Elegant Themes Review (2021) – Is It Right for You?

Are you looking for a way to create a professional website for your business at an extremely affordable price? Are you looking for themes you can use on your own websites and blogs? Or are you a freelance designer who creates websites for clients?

In any of these scenarios, you may be interested in learning more about Elegant Themes in order to decide if it’s a good option for you.

In this Elegant Themes review, we’ll cover all the details you need to know.

What Is Elegant Themes?

While there are many different WordPress theme developers and theme shops, Elegant Themes is among the most popular. According to their website, more than 700,000 customers have used their themes, and that number keeps growing.

Elegant Themes has been around for a while, and as someone who has been running a web design blog since 2007, it’s been interesting to watch how much they’ve grown and evolved over the years. In fact, Elegant Themes was one of the first companies to advertise on Vandelay Design way back in 2008.

Unlike many other WordPress theme developers, the products from Elegant Themes are only available in one way: by purchasing a membership through their site.

They’re not sold at any other marketplaces and you can’t buy a theme individually. Thankfully, their pricing is amazing, but those details will be covered later in this review.

Members get access to all the themes and plugins available from Elegant Themes. Although they offered a lot of different themes several years ago, today Elegant Themes offers two different themes and three plugins.

Instead of creating a bunch of different themes, they now focus on making their two themes Divi and Extra as awesome and versatile as possible. In fact, there are more than 800 different pre-designed templates you can use, so it’s really more like having a few hundred different themes at your disposal.

We’ll look at each of the themes and plugins in detail so you can decide if Elegant Themes is right for you.

What’s Included In Elegant Themes Membership?

With a membership, you’ll get full access to both themes (Divi and Extra), plus all of the plugins (Divi Builder, Bloom, and Monarch). You can use them on an unlimited number of websites, including client sites, at no extra cost. That’s right, the basic license allows you to use the themes and plugins on as many sites as you’d like!

If you have multiple websites or blogs of your own, or if you design, build, or maintain websites for clients, this is an amazing deal.

You’ll also get theme and plugin updates and access to customer service as long as your membership is active (or forever if you purchase a lifetime membership).

Divi Theme and the Divi Builder

The Divi theme is the flagship product of Elegant Themes. It’s an extremely flexible and versatile theme that can be used to create just about any type of website you can image, thanks to the Divi Builder.

Divi is easily one of the best multipurpose WordPress themes. It’s ideal for business and corporate websites of all kinds. It’s also got loads of features that are perfect for portfolio websites. And it even integrates nicely with WooCommerce, so you can easily create your own ecommerce website with ease.

The Divi Builder is a drag-and-drop visual page/theme builder that makes it possible to design your pages or an entire website without the need to code. The Divi Builder is built-in to both the Divi and Extra themes, but it’s also available as a separate plugin that can be used with other themes.

If you’re using the Divi Builder with another theme, you can create customized page and post layouts without the need to code, just like you can in the Divi theme. By making it available as a plugin, the same flexibility and versatility is available with your existing site, without the need to change themes.

Although it’s certainly possible to use the Divi Builder with other themes, it’s more ideal to simply use the Divi theme in the first place. For that reason, I’m not going to talk about the Divi Builder plugin too much more because it basically mirrors the features and functionality that the Divi theme offers.

800+ Pre-Made Designs

One of the major perks of using Divi is the accessibility to a huge collection of pre-designed page templates. Currently, there are more than 800 templates available and more than 100 full websites. The template packs include multiple pages for your site. For example, the pack might include a homepage, services page, about us page, contact page, portfolio page, etc.

With the help of these pre-made designs, you can quickly and easily get a website set up and looking great. You can enter your own text and photos to use the design as-is, or you can use the templates as a starting point by customizing them to suit your needs. Either way, they’re a huge time saver.

Not only are there a lot of pre-designed templates available, but they’re also very well designed. These are not low-quality designs. And the Elegant Themes team is always adding new templates and continually improving the value of your membership.

You’ll find templates for a wide variety of industries and types of businesses, and it’s easy to sort and filter the options to find what you’re looking for. You can view them for yourself in the layouts library.

