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ThemeForest Review 2020

Item: ThemeForest
Rating: 9.8
Author: Jonathan Kerns

If you have ever tried scouring the internet for website templates, you will find that these are a dime a dozen. The thing is, however, not every one of these offer quality templates. So if you are feeling frustrated and tired of searching, maybe it’s time you take a look at ThemeForest. This is one of, if not the best, website template providers in the industry. They offer thousands of quality, affordable templates that span a wide range of categories. If you are a theme author, this website template site also allows you to sell your themes on their marketplace. Intrigued yet? If so, keep on reading below to see what else ThemeForest has in store and if they are truly worth your time!

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Jonathan KernsFebruary 24, 2019

Pros

Quantity and Variety: ThemeForest offers thousands of themes for customers to choose from. These span numerous categories, from HTML templates to WordPress themes and more.
Quality: There are tons of professional-looking themes offered in ThemeForest’s marketplace, which are quality checked by the company itself. They also provide a rating system so you know which ones are really good, and which ones are too good to be true.
Courses: If you are a novice in web design or website building, ThemeForest offers various courses that can help hone your chops. Having a good variety of courses all in one place, even if they are paid, also makes it rather convenient.
Price: The templates on offer in ThemeForest vary widely when it comes to price. Good news is that most are generally within the affordable side of the spectrum.

Cons

Plugin Compatibility: Because some themes package plugins that are compatible only with the theme it came bundled with, those who are looking for some degree of customization flexibility might be disappointed.
Support is Hit or Miss: The templates on offer in ThemeForest come from various theme authors who submit their work to the site. While this bodes well for variety, the fact that support for each template is handled by their respective authors could make for a very hit or miss experience.

Sell Your Own Template

If you are a creative and you think you have what it takes to make it big as a template creator, ThemeForest is a great place for you to dip your toes in. In fact, in 2014 alone 50% of their WordPress themes have made at least $1,000 a month. 25%, meanwhile, have made at least $2,500 a month. And this is just data from the WordPress category.

Of course, because you are competing with hundreds or thousands of authors, it might be a steep climb. There is also the fact that ThemeForest enforces certain guidelines and requirements for authors in order to maintain a level of quality. But if you stick to your guns, improve your craft, and adhere to the guidelines, then you could very well make it to the top in no time!

Ease of Use & Features

With thousands of themes to sift through, is browsing ThemeForest’s template catalog a huge pain? Quite the contrary. Thanks to a simple design, plus effective filtering and sorting options, finding the right template is a breeze. For starters, when you arrive on their home page you can immediately type in the search bar for a quick search. Or, you can browse the Featured or New sections to see which ones are currently popular and fresh. They also feature a popular template author so you can get to his/her works immediately.

In the catalog section, meanwhile, you can further refine your search via the various filtering options on the left. You can choose your preferred template category, for instance. Categories include WordPress, HTML, Marketing, CMS Themes, Blogging, eCommerce, PSD Templates, Mobile and more. You can also choose from numerous search tags, or specify a certain price range. You can also choose to view only items that have sold pretty well (or not at all, depending on your preference). Furthermore, you can also choose to view ones that have a specific star rating.

If you are still not satisfied with the search results, you can also choose to sort them. You can sort searches by: Newest Items, Trending Items, Best Sellers, Best Rated, Price: Low to High, and Price: High to Low. As if that were not enough, you can further refine the results by choosing how long ago a template was added. This option allows you to specify if you want to browse templates that were added in the last year, in the last month, in the last week, or in the last day. You can also choose to view the results either as in list or grid style.

In terms of how ThemeForest presents each item in the catalog, you get a small thumbnail for each, accompanied by a brief description of its specs. You can, of course, also see the price, the star rating, as well as how many people have purchased the template. Under each thumbnail you get buttons for liking a certain template, adding it to your collection, or adding it to your cart. The thumbnails themselves aren’t preview images of the actual templates. Rather, they are simply logos – which is a bit inconvenient if you want to quickly compare each item. You can simply hover over each thumbnail to get a popup of the template preview image, but it would have been better if the thumbnail images were of the actual templates themselves from the get-go.

That minor gripe aside, hovering over the thumbnail also gives you a quick link to the Live Preview page of each template, so it does, at least, serve a useful function. You can also access the Live Preview button, as well as a link to screenshots in each template’s individual product pages. The Live Preview feature itself is pretty cool, as it lets you actually test drive each template – yes, even mobile templates – before even parting ways with a single cent. Once you settle on a template you like, all you need to do is add it to your cart or buy it immediately. ThemeForest accepts credit cards such as Visa or Mastercard, PayPal, or prepaid Envato Credits (purchasable via PayPal, Skrill or credit card). Take note that you must have an account with them in order to purchase anything.

Pricing

ThemeForest templates vary widely in terms of pricing. Be that as it may, most are generally quite affordable. You can, for example, get WordPress themes for as low as $29, HTML “Under Construction” or “404 Error” templates for a measly $5, or a responsive eCommerce theme for only $21. Prices for the most premium WordPress themes, meanwhile, can go as high as $64 – which isn’t that bad and still very affordable compared to hiring a professional web designer to build your website for you.

Customer Support

In terms of customer support ThemeForest provides a comprehensive help center that details everything from buying and item support, to selling as a template author, to tax and compliance issues and more. You can also submit a support request to them if you don’t find your concern addressed by the help center. They don’t have any live chat, phone or direct email support though, so you are stuck with the support request. You can, however, try your luck by connecting with their social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

In terms of support for each template, authors provide support for their own themes rather than ThemeForest overseeing everything. Purchasing a template guarantees you several months of support from the author, which you can also extend by paying extra. While getting help directly from the source is great, it does leave the door open for a very mixed experience. Due to the thousands of different template authors, there is no guarantee that you will get fantastic support from each one.

What's the Verdict on ThemeForest?

A Must Try

ThemeForest Review 2020 – Conclusion

If you are looking for quality, elegant templates for your website, ThemeForest is one of the best places that can cater to your needs. With thousands upon thousands of choices, from premium WordPress themes to eCommerce, mobile, and more, you can find one that fits whatever your preferences are. And with useful filters and sorting options, scouring their large catalog becomes an absolute breeze. Plugin compatibility issues could hinder your creative process, and support might be hit or miss, but the benefits certainly outweigh the cons. If you want a one-stop-shop template website where you can also make money by selling your own templates, then do yourself a favor and visit ThemeForest now!