I have published a new series of screencasts on the ExtraContent feature found in some 3rd-party themes. ExtraContent has become more popular in 3rd-party theme development, and the feature offers increased flexibility in how your content is displayed inside the layout of a RapidWeaver theme.

Some tutorials discussing ExtraContent in specific themes have been available here in the RapidWeaver Classroom curriculum, but I felt it was necessary to cover the topic in a more linear way, as is the norm for series of tutorials here at RapidWeaver Classroom. This new ExtraContent series will take you through the different methods of utilizing this feature, and each video tutorial works with a different ExtraContent-enabled theme, so you will be able to see a number of different examples of how ExtraContent is enabled in these 3rd-party themes.

There are currently 4 new tutorials that take you through the ExtraContent feature, and at least one more will be added to the series in the near future.

For more information about ExtraContent, or to see walk-through videos I have created for specific ExtraContent-enabled themes, please visit ExtraContent.info.

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver 5.0, ExtraContent, screencasts, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials

I have added an 8th lesson to the core RapidWeaver 5 curriculum. Lesson 8 under Section 101 discusses a variety of subjects that are important for anyone designing a website. This lesson starts with 4 new tutorials: Measuring Space, Resizing Images, Finding Images, and Setting Up Web Hosting. These are all important topics to supplement the prior lessons, and I will be considering more topics to include in this lesson, so please leave a comment here if you have any requests!

Tags: RapidWeaver 5.0, screencasts, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials

Lesson 7 of the RapidWeaver 5 curriculum in Section 101 has been updated with new tutorials using RapidWeaver 5. These tutorials are primarily targeted at advanced users, or those familiar with HTML and CSS code, as they deal with theme modification. These tutorials provide an overview of the structure of a RapidWeaver theme and the specific files that are involved with making modifications. If you are interested in the information provided in these screencasts, but are not familiar with HTML and CSS code, then you might find the Grad School curriculum useful.

The updating of Lesson 7 marks the completion of the original RapidWeaver Classroom curriculum, using RapidWeaver 5. At least one additional lesson will be added to the “core curriculum” in the coming weeks, detailing many additional topics that any website developer should be familiar with. Not every topic will be directly related to RapidWeaver, but knowledge of these topics is important and should be very helpful when building and publishing any website.

Thanks for your continued support!

Tags: RapidWeaver 5.0, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts

I am very excited to announce the launch of RapidWeaver Classroom Grad School, an advanced curriculum that explores modification of RapidWeaver themes using HTML and CSS. Grad School steps you through the basics of HTML and CSS, so that you have a firm foundation as we begin working inside the contents of RapidWeaver themes, customizing them the way we want. This curriculum eliminates the intimidation associated with HTML and CSS, giving you the confidence to tweak your website to look exactly the way you want.

The Grad School curriculum begins with 54 tutorials, covering the subjects mentioned above, as well as a series on setting up and using the aMember membership system. RapidWeaver Classroom uses aMember, and it is a great solution for subscription websites. The aMember series takes you through a real-life membership website under development, using both aMember and RapidWeaver.

This curriculum will be dynamic, with new tutorials released regularly. What does this mean for the RapidWeaver Classroom curriculum? Nothing changes! The RapidWeaver Classroom curriculum will continue to cover the latest RapidWeaver updates, plugin releases and other related topics.

Learn More or Register Now!

Tags: RapidWeaver training, Grad School, screencasts, theme modification, HTML, CSS, aMember

A new tutorial covering the Speech Bubbles Stack from Joe Workman is now available to RapidWeaver Classroom subscribers. This is a pretty awesome stack that creates speech bubbles with rounded corners for your content. It’s very easy to use and accomplishes something that was once more complex to achieve -- I know from personal experience, having added speech bubbles to RapidWeaver Classroom, and trust me when I say that it wasn’t nearly this easy! Thanks to Joe for another great stack, and I’m sure most of us can find good use for it in our projects.