With this collection of pre-made designs, Divi is essentially 100+ themes in one.

40+ Website Elements

The Divi Builder allows you to create your own layouts by using more than 40 different elements or modules. The elements include:

• Accordion
• Audio
• Bar Counters
• Blog
• Blurb
• Button
• Call to Action
• Circle Counter
• Code
• Comments
• Contact Form
• Countdown Timer
• Divider
• Email Optin
• Filterable Portfolio
• Gallery
• Image
• Login
• Map
• Menu
• Number Counter
• Person
• Portfolio
• Post Navigation
• Post Slider
• Post Title
• Pricing Tables
• Search
• Shop
• Sidebar
• Slider
• Social Media Follow
• Tabs
• Testimonial
• Text
• Toggle
• Video
• Video Slider
• WooCommerce Add to Cart
• WooCommerce Additional Info
• WooCommerce Breadcrumb
• WooCommerce Cart Notice
• WooCommerce Description
• WooCommerce Gallery
• WooCommerce Images
• WooCommerce Meta
• WooCommerce Price
• WooCommerce Rating
• WooCommerce Related Procuct
• WooCommerce Reviews
• WooCommerce Stock
• WooCommerce Tabs
• WooCommerce Title
• WooCommerce Upsell

These elements are the building blocks that make up your site. You can add them to your pages, drag and drop to lay things out the way you want, and customize the fine details to match your brand’s image.

Animations

If you want your site to have the look and feel of an expensive custom design, adding animations is a great option. With the Divi Builder, you can easily apply animations to any element. For example, you could set an element to slide in from the side of the screen.

You’ll have a nice collection of animation presets that are super-easy to apply (all you need to do is pick one). Or, you can create your own custom animation by controlling details like the animation type, speed, and direction.

You can see live examples of animations on this page.

Theme Builder

One of the somewhat recent additions/enhancements to Divi is the theme builder. With the help of the theme builder, you can go beyond just designing page layouts by creating a completely custom theme. You’ll have full design control over the header, footer, post templates, category pages, 404 pages, and more.

The theme builder allows you to create completely customized themes without the need to code. Regardless of whether you’re creating a site your for own business or for a client, this is a game-changer.

Extra Magazine/Blog Theme

With Divi getting so much attention, Extra is “the other theme” offered by Elegant themes, but it’s equally as awesome as Divi. In fact, I use Extra with most of the sites I set up.

While Divi is perfect for corporate websites, portfolios, and ecommerce websites, Extra is better (out of the box) for blogs and content-heavy websites. Sure, you can customize Divi to work well as a blog, but Extra was created for that purpose.

It’s important to point out that the Divi Builder is built-in to Extra. That means you have the same control and ability to create and customize layouts and designs with Extra that you would have with Divi. You also have access to all of the pre-designed layouts.

Like Divi, Extra is also compatible with WooCommerce, so you can easily set up a shop on your site.

Extra also comes with a review feature that you’ll love if you publish product or website reviews on your blog or site.

One of the best features of Extra is the category builder, which gives you full control over the category pages, the content that is displayed, and how it is displayed. You can create one template and use it with all of your category pages, or create a unique layout for each category.

By default, WordPress category pages simply display a chronological list of the posts published in that category, starting with the most recent. However, you can make your category pages much more useful by including additional text (or other elements) or by showcasing some of the key content in the category.

The category builder provides a ton of flexibility and opens up a lot of possibilities.

Extra also comes with a very colorful design. Of course, you can easily change the colors to suit your needs, but you can take advantage of features like having a custom color for each category.

Overall, Extra is an awesome theme for blogs, magazine sites, online publishers, and other content-based websites. You have unlimited control to create a custom homepage layout and category page layout. And with the help of the Divi Builder, you can also create custom page and post layouts without the need to code.

Bloom

Bloom is an email marketing and lead generation plugin. You can use it to create pop-ups, fly-ins, inline forms, and widget area opt-in forms.

