Nick Roach’s Elegant Themes Review

Updated: April 12, 2021 – 2021 is nearing the middle of the year, and now is a good time to update one of our most popular articles here on Blogging Experiment. For several years we have been singing the praises of Elegant Themes, and 2014 is shaping up to be no different. In a day and age where companies and websites come and go, Elegant Themes has not only stood the test of time, they have continued to innovate by creating massive value for their over 250,000 customers! In the following article, we’d like to give you a detailed overview of just why we call Elegant Themes the Best Deal in WordPress!

After all, having the right WordPress Theme is crucial to your websites’ success. It’s kind of like the study that showed how people looking to buy a home can make up their mind within 8 seconds of walking in the door whether they like it or not – by not giving your visitors the right first impression (your design) – you’re literally inviting them to hit the back button.

The Dilemma

As a blogger your focus should be on content. Blog design is important, but when you think about it, do people go to Craigslist because it looks pretty? Absolutely not. They use it because they’re the best in the field.

Since we’re not all Craigslists, we must merge the design and content aspects together in as seamless a manner as possible. You want to have a nice looking design, but you most likely are not strong in design itself (much less coding that pretty design). You want a unique, impressive look that conveys professionalism and passion about your craft, but you’re probably not an expert at usability (how “usuable” your site is to visitors). And finally, you want to do all this in the cheapest, most cost effictive way possible (nothing wrong with that).

Elegant Themes

Have you ever spent any length of time browsing around countless free wordpress theme sites only to be left feeling unsatisfied? Does it seem like most of the free themes are … well … free for a reason? Where are all the best wordpress themes? After going through these motions for a period of time, I decided to take a look at some premium wordpress themes to see if they were really that much better than the free ones. Shortly thereafter, I discovered Nick Roach’s Elegant Themes, and that changed everything for me.

I knew I could hire a web designer to create a nice looking website as I’ve done countless times in the past. But at $800 to $3500/pop, designers can be expensive. I was interested in finding a nice looking design that I could learn to tweak and modify myself to make it more personalized and customized to my liking.

As a website and blog developer, I am frequently developing new sites, and aside from the content itself, I want each design to be unique and professional. Enter ElegantThemes.

Elegant Themes Premium WordPress Theme Club

Forget $200 to $500 like many other premium theme clubs, for $69…YES, $69 – members get unlimited access and unlimited use to all of Nicks’ premium WordPress Themes. To date there are 80+ elegant WordPress Themes.

I’m going to get out of the way and let Nick’s design speak for itself. As you will see, these are top notch designs that would normally run you several thousand dollars a piece (I’ve researched hiring a good WordPress theme designer, and that is the going rate – typically the floor of their going rate).

Without further ado, here are some of the premium WordPress themes from Elegant Themes:

Nexus WordPress Theme

Nexus Features:

Magazine style
Responsive design
Unlimited color schemes
Secure and valid code
Complete localization
Browser compatibility
Perpetual updates
Unparalleled support
ADVANCED: ePanel theme options
ADVANCED: shortcode collection
ADVANCED: page templates

Example Site(s) using the Nexus Theme (Showcase):

Email us if you are using the Nexus Theme, and we’ll list you here.
Language Mastery

More Information On Nexus From Elegant Themes:

Demo Nexus

Vertex WordPress Theme

Vertex Features:

Responsive design
Unlimited color schemes
Secure and valid code
Complete localization
Browser compatibility
Perpetual updates
Unparalleled support
ADVANCED: ePanel theme options
ADVANCED: shortcode collection
ADVANCED: page templates

Example Site(s) using the Vertex Theme (Showcase):

Email us if you are using the Vertex Theme, and we’ll list you here.

More Information On Vertex From Elegant Themes:

Demo Vertex

Fable WordPress Theme

Fable Features:

Responsive design
Unlimited color schemes
Secure and valid code
Complete localization
Browser compatibility
Perpetual updates
Unparalleled support
ADVANCED: ePanel theme options
ADVANCED: shortcode collection
ADVANCED: page templates

Example Site(s) using the Fable Theme (Showcase):

Email us if you are using the Fable Theme, and we’ll list you here.

More Information On Fable From Elegant Themes:

Demo Fable

Foxy WordPress Theme

Foxy Features:

eCommerce
Responsive design
Unlimited color schemes
Secure and valid code
Complete localization
Browser compatibility
Perpetual updates
Unparalleled support
ADVANCED: ePanel theme options
ADVANCED: shortcode collection
ADVANCED: page templates

Example Site(s) using the Foxy Theme (Showcase):

Email us if you are using the Foxy Theme, and we’ll list you here.

More Information On Foxy From Elegant Themes:

Demo Foxy

Explorable WordPress Theme

Explorable Features:

Location based directory
Responsive design
Unlimited color schemes
Secure and valid code
Complete localization
Browser compatibility
Perpetual updates
Unparalleled support
ADVANCED: ePanel theme options
ADVANCED: shortcode collection
ADVANCED: page templates

Example Site(s) using the Explorable Theme (Showcase):

Email us if you are using the Explorable Theme, and we’ll list you here.

More Information On Explorable From Elegant Themes:

Demo Explorable

StyleShop WordPress Theme

StyleShop Features:

eCommerce
Responsive design
Unlimited color schemes
Secure and valid code
Complete localization
Browser compatibility
Perpetual updates
Unparalleled support
ADVANCED: ePanel theme options
ADVANCED: shortcode collection
ADVANCED: page templates

Example Site(s) using the StyleShop Theme (Showcase):

Email us if you are using the StyleShop Theme, and we’ll list you here.