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts, Joe Workman Stacks, Speech Bubbles Stack, stacks

I am happy to announce the release of a new tutorial series called “Choosing a RapidWeaver Theme.” This series is comprised of 5 screencasts that total about 45 minutes -- discussing how to find themes, along with tips and strategies to use when looking for the best theme for your project. With the release of this series I have re-organized the curriculum listing a bit, placing these tutorials just below the lessons for RapidWeaver, along with the ExtraContent and BlocksBox tutorials, since these are all theme-related screencasts.

Subscribers to RapidWeaver Classroom can now view this new series. Additionally, several more screencasts have already been produced on another topic, so another new release is coming very, very soon!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver themes, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts

I have published the 6th screencast to the Complete Design Demonstration series -- this tutorial demonstrates how the Learn More page was created. The most unique part to this page is the use of a free Table Stack created by Phil Warrender.

There are still a couple of screencasts left to go in this series, and I am working on quite a few new tutorials for custom stacks as well, so check back soon for more!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts

A 5th tutorial has been added to the Complete Design Demonstration series. This video demonstrates the creation of some features of the members' page. Specifically:

• Adding 5 columns of images and text to an ExtraContent area
• creating anchors
• linking text to video that displays in a Lightbox

This tutorial demonstrates the use of snippets for ExtraContent and the Lightbox stacks from Joe Workman. It is a lengthy 18-minute video with a lot of information packed-in! Look for more tutorials in this series to appear next week.

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts, stacks, ExtraContent, lightbox

I am very excited to begin offering a new series that incorporates much of what is taught here at RapidWeaver Classroom. The Complete Design Demonstration series takes you through the process of designing a website from start to finish, using many of the different 3rd-party plugins and theme features such as ExtraContent. In this first C.D.D. series, you will see how many of the pages here at RapidWeaver Classroom were developed, using 3rd-party plugins such as Stacks, PlusKit, Carousel, Accordion, and EasyTube Gallery.

This series is best viewed after you have made your way through all of the RapidWeaver and 3rd-party plugin tutorials, so that you are familiar with the interface of the different plugins. The purpose of this series is to demonstrate the usage of plugins and other features in a real-world scenario, and to break-down designs that are seemingly complex into something much more simple.

I have published the first 4 videos (45 minutes) of this series to start, and more screencasts will be added in the coming weeks as I demonstrate how to build a majority of the pages found here at RapidWeaver Classroom. You may also notice that I titled the series with a number 1, as my intention is to create multiple series over time that demonstrate the usage of different plugins and strategies.

I hope you enjoy this new series and find it helpful as you explore how different plugins can be used in your own projects. There will be more to come soon!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts, stacks, EasyTube Gallery plugin, 3rd-party RapidWeaver plugin tutorials

I have published 5 new screencasts on troubleshooting RapidWeaver issues. This is an important series because RapidWeaver, like most software, can have issues that result in lost work and/or great frustration. I may add additional troubleshooting tutorials in the future, so if you have any tips that I’ve left out then please let me know.

Next week will see new custom stacks tutorials from Joe Workman, so stay tuned!

Tags: RapidWeaver 3.6, RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, troubleshooting RapidWeaver

I recently published a new video tutorial on the FaqMaker plugin from Loghound. This plugin has actually been around for quite a while, but I have recently rediscovered it myself and made it a part of my toolset. FaqMaker provides some great flexibility in creating a highly functional -- and even creative -- FAQ for your website. FaqMaker can utilize anchors or even a Lightbox to provide information to your visitors. Most websites need an FAQ of some kind, so FaqMaker is a great solution for this purpose.

This screencast is available to RapidWeaver Classroom subscribers and can be found underneath the section of Loghound plugins. Enjoy!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts, FaqMaker plugin

You can now own all the available RapidWeaver Classroom tutorials as part of the "RapidWeaver Classroom: The Complete Library" DVD. This DVD is created on-demand, so all of the tutorials available at the time of purchase will be included on the DVD. These are the same high-resolution videos available with a RapidWeaver Classroom membership. The previous DVD offering still remains and is now called "The Essentials" -- and includes just over 100 of the RapidWeaver Classroom tutorials.

The RapidWeaver Classroom DVD is a great option for those who have limited internet access or travel often, or those with ISP bandwidth restrictions. Of course, for those who want access to the latest RapidWeaver Classroom screencasts, then a subscription is the best choice.

Tags: RapidWeaver 3.6, RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver DVD, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts

I am happy to announce that RapidWeaver Classroom is now covering plugin releases from another fantastic RapidWeaver plugin developer, Greg Barchard. Our first tutorial release covers the weaverPix plugin, which provides a very flexible Flash slideshow feature to your RapidWeaver projects. There are two tutorials on the plugin and you will surely be impressed with the options it provides over the Photo Album plugin's Flash slideshow feature.

Be on the lookout for more screencasts on Greg's projects in the future!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts, weaverPix, RapidWeaver training

I am happy to announce the release of 3 new video tutorials covering the excellent RapidCart 2 plugin. This is an update to the RapidCart plugin that has already received the RapidWeaver Classroom treatment. RapidCart 2 adds a ton of enhancements that really makes it stand-out as an exceptional e-commerce plugin for RapidWeaver. You can enable multiple payment processors, such as PayPal and Google Checkout, and there is a lot of flexibility and customization options for your e-commerce page in RapidCart 2.

These new screencasts are available to subscribing RapidWeaver Classroom students. Enjoy!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidCart 2, screencasts, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials

Two new screencasts have been produced and both involve ways to add video to your RapidWeaver website. The first screencast covers the new EasyTube Gallery plugin, which provides a great way of displaying videos from YouTube. The second screencast covers a bundle of Video Stacks, to be used in conjunction with the Stacks plugin. There are 13 stacks in all that can be used to embed video from YouTube, Viddler, Flickr, Vimeo, QuickTime and Twitter-related video services. These two screencasts are now available to RapidWeaver Classroom subscribers.

While on the subject of add-ons for the Stacks plugin, these add-ons or “custom stacks” have really taken off over the last couple of months. I’m really excited about this as these stacks are providing all kinds of functionality that is very easy to implement. As a result I will be producing more screencasts on what I consider to be the best of these custom stacks, so expect to see more tutorials in this area very soon!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts, video with RapidWeaver

I have released a new tutorial in the “How to...” lesson. The tutorials covers the creation of anchors. An anchor is used to link text or an image to another location on the same webpage. It’s great for an FAQ, or for a long page divided into sections. This tutorial is specific to RapidWeaver 4.0, which allows you to add custom attributes in the Add Link panel. It’s very simple to do and can be very handy!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts, anchors

Today marks the release of a new lesson of “How to...” tutorials at RapidWeaver Classroom. These tutorials are found under Section 301 in the RapidWeaver Curriculum, and it’s an area that will be added to very consistently in the future. I love teaching new 3rd-party plugins as they are released, but it’s important to cover different methods of accomplishing needs, and so that’s what I hope to address with the “How to...” lesson. Three new tutorials have been produced to kick-start the lesson, and these cover:

1. customizing a header
2. creating a sign-up form
3. accepting payment or donations through your website

For quite a while I have been accepting feedback from RapidWeaver Classroom students, and as part of the feedback I ask what types of tutorials they would like to see in the future. This is one area where these types of requests may be fulfilled, so I’m excited to hear what all of you are wanting to learn and I will do my best to satisfy as many request as possible!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts, how-to

It’s been a busy week that has culminated in the release of video tutorials on 3 separate RapidWeaver plugins. Yesterday saw the release of tutorials covering GoogaLoom and RapidCart, and now there are new tutorials available for the TabLoom plugin -- YabDab Software’s latest offering. TabLoom provides a great method for organizing a lot of content on a single page, by breaking the content into separate sections inside of a nice, tabbed interface. A total of 3 videos are available on TabLoom -- combine those with the 3 others released yesterday and that’s a total of 6 new screencasts this week totaling close to an hour of new training!

