Why We Switched Back to Headway Themes For Our Redesign

September 12, 2011 By Danny Brown Filed Under: Blog Design, Theme Reviews, Videos 114 Comments

Headway premium WordPress theme Regular visitors to For Bloggers By Bloggers will notice the redesign we put in place over the weekend.

Whereas our previous design was built on the Genesis framework and used the Church child theme, which went for a magazine-style approach, our new design is built on the Headway framework (affiliate link) and goes for a cleaner, more traditional blog look-and-feel.

This wasn’t because there was anything wrong with Genesis, or the Church child theme that we were using for the magazine layout. It’s an awesome platform, and one that lets bloggers get a design out the door pretty quickly.

But there’s just something about the Headway framework that feels right when you’re building your blog. I was one of the first users of it when it first came out, and while I’ve gone for a custom design on my own blog now, I still use Headway for other projects.

But since folks have asked on Google+ and elsewhere why the switch, here are a few of the main reasons behind moving to Headway for the redesign.

Ease of Use

For anyone that builds blogs (note – builds, as opposed to design, as I know designing is a completely different beast), you know how time-consuming it can often be. Deciding on the look; testing if your existing content will “fit” the new design; reworking the placement of widgets and social buttons; and more.

While ready-built themes are an option, they limit you to the look and feel of your blog. With Headway, this wasn’t an issue. From the time I switched the Maintenance Mode on to the time I set the new design live, it had taken me all of three hours to move from Genesis to Headway, and achieve the look and feel of the site you’re reading now.

For Bloggers By Bloggers v2

When you compare the two designs, I think that’s a pretty damned impressive turnaround time. Given, I was used to Headway and how its Leaf system works because of my experience building other sites with it – but still, three hours for a blog redesign, with no coding involved? I’ll go with that anytime!

Quick Design Layout

Headway uses a Leafs and Columns system. The easiest way to explain this is that the content area is a Leaf, and the sidebar is a Column. Leafs sit inside the Columns, and once you understand how they work together, you can come up with some pretty cool designs really fast.

Additionally, Headway uses an incredibly intuitive Visual Editor, which lets you see the changes you’re making live on your site without the need to Save and Refresh. Think of it like drawing an image, being unhappy and using an eraser then making the changes you need to make. Just as you can see what you’re doing on the paper, so you can see what you’re doing on your site. For anyone that hasn’t seen this in action, prepare to be impressed. Heavily.

Perhaps one of the best options, though, is the Quick Start Wizard that Headway offers. When you install it for the first time and open the Visual Editor, a guide pops up and lets you style the layout of your blog. Not only this, but it allows you to upload your logo, and automatically offers the best colour scheme for your blog based on the logo design.

Like I said, impressive, and just one more reason why I was able to make the change so quickly.

Headway 3.0 is Coming

While all this is impressive enough, and there are a host of other cool features and reasons why Headway is one of the best WordPress frameworks around, the biggest reason for changing back to Headway is simple – Headway 3.0 is just around the corner.

Like I mentioned earlier, I was one of the first to use Headway back in 2009. I was impressed with how it made building sites easier for folks like me – read, non-coder – and the options available for beginners to get a great-looking website out of the box.

Since then, the father-and-son team of Grant and Clay Griffiths have continued to set the bar for premium WordPress frameworks, and the current version of Headway (and its redesigned Visual Editor) is testament to that.

But all that’s about to change when Headway 3.0 is released.

Due soon, it’s another leap beyond what’s currently out there for WordPress users, and promises to take blog design and build to another level completely. Using a Blocks System, Headway 3.0 really looks the business and pretty much allows you to build any design you want, without the need for coding (although that will obviously still be an option). Check out the video at the end of this post to see what I mean.

So it was a no-brainer to get For Bloggers By Bloggers ready for the switch by moving back to Headway. Well, that, and the fact that it was just so damn easy to get this design up-and-running. And while I’m obviously biased, I think it’s a pretty nice design, all things said and done. Hehe…

So, there you have it. Just some of the reasons we moved over to Headway for our redesign.

