A few thoughts on weaving the web: RapidWeaver 3.5, iWeb, Sandvox

First, let me say that I'm a relative new comer to RapidWeaver but with the recent updates to these web tools thought I'd post a few thoughts. RapidWeaver has moved from 3.2 to 3.5 (beta) and iWeb and Sandvox have also seen updates since my last post on these apps. I'm not new to web development, I've been coding websites since 1997, mostly by hand but I've fiddled with countless programs over the years: PageMill, Dreamweaver, GoLive and most recently iWeb, Sandvox, and RapidWeaver. There were probably a couple others before PageMill. Generally I've always used a text editor as my primary tool, all the others were really just playing around. In no way am I an expert, but I've been around the block a few times.

I tried the earlier versions of RapidWeaver and never quite got it. I only really played with it so perhaps I did not give it a fair shake. I'm fairly certain I did not. My problem then, and to some degree now, is the "theme look." While the themes have gotten better many of them still have a canned feel about them and too many seem to rely on a plastic/glass style. This can also be said of the iWeb templates and the Sandvox templates. I think my other problem was the feeling of being confined. I'm used to the freedom of coding whatever I want. The template based process, quite frankly, freaked me out a bit.

That said, I think many of these templates for the three are very nice and quite stylish. I think the iWeb templates are the best but I think iWeb is the worst of the three in terms of over all performance. The code is a mess, the sites way too heavy and very slow to download. Sandvox, at $39 is not a bad deal. It's putting out better code, more optimized graphics, and quicker to download sites but it seems equally closed though bit more flexible. If I want access to html and greater customization Karelia offers a Pro version for $69 but I'd never pay that kind of money for those features. I'm certain that both iWeb and Sandvox will improve by leaps and bounds in their next versions but for now, I'll pass.

Last and best of the bunch would be RapidWeaver. With the release of iWeb and Sandvox earlier this year I got curious and decided to revisit RapidWeaver. Of the bunch, RapidWeaver is my favorite and at $39.95 I think it is a bargain. I've put this site together using RapidWeaver, but not because of it's ease of use. I could have put MacProductive together much more quickly by just coding it up. But as an experiment and basis for review I wanted to really give RapidWeaver a real run through.

So I dug in. My first run through resulted in a basic site that looked just like one of the default templates offered. Within a day I'd performed a couple modifications. Within a week I'd switched themes twice and modified more. I wanted to shake the look of the standard theme. If this had been a site for my family I wouldn't have cared much. But as my professional face, a template will not work. So, I modified, modified, modified. I started with 3.2 and had few problems to speak of once I got the hang of it. FTP can be a bit funky at times. Over all the tweaking of templates works well though it seems a bit slower than just coding from the ground up.

With the release of 3.5 I backed up and jumped right in. It's definitely an improvement. In particular I like the blog permalinks, code preview, and the interface changes. It doesn't make customization of code a whole lot easier but the new inspectors are an improvement. This version, as with the last, allows custom css and javascript via the inspector, no extra cost. It's also worth noting that of the various page styles RapidWeaver allows an html page and I can use html in the styled text pages too. Overall, it's quite a bit more flexible than iWeb or Sandvox and with no extra fee for a pro version. I'm sure I'll continue to discover more that I like. There are a few bugs but it is still a beta. There's nothing scary enough that I won't use it, I'll just be sure to backup more often.

Will I use RapidWeaver to build websites for clients? That I'm not sure about. I don't think I'd feel comfortable charging someone for an out of the box, template-based site unless they just need it quick and simple. If they are on a budget then a RapidWeaver site would be the way to go. But if they want something custom, something built for them I don't know that I would want to take the time to customize an already existing theme. Perhaps I just don't have the hang of it yet but it seems much slower going.

I'll end by saying that RapidWeaver is the application I'd recommend to any client, friend, or family member interested in building their own site. If I know a client uses a Mac and wants to maintain their site content after I build it I'd think that RapidWeaver would be a great way to go. Overall it is the best in its class and will improve, I'm sure.

I think we'll all enjoy the progress that RapidWeaver, along with its competition, will make in the coming years.

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