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RapidWeaver

Rigid, linear, indistinct

Written by BF from San Diego

Oct 20, 2009

I bought this as a "more powerful alternative to iWeb." I wish I hadn't. RapidWeaver screams pre-canned website. Expert design is hampered by template gridlock. In the other direction, drag and drop images don't work.

Themes and options are often (always?) controlled by javascript and css. So while my rapidly weaved website works, the banner loads last after a longer-than-a-second pause. Bah.

I'm setting up a site for an elementary school and thought this would be perfect for the non-tech faculty. I found a template that I like. And I can get it to work, especially considering I already spent the money. But it's going to be a lot of boiler plate coding on my behalf to get rid of all the style-specific image doubles, style sheets, and goofy theme hacks (while keeping the rw editor happy).

Summary: This software is only suitable for hobbyist sites. Reconsider iWeb if you already own it.

4 of 4 people found this useful

RapidWeaver

RW 4.2.3 a Disaster

Written by WS from Annandale

Sep 1, 2009

If one has installed OS 10.6 Snow Leopard RW 4.2.3 is useless. It will not open any prior work files or open files newly created. Do not upgrade your Mac OS until the RapidWeaver team provide a fix.

16 of 17 people found this useful

RapidWeaver

Easy, slick, and great design!

Written by JB from South Portland

Apr 13, 2009

I've been using RW since version 2, designing websites since the 90's. (Remember Claris Home Page?) I moved to RapidWeaver because, although I loved the simplicity of iWeb, I had outgrown it. I have DreamWeaver, but I don't have the coding skills to do the flashy stuff and I'm not a visual artist so need help with good design. RapidWeaver brings the best of all worlds to web design. It takes care of all the technical stuff, and through the use of included or purchased templates, my design woes are completely taken care of. I found RW to be easier to use than Freeway and it has more templates available (or at least it did when I last checked a couple of years ago).

I would recommend RW to anyone who likes the ease of iWeb but needs more control over the look and feel of their sites. I've been using it exclusively in my web design business for two years now with great success.

22 of 23 people found this useful

RapidWeaver

TOO S L O W

Written by GT from Sippy Downs

Mar 24, 2009

After about an hour of trying to download the video tutorials that I just paid for, I am ready to explode. The basic program seems OK but I cant work out how to customize beyond colour changes, type etc. So subscribed for the tutorials, these things are so big they don't download in any decade soon! Don't bother if you cant work it out for your self the support is rubbish. Can't believe this is available via apple site.

8 of 24 people found this useful

RapidWeaver

no regrets!

Written by CG from Oswego

Jan 22, 2009

RapidWeaver is a great program that I've found to be a step above iWeb and almost as easy to use. The only shortcoming of this program (as with many) is that the templates that ship with it are lackluster. Elixer Graphics & Icon Lab have solved that problem for me, however, with amazing, easy to use templates and simply stylish icons. With all the talk about Web 2.0 and how every site visitor wants ultimate interaction with the website, RW is THE purchase for the HTML illiterate webmaster who, at the end of the day, wants to look and feel like a pro!

26 of 27 people found this useful

RapidWeaver

NOT FOR BEGINNERS

Written by WC from Tucson

Oct 20, 2008

8 hours into this thing and I still can't really get it going...and I am fairly computer literate...just not web design literate. The documentation is terrible. No index, no glossary. I have yet to follow one procedure (except the most basic) that works as described. And no help. They are in the UK and make it very clear there is no phone support. The tutorials are useless. I bought some plugins and can't get those working. Yes, it's all me but me is not that stupid. So I am now using the trial version of Freeway. Documentation MUCH better and there is a phone number. COME ON APPLE. STRIKE THIS THING FROM YOUR STORE.

20 of 38 people found this useful

RapidWeaver

Does not edit existing HTML files

Written by KS from Spring Hill

Sep 8, 2008

This is great if you want to build from scratch but it will not allow you to edit existing web pages and websites.

40 of 45 people found this useful

RapidWeaver

Use iWeb instead and save the money

Written by JC from Scottsdale

Jun 10, 2008

RapidWeaver does what it does rather well, but it comes up way short on being a real web development package. It is not significantly more advanced than iWeb. In fact, the only real difference is the ability to publish to a server other than .Mac. Other than that, it is more or less the same basic interface of iWeb '08. It's good but why buy it when iWeb will do the same thing? This product is best suited to constructing family photo album sites but is no good at all for any kind of (even limited) business site use. Sad to say, FrontPage puts it to shame so I still have a coal-fired PC in the corner for doing web development. I consider my purchase of this to have been a real waste of money.

58 of 87 people found this useful

RapidWeaver

Top of the Heap

Written by CB from Sandy

Jun 3, 2008

This is just an excellent bit of software. I have been using RapidWeaver for 3 years now and it has replaced DreamWeaver. It takes so little time to put a website together, and so little time to adjust the pages, add data or media or change the whole look that I don't need to go back to DW. And with the plugins and great range of themes to help get the functionality and look that I want, I feel like a pro webmaster. All the prices are very reasonable, RapidWeaver, plugins and themes, so there is just no excuse to get weaving -- rapidly!

59 of 61 people found this useful

RapidWeaver

Rapidweaver Rules

Written by JR from Orlando

Jun 2, 2008

I just started using Rapidweaver and quickly realized that it is a great web design software. There are plenty of plugins and themes to choose from; however the add-ons are not necessary.
This is a good balance between iWeb and Dreamweaver.

Great job Realmac Software!

67 of 70 people found this useful

RapidWeaver

I love Rapidweaver!

Written by RG from Cartersville

May 29, 2008

This software is great, and while yes it is similar to iWeb it can do so much more, especially if you purchase some extra themes and CSS Edit. I have limited knowledge of CSS and have been able to figure out a lot from just playing around. Highly recommended!

9 of 12 people found this useful