More Information On StyleShop From Elegant Themes:

Demo StyleShop

Fusion WordPress Theme

Fusion Features:

Responsive design
Unlimited color schemes
Secure and valid code
Complete localization
Browser compatibility
Perpetual updates
Unparalleled support
ADVANCED: ePanel theme options
ADVANCED: shortcode collection
ADVANCED: page templates

Example Site(s) using the Fusion Theme (Showcase):

Email us if you are using the Fusion Theme, and we’ll list you here.

More Information On Fusion From Elegant Themes:

Demo Fusion

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40 Future City Art Illustrations for Inspiration

My physics teacher used to say – “Change is constant in nature. If change is not taking place then something is wrong.” We started from a Big Bang, life somehow evolved on earth, we learnt how to burn fire, we learnt the power of a wheel, we learned how to make machines, Franklin discovered electricity, Faraday discovered how to produce it in power houses, Bill Gates developed Windows and here we are in the twenty first century. But what if we try to go a little further? What if we try to envision the future? This is an interesting topic and the numerous popular science fiction movies and novels bear witness to this fact.

Stephen Hawking said on a Discovery Channel program that it may be possible to build a time machine with which we can go into the future but not back in history. Such a time machine has not yet been made and is only a subject of fiction. Science is too strict and limited by the laws of nature while art, in this respect, is limitless as it is free to imagine and inculcate anything and everything in its domain. Below I present you with 40 art illustrations which our artists have carefully crafted by imagining what the future of our world might look.

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WordPress and PHP

In the last few weeks, we’ve learned some basic concepts on HTML5 and CSS. A simple analogy we can use as to how they work can be likened to writing a traditional letter sent via snail mail. HTML5 is like marking and dividing the content of the letter into sections like: the date, the greeting, the body, the closing, and the signature. CSS is what is used adds pizzazz to the is the way the letter is written: stylized handwriting, choice paper, and images and illustrations to enhance it. The result is a beautiful handwritten masterpiece ready to be sent and read by the reader. This week, we add on to our WordPress building blocks and learn how PHP comes into the picture.

To review, here’s how we defined PHP:

PHP (initially Personal Home Page tools)

PHP is a recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor. It is a popular server-side scripting language designed specifically for integration with HTML, and is used (often in conjunction with MySQL) in Content Management Systems and other web applications. It is available on many platforms, including Windows, Unix/Linux and Mac OS X, and is open source software.

Adam Brown shared this simple and easy to understand explanation to tie it all up together:

When you view a webpage, the server (i.e. the site you are viewing) sends a bunch of HTML to your computer. Your browser (Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, whatever) then turns this HTML source into the pretty stuff you see in your browser. With pure HTML, every visitor to a website will see the same thing, no matter what.

For example,

if we make an HTML page with this content:

<p>Today is December 1st, 2007<p>

…everyone who visits the site will see this:

Today is December 1st, 2007

…even if it is not December 1st, 2007.

What if you want to modify that so it always shows the current date? That’s where PHP comes in. PHP is processed by your server (i.e. by the site you are visiting). The server evaluates any PHP in the page before sending anything to your browser. So if we write this in the web page:

<p>Today is <?php echo date(‘F jS, Y’); ?></p>

Then the server will change that PHP expression into the current date, then send that as HTML to your browser, which then does its part.

Remember: The server processes PHP, but the browser processes HTML.

PHP does not get sent to the browser, only the HTML that the PHP produces.

People sometimes wonder why their theme’s index.php file looks nothing like the HTML source they see in their browser. Well, now you know why.

(source: PHP 101- Adam R. Brown. Check out his website for more easy to follow tutorials.)

Why is it important to understand PHP? Because WordPress is written using PHP and requires it for operation.

Till next!

Learning the ABC’s of WordPress Grammar

“Code is poetry” – the WordPress mantra that’s been read by probably every WordPress user on the planet. If you haven’t then maybe you’re on a different planet or probably using another Content Management System apart from WordPress.

It is kinda romantic if you really think about it. The challenge is, not everyone understands the code. We all know Shakespeare wrote great poetry, as did Edgar Allan Poe, Elizabeth Browning, Alfred Tennyson and so many other great poets and authors. But how many who belong to this current generation truly understand what the sonnets and the verses mean? How many can dissect and decode the true meaning behind the words and symbolisms these authors used? We can all give our opinions and interpretations about these works of literary art but unless we “decode” and study the context behind those words that have been so beautifully strung together, in accordance with generally accepted standards, we might create a mental image quite different from the author’s intent. These standards need to be the foundation from which these “works of art” can be evaluated and interpreted.

How does all that apply to our understanding of WordPress? A WordPress theme is actually a unique “work of art.” It is a combination of both the literary and the visual. It is quite easy to appreciate the visual product that results from the string of commands and codes that have been strung together by a WordPress author or designer. But the true beauty behind this visual delight is the code or language that brings it to life. Every line of code is a brush stroke that layers on top of each other to create the functional art we know as WordPress themes. Perhaps that is why some WordPress purists are so passionate about what they do. They are in fact modern-day technological artists who use code as their medium to express their art. Hence, to them, code is sacred. Code is poetry.

In order for us to understand and appreciate code we need to learn the language. We need to study its vocabulary and apply grammar rules that will help us interpret it. For many of us we still need to learn our ABC’s. Many of us are scared to touch code because we fear making mistakes. How many times have we messed up our websites because we took out a portion of a code without fully understanding why it was there in the first place?

The secret to learning a language fast is by immersion. One needs to be immersed in an environment where one is forced to communicate using whatever language is available. We will attempt to do that in the next few weeks. Our goal is to learn the language of WordPress and make it easily understood even by the most novice of beginners. Hopefully, we can help you, our readers, achieve a level of fluency or perhaps spur you on to start creating your own WordPress themes, your own works of art. If that sounds exciting to you, then make the journey yours as well. Stay tuned!