With the TabLoom and GoogaLoom tutorials now available, RapidWeaver Classroom is up-to-date on all the current offerings from YabDab Software. The goal of covering all major RapidWeaver plugins at RapidWeaver Classroom is getting very close to completion, so check back often for announcements on more new tutorials coming soon!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts, TabLoom plugin

Several new screencasts have been published on the GoogaLoom and RapidCart plugins. Both plugins provide e-commerce solutions for RapidWeaver. GoogaLoom comes from Yabdab Software, maker of the “Loom” plugins, including PayLoom and FormLoom which are already covered here at RapidWeaver Classroom. GoogaLoom differs from PayLoom in a few ways, the most obvious being that it utilizes the Google Checkout system instead of PayPal. Another unique benefit to GoogaLoom is that it supports digital products for download.

RapidCart is another e-commerce plugin for RapidWeaver, and it is from omnidea. RapidCart utilizes PayPal as well, but it also boasts some really nice eye-candy, in the way of animations and a built-in shopping cart feature that keeps visitors on your page until they go to checkout. It’s a very nice implementation with a unique style, and I’m happy to have it included here as a part of RapidWeaver Classroom.

More screencasts are on their way very soon, as in less than 24 hours, so stay tuned for another announcement!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, GoogaLoom, RapidCart, E-Commerce

It's been several weeks now since the RapidWeaver Classroom DVD has been made available, but I haven't actually given it much mention here. The DVD contains about 90 of the video tutorials, including all of the mandatory lessons on RapidWeaver itself. I consider it to be an especially attractive option for those with inconsistent or unreliable Internet access, or for those who have bandwidth capping imposed by their ISP. Of course it's available to everyone, regardless of whether you have an active subscription to the website.

Thanks to those of you who have already purchased the DVD! I've just added an option for USPS Priority shipping which expedites the delivery to 2-3 days. Please note that the DVD is only available to residents of North America, on account of the expensive cost to ship overseas. Then again, if the additional expense doesn't matter to you then you're welcome to contact me about shipping rates to your part of the world.

Tags: RapidWeaver 3.6, RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, RapidWeaver DVD

Last week I updated the RapidWeaver video training library with all-new Stacks screencasts. Now you may be confused because there were already Stacks screencasts there before, but those were ones created by YourHead, and now that they have received the RapidWeaver Classroom treatment, I have replaced the YourHead versions with my own. So you will now receive the detail and explanation for Stacks that you are used to getting with the other plugin tutorials! Thanks to Isaiah at YourHead for letting me post his video tutorials until I had completed them myself.

Speaking of Stacks, did I mention that it is the greatest plugin I've ever used?! Now that's completely my opinion, but I absolutely LOVE this plugin! As an aside, this new RapidWeaver Classroom design is done almost entirely with Stacks. So what are you waiting for? Go watch the new tutorials on this awesome plugin!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts, stacks

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a topic of such frequent discussion that I felt the new SEO tutorials here at RapidWeaver Classroom should be available for free for everyone to view. The SEO tutorials are now available for viewing in both the subscribers' area and for free on the Curriculum page (scroll to the bottom of the page). Note that the free videos are hosted by Vimeo in HD, but enrolled students should watch them in the subscribers' area to view them in a bit better quality.

Feel free to leave comments here on these videos, and let me know what kinds of questions I did not address. SEO is such a huge topic that it could certainly warrant more video instruction in the future.

Tags: RapidWeaver 3.6, RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, seo, screencasts, search engine optimization

I have added a new set of tutorials covering Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with RapidWeaver. There are a total of 7 tutorials covering many different aspects of SEO, and this is an important topic for anyone building a website. It's also a controversial topic, with many conflicting thoughts and opinions on how to best optimize your website for search engines. Part of this is because SEO is a constantly changing science, with search engines becoming smarter and modifying their algorithms in order to produce more accurate and valid results.

I have attempted to cover all of the major, valid SEO strategies and make a point to explain the strategies that are most valuable, in addition to including ones that may or may not have great impact. It's certainly an interesting aspect of website design, but it's also very important and so I encourage everyone to go through these new tutorials and execute some of the strategies yourself!

