Should I Switch to the Headway Theme?

I recently switched to the Headway Theme for WordPress. I was using a great studiopress theme, but had to switch to Headway since that is how I build sites for clients now. how can I espouse the virtues of headway while I didn’t use it myself?

Should you make the switch to Headway?

I am extremely happy with the Headway theme and can’t see myself going back to anything else. I just love the customizability. But this question isn’t about me – it is about you. If you are thinking about Headway theme – keep these points in mind:

1. Can You Live Without Every Plugin? Not every theme works with every plugin – that is the reality of open source code. That said, due to the visual editor on Headway and how it works – there are a bit more conflicts with Headway and plugins. Luckily there is usually a similar plugin that will work with Headway if one of your commonly used ones won’t. Just keep in mind; For all the benefits Headway gives you, are you willing to forego a plugin or two?

2. Are You Picky About Layout? Do you have to control every aspect of your pages layout? If so, Headway might be for you. With most WordPress themes you are locked into having a certain layout. This can be a real pain if you want to do something as simple as making the sidebar a bit smaller or moving it to the right side of a blog post. Headway lets you do that easily. if you want complete control of your layout – Headway is a great option.

3. Are You Techy? Headway is great for beginners, but it is amazing for people with moderate tech knowledge. I knew how WordPress worked and had a grasp on things like CSS coding. I can’t write the code but I understand a lot of things you can accomplish with it. I can go to the Headway Support forums and copy a piece of code and have a good idea what it will do when I add it to my site. Again beginners can use Headway no problem, but even a basic understanding of CSS code can bring your Headway developed site to the next level.

4. Do You Need Your Hand Held? I have had no problem with Headway support. They have went as far as going into my actual site and helping me with an issue. However, there are some complaints on the Support Forum. I think the ultimate Headway user would be a self starter that wasn’t afraid of Googling an issue or checking the support forums to implement certain fixes. The forum is full of frustrated people asking questions that have already been answered. Yes Headway is new technology so their are hiccups. If you need your hand held and walked through everything, Headway might not be for you.

These four questions should help you begin to realize if Headway is right for you. i can only speak from my experience that it was. It makes getting a site up and functional quick and easy. Any problem I have ever had, I was able to address either on my own, through a forum post or through a Google search.

I wouldn’t go back to a normal theme ever again because I am too use to the the customizability. If you want complete control and you have a basic grasp of what you are doing, then Headway is the natural choice as your WordPress theme.