This plugin is functional and worth using if you already have an Elegant Themes membership, but it’s not overly impressive on it’s own. You wouldn’t want to pay for a membership just to use Bloom.

While I use Divi and Extra on a number of websites, I have very little experience with Bloom. I’ve tried it in the past, but OptinMonster is my go-to plugin for creating optin forms. The features and options available with OptinMonster are far and away better than what you get with Bloom. But, of course, OptinMonster comes at a price. Bloom is a suitable plugin if you don’t want to pay for something additional, but it’s not on par with OptinMonster or Thrive Leads for that matter.

Monarch

Monarch is a social media plugin that can help you to get more visibility for your content and build your following.

It includes social media sharing buttons that make it easy for visitors to share your content, as well as “follow me” buttons that will link to your social profiles.

You can display buttons in several different ways, including pop-ups and fly-ins that are triggered by a variety of different events. Of course, you can include buttons at the top or bottom of your content or in the sidebar.

Monarch also gives you control over the design and style of the buttons, plus you can choose to have share or follower counts displayed or hidden.

Members of Elegant Themes will find Monarch to be a worthwhile addition to the package. It’s an effective plugin that looks good and gives the user a lot of options. However, it’s more of an add-on than anything. You’re not going to purchase a membership just for this plugin.

With that in mind, Divi and Extra are the main offerings from Elegant Themes. The Divi Builder plugin is exceptionally useful if you’re using other themes. The Monarch and Bloom plugins are nice to have but not really all that noteworthy on their own.

Customer Support

An Elegant Themes membership also gives you access to customer support. There are plenty of documentation and tutorial articles and videos that show you how to use the themes and plugins, plus a Facebook Group and a community forum.

To get one-on-one help, you can chat with an Elegant Themes team member. As someone who has been a customer for about 7 years, I can say from my experience that the customer support has gotten a lot better over the years.

If you read reviews of Elegant Themes online, the overall ratings are excellent (they currently have a 5.0 rating on TrustPilot with more than 4,000 reviews). The one complaint that you’ll see more than anything else is related to quality and responsiveness of support.

Anyone who has purchased WordPress themes or plugins in the past knows that the support you’ll receive can be hit or miss. From my experience, the support from Elegant Themes has always been average or better, and within the past couple of years, I would say it has been well above average. It seems to me that they’ve worked hard on improving support in terms of both speed and helpfulness.

A few years ago, support by chat wasn’t available. That’s been a big addition and I’d say the support I’ve received is as good or better than any other theme shop I’ve used. The support gets a high rating from me, although I will admit that a few years ago it wasn’t as good.

Continued Improvement

You’ll get access to all theme and plugin updates as long as your membership is active, or forever if you purchase the lifetime license. One of the biggest perks of using Elegant Themes is the continued improvement.

Most of the updates are related to the Divi theme or the Divi Builder. Divi was innovative when it was first released in 2013, and it’s come a LONG way since then.

The team is constantly making improvements and additions to push the boundaries of what Divi can do. This continued development has allowed Elegant Themes to remain on top of the industry for several years, and it also means the value of a membership keeps getting better.

One of the reasons I chose to purchase a lifetime license was because it’s obvious that Elegant Themes is committed to improvement. I’m confident that five years from now, I’ll still be using their themes.

Using the Divi Builder

There are two different ways you can use the Divi Builder. You can use it from the dashboard, as shown below.

Or you can use it on the front end, which allows you to build the site visually.

Most users will probably prefer the visual builder because you can see exactly what you’re working on. By designing on the backend, you can easily see how the elements are laid out, but you don’t see exactly how it looks. Any page that you build with the Divi Builder can be edited from either the front or the back, and you’ll have the same elements and options available either way.

The Divi Builder uses sections, rows, and modules to create pages. You can create just about any layout you can imaging with these building blocks and your layouts/designs will automatically be responsive for mobile devices.

There is a bit of a learning curve to the Divi Builder, but the same thing can be said about any other page builder. You’ll find that the Divi Builder is relatively easy to pick up, and the more you use it, the easier it will be. Elegant Themes also provides extensive documentation so you can work you way through just about anything you want to accomplish with it.

