A lot of print media has become available on the Internet. With its ease of access and lots of options available, the Internet caters to a wide variety of users. Similarly, online writers post their work on blogging platforms that may or may not be outlandish. Each platform has, at least, a medium for writers to encode their creations and some styles for a decent finish. Meanwhile, there are some other platforms that offer a lot of customization options.
For example, WordPress, a popular blogging platform these days, has different themes for bloggers to choose from. Some can selectively pick this one theme for their article; others find a whole new suite for their entire platform. But it is not always a great idea to just pick a certain theme just because you liked how it looks. If the theme does not match your content, readers might get confused and forego from reading any further.
What is ThemeForest?
ThemeForest is a popular WordPress theme marketplace which was launched in 2008. It is part of Envato, the same family that includes WordPress’ own plugin marketplace, CodeCanyon, At ThemeForest WordPress, there are a lot of professional themes created by developers for different buyers to peruse. Some WordPress developers earn handsomely by being ThemeForest contributors. They also have to ensure that their work passes quality control.
The theme platform itself consists of a huge repository of around 12,000 well-crafted themes but they usually do not come for free. Furthermore, those themes also vary in pricing, but this article will not focus on the various themes and their features. This article will focus instead on how to choose a WordPress forest theme a befitting theme for your business or writing platform.
Getting Started: What Makes a Perfect Theme?
Finding the best website templates for your articles is like finding a needle in a haystack. You think you may have gotten yourself a great theme, but you might find that your content does not fit well. You think that a popular or an easy to maintain theme forest would be a more practical solution. But aside from compromising your creative skills in web designing, you risk watering down the look and feel. This can also turn readers away from your otherwise promising content. Here is a list of factors that help make a WordPress themes perfect for your needs.
WordPress Theme is Simple
A great website does not have too much going on for it. The basic functionalities and content are enough to give its readers the idea of what the site or blog is about. Think of designing a website through WordPress themes and plugins like preparing and cooking food. Having too many ingredients in a dish is not a great culinary experience.
The same goes for websites. Too many features do not just ruin the viewing experience, but also the maintenance and enhancement opportunities. That is why picking minimalist themes are the best option. Minimalist WordPress themes have become quite appealing recently, as the layouts are simpler and other aesthetics are adjusted.
A simple theme may look lacking in animations, colour combinations, and trendy layouts. But a simple WordPress theme is also easy to install and sometimes comes with corresponding plugins. There is a lot of best selling, simple ThemeForest themes such as Awam and KetoFitt, and each of them caters to only one market niche. So, you can always select a WordPress theme from these multi purpose themes.
Simple themes are usually geared for websites that appeal to a certain group of people. Having simple and beautiful Visual composer themes on ThemeForest have everything you need. They also have the best WooCommerce theme which works best to display a specific company’s portfolio of products online. Since these WordPress themes are also more specialized, they also tend to have fewer color combinations overall.
Themeforest WordPress Theme Must Be Responsive
WordPress is no longer a web-only application. It also has a mobile app, which means that the app interface must adjust depending on screen size. The same goes for picking the right Wordtheme. The right theme must also be adjustable such that it is also optimized based on the screen you are viewing from. If a theme cannot adjust i.e. its settings are optimized only for PC, the viewing experience gets diminished. It also frustrates customers who seek a pleasant viewing experience.
Most ThemeForest themes are already optimized for both PC and mobile, however. You do not need to worry about picking an unoptimized theme, although you can test before you pick. The best way to make sure that a theme is responsive is by testing it on a PC and a mobile phone simultaneously.
Theme Must Be Compatible with Most Browsers
Even if you exclusively surf the Internet using Chrome, it still pays to pick a theme that can handle other browsers as well. For example, you want to set up your blog while traveling in a country where Chrome is not the default browser of choice. You can still set up your blog with other browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Mozilla.
The reason as to why your desired theme needs to be browser-compatible is to prevent having a lesser experience due to broken features. Yes, those broken features such as unviewable images or thumbnails which are normally visible in another browser. Testing the theme with this setup is quite tedious on the PC alone, but you also need to ensure that it works perfectly on mobile too.
The More Supported Plugins, the Better
WordPress is all about one compatible plugin after another. It is also great if the WordPress theme you want for your website supports the most number of plugins out there, right? Well, yes and no. It still depends on whether your application requires a lot of customizations down the line.
But even if your chosen theme does not support all plugins out there, it is still better to have theme options that work well with the best plugins out there. Here is a list of five of the most useful plugins in WordPress. Make sure that your chosen WordPress theme can use all of these:
- WPForms (for an easier contact form setup where it is easy to leave a reply or comment)
- MonsterInsights (for better analytics)
- Yoast SEO (for a better chance of being seen first in search engines)
- Sucuri (for a more secure platform)
- UpdraftPlus (for easy backup in case of data loss)
You can get everything with creative multi-purpose, easy to use, responsive WooCommerce ThemeForest WordPress themes. Find all the details in the related posts on our website. ( A
The theme has Room for Translations
You may be fluent in English and you are building a website that intends to have as many viewers in the future. Or you may not be fluent in English but you want to reach as many viewers as well with your content. Such websites can use the help of WordPress plugins that translate your website into other popular languages.
One great example of a plugin is WPML. For a small investment, WPML helps you gain views and possible transactions by making your site translatable to other languages.
The theme has GUI-like Page Builder
Customizations are best done using a drag-and-drop approach. Whether you may or may not have experience in Photoshop or other layout applications in the past, your site theme needs a great page builder. Every theme making it to the bestsellers has a great page builder.
Some popular page builders are great for custom and multipurpose features, but they can also be very technical. Not everyone who builds a website knows programming, which is why a drag-and-drop page builder is better. SeedProd is an excellent example. It consists of page layouts that can decorate an entire website, as well as individual page layouts. This page builder is also one of the fastest out there, which, combined with SEO optimization, helps make your site more searchable.
WordPress Theme has Best Support
Consider it a worthy investment to buy a ThemeForest theme on WordPress. This way you would be assured of consistent developer support. At least one of the best themes there may cost quite a lot of money, but it comes with documentations too. Add in at least one year of support and you’re golden.
WordPress also has free themes, but you are not guaranteed of developer support once you run into some problems. Unless you are a seasoned programmer and you know how to fix it, you would be better off paying for a premium theme. The only financial downside is the upfront cost, and should you have problems down the line, resolutions are an email away. Although, try communicating with the developer directly as a last resort; those documentations have you covered already.
Must be SEO Friendly WordPress Theme
A well-written website with subpar SEO optimization is still a subpar website. Therefore, pick a theme that has been signed off by its developers as SEO-optimized. Whether they used Yoast or another SEO tool, what matters is that your theme helps your site become more visible.
These SEO optimization tools can also be customized per site, such that the SEO grading for one might differ with another. When creating or modifying an article, bear in mind some important terms such as focus keywords and slugs. If your theme’s SEO tool does not have both of these, your readers would have a hard time Googling your blog.
Nine: Theme Must have Great Feedback
A website with a creative theme is sure to attract potential viewers and customers. Users who built their platform on a specific, well-received design are more likely to rate the theme highly. At ThemeForest, you can easily see how the theme performs in terms of star ratings, comments, and a number of sales.
Check both the number of star ratings and comments. If the comments match the high ratings i.e. customers left generally positive feedback, then the theme is recommendable.
When Not to Use ThemeForest Themes
ThemeForest may seem to be overwhelmingly positive for every website builder out there, but it still has some downsides. Some of them are highlighted here.
When Your Desired Themes are Bloated
There is always the problem of the website content being inconsistent with your desired themes on Themeforest. However, it is still important to adjust them to become as matched as possible. Otherwise, you might be better off trying simpler themes.
Going simple often yields a high-performance website. You get fewer features but your overall experience would be more user friendly. A bloated theme is not a simple theme by any means. There are too many distractions from those cool features which you think would help boost your online presence. Furthermore, if you are more technical, you can explore the intricate code by the developers which may compromise the theme’s performance.