If you’re looking for a new WordPress theme or framework, check out Headway for yourself. And since Grant Griffiths has announced that Headway 3.0 will be increasing in price and switching to a licensing model when it comes out, now would be a good time to jump onboard, since existing users of Headway will receive all future updates for free.

Buffer

Filed Under: Blog Design, Theme Reviews, Videos Tagged With: headway, premium wordpress themes

About Danny Brown

Danny Brown is an award-winning marketer and blogger. His blog is recognized as the #1 marketing blog in the world by HubSpot. Danny is also the author of The Parables of Business and the upcoming book Influence Marketing: How to Create, Manage and Measure Brand Influencers in Social Media Marketing.

FrankDickinson

This is a testament to the fact that old(er) guys can really pull something off at 2:00am

I completely get the redesign turnaround time being so low with Headway – I went from WooThemes to Headway and did the complete redesign in under three hours as well.

Headway is just that easy!

Cheers bud – great stuff!
http://www.marianneworley.com/ marianne.worley

I’m a Headway fan too, Danny. I had zero knowledge of design, HTML, or CSS, and only a basic familiarity with WordPress. I bought Headway based on ease of use. I watched your video tutorials on YouTube and was able to create my site in a day. I can’t wait for 3.0.
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@marianne.worley Glad to hear my questionable video skills came in useful, Marianne.

And, yes, 3.0 looks pretty sweet!
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@FrankDickinson Don’t forget, with a bad case of the ‘flu as well, mister, if you’re going to be throwing the age thing about…
Lye Kuek Hin

Hi Danny,

I am a big Headway fan. I like its ease of use. A non-coder like me can play around with the layout and colors, it’s a big deal for me. It’s my terrible sense of design that makes Headway look poor . Your new look is clean and attracts me in an instant probably because of the orange color you have chosen. Great one.
http://www.marianneworley.com/ marianne.worley

@DannyBrown The video where you show how to duplicate all the elements of an existing design using Headway helped me understand how the interface worked.
http://www.saraharrow.co.uk/ SarahArrow

Looks fab I love how clean it looks, can’t believe you had the flu when you did this Danny

I tried Headway once but I didn’t understand the leafs etc, it confused the daylights out of me and I moved back to Thesis / Genesis. I may give it another go in the next few days on my personal blog.
http://about.me/susieblackmon SusieBlackmon

My WP sites are Headway, thanks to @jb140 … he swears by Headway. I’m afraid I’ve been neglecting them because I’m having a hot affair with Tumblr while spooning with Twitter.
Pingback: Why We Switched Back to Headway Themes For Our Redesign | Free Themes and Templates BLOGS
GrantGriffiths

@SarahArrow If you were confused by our Leaf system, I firmly believe you will love the new system in Headway 3.0. Headway 3.0 should be out in beta very soon.
GrantGriffiths

@Lye Kuek Hin What I found very helpful when building a site is to look at sites you like and don’t like. Get design and color ideas from them. Remember the quick start wizard can get you going quick and easy. Start by putting in your header and going from there.
GrantGriffiths

@SusieBlackmon@jb140 Hey Susie, if I might ask. What draws you to Tumblr?
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@SusieBlackmon Sssh, Susie – don’t tell @SarahArrow you’ve been spooning with Twitter, she has a love-hate affair with that, I believe…
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@SarahArrow It’s definitely a different way to work, but once you get used to its approach, it makes perfect sense to do things its way. And as @GrantGriffiths mentions, 3.0 will be a different beast altogether.
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@Lye Kuek Hin Thanks, Lye, and agree, it’s perfect for beginners as well as hardcore coders, and once you start to use it more, the more easier it becomes to build a great site.

Cheers!
Peter Crowell

I’m currently using Genesis, but considering a switch. Also, I’ll be helping a friend with a new site and I’m wondering about headway.