Pricing and Licensing Details

As was mentioned earlier, the only way to get access to the themes and plugins created by Elegant Themes is to purchase a membership at their website. There are two different options: yearly or lifetime.

The access you’ll get and what you can do with the products is exactly the same with either license. The only difference is how long your membership lasts.

Obviously, the yearly membership will last one year. If you choose to cancel, you’ll be able to continue using the themes and plugins you’ve already downloaded, but you won’t get access to product updates or support. It’s not a good idea to use an old version of a theme on your website, so if you plan to continue using the themes you should keep your membership active.

The lifetime license allows you to pay once and continue to get lifetime updates and support, with no need to pay again.

Additionally, either license allows you to use the themes and plugins on an unlimited number of websites, including client websites. Many theme shops have additional licenses that allow you to use the themes or plugins on several websites, but at Elegant Themes, unlimited use is included in the basic license.

Yearly membership costs $89 and a lifetime membership costs $249, which is an incredible value since the license allows for use on unlimited websites.

The yearly price of $89 is a great deal considering it gives you access to two outstanding themes, plus the Divi Builder plugin, Monarch, and Bloom. Some theme shops charge more than that just for a single theme and for use on just one website.

The lifetime price of $249 is an unbelievable value, especially for those who have multiple websites or work on websites for clients. For some perspective, Thrive Suite from Thrive Themes costs $228 per year and allows for use on up to 25 websites. That’s not a bad price, but it can’t compare to the value offered by Elegant Themes.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Incredible Value. A membership to Elegant Themes is easily one of the best values in the WordPress community. This is especially true if you purchase a lifetime license.
• Two beautiful and highly versatile themes. Divi and Extra are among the best WordPress themes available, and you can get them both for one price.
• Create your own custom layouts and designs. The Divi Builder makes it easy to create your own layouts and designs without the need to code.
• Access to hundreds of pre-designed templates. The collection of pre-built demos essentially gives you 100+ different themes in one. The templates look great are there are options for websites in many different industries.
• Use on unlimited websites. Every Elegant Themes customer is able to use the themes and plugins on unlimited websites, including client sites, with no need for an expensive license upgrade.
• Constant improvement. The Elegant Themes team is constantly improving their products, especially the Divi theme and the Divi Builder plugin. This makes it a safe choice for your site since you know it won’t get outdated anytime in the near future.
• Responsive customer service. Members get access to support and the reps are usually very helpful and quick to respond.
• 30-day money-back guarantee. While I highly doubt that you’ll want a refund, it’s assuring to know that Elegant Themes does give you a full 30 days to try the products. If you’re not satisfied, you can get your money back.

Cons

• Monarch and Bloom are ok, but nothing special. The real jewels of the membership are the Divi and Extra themes and the Divi Builder plugin. Monarch and Bloom are nice to have but not special enough to influence your buying decision.
• Not ideal if you plan to change page builders. If you’re going to be building a lot of custom pages with the Divi Builder, you should plan to stick with Elegant Themes products for a while. If you change to a different page builder, you’ll need to re-do the pages created with the Divi Builder.

Who It’s For

Let’s take a look at the types of customers that might be an ideal fit with Elegant Themes

Businesses

Businesses that want the freedom and flexibility to create their own custom pages and layouts at any time without the need to hire a designer will love the Divi and Extra themes, as well as the Divi Builder plugin (if you’re using a different theme).

Since you can create custom layouts and designs without the need to code, it’s easy to have someone in-house manage the website. And not only does the Divi Builder make it easy, but the pre-designed templates and elements also look great.

Website Owners and Bloggers

If you manage your own website or blog, you’ll love having a membership to Elegant Themes. Again, you won’t need to hire a designer or developer to create custom page layouts, landing pages, opt-in forms, and more. You’ll have control of your site and it will look good.

And if you operate multiple websites, you’ll love Elegant Themes even more. Being able to use the themes and plugins on all of your sites will save you a ton of money.

Freelance Designers

Since the basic Elegant Themes license allows you to use their themes and plugins on an unlimited number of client websites, it’s also an incredible value for freelancers.

