Why TactikMedia is Going ALL IN with X in 2017

In today's Customer Spotlight we are excited to introduce TactikMedia directly from the Great White North (Canada). They proudly decided to go all in with X-Theme for 2017 and share with the community the 10 reasons why they do so.

Blocks are Awesome

Our first introduction to blocks with X was through the 10X Layouts website, which demonstrated what Cornerstone could do. It looked interesting and, as we dove deeper into the world of blocks, we discovered the countless possibilities offered by Cornerstone for working with them. For example, it is easy to export a block from a site and then import it into another, changing only its appearance to fit the project you are currently working on.

Blocks use the theme's responsive classes when they are created. If you want a block to show up a specific way on a viewport, all you need to do is to add CSS classes in order to have the proper display!

Optimization is Great

In our experience of building websites with multiple themes, from scratch, we hardly ever had an out-of-the-box site properly optimized. Anyone can resize and optimize their images, but optimization goes much further than that. The optimization of our websites was a recurring problem, as we felt we didn't do it properly without guidelines to follow.

That is until we discovered WP Speed Guru, where Alexei Kustko explains, in thirteen videos, how to optimize your site by using the X Theme as an example. The website offers proper education to understand the optimization game and to take your website to an higher level of performance, while keeping lessons simple to watch and to learn from.

If you feel like your website is slow, your first step should be to head over to his website in order to finally see the light.

People at the Office are Loving It

Let's be honest for a second. The Cornerstone interface is one of the simplest that a WordPress user will ever work with. Our website building workflow involves several team members with specific roles and everyone easily navigates the page builder. Our designer can inspect the sections and make sure his mockup looks good as the site is being built, while the developer can do everything he wants inside the page and in the live Customizer. Our writer can then integrate his texts into the proper zones without having to worry about anything else.

Speaking of which, we have been rebuilding a couple of our clients' websites lately and not only do they look sharper, but our clients now save time and are completely independent when it comes to editing specific content elements on their website!

Extensions are Ever-Evolving and Useful

This summer, we had to work on a project to estimate the cost of a bus ride from one city to another. We came across this nifty plugin named E&P Forms Builder and had a good time completing the task while building an intuitive interface for the user on our X website.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and you wouldn't imagine our surprise when Themeco announced the plugin's addition to the existing lineup of Extensions available with a purchase of X. Using the likes of Essential Grid, Slider Revolution and UberMenu, you can build a solid website with extensions that are guaranteed to work with X, without having to spend an extra dollar after your initial theme purchase.

It can't get any better, right?

Productivity has Increased by 200%

We have previously talked about how everyone in the office has fun working with Cornerstone, but the real reason TactikMedia has exclusively built its new websites with X for the past few months is for the rise in productivity that it brings to the table. From the beginning, we have built an effective workflow where everyone has tasks assigned to them, from the first mockup to the final version.

With research and development, you can build a process that allows you to import previously built blocks and adapt them to your design, instead of starting from scratch on every site. If you build these re-usable sections properly, you do not have to worry about response problems once you decide to import it. After building your own sections for a couple of websites, you'll find yourself with a collection of blocks as big as 10X Layouts. Isn't it incredible?

Most importantly, by being more productive, you take not only your website to a higher level but your company at the same time!

The X Theme Community is Impressive

This is truly what we like the most about X. If you are ever stuck with a problem while building your website, you can always look up the issue on Google, followed by the words “X Theme” to find a way to fix it in the Themeco Support Center. If you prefer to discuss specific subjects regarding X, WordPress or even SEO, you're always welcome to contribute to the X Theme Users group on Facebook (user run, not managed by Themeco). Whether it is to get someone else's opinion on something you are working on, to see what others are developing in the the bi-weekly showcase or simply to get an unexpected update by Kyle Wakefield from Themeco, you'll have fun browsing the daily posts on the group!

For your information, The X Theme Users community also has its own website where you can find useful resources and blog posts from key contributors such as the WP Speed Guru himself!

With a growing X community and Themeco's close relationship to it, it is easy to find what you are looking for and you can involve yourself by taking part in discussions about web design!

Front-End Development is Incredibly Intuitive

WYSIWYG has a new name and is now called Cornerstone. Previously, we had to keep a first tab open in the page editor and a second to see how the page actually looked on the website, while continually refreshing it. It was a game changer when we found out Cornerstone allowed us to see the live version of our page in front of our eyes, especially for those who do not have an extensive knowledge of web design.

Furthermore, it simplified the use of WordPress for our writers and clients, who were able to see how their content would appear, as they were typing it, without having to mess with complex elements. Their task can now be done in one tab and we are thrilled to show our clients how Cornerstone works every time we deliver their website.

Who doesn't appreciate a happy customer?

Creativity is Your Only Limitation

With so many extensions and stacks packaged with X, you are on track to create nearly everything you want, the way you want it! Whether you are looking to make an eCommerce site, a company website or simply your own blog, you are one click away from the moment you install X! Extensions such as Superfly can improve the user experience by adding a wow factor to the site, while others like ConvertPlug can fuel engagement and attract more subscribers to your content.

Essential Grid unlocks a whole world of opportunities. Say you want to showcase a couple of services with arrows sliding to more services; you can create your own skin, featuring an image, title and excerpt, and then assign the services you offer to the grid. With the use of page metadatas, you can decide what will actually appear for each service inside the grid and you can dynamically add or remove services within the grid options!

This is a mere example of our creativity at work and there is much more to discover!

The Upcoming Header and Footer Builder is Incredible

We already possess full control of our page's appearance, however when it comes to headers and footers, the possibilities are more limited. Themeco has kept us updated, through blog posts, about the upcoming header builder and eventually showed us a picture to entice us even more. This builder will work in a similar way to Cornerstone but will feature bars, containers and modules instead of sections, rows and columns. What we are most excited about is being able to apply the header to a group of pages, allowing the header to be different depending on which part of a website you are browsing.

Now if you are currently working with X, you are most definitely dealing with widgets in your footer. While working this way isn't necessarily a problem, it would be easier to see what you are doing just like you can in Cornerstone, right? Version 5 of X Theme will allow this, as it includes the footer builder, and it seems the possibilities will be endless. Right now, users are already able to create wonderful headers and footers, so we look forward to seeing the results of the new builders, once the update comes out.

Is there anything Themeco is not capable of? We honestly don't think so…

The Future is Looking Bright

We are always looking forward for the X Theme Users showcase, held every two weeks on Facebook, not only to demonstrate what we were able to produce, but also to see how others work with the theme and what they were able to pull off. With all these ideas we hadn't thought of, as well as the new Extensions and upcoming updates, such as the previously discussed header and footer builder, X has become a must-have toolkit for anyone who wants to create a website on WordPress in 2017.

We're glad to be working with X every day and we definitely are on the hype train for what is coming up in 2017.

A big thanks to TactikMedia for sharing the Top 10 reasons they are going all in with X in 2017. Even cooler, they sent this article to us completely unsolicited because they are so excited about the year ahead! So are we, and it is a real joy to work with TactikMedia and the thousands of other creative agencies, shops, and individuals who make up the incredible Themeco community. Join us!