But I still can’t tell just how “easy it is.” I know basic css, minimal php. My site is an extremely basic tweak of the Genisis Child theme and took me a good while.

So, how much of your new look and feel (which looks great) did you have to design outside and bring in? Are all your graphic elements doable from inside Headway?

I’m very curious about Headway. It looks like it might be the right choice, but I still don’t have my head around it.

Thanks for the rundown!
Peter Crowell

@GrantGriffiths Hi Grant, where can I find out about the new pricing model for 3.0?
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@Peter Crowell Hi there Peter,

Great question! The only graphic element I needed to bring in was the logo – using the Quick Start Wizard, I uploaded that and Headway suggested the colours I use for the design.

Everything else was built with Headway. I used Feedburner for the email subscribe box, and a social plug-in for the social feeds, but the design, layout, etc., is all Headway, and with no coding required.

If you watch the third video in this comparison from last year – the Headway one – you’ll see just how easy it is to build something quick and painlessly.

http://bestbloggingtipsonline.com/headway-versus-genesis-versus-thesis/

Cheers!
GrantGriffiths

@Peter Crowell All I can tell you is this. The price is going up. There will be different pricing in addition to the personal and developers’. In addition, those who wait for 3.0 to come out before buying will pay a 6 month or 12 month renewal fee too.

We are not releasing the new prices quite yet. The new prices will most likely be introduced when the beta comes out in a few weeks.

Those who own Headway at the time 3.0 is released are grandfathered in under our current lifetime updates and support for free.

In addition, along with a completely new Headway 3.0, we are introducing some kickass child themes too. Both from us and from 3rd party developers.
http://www.210consulting.com jb140

@GrantGriffiths That @SusieBlackmon simply loves the microblogging sites & the quick grab & load options. She is more a curator than a creator of content for her audiences.
http://www.210consulting.com jb140

@DannyBrown forgot to say, Hey Danny! How ya been?
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@jb140 All good, mate, cheers. Been fighting the mother of all colds recently, but on the way back up. Hope you’re all good too, sir.
GrantGriffiths

@jb140@SusieBlackmon I am pretty sure you will see a Tumblr style child theme coming with Headway 3.0 Need to look at the other features and why those couldn’t be implemented into such a child theme too. Thanks for more items to add to my to do list.
Peter Crowell

Thanks Danny.

At first glance it certainly feels more accessible than Genesis. Thanks for the video link. I’ve got research to do!
FrankDickinson

@Peter Crowell Hey Peter! If you go to the “About Us” tab here and check out my site – it was built completely within Headway as well. Someone designed the header for me – I uploaded it to Headway and designed everything else within the Headway Visual Editor.

I’m a true non-coder – wouldn’t know CSS or PHP if it bit me in the backside – and THAT is why I love Headway!

Another good reasons I love Headway – @GrantGriffiths is my hero
GrantGriffiths

@Peter Crowell Peter, if you have questions about Headway Themes, please ask here so we can keep the conversation going. Danny does a great job with Headway as do some of the others in this conversation. And Livefyre is great for keeping the conversation going too.
GrantGriffiths

@FrankDickinson@Peter Crowell Peter, I paid Frank to say I was his hero.

All kidding aside, Frank’s site is another great example of what you can do as a non-coder too.
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@GrantGriffiths@jb140@SusieBlackmon There is also the option to build a Tumblr-style site with Headway and the Woo Plugin:

http://headwaythemes.com/headway-tutorials/create-a-wordpress-tumblog-with-headway-and-wootumblog/

Not quite as simple as using a Tumblr-specific child theme option, admittedly, but an option nonetheless.
FrankDickinson

@GrantGriffiths@Peter Crowell yep – a non-coder and a nim wit to boot!

I should mention too Peter that I spent several months in the “wilderness of Woo” (WooThemes) and finally came back to Headway.

What I found upon arriving back that I had missed when with Woo – stability, security, no bugs and great support.
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@FrankDickinson I like how Livefyre is picking images as your last post again, mate. gini dietrich might be happy, but I’m sure jenna langer might need to know about it.
http://www.210consulting.com jb140

@GrantGriffiths No problem Grant! I know you love the added stuff on the list
Peter Crowell

@GrantGriffiths Thanks Grant.

