With the new Headway WordPress theme, you can visually design your blog through simple drag-and-drop editing… without needing to know everything about HTML, CSS, and PHP. In the past few years, premium WordPress themes have evolved to employ greater and greater functionality and sophistication. First, there was Revolution (which really created this whole category), then Thesis came along and blew everybody away. Now Headway is the next stage in the evolution of WordPress themes–not a small step, a big one.
For Non-Designers
Headway gives you:
- A modular page design system called “leafs” (like leafs in a table, not leaves on a tree) you can drag and drop and set as various types of content (more on this in a moment). Basically, this means you don’t have to know a bunch of crazy code to design your blog–you can do it yourself.
- Choose fonts for anything on the page–look, Ma, no CSS!
- Built-in color-pickers let you choose font colors, element background colors, link colors, and more, instead of writing CSS code in a text editor.
- Bring in RSS feeds from any source and put them anywhere.
- Create a “super footer” with anything you want in it using WordPress widgets.
- Have any kind of sidebars in how leafs are arranged.
- Magazine-style layouts are a snap.
- Complete SEO features at the blog and post level, including separate fields for noindexing the page and nofollowing links within the post.
- Custom header images are super-easy to upload.
- Makes you a sandwich and gets you a latte (just want to see if you’re paying attention).
- Reuse existing blog content any place else as a page element (such as a sign up form). Be careful with this one, you might end up going back in time or something (which would suck, because then you’d have to use Blogger or be eaten by a dinosaur).
- Twitter integration is built into Headway–no plugins needed, just enter your Twitter info and go.
- Content and image rotators are built in: animated transitions between written content or images (testimonials, ads, lead story photos, images from your portfolio, whatever you want).
- I’m sure I’m forgetting a thing or three, but this list looks pretty solid already.
The big takeaway from many of these benefits is that you don’t have to be an expert to use Headway. You don’t have to use hooks and custom CSS. But, if you’re a pro…
For Professional WordPress Theme Designers
If you are a developer/designer, with Headway you can slash design times. Headway was originally created for that very purpose: faster turnaround times on blog design projects, which means happier clients (and, freelancers, we all know what that leads to). Here’s a rundown of benefits for the pros:
- The leaf system is incredibly fast to use. When you go watch the demo videos at the Headway site, you’re watching Headway’s creator working in realtime: sophisticated page layouts get created in a matter of minutes!
- For extra power, there is a hooks system and the ability to have a custom CSS file.
- Because Headway brings so much flexibility to the table, you can make design changes with lightning speed–and without dragging out a project because of design tweaks.
- You can place your affiliate code in the footer link.
- There is a developer license for Headway.
Take the Next Step in WordPress Theme Evolution: Make Headway with Your Blog
You can learn more about Headway at the site. I recommend you watch the demo videos so you can see for yourself what Headway does, and just how easily it does it.
Visit the Headway site.
Also, check out this video on how I used Headway to redesign Remarkablogger.
This is a helpful post – but isn’t there some slight irony in the fact that this is a Thesis-powered blog pimping Headway? For full disclosure, I’m a Thesis user who is strongly interested in Headway…
Adam, yes, we loves the irony. Where’s Alanis when you really need her? I’m going to be using Headway on Remarkablogger in the very near future. I want to have a home page with more on it than just the blog, and Headway will make that incredibly easy (damn, should’ve put that in the post!).
I think you’ll find Headway compelling no matter what theme you were using before. If you decide to use it, feel free to come back here and leave your thoughts.
[...] This post was Twitted by flabastida [...]
Adam, you beat me to it! LOL! I was going to ask about you using Thesis and promoting Headway.
Great timing actually, I was thinking of buying Thesis to play with on some sites, but now I’ll go and have a look at Headway as well. Thanks!
Melinda, they’re both excellent, but Headway has the advantage feature for feature. I’ve seen some of what’s already planned for the next version, too, and all I can say about it right now is that it’s going to be total game-changer.
Please keep us posted on your progress converting Remarkablogger from Thesis to Headway.
I too am a Thesis user contemplating a shift to Headway…
I have been waiting for my theme to be converted over to Thesis for a while but I am not going to jump ship to Headway because I am sure Chris Pearson has features in the works that will put Thesis back in the lead. You have to remember all the hard work on that theme framework up to now has been under the hood stuff, that is going to pay dividends now. That said, this competition is only good for us end users so dispite my undying loyalty to the DIYThemes guys, bring it on I say
Chris, it will be interesting to see how both themes evolve. I know people will make it seem as though one is imitating the other, but both products have their next features already planned out (not that I can speak definitively for Thesis, of course, but I have to imagine their plans have already been made, too). Each of us wants to be the best, and in a situation like that, the only person you’re really competing against is yourself.
