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WordPress Starter Templates
Something I have been discussing for the last few years is WordPress starter templates. I realize that not everyone has followed me for years, but to me the trend was and is easy to see. If you look at some of the most popular WordPress themes they almost all have starter sites or templates.
Some of the most popular WordPress themes using starter templates include: Divi, Astra, OceanWP, and GeneratePress. Of these themes only Astra and OceanWP have free starter sites included. However, all of them have a premium option as well which includes tons of free templates to choose from.
My Thoughts on Templates
My opinion is that the trend of having themes or even plugins with WordPress starter templates is only going to continue to grow. I even feel as if there’s more room for competition to each of these current themes that offer them.
A big reason why I believe this is because websites are becoming easier to make. There is no need for people to spend hours upon hours creating websites now. This is especially true when you can see the high-quality starter templates being created already. If you were to check out Divi and Astra alone, you would have literally over 100 different options on either theme. There is a layout pack or starter template for almost anything you can think of now.
Competition
Another thing that makes me believe this trend will only continue to grow is the competition. I say this because Wix has been advertising its services non-stop. We also have other options like SquareSpace and Weebly. Many popular hosting websites also come with their own template libraries and builders as well.
Should Developers Worry?
The rise in popularity of WordPress page builders like Elementor and starter sites has led to more competitors entering the market. I don’t necessarily see this as a bad thing though. I say this because often times people dabble in something like Wix and then find it too difficult to customize to their needs. They then turn to other solutions like WordPress or a developer who knows what they’re doing.
Even with all the options many people creating cheap websites based off of WordPress starter templates don’t know what they’re doing. Many times, they create something that looks very similar to the template with little or no customization. If I were developing sites for clients, I might show them a starter site as a demo. I’d use it to gauge what they do and don’t like about it and make edits or changes based on their needs. I don’t think that there is much to worry about here as long as you’re able to make customizations yourself. There will always be a race to the bottom, and that’s not where we want to be as developers.
Conclusion
To wrap up this WordPress starter templates post I want to say that I think they’re hear to stay. The market on them will only grow from here, especially with the success of the big theme makers I mentioned above.
The key takeaway is that if you’re able to make customizations when so many basic users can’t your skills will be in demand. If not, you’re likely going to have a lot of competition. Even so, you can use these templates to cut down on development time, and to show to clients as examples.
If you found this post to be helpful check out other articles I’ve posted about my thoughts about other WordPress related topics.