As you probably know, my site runs Headway Theme. It’s an awesome drag an drop WordPress theme that has just got even better with their latest 3.5.x release.
I work with many themes for clients, and there are different themes for different circumstances, but Headway has improved once again.
The screenshot below shows a site with three wrappers. These are separate sections of your site which operate independently. Continue reading Headway 3.5 Released
The astute of you may have noticed I’ve added a Shop to my site. This runs on WooCommerce, an awesome free plugin with some paid extensions.
However a few premium themes don’t work with WooCommerce out of the box, so I previously fixed this myself using templates in my child theme. I was going to write a post about how to do that, but there’s no need anymore.
From today that’s no longer necessary with the release of the Headway WooCommerce Storefront block – which is free.
Simply install it like any plugin and it will make WooCommerce work seamlessly on your Headway powered site. I still use a lot of styling in my child theme to make it look better (and overcome some WC Multi Site issues) but now I can remove the template files and know the block is taking care of it.
So if you’re a Headway license holder, and have thought about getting a shopping cart running on your site get a free copy of the Headway WooCommerce Storefront block.
It’s time to release my second Headway child theme. A child theme is like a sub-theme where it inherits everything from the parent, but where you specify any differences the child theme takes precedent. This way you can have your own theme and not worry about updating the parent theme and losing any changes.
In Headway a child theme does NOT inherit any layout, so installing a child theme does not change your layout. You can still have any blocks wherever you want or where you currently have them.
HeadStretch is a Headway child theme:
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[sexybutton size=”xxl” color=”green” url=”http://demo.successbyblog.com/?themedemo=headstretch” icon=”wrench”]Live Theme Demo[/sexybutton]
Remember to resize your browser to see the background stretch to fit correctly. It’s pretty simple and just builds on the beauty of Headway. So the price is low, you can buy from here:
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a) Make sure Headway Base is installed under Appearance > Themes. It does not have to be activated.
b) Backup your site using a free or paid plugin like BackupBuddy.
Any current Headway layout/grid settings SHOULD be retained, but you have a backup in case anything is lost.
c) Under Themes > Install Themes upload the zip file (see below) and activate the theme. Once downloaded, see the enclosed README.txt for full usage instructions.
d) Options appear under Headway > Theme Options or on the WordPress admin bar as HeadTube Options.
This theme is provided “as is” and without any warranty, so use at your own risk. You must own a copy of Headway in order for this child theme to work.
[add_to_cart id=”4059″]
Well, welcome to 2013!
I’ve been working a little on the site to make it easier for you to use and also sort out some long standing issues. The old saying “The cobbler’s kids have no shoes” comes to mind, so to prevent that and get my site up to date I’ve spent some time on it.
1) Added a shopping cart (WooCommerce). This free plugin (with paid addon extensions – a few I’m using) doesn’t actually work well with Headway at the moment, but with some coding and template tweaks you can get it working and looking great within an hour or so. If there is any interest I might post a tutorial or two once WooCommerce 2.0 is launched – let me know in the comments if so.
2) This allowed me to sell my first premium child theme for Headway – HeadTube. This theme has a full screen video background and color options to make your site really stand out. Currently it’s free for a very short time.
3) I’ve also added free eBooks there and external links to other products that I have created.
4) There is a Shop menu item with dropdowns to the different categories of products, plus a Cart section in the header which will update.
5) Added a new “Tiny” backup plan to my BTG Backup and Update Service for monthly backups rather than weekly.
6) Updated the Behind-the-Scenes page with the tools I use to create this site.
7) Changed the site background. It’s now a nice wooden panel but I’ll be changing it more often as the mood takes me 🙂
8) The Blog page now has infinite scroll. When you hit the bottom of the page, the next set of posts will load and so on so you don’t have to browse to Old/Previous Posts anymore. It reduces page views so on sites where page views matter then I wouldn’t recommend using it, but otherwise it’s an awesome plugin called Infinite Scroll.
