Shall I switch to Blocs?

@svsmailus I am kinda using both, mainly because RW has so much more extensions than Blocs. If I could ditch RW 100% I would have already done it.

On a side note, they are preparing a new version, where Stacks will not be present and RealMac promises to deliver the next generation of RW.

It’s an exciting period to be in the low-code web app development

I must of missed the RW iPad version? :wink:

Rich the Weather Guy

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I used to build every single website using WordPress and Divi, only to end up with sites that were sluggish and loading a lot of bloat in the form of javascripts and icons I wasn’t using at all (due to using Divi).

Which features is Blocs missing, that you get from third party stacks on RW?

Hi @Norm - just jumping in this thread too as I talk to a lot of RW users still, I think it’s mainly stacks that is the feedback I’m getting - RW users have invested a lot in stacks that they use so much.

They are all possible in blocs 100% but to have it in a bric would be so much better for them - I’d love to see more features being brought into blocs like a more depth SEO helper, .

Nesting pages is one thing mentioned & some of the top stacks from JW.

But the big pull here is how blocs works out the box & iPad ! The future is great!

Ps, don’t forget the menu problem!!! Still need it sorting. Cheers!

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Yeah this is what I’d like to hear about. Some examples.

Here are my favourites:

  • Blog page (RW)

Creates a blog page and its summary (Recent, Latest, etc.) automatically and without any plugin. The editor is right in RW, meaning the website does not need any backend to add/edit the content. Posts are embedded in a file uploaded on export

  • Additional Code (RW)
    Similar to Blocs, RW provides the ability to add manual code, but it provides access to add code to almost every section, using both global css, js, before ‘body’ and almost the same for each page. You can also call a js function you added in a page from a button, but it’s really a hack not an expected behavior. It would be great if we had some js functionality, e.g. write a function, function to run after page loads and function to embed to a button

  • Formsnap (Yabdab)
    Creates complex forms, supporting all fields you can think of, validation, posting formData json to webhook, post formData to Google Sheets, post formData to Microsoft SQL Server.

  • Datatably (J. Barth Navigio)
    Live database data in your website

  • RWML (Will Woodgate)
    Support for multi language websites

  • Sitelok (Joe Workman)
    A handy little tool that locks a page with a password

IMO Blocs just needs more developers building add-ons, that’s the only thing that lacks and it makes total sense considering how much time each app is around

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I used that a lot! Was very good.

Others:

SEO helper (JW)

https://www.foundationstacks.com/demo/navigation/

Splider & Grid plus pro by source is seamless and ticks so many boxes that users want from the word go.

I know so many of these things can be done in blocs - but users want things much easier out the box.

One of the main dissadvantages of RW is that RW doesn’t build anything beyond an iWeb template website without choosing a framework, Stacks and the stacks to go with it (at great cost). The great majority of RW users get these choices very wrong, chosing the weekly discounted 6 year old stack, and then adding to their site using the Framework supplied by their favoured Developer. This approach leads to often conflicting multiple versions of script files, multiple downloads of FA icons, etc. and the resulting site can be an almighty mess. There are no standards within the RW eco system so there is plenty of opportunity to upset things.

One of the advantages that Blocs has over RW/Stacks is that it is very difficuly to get into this mess with Blocs. Blocs is an integrated building tool whereas RW can be like building with non standard knock off Lego blocks, if you make the wrong choices.

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@webdeersign I am largely out of touch with RW these days. Are there any specific stacks with features that you would like to see included in Blocs?

I also wonder if there are any areas where you think Blocs is behind at present in terms of workflow usability or features? Blocs has been making much faster progress, but this is a process and feedback helps with direction.

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Number 1 would be CSS Grid which for me has revolutionised how I build sites. Once you go CSS Grid, you can’t go back. This is built into the Skeleton based framework called Source and it made all other frameworks redundant. It is a micro framework and it is very easy to get a 100% PageSpeed site with little effort.

Other than that I would say Poster2 from Jannis and Splider2 slider also from the Source developer.

I can’t really think of any other way where Blocs isn’t ahead of RW.

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I just had a look at the website of a rather prolific stacks developer and some of the pricing has definitely increased since I was using RW. It was quite sobering to see a single animation stack on sale at $90. I am starting to think I discovered the primary cause of rising inflation around the world.

I never did get to try Source, though I heard good things about it.

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Exactly where I came from :slight_smile:

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This is a concern amongst many Stacks users that some developers are raising prices approaching and even beyond the cost of the main App. Yet another reason to switch to Blocs.

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I would not care about the price. The main issue is the dependency. Every dependency is also a liability in this industry, no matter the scale

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I totally agree - I mentioned these 2 on my post above, they are both brilliant. Would be great to see Norm include the grid system into Blocs - I have used it when playing around with Source and so good!

I have never used it but I thought Siphon looked quite clever and I gather it can be used in conjunction with Configurator to create a sort of funnel with computational features.

Are the standard Blocs columns not using Grid? :thinking: Applying Grid classes manually or using the settings panel are showing the same classes in the Inspector.

CssGrid is different than a manually created grid system.

I’m referring to: