Websites using Desandro

Let s break down an overview of Desandro, which primarily refers to Metafizzy, LLC, founded by David DeSandro. They are well-known for creating popular JavaScript libraries focused on front-end web development, particularly for layout, UI, and visual interactions. Here s a breakdown based on your request:

Overview of Desandro (Metafizzy, LLC)

• Focus: Metafizzy, spearheaded by David DeSandro, specializes in creating high-quality, performant, and visually appealing JavaScript libraries and tools for web developers. They are particularly recognized for their expertise in:

  • Layout and Grids: Creating dynamic and responsive website layouts.
  • Carousels and Sliders: Building smooth and customizable carousels/sliders.
  • Drag and Drop Interactions: Implementing intuitive drag-and-drop functionalities.
  • Visual Effects: Enhancing websites with smooth animations and transitions.

• Key Products (JavaScript Libraries):

  • Isotope: A powerful filtering and sorting library. It enables dynamic layouts and filtering of items in a grid or list format. Think of it as making elements re-arrange themselves beautifully based on filters or sorting options.
  • Flickity: A touch, responsive, flickable carousel library. It s designed for creating smooth and engaging image galleries, sliders, and carousels on websites.
  • Packery: A bin-packing layout library. It fills empty gaps in layouts, similar to Masonry but with a focus on denser packing and more complex element sizes.
  • Draggabilly: A lightweight library for making elements draggable with touch and mouse interactions.

• Reputation: Desandro and their libraries are highly regarded within the web development community. They are known for:

  • High Quality Code: Libraries are well-written, performant, and generally reliable.
  • Excellent Documentation: Documentation is usually clear, comprehensive, and includes demos.
  • Focus on User Experience: Libraries prioritize smooth animations and interactions, contributing to a positive user experience.
  • Community Trust: Desandro has built a strong reputation over years of consistently delivering valuable tools.

Revenue

• Business Model: Metafizzy operates primarily through a commercial licensing model for their JavaScript libraries.
• Revenue Sources:
  • Commercial Licenses: For commercial projects and businesses, you need to purchase a commercial license to use their libraries. This is the primary source of revenue. Licenses are typically perpetual (one-time purchase).
  • Developer Licenses: They also offer developer licenses, often allowing usage on multiple projects or by multiple developers within an organization.
  • Upgrades/Bundles (Less common, historically): While less prominent now, in the past they might have offered upgrades or bundles of libraries. Their current focus is more on individual library licenses.
• Estimated Revenue (Difficult to Quantify Precisely):
  • As a private company, Metafizzy s exact revenue figures are not publicly available.
  • However, given the widespread use and popularity of libraries like Isotope and Flickity in commercial projects, it s safe to assume they generate a healthy revenue stream.
  • The pricing structure (see below) suggests they target a range of businesses, from smaller freelancers to larger companies.
  • The longevity of Metafizzy and continued development of their libraries indicates a sustainable business model.

Alternatives

For each of Desandro s main libraries, here are some common alternatives:

• Isotope (Filtering & Sorting Layouts):

  • Masonry.js: A very popular and widely used library for creating masonry/Pinterest-style layouts. (Note: Different company than Metafizzy).
  • Muuri: Another advanced layout library with drag and drop, sorting, and filtering capabilities.
  • Wookmark: Another library for dynamic column layouts.
  • CSS Grid & Flexbox (Native CSS): For simpler layouts, or when you want more control at a lower level, native CSS Grid and Flexbox can often achieve similar results, especially for responsive design. However, they might require more manual implementation of filtering/sorting logic compared to libraries like Isotope.

• Flickity (Carousels & Sliders):

  • Swiper: A very popular and feature-rich free and open-source slider library.
  • Slick Carousel: Another widely used and powerful jQuery carousel plugin (though jQuery-dependent).
  • Splide: A lightweight and modern slider library, often praised for performance and accessibility.
  • Tiny Slider 2: A small and fast vanilla JavaScript slider.

• Packery (Bin-Packing Layouts):

  • Masonry.js: While not exactly the same, Masonry can sometimes be used for similar layout effects, particularly if precise bin-packing isn t strictly required.
  • CSS Grid & Flexbox (Advanced Techniques): With more complex CSS, you could potentially mimic some bin-packing behavior, but it would be significantly more effort and might not be as robust as Packery.
  • Algorithmically driven custom solutions: For highly specific and complex bin-packing requirements, developers might need to create custom JavaScript algorithms rather than relying on a library.

• Draggabilly (Drag & Drop):

  • Interact.js: A versatile JavaScript library for creating drag and drop, resizing, and multi-touch gestures.
  • SortableJS: Specifically designed for sorting lists or grids with drag and drop.
  • jQuery UI Draggable: A jQuery-based drag and drop interaction (jQuery dependency).
  • Vanilla JavaScript Drag and Drop API: For simpler drag and drop functionality, the native HTML5 Drag and Drop API can be used, but it often requires more manual coding.

Pricing

• Commercial Licensing Model: Desandro primarily uses a commercial license model. This means for commercial projects, businesses, and for-profit organizations, you are required to purchase a license.
• Personal/Open Source Use (Often Free): For personal, non-commercial, and open-source projects, their libraries are often free to use under the MIT license. Always double-check the licensing terms on their website for the specific library you are interested in, as terms can evolve.

• License Types and Pricing (Examples - Subject to Change, Check Official Site):

  • Single Developer License: Typically priced per developer using the library.
  • Multi-Developer/Team Licenses: For larger teams, they may offer licenses covering a certain number of developers.
  • Commercial Project License: Sometimes priced per project, especially for larger or more complex applications.
  • Bundle/All-Access Licenses (Historically offered): In the past, they might have had options to license multiple libraries at once at a discounted rate.

• Pricing Tiers (Example - Approximate and indicative, always verify on metafizzy.co):

  • Individual Library Licenses: Might range from a few dozen dollars to a few hundred dollars per license depending on the library and license type (e.g., single developer vs. multi-developer).
  • Larger Team/Commercial Licenses: Pricing would scale up based on the number of developers or project scope.
  • They generally offer perpetual licenses, meaning a one-time purchase grants you the right to use the library indefinitely (within the terms of the license you purchased). Updates might or might not be included indefinitely depending on the specific license.

To get accurate and up-to-date pricing, you MUST visit the official Metafizzy website (metafizzy.co) and navigate to the pricing page for the specific library you are interested in.

Customer Care Details

• Documentation: Metafizzy is generally known for providing excellent documentation for their libraries. This is often the primary form of customer care and self-service support. Documentation typically includes:
  • Detailed API Reference: Explaining all options, methods, and events.
  • Demos and Examples: Showing how to use the library in various scenarios.
  • Guides and Tutorials: Step-by-step instructions for common use cases.
• Community Support:
  • GitHub Issues: For bug reports, feature requests, and questions, the GitHub repositories for each library (e.g., metafizzy/isotope, metafizzy/flickity) are a primary channel. The community and sometimes David DeSandro himself will respond.
  • Stack Overflow: Questions related to Desandro s libraries are often asked and answered on Stack Overflow.
• Direct Support (Potentially Limited, Especially for Free/Personal Use):
  • Email/Contact Form (on Metafizzy Website): You can usually contact Metafizzy through a contact form on their website for general inquiries, licensing questions, or potentially support questions.
  • Commercial License Holders May Get Prioritized Support: It s reasonable to assume that customers who have purchased commercial licenses might receive some level of more direct or prioritized support compared to free/personal users. However, the extent of direct support is likely not extensive, focusing primarily on documentation and community.
• No Dedicated Phone Support (Likely): It s unlikely Metafizzy offers dedicated phone support, as they are a relatively small company. Support is more likely to be asynchronous through documentation, online forums, and email.

In summary:

Desandro (Metafizzy) creates valuable and well-respected JavaScript libraries for web development. Their revenue comes primarily from commercial licenses. They offer robust documentation and community support. While direct, personalized customer care might be limited, the quality of their libraries and documentation generally makes them easy to use and troubleshoot. Always refer to their official website (metafizzy.co) for the most accurate and up-to-date information on licensing, pricing, and support.