Why I Like Elegant Themes
When you create a WordPress blog, one of the first decisions you must make is which theme to use. There are both free and premium themes, and you should carefully consider what kind of theme is best for your blog. One set of themes that I highly recommend is the Elegant Themes package. Let me explain why I like these themes so much.
An introduction to Elegant Themes
Elegant Themes are a collection of 87 premium themes sold for one fixed price. One of the appealing things about these themes is the value. Rather than purchasing one theme only, you can get a large number of them (at the price of a theme). There are many different types of themes, so you can basically use them for any type of blog.
There isn’t space in this review to describe all of the themes, but to give you an idea of what you get, here are a few notable themes that come with the package.
-
Fusion theme from ET
A stylish, sophisticated theme that is ideal for anyone with a blog related to technology or design. It has responsive design, custom background images and many other enticing features.
-
Lucid WP Theme from ElegantThemes.com
This is a modern magazine theme that lets you efficiently display lots of content while maintaining an appealing, uncluttered look. This is another responsive theme, which means it can be viewed properly on mobile devices as well as computers.
-
Foxy
A comprehensive theme for any type of business. It is a responsive theme that integrates with e-commerce features such as shopping carts. This is an ideal theme for anyone who wants to monetize their blog by selling products.
-
Explorable WordPress theme
A location based theme that integrates with Google Maps, allowing you to pin your posts to a specific location. This is perfect for local business directories, travel guides and other sites where locations are crucial.
These are just a few of the 87 themes you get when you join Elegant Themes review. Even if you only use a handful of them, you are getting more than your money’s worth. You also never know when you might have use for one of the themes.
Benefits that come with all Elegant Themes
There are some features that come with all of the themes.
-
ePanel Theme Options
You can easily edit and manage your themes using the ePanel. This is an extremely simple and user friendly control panel that doesn’t require any programming skills to use. Here you can do things like change the colors and layout, manage ads and optimize your posts and pages for the search engines. All these settings can be done visually, without the need to touch the underlying codes.
-
Page Templates
You get several templates for functions that many sites use, such as Sitemap, Contact Form, Image Gallery, Blog Feed and more. This makes it easy to create and customize these functions on your site.
-
Shortcodes
Using efficient shortcodes, you can design and organize your posts the way you want. You can insert features such as Slideshow, Image Slider, Tabbed Content, Buttons, Toggled Content, Boxes and more using shortcodes.
-
Support and Updates
One of the biggest advantages of using a premium theme is that you get better support than you would with free themes. This is certainly true with Elegant Themes, which gives you full support as long as you are a member. You also get theme updates to make sure your themes are compatible with all browsers and the most recent WordPress updates.
How much is it?
With so many themes and features, you may be wondering how expensive it is to buy Elegant Themes. One of the best aspects of this company is how reasonable they are.
Rather than purchasing individual themes, Elegant Themes is essentially set up as a membership site. A Personal membership costs $89 per year. This gives you access to all 87 themes. You can, however, get even better value if you choose one of the other options.
The Developer option gives you all of the benefits of Personal membership, with some additional benefits. Aside from the themes, you get access to a set of premium WordPress plugins. These are Elegant Shortcodes, Maintenance Mode Plugin (creates a “Coming Soon” page for your site before it’s complete), Elegant Page Builder (helps you create advanced layouts for your posts and pages) and
HandHeld Mobile Plugin (makes any website mobile friendly). In addition to the plugins, you also get layered Photoshop files with the Developer’s membership. The cost of this is $89 per year.
There is also the Lifetime Access membership, which has all of the benefits of the Developer option, with no annual fees. For this you pay a one-time fee of $249.
All of the Elegant Themes memberships come with an unconditional 30 day money back guarantee, so you can get a full refund if you’re not satisfied for any reason.
Conclusion
If you compare Elegant Themes to other premium themes, you will find that it’s hard to find the same value. While you can find some great themes out there, most of them are sold piecemeal. There is a real advantage to getting a large collection of themes for one price. You can use them yourself or on sites that you build for clients.
Elegant Themes gives you a way to access many high quality WordPress themes at an affordable price. It gives you great support and updates, and a control panel from where you can manage your site or sites.
If you’re seeking a great theme (or lots of them), I strongly suggest that you take a look at what this company has to offer. Check out both the descriptions of the many themes, and also the great features you get with each of them.