Additional child themes? That confuses me a little.

One of the things I actually don’t like about Genesis is that, not knowing a lot of code, if I really want to run with a design, I have to hire someone. My impression of the Genesis theme offerings is that, even though you buy them, they really best serve as a starting point for an eventual design, which for me would require a coder.

Would you describe the value of a Headway child theme if Headway itself is intended to help non-designers get the look they want without hiring a coder?

I don’t mean to be cynical or seem suspicious. I just don’t want to become a feeder fish in someone’s business eco system, which is KIND of how I feel with Genesis, and part of why I’m considering a switch.

Thanks again for your response. Your plans for pricing sound very fair and reasonable. And I appreciate knowing how much time I’ve got to decide.
FrankDickinson

@DannyBrowngini dietrichjenna langer Yeah – I’m trying to make Gini famous today

I don’t know what is up with that – I know Jenna said that they are working on it for a system fix – but not sure what I am doing with my images that is different than everyone else – stumped.
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@Peter Crowell@GrantGriffiths Hi Peter,

The great thing I like about Headway is that it’s perfect for non-coders in its current state, and this can only get even better with the Blocks system of 3.0.

To give you an idea of what you can do as a non-coder, here are three other sites I built using Headway:

http://12for12k.org (website feel)

http://canadianpetconnection.com (website feel)

http://justkickinit.ca (blog style)

The child themes (much like Genesis and Thesis) are simply there to get you up-and-running with a professional-looking site quickly and easily, by doing the majority of the legwork for you (layouts, font, etc).

However, with Headway (as you’ll see in the video link I left in an earlier comment), you can really get up-and-running quickly with your very own design too.

Hope that helps!
Peter Crowell

@GrantGriffiths Will do!
Peter Crowell

@FrankDickinson@GrantGriffiths Thanks, Frank. Yes, I checked out your site. I like your layout. Mine is similar but took a bit of fussing in the code editors. (Which I’d rather not be bothered with.)
FrankDickinson

@Peter Crowell@GrantGriffiths Another great advocate of Headway is johnhaydon of Inbound Zombie – you might take a look at his sites to see another design style.
Peter Crowell

@DannyBrown That does help, Danny. Thanks. BTW, I like the canadianpetconnection site best of the three.

Question, it appears it’s quite simple to make homepages with Headway. I’m very interested in that. Is there any special functionality for homepages inside the software?
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@Peter Crowell Thanks, Peter, the guys from CPC were a delight to work with.

There are a ton of features – it really depends on what you want to do.

For example, the CPC one uses the Image Rotator Leaf, which allows me to upload images, set a rotate time, and that gives you the effect of the fade-in, fade-out images you see on their home page. Additionally, you can hyperlink the images, so if you have a special offer, you can make that one of the images and then link to the offer page.

You can also place pretty much anything you want on the homepage in any position you want it – so, again, that could be a call-to-action, and then a box with the latest blog posts, a video about your company, etc.

Really, the only limit is you and what you can come up with.
Peter Crowell

@GrantGriffiths@FrankDickinson Shouldn’t he have included and affiliate link? : )
GrantGriffiths

@Peter Crowell The one big thing Headway child themes will have that other themes don’t is Headway. Seriously, can you just picture a child theme you can open in the new Headway 3.0 visual editor. Use the new layout system/grid to add blocks and move those blocks where you want them without needing to crack code.

While you can do that, the design and style of the child theme will be maintained.

