RapidWeaver without it’s addons would have gone out of business years ago. The base products UI hasn’t changed much in its 15 year life. RapidWeaver out of the box isn’t built on a responsive framework like bootstrap.
I’ve only been using Bloc’s for a few months, and I’ve seen @norm add more new features than RW has in the last two major releases.
If you’re not familiar with RW, it’s near worthless without a minimum of the stacks plugin ($50) and a bunch of stacks addons($100’s) alongside a purchased theme or framework.
I don’t see Bloc’s going that way as Norm continues to develop new features built into the base product. I’m looking forward to the new API, as well as Blocs 3 that will be utilizing the latest bootstrap 4 framework.
I’m also waiting for the new preview app coming soon I hope.
Just my 2 cents. I developed some CMS Stacks for my own use in Rapidweaver, which I use at about 40 client sites. I never started selling them, because there are too many other Stacks out there, which libraries were in conflict of the ones I am using. I think in Blocs this will be different, because there exists already the basic Framework (Bootstrap). So as developer I can already relay on it an I do not have to add another one, which will perhaps be in conflict with Bootstrap/Foundation,… I think if BlocksApp provides the basic libraries, an the developer will use them, without adding other ones, the performance should rest the same as now.
Honestly, I just kind of took a bit of acceptation to a thread being started under the premise of thoughts and then detailing the groundwork of why things should be considered worthy of being priced higher, before the Blocs API is even openly released. It just seems out of place to try and lay such pricing groundwork like that to a community and create such expectations.
If an add-on is worth a higher amount or even worthy of payment, it should be proven based solely upon its own merits and decided upon by users. Not because of some upfront discussion of perceived value by any developer, even if just hypothetically.
Perhaps I will start “Robin Hood Custom Blocs Brics” and offer free solutions to all the Brics that should be free but people are instead trying to inappropriately or unproportionately make money off of, as seen widely in the Rapidweaver community.
Full ack. In addition, the inappropriate Brics you mentioned would be much more difficult to justify, as BlocsApp already has so much functionality built in.
At the end, only these developers are successful, which provide exceptional addons and provide first class support.
Nobody is expecting 3rd party developers to produce a host of terrific products and never charge a penny, but the reason many of us are coming over to Blocs is because we are unhappy with Rapidweaver and by extension many of the 3rd party addons.
None of us are compelled to buy that $15 stack that allows us to simply send an email or make a button vibrate, but I think the whole Rapidweaver mentality is out of date. They are operating as if nothing has changed since the days of iWeb, but nowadays we are competing with everything from Wordpress to Squarespace that provide faster and cheaper alternatives.
I think most of the concerns can be boiled down to: ‘Make good products that have new or better features or make things easier and then users will make a judgement on whether to buy’ - That’s fair - I was just trying to ask that when you look at a product, please don’t make a judgement based soley on price, as products do take a LOT of hard work and time to develop & support. I think that’s reasonable.
It will no doubt be plainly obvious who genuinely wishes to advance the cause of Blocs as an app and help the community - verse those whom show up and desire to just potentially exploit the community for money through add-ons and don’t participate with Blocs overall.
Personally I thought of the Developer API as more of a means to add to the app and make it better for everyone with additional features. With useful Brics potentially even being rolled directly into the app release itself to advance the app for all users. Not really a monetization model for 3rd parties, but seemingly many 3rd party developers just see it as a payday via Blocs users and are eager to swoop in. I however thought of it as an opportunity for people to help advance the app through third party contributions in the spirit of helping everyone, mostly @norm to advance the app through these contributions adding features to the app itself.
Currently both Brics and Blocs, have much room for advancement concerning features, including even basic common things.
So because Blocs users potentially do not have the ability or desire to search out an API / Library / Framework and use the apps features to hook these things into their project with provided usage instructions, someone will now make a Bric and charge Blocs users $10 or more for common open things that are readily available for all to use?
