iThemes Builder WordPress Theme Review [with Video Overview]

My In-Depth 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.

My Builder Theme Review Video

>>Click here to visit the official Builder theme website<<

Builder Review 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.

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.

Click Here to Visit the Official Builder Theme Website

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1. Review: Corporate Theme by StudioPress – A WordPress Theme Review