There was time in 2019 that we had seen issues with different website owners that have utilized a ThemeForest theme purchased from Envato market within a short period of time
Each issue were different when it was purchased from ThemeForest on Envato market.
This was the time when we decided not to work on any websites that had a Themeforest theme installed.
We believe consultants and agencies have an obligation to provide clean, well-coded themes to their customers – but when it comes to ThemeForest it is not happening
That is what made us to write this post – to help you see the other side of ThemeForest which no one talks about!
We are not against every theme on ThemeForest .we are sure there are some good ones too but many are defective in nature
Theme forest may not be as good as you hope it to be. While the standards for selling on the marketplace have been increased in recent years, there is still a risk involved that you will be taking when it is purchased.
Then there is also the possibility that most non-techies will not know what to look for to determine whether a theme is good or bad.
What Is ThemeForest?
Get idea about Themeforest
If you don’t have an idea then get idea , ThemeForest is a large marketplace of pre-made themes for sale for a variety of CMS platforms as well as HTML websites. ThemeForest is owned by Envato which has many different websites under its brand like CodeCanyon, AudioJungle, GraphicRiver and more.
They are leading in the market but those who purchase themes from them are not aware of the dangers that are engaging in many of the themes that are made available on the site. The themes you may be eyeing up may look all pretty – but behind the scenes may be something dangerous.
My Experience WithThemeForest
I personally recommended some theme for my customers Spax(https://www.adjustabledampers.com/) based on the seller review and design. In the themeforest, themes has good design looks and also trendy designs. So i recommended it to my customer. In the end I got a bad review for the theme because of its performance. In the theme forest all the themes come with the plugin packages. Theme might have an update based on the design and functionality wise so that no bugs are in any theme company. Even if we have no use of some plugins we are not able to deactive it.
Sharesoft has stopped working with the themeforest theme then we decided to work on our own with my customer expected quality and design experience.
We have rectified that problem which we are facing with our customer with themeforest themes. We planned to create own branding for theme platform. Here we didn’t believe any other company to sell 3rd part items. We have own development theme and we validate it personally and upload it in our theme platform webcodemonster.com
In the year 2019 We got some good feedbacks from our customers. We believe now that we build our own theme like if I am using the magento we use the luma theme to build our client projects.
Reason behind its popularity!
It is clear that the themes are lot more affordable than a custom based developed websites.
The theme creators do a fantastic job at marketing themes by making them look gorgeous and flexible for a variety of uses (a multipurpose theme they call it), but that is part of where the issues comes.
What is not to focus?
Well,
And just like a friend we are going to help you see why you should not consider ThemeForest if your business is important to you!
THE GOOD: What to Like About Themeforest
Exactly affordability for what it looks to be an amazing website design is why most people are drawn to Themeforest. You can get amazing design with all the availability at a fraction of the cost of a custom designed website, and of course we see the appeal of that as an option!
Typically the designs are wonderful and filled with wonderful imagery and font use and “modern” touches like moving parts that really drawn you in.
If you are searching for simple website for a business as a “place on the” web to visit like a restaurant or band or other business that has a following quick website to promote your latest updates, Themeforest is a powerpackoption.
Envato market also has a large global community that can really support you in terms of managing, creating and updating your theme.
If you have a business that you are planning to grow long term and will need to grow with you then for the reasons below we cannot recommend it.
THE BAD: 6 Reasons To Avoid Themeforest
1. Branding Concerns
When you focus on a website – no two should really be same. Every business or blog has its own personality, target market and goals. In our perception– using a template that looks like hundreds of other websites is creating your business a bad image.
For example, one of the highest sellers on ThemeForest is Avada with over 300K themes sold. While you can customize it but most of them do not because it is not as easy as shown, so many websites are using the same theme.
2. Code Bloat
One of the biggest issues with many ThemeForest themes is all the plugin that are needed to run the theme. In the past a lot of theme developers used to not even separate the plugins from the theme code .
But many themes still require you to download many plugins to have the theme working properly – most of these plugins are from CodeCanyon and run off the theme authors development license. This means you have to display on the theme creator too.
3. Unsatisfactory updates
Themes are been not updated regularly, If some sellers give updates in order to keep your website protected and to avail many new features. But by this it brings some major drawbacks that is the updated theme version must match with the version of your device. If it does not match than you cannot run the appropriate theme
4. Installation issues
Mostly the problem arise with the installation process, in fact most of the times, themes purchased are not much similar to the themes displayed after installation
web developers feel that we have found most of the themes to be problematic in setting up From complex page templates to spread admin areas and widgets and at times you just do not know where to initiate
Below is a linked article about how difficult it can be to achieve the look of the demo website you may have fell in love with!
https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-make-my-wordpress-website-look-just-like-the-theme-I-bought-on-themeforest
5. No permission asked on theme removals
Did you know Theme forest can remove the themes whenever they want without asking any permission or with any information?
Well, it can!
Items can be removed by the author or the Envato staff for any reason — and even if you don’t download it immediately.
The fact that you should DOWNLOAD the whole theme package immediately after purchase! But not everyone does – and not every theme author will respond to you if you request it be sent —– so it is something to be aware of.
So how does the removal of a theme affect you?
The motive of the Themeforest is to force you to immediately update the package. And they can remove themes whenever they wanted to do so, it will simply create an issue for the users and wastage of money in purchasing the theme
One Thing I can say from experience, very few real web developers will look at a ThemeForest theme and try to fix an issue, they will probably tell you to scrap it and start over! Some of them are just coded so badly.
6. Speed loading test– GTMetrix
Speed plays a vital role in buying the theme package. customers are attracted towards the speed of the theme. if the speed is not good, it automatically gives a bad impression .
It is the process of making you foolish in a tricky way, It simply determines the speed which is not exactly the same but in order to attract the customers.
when you analyse the data it will differ from what is said by them not only this, after you install the theme package in your server the speed will not be similar, it will be reduced to the maximum
Awareness about the Themeforest Around The Web
Before buying the themes from the themeforest be aware and collect the comments about the themes if possible, try to compare with other sites too
Sometimes people purchase themes without knowing the reality of the themes by just looking at the displayed themes they believe that it is the best theme for their business but that is not so it really has many hidden issues behind it.
What Other WordPress Theme Options Are There?
Many website owners is not conscious that Theme Forest is NOT the only place to get themes. There are many websites that provide you the amazing and quality themes for your business
Sharesoft technology is here! We provide you the best theme among others. We assure you that our themes will be of high quality and features in it
Not only this we provide customized themes for our customer according to their likes and preferences. Our motive is to make the customer happy and satisfied.
What If I Really Love A ThemeForest Theme?
Then by all means, buy the theme that you are interested but make sure the rating of the theme!
We are not saying do not buy a theme from them but we are not recommending it and encourage you to be cautious when you do!
Here are some things to make sure you look at before handing over the money:
- Research the theme developer, check what is .their rating averages look like.
- How long they are selling it on ThemeForest.
- Take a glance at all the themes they offer.
- Review the themes and see some reviews they have
- Look at the reviews properly by arranging lowest first, newest etc. so you get the full range of the reviews
- Ensure the number of sales and how recent the sales are so that you determine that more the sales then its a decent sign.
- Do a rating test on the internet by typing tings like “themename theme sucks” or “themename” – this will help you see what people are feeling about it.
- Check Reddit and Quora, look for the theme name and see what pops up.