9) the site is now “responsive” meaning it looks great on different mobile devices automatically. A future post will go into more detail.
So now that’s done, what can you expect from me in 2013?
– Moving the Services in the shopping cart to allow me to use coupons and offer discounts (oooohh, exciting!).
– More premium child themes.
– EBooks, guides and training materials.
– More videos. Yes I know, I said that last year, but this year….
Is there anything else you want to see from me this year?
What are your plans for 2013? I’m always interested so let me know below what you’re planning to achieve this year.
[sexybutton size=”xxl” color=”green” url=”http://demo.successbyblog.com/?themedemo=headtube” icon=”wrench”]Live Theme Demo[/sexybutton]
As many of you know I love using the Headway Theme for WordPress. My own site runs off a child theme for Headway. A child theme is like a sub-theme where it inherits everything from the parent, but where you specify any differences the child theme takes precedent. This way you can have your own theme and not worry about updating the parent theme and losing any changes.
In Headway a child theme does NOT inherit any layout, so installing a child theme does not change your layout*. You can still have any blocks wherever you want or where you currently have them. The colors and functionality changes though, and this is where my first child theme comes in…
HeadTube is a free Headway child theme:
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Click to enlarge
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Click to enlarge – Single Post page with altered colors
[sexybutton size=”xxl” color=”green” url=”http://demo.successbyblog.com/?themedemo=headtube” icon=”wrench”]Live Theme Demo[/sexybutton]
a) Make sure Headway Base is installed under Appearance > Themes. It does not have to be activated.
b) Backup your site using a free or paid plugin like BackupBuddy.
Any current Headway layout/grid settings SHOULD be retained, but you have a backup in case anything is lost.
c) Under Themes > Install Themes upload the zip file (see below) and activate the theme. Once downloaded, see the enclosed README.txt for full usage instructions.
d) Options appear under Headway > Theme Options or on the WordPress admin bar as HeadTube Options.
This theme is provided “as is” and without any warranty, so use at your own risk. You must own a copy of Headway in order for this child theme to work.
[add_to_cart id=”3845″]
*Headway’s latest version (3.4.1 at the time of writing) has introduced skins. These DO take alter your layout, you can save a layout(s) as a skin and import it into another Headway installation to replicate the layout. It also takes the Live CSS so in a lot of ways is similar to a child theme but doesn’t allow such functionality changes like this child theme.
As the year is flying past already, I thought it would be a good time to freshen up my blog design. If you haven’t stopped by my site for a while come and check it out.
I’m still using the awesome Headway theme, but this time it’s on the latest 3.0 version which has been completely rewritten to be even more powerful. It allows you to “draw” your own site by creating grids and boxes where you want things to be, and adding some graphics and you have what you see here. It takes a little getting used to ans is not an “instant theme” but you have so much more flexibility
I actually created a child theme for Headway. This is a good idea with almost any theme, all it is is keeping all my changes in a separate theme to the main Headway theme. Then when any changes/upgrades are made to the main Headway theme I don’t lose any changes to my own site.
Feel free to let me know what you think, I’ll be changing it as I go along.
Headway is the WordPress theme that this site runs on. I’ve talked before about why I think it’s great, but the current version is not for everyone.
At this moment it means designing the site yourself, learning the interface, graphics added and so on. But this is all about to change. 40 seconds into the video below introduces the new Child Themes that will be available for use with the next version of Headway.
The next version is out on November 25th, so why am I saying to buy it now? When the new version is released they are moving to a subscription model with a recurring fee, and not only that, but the price will be higher. So if you buy BEFORE the 25th and get the current version of Headway:
If you’ve been on the fence about getting Headway, then now is the time to do it as current members get the best deal. Of course there are many other changes in the new version, it’s been built from scratch, has a new blocks system and many other changes. But the child themes is something I know a lot of my clients are excited about, and while these will be an additional cost they save you the time and effort of designing complicated layouts yourself. I may even be releasing some child themes for sale myself….