Just like now however, you don’t have to use a child theme with Headway 3.0 if you don’t want. But, imagine the power of being able to do things with that child theme and not having to know a lick of code.
bobWP

Okay, need to chime in : ) Yes, I love Headway. I use it on my site as well as on judy dunn blog, CatsEyeWriter. It is probably the best framework out there in terms for the first time user. Although, from experience with many clients who have used it, it does have a learning curve. But the beauty if that you can customize a site without knowing the dreaded php, html, or CSS. And the learning curve, heck 3.0 will blow that out of the water…

I think Headway is an awesome choice to build a blog. I cannot even count on my two hands how many client blogs I have built on it : )

I love the new look of this blog, clean and easy to navigate. @GrantGriffiths , Corey (the brain behind the code) and the rest of the Headway team, thanks!
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@bobWPjudy dunn@GrantGriffiths You mean Clay, the brain behind the code, right? (Although Corey Freeman is also awesome!).

And cheers, sir, I much prefer the cleaner look too.
GrantGriffiths

@Peter Crowell@DannyBrown You can set the home page or any page up just like you want with Headway and WordPress. And with Headway 3.0, you can easily have a different header or not have a header on any page you want. The new layout/grid system and Blocks will make it very easy to set up your layout as you want.

Example, the Header will be a Block. You can put Blocks anywhere on the page you want and put any Block on any page you want.

There will be no need for plugins to build any style of page you want. Including landing pages and/or sales pages.

As a teaser, we will be including a good selection of short codes with images you might need too. For example, landing pages look great with certain buttons and other features to get people to click. Headway 3.0 will provide this built in so you won’t need any plugins.

The key to Headway over other themes is the fact you don’t need to know any coding if you don’t want. But, if you do know some, you can tweak your site even more. Just like Headway 2.0.x, Headway 3.0 will have the built in Live CSS Editor. Put in your CSS and watch it change the look of your site right in front of you.
Peter Crowell

@GrantGriffiths Yes, that does sound cool. And your description has planted a seed of understanding for how 3.0 will work.
FrankDickinson

@bobWPjudy dunn@GrantGriffiths I just made a deal with myself – I will not make any snide remark about Clay being the “brains” behind Headway – nope, I’m not going to do it – nada, not me, no way, no how….

Especially after I just called @GrantGriffiths my hero
GrantGriffiths

@FrankDickinson@bobWPjudy dunn Hell, I will admit @claygriffiths is the brains behind the coding in Headway. In addition, we have an amazing and awesome Headway Team backing him up too.
bobWP

@DannyBrownjudy dunn@GrantGriffiths Shoot, too early for me to be posting comments.

Yes, Clay, Clay, Clay! Heck you think that would be stuck in my brain with how many times I have sent him emails : )
ginidietrich

@FrankDickinson@DannyBrown That’s hilarious! I wonder why it’s doing that (not that I mind)?

On the blog note: I’ve been thinking about changing the theme (custom right now) on Spin Sucks. This gives me some food for thought.
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@ginidietrich@FrankDickinson Pretty sure you’re paying them…
FrankDickinson

@ginidietrich@DannyBrown Come to Headway gini – you won’t be disappointed!
FrankDickinson

@DannyBrown@ginidietrich Werd – MONEY!
jackiepaulson

Beyond Beautiful easy to read, better than other one!
http://www.saraharrow.co.uk/ SarahArrow

@GrantGriffiths Shall give it a try again Grant. Love the fact that you can upload a logo / header and it makes suggestions for colors – did I read that right? (am I just imagining uber cool features?). May have another crack at it the weekend.
GrantGriffiths

@SarahArrow That is exactly what the Quick Start Wizard will do for you. See – http://headwaythemes.com/documentation/visual-editor/quick-start-wizard/
http://judyleedunn.com/ JudyDunn

@bobWP@DannyBrown@GrantGriffiths Okay, Mr. Bobwp, you seriously lost some points with Clay. Let’s get your stuff together.
http://judyleedunn.com/ JudyDunn

@GrantGriffiths@FrankDickinson@Peter Crowell@DannyBrown@bobWP Loving my Cat’s Eye Writer Headway site (no money exchanged hands and I’m still sayin’ it). : )

You can see it at: http://www.catseyewriter.com
GrantGriffiths

@JudyDunn@FrankDickinson@Peter Crowell@DannyBrown@bobWP And it looks great too.
testami

