Builder Theme Review – an iThemes Premium WordPress Theme
Have you ever wished you could have different headers on different pages of a website or blog?
How about different sidebars and different page/post layouts throughout your website?
I know I have. That’s why I bought the Builder Theme the day it became available.
I’ll be frank, I don’t use it on the bulk of my websites – but when I need some serious flexibility in layout, I turn to the Builder theme.
I should mention, when I refer to editing layout flexibility, I’m not talking about having to dig into the code. Not with Builder – all layout changes are made simply by clicking a button. It’s drag n’ drop technology.
Before you go any further, check out this popular site that is built with Builder.
Why Would You Want This Kind of Flexibility?
Not every website needs this kind of flexibility. But suppose you have different sections in your website and would like to build a website with different branding within a site. Because you can easily install different headers within the WordPress platform, you can create the illusion of different websites within a site.
Having different sidebars can be a huge advantage in many ways. One way to capitalize on the Builder is being able to have different opt-in forms in different sections of your site. You can target your incentives for getting people to sign up to the target audience of specific sections of your website.
I’ll use an example. Suppose your website is a realtor website. One section caters to buyers. Another to sellers. Buyers and sellers won’t respond similarly to the same opt-in offer (i.e. free report). With Builder, you can create sidebars (hence offers) that cater to buyers and sellers – placed in the respective sections of the realtor site.
This is just an example. Being able to create different sidebars is useful on so many levels.
The Concept Behind the Builder Theme
Builder theme is widget-based. We all love widgets because they are drag and drop. With Builder, every section of your website can be constructed with widgets only. Of course you can add blog posts and pages – but the point is you can customize any page layout with different widget locations.
Builder Overview
Design:
I’m not a huge fan of Builder’s child themes (pre-designed themes). However, I don’t use Builder for their child themes. Builder is all about an easy solution for creating a customized website. It’s super easy to build your theme and website pretty much anyway you like.
Ease-of-Use:
Builder is incredibly easy to use. One of the easiest theme platforms I’ve ever used.
Customization:
Builder is all about customization with drag n’ drop technology. It doesn’t get easier and the options are limitless.
Support:
Full moderated forum support and many tutorials. You’ll get all the help you’ll need.
License:
Upgrades and support for 1 year. Then you must renew. This is why I scored this not very high. On the flip side, you can use Builder on unlimited concurrent domains which is good.
Price:
It’s a higher priced theme, but given it’s powerful flexibility, it’s a good buy. At least it’s not priced completely outside the range of higher priced themes. I downgraded it slightly because of the renew requirement.
Also, note that you still have the option to use the WordPress posts and pages for adding content. The unlimited widget options simply let you build customized layouts for different pages and posts. You can use the same layout for all or just some URLs within your site.
| Features Overview |
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Builder Theme Features and Benefits |
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| Builder Design Customization | Builder comes with a style plugin. This gives you a complete styling panel where you can specify color schemes, fonts, heading attributes, and much, much more. You can easily upload background images, or simply choose any background color you wish. |
| SEO Integration |
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| Mix and Match Themes |
iThemes is constantly rolling out new child themes to install on the Builder platform so that you have out-of-the-box website styles to use and build on. Because the style of the theme does not change the Builder platform, you can easily insert a new theme style without having to overhaul your entire website. |
| Create Your Own HTML Pages |
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| Widget Capable |
Yes. In fact I have yet to discover a theme that gives you more widget options than Builder. It’s the use of unlimited Widget placement that enables you to create unlimited website layout presentation. |
| Support | iThemes is one of the most established WordPress theme developers. Consequently you get access to its support forum which is very active. Chances are if you have a question, it’s been asked and answered in the forum already. If not, a senior iThemes forum moderator will reply fairly quickly. |
| Media Integration |
As with most WordPress themes, Builder Theme is capable of uploading and presenting most media forms – images, text, video, etc. |
| Customization Limitations |
None. You have full liberty to customize Builder Theme as much or as little as you like. What I mean by this is your Builder Theme license does not restrict you with how you customize the theme. |
| Builder Theme Specifications | Note that Builder is not for use in WordPress.com (the free hosted WordPress website service. Instead, you must use the WordPress.org platform which is free – but then you must get a hosting service (or host it yourself on your own server). |
| My Criticisms | I have one criticism and it pertains to only one aspect of the design of the child themes available. I |
| Sample Website Built with Builder Theme | I’m a fan of the website Duct Tape Marketing. Their new website is designed with Builder. Check it out here. It’s impressive. |
| About iThemes | iThemes is a premium WordPress design company. They have released over 30 premium themes. iThemes is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was founded by Cory Miller. |
| Additional iTheme Services | If you need some customization help, iThemes can help. You can hire. |
| Refunds Available? |
No. |
| Click Here to Visit the Official Builder Theme Website | |
The following depicts the Builder Theme layout setting panel:
Once you create a layout, you can choose it as the layout for any page or post.
Perhaps you wish you could create a blank page and insert your own html code for a comletely non-WordPress design. In Builder you can with the html option for a layout.
Here’s where you insert your html code in the Builder layout settings:
Where do you insert your content (that isn’t a post or a pabe)? In the WordPress Widget panel.
You’ll notice in the following screenshot how many widget placement options you get when you build different layout. It can get a little complicated, but the flexibility is nothing short of awesome.
How about designing from the ground up?
No problem. Simply install the Builder Style Plugin (it’s free with a Builder Theme purchase). You then get the following styling panel (tons of options):
I didn’t pull down all the menus. As you can see you can completely customize the style of pretty much every element of your website without knowing any CSS or html coding language.
By now I suspect you get an idea of the flexibility and power of the Builder theme. The above screenshots are the key screens you use to build a completely customized website.
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