The Realmac Software Company Blog

Australian Macworld reviews RapidWeaver 4

Dan Counsell — 2008-08-15T10:30:00+01:00

Here at Realmac HQ, we recently received a surprise package from the other side of the world. After the run of great reviews from the UK Mac press, it was great to see a copy of Australian Macworld magazine with a review of RapidWeaver 4 drop through the letterbox!

Whilst the review may be short it's certainly very sweet, proclaiming that RapidWeaver 'takes the pain out of web publishing'. Reviewer Tim Haddock awards RapidWeaver a very respectable 4.5 Mice rating and concludes the article:

“RapidWeaver 4.0 strikes just the right balance between customisability and ease of use.”

This flattering review appears in the very latest issue, August 2008, which is available at Australian (and New Zealand) news-stands now!

RapidWeaver 4 reviewed by iCreate

Dan Counsell — 2008-08-01T16:00:00+01:00

After some great reviews in MacUser, MacFormat and Macworld UK, RapidWeaver 4 has been reviewed by UK Mac magazine iCreate.

The team at iCreate were impressed with the user experience in the application calling it 'extremely Apple-ish', and awarded RapidWeaver a 4-star rating. Appearing in Issue 58, which is available today, the review is full of praise for RapidWeaver 4 - here's just one quote from the article:

“For those who want just that little bit more [than iWeb] in terms of flexibility and features, RapidWeaver makes a lot of sense. It avoids the expense and plethora of features provided by the likes of DreamWeaver while being easily capable of producing advanced and professional-looking domestic and commercial websites.”

The iCreate write-up completes the set of reviews from all the major Mac magazines here in the UK, and we're thrilled with how RapidWeaver has fared. Achieving nothing less than 4 out of 5, it proves that RapidWeaver 4 really is the best version of RapidWeaver ever!

MacFormat reviews RapidWeaver 4

Dan Counsell — 2008-07-23T12:20:00+01:00

Here at Realmac HQ, we're steadily building up a collection of (frankly, rather excellent) RapidWeaver 4 reviews from the likes of Macworld USA, Macworld UK, MacUser and many more. Today sees another addition to our reviews library, as MacFormat (UK) have published their RapidWeaver 4 review in the very latest issue that hit news-stands just this morning.

Awarding RapidWeaver 4 a 4.5/5 rating, Deputy Editor Christopher Phin highlights some of the new additions to RapidWeaver such as the overhauled Manual, the four new themes and the new user interface. In summing up the double-page review, MacFormat’s verdict is short and sweet:

“[RapidWeaver is] still the best way to build a professional website with ease on the Mac”

We’re thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive reaction to RapidWeaver 4, and we’ll be releasing RapidWeaver 4.1 shortly - stay tuned for more information!

Two blogs are better than three (or one)

Dan Counsell — 2008-07-17T11:43:04+01:00

I've previously posted that we thought three blogs were better than one. However after a few weeks of posting and observing, it's become clear that having three blogs was perhaps a little too ambitious. So we've combined the main Blog and the Propaganda blog into this one: The Realmac Software Company Blog.

If you want to keep up-to-date on what goes on at Realmac HQ, you should subscribe to this Blog where Nik and I will be posting. If you're interested in web development head over to Ben and Aron's WebShed.

RapidWeaver 4 wins Macworld UK Editor's Choice Award

Dan Counsell — 2008-07-15T07:47:02+01:00

Earlier on in the year, RapidWeaver 3.6.6 a nominee for a Macworld UK 2008 Award. Hot on the heels of RapidWeaver 4 receiving a ‘4 Mice’ rating from MacUser magazine, we are thrilled to see that RapidWeaver 4 has been awarded a 5 star rating from the reviewers at Macworld UK. Not only that, but the application also received a coveted 'Editor's Choice' award!

The review, which appears in the August 2008 issue of the magazine, recognises many of the new features in RapidWeaver 4.0 - here’s just one quote from the article:

“With a simpler interface and streamlined workflow [RapidWeaver] beats just about any entry level site builder on the market.”

We’re ecstatic about the review here at Realmac HQ, and look forward to seeing many more reviews appear in the near future!