I found the thread to this article after watching the Genesis/Thesis/Headway comparison videos from an older post. I liked that you approached the review from the perspective of a “non-coder.” I’m not a technical person, so I was really impressed with the way the visual editor worked. Being somewhat new to all of this, iThemes’ Builder seems to be Headway’s closet competitor right now. Do you have any insight as to how Headway compares to iTheme’s Builder?
Neicolec

Thanks so much, Danny, for taking the time to document your reasons. I was one of the ones on Google + who asked for your reasoning. I’m going to be doing two WordPress sites for clients and am looking at redoing my own blog. I’m still on Thesis on my blog. Headway seemed pretty cool, but your write-up totally convinces me.

You’re so great about listening to us and making the time to answer. Thanks!
GrantGriffiths

@Neicolec Please let me know here in the comments if you have any questions about Headway Themes. We are always glad to discuss and answer questions about Headway.
Pingback: Who’s Sitting In Your WordPress Sidecar? 5 Tips for Creatively Using Custom Sidebars | For Bloggers By Bloggers
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@Neicolec Hey there Neicole,

Anytime. It made sense to write about it as, like you say, there were a few folks asking about the change, and a post is better than a Google+ comment.

Look forward to seeing your sites!
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@testami I would say it’s similar, but the “problem” is you still have to save your changes and then see what it looks like on the site.

With Headway’s Visual Editor, you’re “live” on the site as you make changes, and can see as you build what you’re doing. Additionally, the Live CSS Editor allows you to drop CSS code in, and see what the changes will be like, without messing up your live site.

These two features alone stand Headway above Builder (for me).
mommygeek

Feel free to poke at us if you don’t get it! We love to help.
mommygeek

Love this post, Danny. And the site looks WONDERFUL. Well done, truly! Gotta say, community members like you make being a part of the @headwaythemes team even better.
testami

Thank you for your feedback. As I said, I am not a techie, I am a CPA and a fairly traditional guy, so my worries might not fit with your view of marketplace, but do you worry that the designer at Headway is a young kid that may grow tired of this and move on to something else? I relly don’t want to be critcal about an area that I am unfamilar with, but I tend to be someone that picks something and then sticks with it for a long time. I get a nicer feeling about the Headway product from my initial research, but I worry that the guys at Headway might not be around for the long haul. It seems like the iThemes guy might be. I would welcome any feedback from Mr. Griffiths, too. I am not sayinig this would happen, but I work in an industry in which age and longevity matter, and I also happen to work at a college and see that lots of 18 – 22 olds change direction frequently.
GrantGriffiths

@testami Quite frankly, Clay or I could get hit by a truck tomorrow and then what would we do?

In all seriousness, because Clay is young is a huge advantage. He is motivated to make a product that no one can touch. He is motivated to continue to improve on his initial ideas. Which is very clear by each and every update and new version we have introduced.

If you are more comfortable with Cory Miller and the iThemes crew, by all means join them. I know Cory personally and consider him a friend. They are great.

The reason college kids change direction is because they have no direction. They are waiting for someone to give it to them

Clay is unlike anyone you will ever see or meet. The “young kid” as you say, is more motivated and focused on his future than most adults twice his age.

But, I can tell you this. Headway is in it for the long haul. We are building a sustainable business which will be here for a very long time.

And I am sorry if this reply comes across as a bit harsh. But questions asking if we will be around for the long haul tend to get my blood pressure up. How do any of us know if we will be in the same business down the road.
chrishoward

@testami G’day testami. That’s a pretty reasonable concern. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and many others all started out quite young. The thing that kept them going was passion and success.

