Elegant Themes

Dutchology

Hi guys,

Just a quick question here - has anybody had any experience with the Elegant Themes themes?

The reason I ask is that we're looking at getting into paid themes and the package that they offer seems very attractive, but I'm a firm believer in 'if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is'. They offer you access to all of their themes (70+ and counting) for $39 and for $89 you also get the Photoshop files included.

What I'm wondering is, is it too good to be true? Are there glitches, difficulties or is there a high risk of spyware etc. embedded in the code (we've hit this before with a free theme and are terrified of risking it again!).

Thanks in advance for any input,

M

Dutchology

After delving deeper into the site/idea, it would appear that we cannot use these as we develop websites for other and the owner of the themes does not allow redistribution of said themes for business purposes, so we'll have to go looking for a similar site.

Darn.

mneylon

Elegant themes have two licenses

With the "developer" version you can use them for your clients

Dutchology

Hi Blacknight,

I've mailed them regarding the matter as it's a little unclear (to me).

They do state on their Terms of Use "All .PSD files are packaged separately and are not licesned under the GPL 2.0. Instead, these files inherit the Elegant Themes Personal Use License. These files are given to all members on a personal use basis. You may not offer them, modified or unmodified, for redistribution or resale of any kind." and I did find on another forum that there was mention of them not being allowed to be used by others.

Though, as you say, the 'developer' package does sound as though it would entitle you as a developer to use them for business purposes. I'll see what I hear back either way. I hope that you're right!

Thanks again,

M

mneylon

Well I know of several people reselling sites based on their themes ..

Of course if that doesn't work out for you there are other options

Dutchology

If it doesn't work out for me, surely I'll be back begging you to tell me more!

Dutchology

I finally understand it. Duh.

Yes, so we can use Elegant Themes and the reviews all over, even when including the words 'problem' and 'issue' and 'negative' seem fairly positive.

Thanks once again for your attention, can't wait to get stuck in.

M

Squeeonline

As an alternative, I can recommend Themeforest. I'll restrain myself from posting a referrer code here. The themes there are great, usually come with fantastic support and are well worth the money.

skelliser

why not make your own themes?

its easy enough but you will need practice to get to a high standard

Squeeonline

skelliser wrote: »

why not make your own themes?

its easy enough but you will need practice to get to a high standard

Couple of reasons.
- the time it costs to make the initial theme
- the time it costs to find and fix bugs or random incompatibilities with plugins
- the time to upgrade your theme when new versions of Wordpress (or whatever CMS ) comes out

time is money if you're working with a client and paying a little for life time upgrades of the theme is really worth the €20-30.

I've used them quite a bit, and found them good. I tend to use them as a jumping off point and make child themes that transform the look of them.

dory

I use them all the time. Love Elegant Themes. I have two sites with them. My blog and a charity I work with. I'm planning on building more in the future. And I've basically done nothing with the themes. People who can modify them have made amazing things. Once you're a member you can get into the message board (or maybe even before) and then you can see the showcases of some of the modified themes.

desaparecidos

skelliser wrote: »

why not make your own themes?

its easy enough but you will need practice to get to a high standard

People use themes because they want to pretend to be web developers but in fact do not have the necessary skills to call themselves that.

So they purchase themes and resell them for astronomical multiples of what they paid for them.

Squeeonline

desaparecidos wrote: »

People use themes because they want to pretend to be web developers but in fact do not have the necessary skills to call themselves that.

So they purchase themes and resell them for astronomical multiples of what they paid for them.

Not true, for the reasons I've stated above in my last post.

- the time it costs to make the initial theme
- the time it costs to find and fix bugs or random incompatibilities with plugins
- the time to upgrade your theme when new versions of Wordpress (or whatever CMS ) comes out

Good themes can also be used a starting point where you go on and heavily edit them to achieve what you are looking for.

If I can spend less time per project yet still reach a high standard, it means I can charge less and be more competitive in a very crowded market.

Trojan

desaparecidos wrote: »

People use themes because they want to pretend to be web developers but in fact do not have the necessary skills to call themselves that.

So they purchase themes and resell them for astronomical multiples of what they paid for them.

Some people do that, adding very little value, but we already know that there are plenty of cowboys around, always have been and always will be.

Squeeonline wrote: »

Good themes can also be used a starting point where you go on and heavily edit them to achieve what you are looking for.

If I can spend less time per project yet still reach a high standard, it means I can charge less and be more competitive in a very crowded market.

... this is bang on. A good design/development team (or solo all-rounder) can create a really powerful, attractive site with custom branding for their customers for a fraction of what it used to cost.