Over 15,000 downloads in less than 3 days

Dan Counsell — 2008-06-17T13:20:17+01:00

RapidWeaver 4.0 was released on the 29th of May at 12:00pm (BST). In the following 60 hours it was downloaded over 15,000 times burning through 550 GB* of bandwidth via Amazon. Our shiny new website had 194,834 page views by 46,830 visitors, 31,770 of those were unique.

Three blogs are better than one.

Dan Counsell — 2008-06-02T10:20:02+01:00

Welcome to the new look Realmac Software. If you're a regular reader of our company blog, you may have noticed it's now absent from our shiny new site. Don't worry, in it's place are three totally new blogs…

Nik now takes care of the official news at the Propaganda blog, while Ben and Aron will be posting about web development at the WebShed. I however will be writing about software development and what goes on behind the scenes at Realmac Software. Sounds exciting, huh?

I'll keep this post short as I still have plenty to do and catch up on after the launch of RapidWeaver 4.0. Oh and if you're wondering who all those people are that I mentioned above, I'd recommend taking a look at our company page.

RapidWeaver 4: The MacUser Review

Dan Counsell — 2008-07-08T11:27:05+01:00

With RapidWeaver 4 now having been out for a month, the first magazine reviews of the new version are starting to hit the presses. The first to appear is from MacUser magazine here in the UK. Reviewed by MacUser Editor Nik Rawlinson, RapidWeaver 4 receives a fantastic ‘4 Mice’ rating and we’re thrilled with the review here at Realmac HQ.

The review appears in the most recent edition of MacUser - Volume 24 No 14 (4th July 2008) - now available on a news-stand near you!

Say Hello to Team Realmac

Dan Counsell — 2008-07-04T09:03:08+01:00

After a week of painting, floor-mopping, drilling, desk-building, and more, we're thrilled to share with you the first shot of our new HQ. Whilst Andre, Josh and Kevin couldn’t join us for a complete team photo (they're based all around the world), we commemorated the move with a photo of the five Brighton-based team members in front of one of our "Realmac Green" walls!

If you're wondering who's who, say hello to (L-R): Nik Fletcher (PR Ninja), Ben Counsell (Web Guru), Daniel Counsell (Big Chief), Aron Carroll (Web Guru) and Danny Greg (Cocoa Junior).

Over the coming weeks, we'll be sharing some more photos of the new office (as artwork goes up on the walls) so stay tuned!

On The Move

Dan Counsell — 2008-06-20T16:00:00+01:00

Eagle-eyed Realmac watchers may have noticed we recently added a new face to the Realmac team - welcome "Lil" Danny! We've also been looking for a new office, as we're out-growing our current location. Thankfully Dan has found us a new home and next week sees us move to the new location!

Boxed!

Dan Counsell — 2008-06-16T17:06:17+01:00

Here at Realmac HQ, we often get asked whether RapidWeaver is available in any retail stores as a physical, boxed, product. For a couple of years now, RapidWeaver has been available throughout Europe as a boxed product thanks to our resellers, however that didn't help our American customers - many of whom wrote to ask 'When are you coming to the US?'. For all those who have been patiently waiting for boxed copies to become available: your wait is over as we've teamed up with Smith Micro to bring boxes of RapidWeaver to every single US Apple Retail Store including the Apple Company Store in Cupertino! It's also available at many other resellers, including Amazon.com.

Supporting Acts

Dan Counsell — 2008-06-05T16:00:00+01:00

With the launch of RapidWeaver, we've changed a few pieces of the jigsaw here at Realmac HQ. One that is of most interest to our users is how we're handling support. Previously, we received all support requests through the HelpDesk and we felt this could use minor tweaks.

We've also significantly improved the documentation for RapidWeaver 4.0 so if you're looking for an in-depth guide to RapidWeaver, be sure to check the Support page to download the new manual in PDF form. You can even pick up a printed edition of the manual (shown below) via Lulu.

Say Hello to RapidWeaver 4

Dan Counsell — 2008-05-29T12:43:18+01:00

After almost a year in development, we're thrilled to finally launch RapidWeaver 4.0! The new version is a substantial upgrade to the way the application works, so in order to make the transition as smooth as possible, here's a few tips to help ensure your update goes without a hitch. We've also got a newly-updated Frequently Asked Questions page that you might also want to read through.

RapidWeaver 4.0 is Leopard-only, and will not work with Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). However, we are going to be updating RapidWeaver 3.6 for Tiger users soon - so don't worry if you've not yet upgraded to Leopard.