I’ve been working closely with and for Clay for the last 18 months and he has the passion by the truck load. He’s absolutely obsessed with making Headway better and better. And with the success Headway has had, he’s not going to walk away from it. And I’m sure if he lost interest, someone else would buy Headway in nanosecond.
chrishoward

@FrankDickinson Clay is the brains behind Headway and the income behind @GrantGriffiths retirement fund!
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@mommygeek@headwaythemes Thanks, miss, great to be “back”, so to speak (although I never really went away).
http://ericbrown.com/ ericbrown

I will never read again since it isn’t using Genesis…. (joke of course).

The new redesign looks great. Nice work!
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@mommygeek@headwaythemes PS – Meant to add that the support you guys provide day in, day out is a huge reason I love being part of the Headway community.
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@ericbrown Who the heck let you on here???

Cheers, mate, appreciated!
chrishoward

Yeah, missed you Danny while you had your little sabbatical. It’s always nice to have an extra hand to hang crap on @GrantGriffiths

Site looks great too!
http://ericbrown.com/ ericbrown

@DannyBrown I tend to find the holes in the fence and sneak in
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@chrishoward@GrantGriffiths Haha, cheers mate, though it appears that @FrankDickinson is doing plenty good at hanging crap on Grant.
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@testami I think @GrantGriffiths and @chrishoward answered your question perfectly.

From my own point of view, age doesn’t concern. To me, if you can do something and do it well, it doesn’t matter what age you are.

And even if the Headway guys did decide to walk away, they’ve built a product (in its current form) that’s way ahead of many of the other framework developers on the market today. So I’d still get a great amount of use out of the product.

I’ve used a bunch of themes, child themes and frameworks, and I’ve yet to see support like that of Headway. As a businessman with deadlines and clients to keep happy, knowing the support team has my back is all that matters.
testami

@DannyBrown@GrantGriffiths@chrishoward

Thanks, everybody. I appreciate the insights. It wasn’t my intent to make my post sound like a personal attack on any one person. I know in my line of work my age and long term practice plan are usually one of the top three concerns clients have. They want a financial advisor that is going to be around for a long time to see them through the ups and downs.
Peter Crowell

Any special challenges in switching from Genesis? Like the custom canonical url or such? I don’t know enough about those feaures in Genesis to know if the transition might present difficulties. A step by step from Genesis to Headway might be helpful, albeit a lot of work to put together…
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@Peter Crowell Hi Peter,

No, pretty straightforward. Headway also supports canonical URL’s (I think it was one of the first premium frameworks to do so, but don’t quote me!).

So it was just a matter of saving my widgets to the Inactive Widget section on my dashboard, switching on Maintenance Mode and then going ahead with the makeover.
GrantGriffiths

@Peter Crowell Hey Peter. Danny pretty much answered your question. If you have others, don’t hesitate to ask here.
Peter Crowell

I’m nearly ready to pull the trigger. So, another question. If I get Headway now, do you recommend installing it first, before the upgrade? Or could I just install the upgrade when it comes? I think buying Headway now is a smart move, but I wasn’t really anticipating a site overhaul of that magnitude and my time is limited these days.

What would be the recommended process?

Thanks for all the great information!
GrantGriffiths

@Peter Crowell Why wait? Install Headway 2.0.13 now and get use to how it can build your site. Yes, Headway 3.0 is a completely new product and visual editor. But, using 2.0.13 now on a site not live would be good to do.
Peter Crowell

@GrantGriffiths So I can work on a non-live version and keep the live version up and running?
- FrankDickinson
  
  @Peter Crowell@DannyBrown@GrantGriffiths that plugin was one of the most useful things I ever learned about from Grant – and I’ve learned a few important things from ol grandpa
FrankDickinson

@Peter Crowell@GrantGriffiths Here ya go – this is what Grant gave me when I made the switch back http://headwaythemes.com/documentation/developer-resources/designing-your-site-behind-scenes/
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

@FrankDickinson@Peter Crowell@GrantGriffiths And the Headway community to the rescue again – another great selling point.
FrankDickinson

@DannyBrown@Peter Crowell@GrantGriffiths That is the cool thing with Headway – there is always somebody with an answer close at hand.
Peter Crowell

@FrankDickinson@DannyBrown@GrantGriffiths That’s the work of the devil. Or just really cool. Developing at my own pace behind the scenes would be crucial for me right now.

