I’ve been lost in the abyss of theme searching. There are so many options to choose from. As soon as I feel like I’ve found the right theme for me, I give it a try. I take on the project of rebuilding my website with the new theme.
I’ve gone through:
- Salient Theme
- Make Theme
- Genesis Framework
- Enfold Theme
Genesis is still my favorite
So far, My favorite theme to work with is Genesis Framework. When I need to have a clean, simple site from the beginning, Genesis is great for that.
It’s also pretty easy to customize once you get use to the visual hook system available. There are references for that. [https://genesistutorials.com/visual-hook-guide/]
I also like the people behind Genesis. Brian Gardner is a virtual mentor for me.
The warnings about switching to Divi
I’ve read Chris Lema’s warning for those who switch to Divi theme. He warns that it better be forever because the page builder will eat up all your text or leave you with a bunch of jumbled code if you ever decide to leave. You’re in the divi ecosystem for life when you switch. What it really means is that it will be a pain in the but to switch.
So… why am I switching to Divi
I’ve been watching Divi over the past few years and am impressed with what they are doing with their themes.
They are narrowing down
Rather than having 1000 themes to pick from, they are focusing in on two themes and making them flexible and functional: Divi and Extra
No renewal fees annually
Divi has the option of buying a lifetime license. When I worked with Make theme I needed to budget in my annual premium plugin cost each time. The problem with that is that my client builds are mostly a one time project. I will be continuously renewing a subscription in order to keep them up to date. I don’t want to do this from a business perspective.
*Note: Genesis does offer a lifetime license option.
Visual Builder
Divi moved from a block based builder ( like make theme builder) to a visual builder. This is perfect for clients that want to make quick changes and see what is happening.
I noticed that some clients had trouble visualizing their sites when it was only blocked out. This features adds a “wow” for the clients I serve.
Client Control
I can lock up parts of the the website so clients can mess things up while they are making edits and changes. There is always a “curious” one who wants to try and changes some code or css on their own. Next thing you know they have an internal server error.
Split Testing
This is one of the primary reasons why I am giving Divi a try. I tend to overanalyze my content writing. I could spend 16 hours working on a headline.
With split testing I’ll be able to make several different versions and test them all. The data will tell me what works rather than my own inner dialogue. Awesome.
This is also a great selling point for business clients. Not only can they make their landing pages, but they can test out different variations of content.
Potential to Create Niche Pages and Child Site Packs
This is a new potential revenue stream for new clients. I can offer a specific site type with pre-loaded content and page layouts all in one. This is much better than demo content. It also plays in nice with my website content writing course.
I’m planning to teach a few workshops on WordPress website building and content writing this summer. Divi will most likely be the theme I will teach around.