Watch the video below to learn more about the new theme.
I will be upgrading this site to run on the new theme once I get time to play around with and see what new features I can use and what it can do. If you already own the theme then don’t worry, you’ll be seeing version 3.0 very soon!
The new version of the Headway Theme for WordPress, 3.0 is coming very soon. It has some great new features that you can see from the video below, but it looks AWESOME!
If you’re a current owner you will get the upgrade for FREE and will NEVER pay a subscription fee for Headway. Yes, the new version of Headway will be a subscription and be more expensive than the current version.
So if you’ve been ummming and ahhhing over getting Headway, now is the time to do it. If you buy now, you’ll pay the lower price, get a free upgrade to 3.0 and never pay a subscription fee. If you wait until 3.0 is out then you won’t get those benefits.
Doesn’t it look good? I use Headway on this site, so know how great the current version is. You can read my review of Headway here and buy the theme here.
In my Premium Series I’m taking a look at Premium WordPress plugins and WordPress themes that I personally use, either for myself and for others. All opinions are my own and not influenced by affiliate commissions or anyone connected to the product.
Headway is a WordPress theme that has a unique Visual Editor that lets you easily change the layout and look and feel of your blog right in front of your eyes. This makes it simple to change colors and fonts, and completely removes the need for any coding. There is a learning curve in how the system works and what the options do, and it’s not perfect (yet) in a few ways (nothing is), but is a fantastic option for the non-technical blogger.
I like it so much I use it on this site and a few others that I own, as well as for many clients, mainly because it’s so flexible and versatile.
If I want a different layout for every page, I can have one no problem. If I want different sidebars I can have them. If I don’t want to do any coding I don’t have to, but if I do there are easy hooks and a live CSS editor and other goodies to allow me to do the complicated stuff I need to do without any extra hassle.
Below is their demo video, which is obviously biased but does give you a good impression of how it aims to work.
The Headway Visual Editor allows me to design my whole site, or just a page of my site easily. It works on the concept of Leafs, which are building blocks of your site. You can have a content leaf, to display the content, and a sidebar leaf to display a sidebar. You can create infinite combinations with these and different leafs, such as a Featured Posts leaf, an image rotator leaf, even a Twitter leaf, amongst others.
It even has a quick start wizard that, once you upload your logo, will suggest colors to match for the rest of your site, and you can drag those colors to the elements you want to use them for. It’s unique and pretty slick.
It does take some getting used to, like WordPress itself or any new piece of software. But I think once you get into it, you’ll never look back, I honestly do.
There are free upgrades and it works with WordPress Multi-Site so you can install it once but use on multiple sites on the same WordPress installation. However you don;t need to get that complex, a personal license allows use on two sites you own.
Overall I’ve recommended Headway a lot to people, and while some have preferred simpler themes, those with needs to do squeeze pages, sales pages, home pages with sliders, and good old blog posts, all on the one site, have loved it. Hey, if I use 10 different themes a day, every day, and I choose to use Headway, it can’t be bad, can it?!
SummaryWhere I use this: Right here on Blog Tech Guy
Pros: Wonderfully versatile; No coding required; Lots of features
Cons: Learning curve like with any software
Cost: $87 – $162
From: Headway Themes (affiliate link)
The great WordPress theme Headway has come out with version 2.0 as of today, so I caught up with Grant Griffiths, one of the Co-Founders of Headway to talk about the new version and the advantage to bloggers.
Press play below to hear the short interview, and let me know if you have any questions! We cover what new features 2.0 has, what advantages the new features will give to you as a blogger or business and the support you can receive from them.
[audio:http://blogtechguy.com/audio/BTG_GrantG_Oct10.mp3]
Disclosure: I run the Headway Theme on my site and am an affiliate for the theme.
