Joomla Templates & Vendors
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| Template Vendors |
Pricing* | Unlimited Use? | Number of Templates** | Support |
| RocketTheme |
2 Themes/sites:$50 3 Themes/sites: $75 All themes 1 yr. $250 |
Depends on package | 20 + | Forum and tutorials. |
| JoomlaShack | Single theme: $47 Lifetime all themes: $399 |
Single theme: No Lifetime access: Yes |
23 | Forum and live ticket support |
| Template Monster | $45 – $85 per theme (approximately) |
No – single use only. | 573 + | Installation option, Custom for hire, live ticket, tutorials. |
| Themeforest | $10 – $40 per theme | No – single use only. | 38 + | Forum and ticket support. Also e-mail support from some developers. |
| Template Plazza | $39: 4 mos. full access $65: 1 yr. full access $189: 1 yr. full access – no restrictions on use. |
$39: 2 domains $65: 4 domains $189: no domain restrictions |
77 | Forum. |
| Joomla Designs |
25 EU: 3 mos. access 45 EU: 6 mos. access 75 EU: 1 yr. access $249 EU: unlimited |
5 to unlimited domains – depends on package. | 400 | Help desk (ticket support) and knowledgebase library. |
| Joomla Bamboo | Membership: $40 – $195 |
1 to unlimited domains – depends on package. | 48 + | Forum and ticket support system. |
| IceTheme | Membership:
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Depends on package. 3 mos = 1 license; 6 mos = 3 licenses, 12 mos = unlimited. | 33 | Live chat, tutorials, and forum support. |
| Artisteer
(Joomla and WordPress template design software – no theme or template coding needed) |
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Unlimited designs and templates. | You design the templates from scratch. | Forum, tutorials, and ticket support system. |
A Little More Info for when you buy Joomla Templates
Like WordPress themes, there are two general types of Joomla template sellers – boutique and mall sellers.
Template Monster and Themeforest are what I call “mall” Joomla template sellers. This is because many Joomla developers offer their templates for sale through Template Monster and Themeforest. You have a huge selection from which to buy Joomla templates.
The other Joomla template vendors are what I call “boutique” vendors. They create their Joomla templates in-house. Generally when you buy Joomla templates from a boutique template provider, there are many similarities in using a template among all or most templates offered.
This is the attraction of the multi-template packages with a boutique Joomla template provider. Once you become familiar with one boutique template club or vendor, then you’ll be fairly familiar with other templates from the same template provider.
Joomla vs. WordPress
Joomla vs. WordPress is debated all over the Web. I’m partial to WordPress. I’ve used Joomla extensively, but must admit that Joomla websites can look very, very cool and offer some incredible functionality.
However, there are some advantages and disadvantages to both:
1. WordPress is faster to set up and add content.
2. Joomla offers easier individual page/post layout flexibility (however, some premium WordPress themes such as Builder Theme offer tremendous layout and navigation customization on any page or post. Read my in-depth Builder review here).
3. WordPress has more free plugins available. Some argue this is true, but counter that the paid Joomla extensions (same as plugin, different name) are better quality.
4. WordPress is easier to manage (this is my personal view – but I admit I’ve built more WordPress websites than Joomla websites).
5. There are more WordPress themes available than Joomla templates. This naturally follows the fact that there are more WordPress users.
If you’re starting out with building websites, I suggest sticking with one platform for a while. I started with Joomla and learned it reasonably well. Then I gave WordPress a go and preferred it for most of my sites. Both platforms will take a little effort and practice getting used to – but once you do you’ll never regret it.
I also caution with both WordPress and Joomla to ensure that you’re able to properly optimize your theme or template for the search engines. If there’s one compelling reason to use a premium Joomla template or WordPress theme, it’s that you can find premium templates or themes that are SEO-ready.
At the end of the day, both Joomla and WordPress can be the foundation for a great website. If you really get into both and want to give your creative side a try at desigining your own Joomla templates and/or WordPress themes, you can use Artisteer.
Artisteer is software that designs Joomla templates and WordPress themes from scratch without doing any coding. I bought Artisteer early on in my website building days and it’s been a ton of fun designing themes and templates. I also use premium themes and templates, but sometimes I just like creating my own.
My motto is to get informed before you buy any website template – whether you buy Joomla templates, WordPress themes, HTML templates, Flash templates or Website builders.
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