Sorry but that is the exact definition of the majority RapidWeaver add-ons, and like stated above its absurd.
No. You will now go out and create for all these Frameworks free Custom Brics and give free support for users who have trouble with them.
I agree on that, and is also not my business model. As stated above, I am not afraid that this will happen to BlocsApp, as it is already much more advanced.
I personally want to create really advanced add-ons, with a satisfied user community. And I want to be allowed to charge money for such kind of products.
The market will regulate itself. Now demanding what should be free and what is allowed to be charged money for will only kill innovation. Let’s see what will happen the next months.
Don’t worry about basic features being charged for, I’d nip that in the butt pretty quickly and I’ll tel you how. I’ll be making custom Brics for very simple tasks as well, such as mail chimp and I’d make them completely free.
However, we as a company also have plans for Brics that we will charge extra for. Right now, I don’t want to charge yearly for Blocs, push the price too high because the app becomes more pro and I don’t want to fragment the pricing model with various versions, but I do want to add BIG features at an additional cost somehow because that’s how Blocs will survive. For example, Pinegrow offer a wordpress version of their app, rather than do that, we would offer Wordpress Brics and additional export features and charge separately for them, I personally feel this works better. Because the user who wants Wordpress pays extra and the user who doesn’t isn’t forced too.
So to summarise, I think the API will offer both, paid Brics and free ones, I don’t think charging for basic API tap in Brics will have a leg to stand on because I or someone else (blocsusers-free-custom-Brics.com) will just implement those and dish them out free. However, there will be much more advanced Brics too that will come at a price. It’ll be no different to any other Developer community, Wordpress, Sketch, Photoshop, Shopify. They all offer products made by 3rd parties, many free and some at a price.
One thing is for certain there will be a lot more free Brics than premium ones. I personally like to pay, because I like to get some form of support. Not everyone will offer support for free Brics.
I think this is encouraging news @Norm. To be fair, I would say that @BlocsAddons produces some of the more useful products for Rapidweaver with a relatively small number of the more innovative stacks.
Coming over from Rapidweaver, I imagine some of us feared an onslaught from developers who release a new product every week or two that often duplicate existing products, because they are effectively using much of the same code. They then take over the forums with endless self-promotion and tend to be the same ones who rarely fix bugs or answer support questions when things don’t work.
On a side note, I really hope Blocs doesn’t move towards a subscription model, because I am very reluctant to go down that route. It’s the feeling that you never own something and that if you stop paying you lose access to old work, which is just a non starter for me.
As an example, I purchased every new version of Photoshop for almost 15 years and stopped dead the moment they announced Photoshop CC. I’m still using CS6 quite happily and when the moment comes I’ll most likely switch to Affinity Photo.
Thank Norm for again chiming in on this discussion. I think you explained Blocs vision very well. We have seen many companies go the subscription route and I do subscribe to Adobe Photographers bundle. Mainly just because it’s affordable and I use Lightroom and Photoshop daily. However I really dislike that model as it normally only caters to the professionals. @Flashman makes a great point about just using something else, Affinity is coming on strong with all of there products. (designer works well)
The most important thing to me is that “Blocs” is successful. I want nothing more than for you to be compensated fairly for your work. Just like any profession.
Nice discussion here. I completely support the @Norm’s vision for API.
Actually, BlocsBrics.com has been online for some time now. It currently forwards to BlocsTemplates.com, but I am planing to use it for a website for sharing of the best free brics for Blocs.
Sorry but that is the exact definition of the majority RapidWeaver add-ons, and like stated above its absurd.
) will just implement those and dish them out free. However, there will be much more advanced Brics too that will come at a price. It’ll be no different to any other Developer community, Wordpress, Sketch, Photoshop, Shopify. They all offer products made by 3rd parties, many free and some at a price.
There is so many features of Bootstrap not implemented yet in the Blocs and awaited to care of…