Quite close to buying.
charlesneville

I’ve been using Headway for a while now and love working with it. On the occasions I’ve had to work with themes other than Headway I’ve been continually frustrated by the way the theme creator has done things. WIth Headway I just ‘get it’. There’s one Headway add-on that I can’t say enough good things about, it’s Chris Howard’s Excerpts+ Leaf. Great for content sliders or grids of sub-pages. Chris is wonderfully responsive to feature requests and has built what has become for me an essential addition to to Headway.
- http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown
  
  @charlesneville You know, I’ve not actually played about with that Leaf yet (though I do have it).
  
  And agree, @chrishoward sure knows a thing or two about functionality.
AskAaronLee

Love the new theme! much more eye catching and relaxing to the eyes! keep up the great work guys!
- http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown
  
  @AskAaronLee Cheers, mister, and you know you’re always welcome to drop a post of here, if you feel like it.
Peter Crowell

Just pulled the trigger. Got the zip file on my desktop. This better work.

: )
- http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown
  
  @Peter Crowell Congrats, Peter, look forward to seeing what you do – and make sure to drop by the support forums, excellent community there too!
- FrankDickinson
  
  @Peter Crowell Congrats – enjoy the heck out of it!
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http://www.logallot.com/ Sonia (Sunnnee)

I looks great and I totally agree. It’s much easier on the eyes and the content pops! Great choice guys!
- http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown
  
  @Sonia (Sunnnee) Thanks, miss, glad you like!
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GrantGriffiths

Thanks for your comment and I love seeing input from our users too. First, don’t overlook the power of Headway 2.0.x and the visual editor. You really can make a lot of changes with no coding at all.

That being said, Headway 3.0 is going to be amazing. And we have some great Child Themes coming too.
http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

Hi Carrie,

Sorry to hear you haven’t quite found the look you’re after with Headway – I’d definitely recommend it as the most user-friendly of the premium frameworks out there (though it does take a change in mindset from other frameworks).

We’ll be running video posts here in the coming weeks and months with regards the Headway framework (both 2.0 and 3.0), so hopefully that will help too.

In the meantime, I made a few videos a while back on Headway, and maybe they’ll offer some ideas?

http://www.youtube.com/headwaythememadeeasy
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rahuldagli

Where is live css editor in headway 3.0 ?
- http://dannybrown.me Danny Brown
  
  You can find it in the Manage section:
  
  http://d.pr/tHV1
  
  I have to admit, since playing around with 3.0 more, I far prefer how 3.0 was laid out, much clearer. It seems they’re trying to offer so much in this version that the UI has suffered.
  - http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown
    
    And it goes without saying that the second 3.0 should have been 2.0 – d’oh!
http://www.rafsolutions.co.uk/ Richard

Ive been searching for a comparison between Headway, Thesis and Genesis, so I am really glad I found this site. I think its pretty much decided for me now to plump for Headway. I really like the drag and drop facility.
- http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown
  
  Cheers, Richard, glad the post helped. I have to admit, I’ve not really had a chance to play with Headway 3.0 yet (FBBB still runs on Headway 2.0 as there’s no upgrade path currently).
  
  Good luck with your choice, would love to see the results when finished.
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tmalcolm

Hi Danny,

What’s the story behind this article about changing back to headway, yet at the bottom of this article is a big advertisement that “by bloggers for bloggers” runs on Genesis?
- http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown
  
  @tmalcolm We switched to Genesis a couple of months ago, as II wanted to redesign the blog and found Headway 3.0 a lot less user-friendly than Headway 2.0. Genesis just made it quicker to do, as well as offer the features this child theme has (SEO, responsive design, etc).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euMeShy4SPI&feature=plcp DerryckStorm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euMeShy4SPI&feature=plcp check out my channel full of a variety of videos from dramatic readings to comedy sketches! DERRYCK STORM new entertainment
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