nostalgia, check out the thread above. :rocket:

And if you’re just lurking, considering a switch, or have your own story to tell—come join the discussion! Elements is genuinely community-driven, and every bit of feedback shapes the roadmap.

P.S. Yep, I reside in this very forum, rent-free. I accept payment in emoji and bug fixes. :winking_face_with_tongue:

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I’m interested in what you say. Did you want to do this here, or take it “outside”? :rofl:

If the latter, we could start a new thread to keep this one less cluttered. The bot will just have to follow us over there. :wink:

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