But I absolutely agree with you: a little friendly competition in the premium theme market is good for everyone.
Yeah I think people do not always remember that themes are as much software development as design, they do not appear overnight
I think a cool article as a follow up would be a feature comparison between the two, it seems a lot of people are looking at both?
I’m loathe to encourage the “vs.” mentality, but what I hope will be a solid comparison is coming very soon.
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I love how you’ve listed the Headway theme advantages – for designers and non-designers.
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Yes, that’ll be a ham sandwich please, Headway. Great post, and love the way you write. I am 23 and timid about starting a blog — whatever will I say that anyone cares to read? Instead, I’ve been researching so that when I DO get started I’ll be able to do it well. Your material is light, thorough, and makes the idea of starting one much more approachable. Thanks for that. Passing this along.
That is an excellent question. Focus on the answer to that and combine it with what is most original and unique inside of you. Oh, and use Headway.
Michael,
I too am going to be switching to the Headway theme a little later this month.
I’m very glad to see this theme gaining steam. I suffer from Thesis Fatigue, you know. I know Thesis is great and all, it’s just that I see it everywhere and what used to make me say, “Cool!” now makes me yawn…
George
George, I hear ya, but what you’re really seeing are the efforts of designers who didn’t take Thesis far enough. When you look at Copyblogger, Wolf Howl, Sugarrae, and others, you might recognize the “bones” of Thesis under the skin, but with hooks and custom CSS, a designer can take it way beyond the standard look of the theme. It’s just that most designers using Thesis haven’t done that, and that’s not the fault of Thesis.
I will say in favor of Headway that it’s easier to create a look that isn’t “Headway-ish” because of the ease with which page elements can be rearranged and resized. Also, font editing is more flexible and total in Headway than in any other theme I’ve seen, period.
There was a time when I got a little tired of seeing Revolution on every blog, but again, it was up to the designers to take it farther, and they just fell short.
I was going to get thesis soon for my blog, but now I am going to have to consider Headway! Thanks for the suggestion. I look forward to seeing how your site looks as you make the transition…
One thing the DIYThemes guys always boast about is the “rock solid code” that Thesis gives you and that Google loves.
I’m not a code guy so I have no idea how true the claim is but I tend to believe Chris Pearson as he seems to obsess over getting this stuff as perfect as possible.
Do you think Headway offers the same benefit?
Mark, I’m not the developer, so keep that in mind. However, I know that Clay (who is the developer) really hates it when people have a bazillion WordPress plugins, because the slow down page loads. I know that their web server is wicked fast. I know that they have the fastest internet service out of any other house on their block.
So… I’m thinkin’ Clay likes speed and rock solid code, too.
I will start my new blog with Headway Theme about after one month. When I see blogs like yours and couple of others, the must is to do it correctly from the very beginning. Thanks for your info.
I just got done installing Headway and I absolutely LOVE it! I’ve tinkered with so many themes, on my own blogs and for clients, and this was just way too easy! No more digging around in the CSS…in fact, I only touched the custom CSS once and that was to add a background image. I spent a fraction of the time I usually spend getting a theme looking the way I want and avoided a lot of frustration in the process. My only problem now is that its so easy to use, I’ll probably change the look of my site as often as I change purses!
April, you’ve discovered one of Headway’s best advantages: it totally slashes design times! This makes it the best choice for designers, even ones who know HTML and CSS.
[...] Remarkablogger who, even though he’s a devoted Thesis user and has not switched, is still very impressed with Headway and has a better detailed explanation of why than I [...]
Headway WordPress theme is indeed a big step towards changing the concept of wordpress theme design. It not only used by developers but also some idea of html and css can use it. Great job done.
[...] Here’s a previous post: Meet Headway, the Next Evolution in WordPress Themes. [...]
[...] Thesis Theme and the new Headway Theme. If you’re considering using either theme system, read Meet Headway: The Next Evolution in WordPress Themes, and make sure to read the discussion in the [...]
I am going to hire a designer and developer to design my blog and I would like to buy one of these easy to edit themes (so that I can manage and change it after the design). Will it matter to the developer which theme I use? Will most care if I choose Thesis vs. Headway?
There are more Thesis-specific designers out there at the moment, but more
are also adopting Headway into their client work. Whether it matters or not
is up to each designer personally, so I really can't guess whether they'd
care or not.
In headway WordPress Theme, a non designer guy can design his blog. That is one of the plus points of this theme. Anyway it’s navigation layout looking professional
Great post, I just bought Thesis and was frustrated with building a custom page layout – need to get too techie too quickly!
I would be interested to hear a comparison of Thesis vs Headway vs iThemes Builder.
Cheers!
Lauchlan
Nice going!Is wonderful?