What RapidWeaver is
RapidWeaver is a visual website editing software program. RapidWeaver is designed specifically for users with little or no technical knowledge as it pertains to website coding, though understanding HTML & CSS will only enhance your experience with RapidWeaver.
What RapidWeaver is not
RapidWeaver is not a Content Management System as it exists locally (on your computer) and is not designed for multiple users to be operating it simultaneously. RapidWeaver does not create a database on the server that dynamically creates or links content, though there are plugins that increase its functionality in this direction. By default RapidWeaver outputs your website as “flat” files, which simply means that every page is independent of one another and that no necessary relationship exists between them.
Why I Love RapidWeaver
Many clients come to me wanting very simple websites for a business or idea of theirs. RapidWeaver allows me to quickly and easily create simple websites. In addition, when I need a more complex feature added there is a large development community, which have supplied the market full of inexpensive and easy-to-use addons.
Navigating the Software
The top toolbar contains most all the buttons you will need for adding and editing pages and content to your website. These buttons will be addressed in detail throughout this book.
The left toolbar contains a bird’s eye view of everything you have created on your website. That is your website’s Pages, Resources (i.e. images, movies, files), and Statistics.
The bottom bar provides additional options, the most noteworthy is the ability to switch between Editing & Preview mode. When switched to preview mode a demo of the page will be provided and the right bar will disappear (limited changes can be made in this mode). Alternatively you can right click pages at any time and view them in the browser of your choosing provided you have the browser installed on your computer.