Tags: RapidWeaver 3.6, RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, search engine optimization, seo

New video tutorials covering the SiteMap plugin are now available to RapidWeaver Classroom subscribers. There are 5 tutorials on the subject, and I have gone into great detail to cover all aspects of the plugin. In addition, viewers will learn how to submit the generated sitemap to Google and Yahoo! in order to improve SEO. Sitemaps are important and I recommend all websites have them regardless of the overall size of the site. The SiteMap plugin makes creating a sitemap a breeze, so check out the tutorials to learn more!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, SiteMap

New screencasts have been added on the excellent RapidBlog plugin from Loghound.com. RapidBlog syncs with Google's Blogger to allow remote blog posting from anywhere. It's a great solution for those who need to blog outside of RapidWeaver. These tutorials are now available to RapidWeaver Classroom subscribers.

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, RapidBlog

The RWmultitool section has been updated with a new screencast covering the full version of RWmultitool. This full version provides a lot of features not available in the free, Lite version of the application. This screencast is available to RapidWeaver Classroom subscribers only.

Stay tuned for new tutorials coming next week!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, RWmultitool, screencasts

I have added a new series of screencasts on the excellent FormLoom plugin from yabdab software. FormLoom is a more powerful contact form plugin for RapidWeaver, and it includes a lot of great features to offer flexibility that the built-in Contact Form plugin doesn't include. There are currently 3 FormLoom screencasts available and one more will likely be produced in the near future. Current RapidWeaver Classroom subscribers can immediately access these tutorials for viewing!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver video tutorials, RapidWeaver training, screencasts, FormLoom

I have added a new screencast today to the Carousel lesson, covering the creation of a custom Carousel Style. Carousel allows you to create your own style using images for the background and buttons, so if you are comfortable with creating these graphics then you can have a very custom carousel to display on your website.

Stay tuned for more soon on the GoogaLoom and FormLoom plugins.

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts, Carousel

New screencasts have been added covering the great Carousel plugin from YourHead Software. There are currently 3 tutorials available to RapidWeaver Classroom subscribers, and one or two more are likely to be produced in the near future. Check back often as new video tutorials are added weekly!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts, Carousel, yourhead software

Back in January I made an informal announcement here on the blog that RapidWeaver Classroom had surpassed the milestone of 100 video tutorials. Well, an official announcement and special offer has been posted over at the RealMac Software Support Forum, and to spoil the surprise a bit I will tell you that there is a discount involved! So jump over to the announcement thread, leave a comment and take advantage of this limited-time special!

Tags: RapidWeaver 3.6, RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts

Another ExtraContent tutorial has been released, detailing the new PlayMore theme from seyDesign. PlayMore offers three ExtraContent areas that provide all kinds of flexibility for presenting content. Thanks to Adam Merrifield at seyDesign for his outstanding RapidWeaver themes!

Tags: RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts, Playmore, seydesign

New video releases continue today with the introduction of the Accordion plugin from YourHead Software. Two Accordion screencasts are now available and one or two more will likely be added to conclude that series. Accordion is a very useful plugin, and we use it right here at RapidWeaver Classroom to present our FAQ. Enjoy!

Tags: RapidWeaver 3.6, RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials, screencasts

At some point in recent weeks RapidWeaver Classroom passed a major milestone of over 100 RapidWeaver screencasts! There is now over 14 hours of RapidWeaver video tutorials available! Still, there is much left to be done and 2009 promises to be HUGE as there are plans to produce another 100 screencasts by the end of the year, and hopefully much more.

So as always, drop by the blog here once a week or so to stay updated with the latest, or check out the Curriculum page to see what’s new!

Tags: RapidWeaver 3.6, RapidWeaver 4, RapidWeaver training, RapidWeaver video tutorials

I've updated the Supplies page to include links to resources that complement RapidWeaver. Recommended web hosting, theme and plugin developers can be found there. I've also included a link to digitaLife productions, my business website, where I have a page with information about RapidWeaver consulting and training that I offer. So if you are wanting some one-one-one training or consulting to go along with the RapidWeaver screencasts here, then contact me through that website and we'll get something setup!

New video tutorials should arrive tomorrow, so check back to stay updated.

Tags: RapidWeaver consulting, RapidWeaver training