Agreed, @Neil. My sites are (imo) very professional-looking, and don’t contain stuff just because I can. I design for a very large integrated healthcare system - we have over 20,000 employees and a marketing department with over 50 employees. I design exactly what they ask me to. I’m quite certain that if I used a different set of tools (e.g., Dreamweaver or Visual Studio), my sites would load faster. Thankfully, they do quite well in desktop, which is where the bulk of our visitors still come from. But, the mobile sites - no matter what I do to optimize them, they still load slower than I desire.
As for the CMS at $100 per domain - they are now locked into the 1st one chosen. For business reasons, one of my clients recently decommissioned a site with TCMS built in. At the same time, they purchased a new domain and asked for TCMS to be included (two totally different purposes for the sites, so SEO wouldn’t carry over, and neither would the functionality of TCMS). Maybe it’s just me - but I was very surprised when I learned that it would require a new license (so, I used ECMS instead…which is all they really needed for the new site). Yes - I pass along the cost - but when I mentioned it, the decision maker at the client (who built WP sites in the past), then asked (directed?) me to build the site in WP. Nope, he wasn’t going to pay another $100 for a CMS when he was no longer using the one he’d already paid for.
That’s what I thought, too, @Scott_Williams. But somewhere along the line, I’m guessing the policy changed. TCMS licenses can no longer be transferred. I’m not at my laptop now, but if you look at the documentation on his site, you’ll see this is the case.
I’m currently testing a new (to me) CMS with a built in blog and free add-ons for e-commerce, events etc.
It costs $69 per domain, but you can change the domain within the backend as many times as you like. As long as it’s only used on one domain, you’re all set.
It’s a bit tricky to set up in RW, but the good thing is it’s compatible with anything. You just just put PHP code snippets on the page and it brings in the blog etc.
Yes, of course. But, it’s a tough sell when WP offers it as part of the package. I had a hard time selling it the first time around, but managed to do so. The second time around, I was asked to justify spending another hundred dollars - which led to a discussion on the merits of RW versus the competition. No good answers. My guess is that most people spending the money don’t really care what solutions we use, as long as the end product looks great, functions well, and is cost-effective.
Of course, but it just makes it less attractive, especially when Easy CMS is so powerful.I also liked the casual and trusting approach to transferring a TCMS license -just get in touch and we’ll sort you out. It’s the kind of friendly service I associate with good RW devs.
Thanks for starting this thread, Justin (and thanks to the admins for allowing it). I got Blocs 3 out of curiosity (though I’ve barely had a chance to learn it beyond just fooling around with it) but I am intrigued with the idea of learning Elementor. It’s nice to hear some real first-hand experience with it.
I too have been following Blocks for what seems like years… yet they still have some way to go to get SMEs, agencies. PR/marketing companies and the like on board.
Web design isn’t a significant income generator for me (just a hobby, so far), so I’ve been content to stick with RW as it’s familiar and I like the community. Would nice to have another set of tools though
Given the obvious issues that RM seems to be suffering at present (I’d suggest financial issues are at core of the present clusterfuck) then having alternative platforms to RW is no longer an interesting option but a necessity. A reasonable part of my income in reliant on RW and I’ve not a lot of faith in RM anymore, so for me personally finding an alternative is now a priority.
I love you Dave, but this is not quite how I worded things. This is how bad rumors get started and how people start picturing me in a bad light. I don’t think that is fair.
I have started to get requests from people that purchased Total CMS licenses 3 years ago. Their customers left and now they wanted to repurpose that license for a new customer. I did not personally think that was fair to me. After discussing this with multiple Total CMS users, it was suggested to me that I allow transferring of a license to a new domain within 12 months. I thought that seemed fair so I went with it.
Now I am not a cold, heartless guy who would ever say anything like “regardless of the reason”. Most of you know me pretty well. Does that seem like something that I would say? In fact, I have yet turned down anyone’s request for transferring a domain. However, I am glad that I have a policy in place so that I feel comfortable turning someone down in the case that I feel someone is taking advantage.
Yes. It does this to ensure that the domain that your domain is licensed. However, you can request a special file that will permanently turn the phone home off. However, at this point you forfeit the right to ever transfer a domain. This is because that license file will allow you to run Total CMS on a domain forever. This option is also great for corporate environments that are behind a firewall and do not have any outside network access.
The current 8.1 update woes are unfortunate. I don’t see how you are think this has anything to do with financial issue though. RW 8.1 was in beta for months. Many users including myself thought that is was an extremely solid build that could have been released a month ago. Then shit hit the fan. I was blown away. It’s unfortunate that some users got affected.
However, as many of you know, people only post when they have problems. We are not seeing the countless thousands of users that the update has been amazing for. The good news is that Realmac and YourHead have already shipped updates to fix most of the issues. The remaining few issues should be sorted in the next few days.
I am a business man too… If you made a living making websites, you have to continue looking for new tools and keep your options open. That is just good business. I am glad that most of you here still use Rapidweaver + Stacks as your core product. I work my ass off everyday to bring you the tools that you need to make better websites than you ever could year after year.
Thank you all on this thread that have been loyal and have allowed me to serve you over the years. I am confident in the tools that I will be shipping this year. They will blow away anything else on the market. I am off to work on Foundation 2… have a wonderful week everyone!
As I’ve said in other places on the forum I just see a lot of warning signs. That you don’t doesn’t really change things, as it is just my opinion. Maybe the signs are real and you can’t read them, or maybe I’m entirely wrong.
Erm, OK.
Are you thinking that any of my comment is aimed at you? I’m not sure why you do (if you do) but they weren’t. I’ve no problem with what you do at all. You know me well enough to know that if I did, you’d be the first to know. My comment was about RM and RW, no one else.
Wait - Joe…I love you too! I’ve long supported you, and I am the first to say I’ve succeeded in a large part due to the fantastic products you sell. I could not build the websites I do (using RW) without your stacks.
But - you did say, and I quote: "FYI, I will unregister this license this time, however, I will stop allowing licenses to be moved after 12 months form (sic) now on."
True, you did not say regardless of the reason, and I apologize for putting words in your mouth. But, your response indicated to me that the policy was set in stone. And, yes, my boss was/is insistent that I learn WP based on what I told him. He felt strongly that the CMS was no longer being used, and should be able to be incorporated into a different site, also owned/managed by him. And, I can’t disagree.
True. I have nothing but the highest regard for you…and you have always done right by me. Thanks, Joe. Sorry again for the misunderstanding. No offense meant.