In order for you to avoid getting a bloated theme for your website, list down your essential features. Then, add in a bonus feature or two. Keep in mind that your multipurpose theme must be as responsive as possible. A bloated theme is not a good responsive theme. Furthermore, you might run the risk of your theme being not completely compatible with other browsers.
When You Need to Test Run First
Unfortunately, WordPress themes through ThemeForest are released on a pay-first-use-later basis. They do not give you the option to build a dummy version of your website through your chosen theme. They have a preview, though, which allows you to see what your new website might look like with those features.
It would be nice if ThemeForest has a sandbox where web design can be tested with your chosen themes. However, that is not the case here. The best workaround is to anticipate what features you want your website to have.
Also, with these pre-built themes come the additional plugins that you may not need at all. Still, if you already listed your potential features and possible plugins needed, you could browse through the catalogue. Even if it seems tedious, you would know exactly which theme is the best for your online shop or blog.
When Your Desired Theme has Unreadable Text
Maybe you can zoom in to read your content if your chosen theme has very small and fixed fonts. However, think about this: readers would rather move on to another site than zoom in every time to read your work. Sometimes, the font size is decent, but the color combinations are not. Or, your font could be too script. So, it is important that you look for a multi-purpose theme.
To avoid getting a theme that compromises your content’s readability, pick a theme that has simple and contrasting colors. Make sure also that the text colors contrast their corresponding backgrounds. Furthermore, you can invest in a theme where the fonts are readable and not too stylish. Choose a theme where there are no script fonts in it as much as possible.
When You Can DIY
A multi-purpose theme on ThemeForest usually comes as a pre-built setup, complete with features and plugins to get you started with a visual composer website. But if you have excellent programming skills or if you can work with other skilled programmers, you might want to skip.
Going the DIY route helps you appreciate the website that you will create without relying on an external theme. If you can conceptualize its design, its features, and its plugins from the ground up, you have full control. You would not need another developer telling you about not modifying the existing code lest the entire theme becomes unusable. Also, by seeing the project through from wireframes to production, you know exactly how to troubleshoot or enhance.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is ThemeForest?
ThemeForest is a marketplace for premium themes for WordPress and other blogging platforms. It is part of the Envato Market family which also includes CodeCanyon, WordPress’ plugin marketplace.
How much can I make on ThemeForest?
It depends on whether you are (a) a new developer wanting to pitch a new theme online, or (b) a business builder looking to use an existing theme.
These days, it is not uncommon to hear that any top WordPress theme on ThemeForest are raking in at least $10,000 a month. Yet, it also takes a lot of hard work and perseverance to even get your planned theme approved by WordPress. In addition to that, as ThemeForest is owned by Envato Market, the parent company gets 30% of sales earned. That leaves you, the author, with 70% of earnings bagged for every successful sale.
If, however, you decided to buy a premium theme from ThemeForest, you would first incur more expenses. These include the cost of the theme, the hosting rights, and other necessary costs. To offset those expenses, you need to then know how to monetize your website. But that would be perfect for a different topic altogether.
How do I get themes from ThemeForest for free?
From time to time, ThemeForest lists some themes that were previously premium. While the themes are not constant from time to time, you can avail of any available ThemeForest theme right Free WordPress themes.
This is a good option if you do not want to fork out as much as $60 per theme, but you would still pay extra for developer support. Also, it only stays free for a specific timeframe. Once that date has passed, you would need to pay the premium for the same theme.
We have reviewed 50 plus ThemeForest WordPress themes from Envato market. Check our related articles.
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Conclusion
To sum it all up, ThemeForest or Envato Market is a great platform to get pre-built themes with excellent support and documentation. It is a great way for bloggers and business page owners to establish their presence online. It is great for people who can’t web design their page or WooCommerce sales page, but it can also be ignored by designers who prefer the DIY route.
Publishing your work online via ThemeForest can also be a lucrative business, whether you are a developer or a blogger. As a developer, it is by knowing what potential customers want, and as a blogger, it is by balancing various themes design and knowing exactly what you want. That way you potentially maximize your earnings on ThemeForest. It may not seem easy at first, but as long as you persevere, then your investment will be worth it.