Envato ThemeForest Review – Are the Templates Worth it
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Envato ThemeForest, If you’re reading this, you know choosing your WordPress theme is a big deal. You want to get something that matches your vision, that will help your website drive traffic, and more importantly, you really want it to work. ThemeForest presents itself as the answer to all these concerns, but is it?
To find out, we need to answer a few important questions: Is it easy to find the right theme? How much would it cost? What kind of support can you get? Will these themes slow down my site? What are the downsides of the service? And above all, does it have the right theme for you?
We’ve been researching the best WordPress theme marketplaces in the industry here on Website Planet for some time (see our comparison of the top 5), and for this article, we’re diving into ThemeForest.
But why Envato ThemeForest?
1. A wide variety of themes you won’t find anywhere else
ThemeForest offers over 11,000 premium WordPress themes, literally the biggest library we know of. It is very likely that you will find one or more subjects that you are passionate about.
If you’re looking for a site with a smaller number of focused and specialized topics, don’t look here. See theme change. Otherwise… yes… 11,000 WordPress themes.
Oh, and ThemeForest also has themes for many other CMSs (like Joomla, Drupal, Concrete5, and ModX) and even has themes for website builders like Webflow and Weebly.
2. Awesome community features
For each topic, you will find ratings, user reviews and useful statistics. You can also view theme creator profiles, portfolios, global reputation, and more. Social proof plays an important role in ThemeForest.
3. Very affordable themes
At least most topics. More detailed pricing information can be found further down the article. For now, let’s just say that most ThemeForest templates are designed for individuals and small business owners who want to set up a beautiful website quickly.
How easy (or hard) is it to find the perfect theme Envato ThemeForest?
Well, that’s a lot of filters. Most of these filtering options are common to other theme marketplaces, but a standout feature of ThemeForest is the ability to rank themes based on their compatibility with specific popular plugins and frameworks.
If filters aren’t enough for you, there’s the good old search bar. Remember that it’s a bit tricky: there’s no autocorrect and you need to know exactly what you’re looking for. Even then, keywords can return unrelated results. Common searches such as “agency” or “portfolio” return thousands of results.
If you’re looking for something hyper-specific, like B. a topic for stamp collectors, you’ll be pickier: your options will be limited. And for stamp collectors, there really is nothing (yes, I checked). I’m extremely disappointed and I don’t even collect stamps.
Still, finding exactly what you want can take a bit of work. It’s not exactly a bug in the service, but rather a by-product of the huge library of themes that ThemeForest has at its disposal. Finding something that is likely to work for you is easy enough, but finding the “perfect” theme for you is a different story depending on how specific you are.
And how easy (or difficult) is it to use the purchased theme Envato ThemeForest?
It totally depends on the subject. I mean, the basic installation is generally the same for any theme: download it to your computer, upload it to your WordPress site, then activate it.
Some of the more complex layouts may require you to perform additional configuration steps. ThemeForest doesn’t require theme creators to provide installation or customization services with their support, but as long as you know the basics of installing a WordPress theme, you’ll be well on your way.
Of course, with other CMS options, the process is different. For some, you may need to upload the theme files through an FTP client or through your hosting site’s control panel. Ease of use depends on the CMS you are using.
The extent to which you can customize a theme also largely depends on the theme. Most themes allow you to change some basic elements (like colours and fonts) and most likely offer layout options as well. Some themes are actually full-fledged website builders or content management systems.
All We can say is that you should read the feature lists carefully.
Nothing is perfect, what is the problem?
Not all themes work
Specifically, not all themes have been updated to be compatible with WordPress changes, and not all have working demos anymore. Sometimes web developers give up, and sometimes they just keep going. Check reviews and data for each theme you want to buy.
Not all themes are supported either
Sure, support can make a design more expensive, but it’s always nice to have someone to answer questions and help solve any issues that arise.
Your website will likely look like others
This is a mistake in most markets, especially if you’re buying one of the more popular themes. TemplateMonster, for example, solves this problem by showing you the least purchased themes and paying high fees to be the last person to buy that theme.
ThemeForest cannot guarantee that others will not purchase the same theme and create a website very similar to yours…unless you heavily customize it.
Some themes run very slowly
This is mainly because they come with more options and additional features that no one really knows what to do with. This excess code can lengthen the loading time of your website and, even worse, lengthen the user’s loading time. These aren’t all problems, of course, but bloated code is a definite problem with some themes.
You can fix some of these issues with plugins that offer speed optimizations, like Code). However, these options have limitations and are much more efficient when used with well-written code.
Complex topics have a learning curve
Again, not just at ThemeForest, but here we are: the more complex and “versatile” a theme is, the more customization and configuration you have to do yourself. The more complex ones use a lot of “shortcodes” and, if you’re lucky, have documentation that rivals that of WordPress itself.
Since ThemeForest does not offer customization services, there is a lot to learn.
How much do you have to pay?
Well, it’s an interesting topic. Most WordPress themes (over 8,000) are between $40 and $60. The most expensive I have found at the time of writing this article is $10,000 (the most expensive WordPress theme is $1,022) and the cheapest themes are $5 (the cheapest WordPress themes expensive are $13).
It’s safe to say there’s something for almost every budget, but it’s mostly quite affordable.
And then… uh… if we count the pure PSD files? There’s one for $10,000,001 that looks like it’s been sold 8 times. Did it really happen? I’m guessing either the buyers got a massive discount code or the numbers aren’t always entirely reliable.
How to find free themes on ThemeForest?
A search for “ThemeForest free theme” will lead you to, well… ThemeForest free themes. You can also search for free themes on the ThemeForest website. The free themes are very easy to miss if you don’t know where to look, but they are there!
First, go to one of the pages highlighted in red in the screenshot below:
You would probably think of going to the “Web Designs & Templates” page, but you won’t actually find any free themes there.
Then scroll down to the footer of one of those pages. You will see a link to “Free WordPress Themes”:
The free themes seem to change from time to time, so check back once a month or so.
Last but not least, when it comes to costs, ThemeForest’s refund policy is something to consider. The good news is that there are! And it’s pretty decent, covering things like false advertising, product security flaws, not having the promised support and more. Please note that changing your mind after downloading a theme is not covered.
What about other thematic markets?
How do ThemeForest WordPress themes compare to offerings from other marketplaces like TemplateMonster?
Well, TemplateMonster sells large (and quite complex) business themes, and usually at a price that reflects their target customer base. Where TemplateMonster excels is in its ongoing support and additional services. Pay a little more and you don’t have to lift a finger to install or customize anything. It’s expensive, but it might be worth it to save time.
Here is a quick comparison table between ThemeForest, TemplateMonster and ThemeShift (for completeness):
Should you buy from ThemeForest?
Or rather, is it for you? This could very well be the case.
We would recommend ThemeForest if you need a relatively cheap but decent theme and are comfortable installing WordPress themes yourself. I would recommend it if you have the time to research your purchase, set it up, and more or less create your own website. In general, a certain level of web design knowledge is assumed when purchasing here.
If it sounds good to you, you know what you’re doing, or you have the time and energy to learn it, go for it!
Just read the reviews, check out the provider’s past, and definitely check out the live demo before you hit your wallet. The ThemeForest community is one of your most powerful assets, so use it to your advantage.
Happy theme hunting!