You can use Divi and Extra to build websites for all of your clients. You’ll be able to save a lot of time while creating high-quality websites that your clients will love.

Agencies

Just like freelancers, agencies can also use Elegant Themes products on an unlimited number of client websites. The value here is second to none.

Elegant Themes Alternatives

Let’s take a look at some of the top competitors to see how Elegant Themes stacks up.

Thrive Themes

Thrive Themes is another leading theme/plugin shop that offers a membership, called Thrive Suite. Members of Thrive Suite get access the Thrive Theme Builder and Thrive Architect, which allow you to create your own pages or complete websites, similar to the Divi Builder and Theme Builder from Elegant Themes.

While Divi and Extra put Elegant Themes ahead in terms of the theme offerings, Thrive Themes has a big advantage in terms of plugins

Pricing of Thrive Suite is $228 per year compared to just $89 per year for Elegant Themes. In fact, the lifetime license at Elegant Themes is just $249, or only $21 more than what you’ll pay for a single year of Thrive Suite. Additionally, the Thrive Suite license allows for use on 25 websites while Elegant Themes allows unlimited use.

Elementor

Elementor is a popular page and theme builder. Like Divi, Elementor comes with a really nice collection of pre-designed templates that you can use.

There is a free version of Elementor that you can try, but the functionality is fairly limited. You’ll need to upgrade to a paid license to get anything that’s remotely close to what you would get with Divi and Elegant Themes.

Elementor is an excellent page and theme builder, but the pricing and licensing details are where Elegant Themes really pulls ahead in this competition.

A single site license for Elementor costs $49. But if you’ll be using it on multiple sites, the price goes up considerably. For three sites the price is $99 per year, which is higher than the yearly price of an Elegant Themes membership that offers unlimited usage. The highest-priced plan for Elementor is $199 per year, which allows for use on 1,000 websites.

Since Elegant Themes provides more versatility (for example, the Extra theme in addition to Divi) and because of pricing, Elegant Themes compares favorably here too.

Beaver Builder

Like Elementor, Beaver Builder is another popular page and theme builder. It gives you similar capabilities to what you can do with the Divi Builder.

Unlike Elementor, the Standard license for Beaver Builder does allow for use on unlimited websites, but it does not include all of the features. On this plan you’re just getting the page builder, not the full theme. In order to get the theme and theme builder capabilities, you’ll need to pay $199 per year, which is much higher than the $89 per year price of Elegant Themes.

Again, Elegant Themes offers more at a lower price.

Envato Market

Envato Market is one of the most popular places to buy WordPress themes. Unlike Elegant Themes and the other alternatives listed above, Envato Market sells themes from third-party developers. The theme pricing varies, but generally it may average around $60 for a theme.

For that price you’re getting one theme, not unlimited use of multiple themes and plugins. If you’re just looking for a theme to use an a single website, it’s not a bad deal, but the overall value can’t compare to what you get with Elegant Themes.

More importantly, many developers that sell themes at Envato Market don’t provide the best support.

My Experience With Elegant Themes

I want to quickly share a little bit about my own experience with Elegant Themes. I first purchased a one-year membership to Elegant Themes in 2014. I started using the Divi theme on a few of my websites and in 2015 I upgraded to a lifetime license.

Since that time, Divi and Extra have become my go-to themes. I’m sure I’ll continue to use those themes on most of my own sites going forward, and the cool thing is, I’ll never have to pay another dime to use them since I have a lifetime license.

Conclusion

Elegant Themes offers an incredible value that is difficult, or maybe impossible, to find anywhere else. While you can’t purchase a theme individually, you can get access to two themes and three plugins for about the same price you would pay for a single theme at another website.

As an Elegant Themes member, you’ll get access to two very high-quality themes that are extremely flexible and versatile.

The licensing details that allow for use on an unlimited number of sites and on client websites make membership to Elegant Themes an incredible value.

Because I use their themes on many of my own websites, I can confidently recommend Elegant Themes to other WordPress users, designers, and small businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions