AppThemes Review
Detailed Reviews
The themes are particularly well adapted for those looking to create a fully responsive directory-based website. With over 35,000 customers at the time of writing this review, AppThemes offers feature-rich ad ready themes that are well supported by community forums.
AppThemes can better suited to websites with complex applications, or those that focus on unique business domains.
Application Themes
AppThemes, as the name suggests, provides advanced application themes that are designed to be used easily by anyone, and at the same time allow a great deal of customization. AppThemes differs from default themes in that it has a differently structured layout. It also contains an advanced options panel that helps users work with custom data. Though these themes can be further developed to support many different business domains, app themes are presently most popular with directories, classifieds, job listings and customer feedback based applications. The themes also work seamlessly with third-party plugins and widgets, which are readily available in the ‘marketplace' section of the AppThemes website.
SEO Friendly and Monetization Ready
No matter how visually appealing or customizable your theme, if your website isn't able to rank high in search engine results, then your customers will probably never find you. All the themes offered by AppThemes are SEO optimized and make sure that your website is visible where it should be. Moreover, with the ability to integrate social media plugins such as ShareThis and Social Connect, in addition to Facebook and Twitter, you can be sure that your website is ready to connect with both existing and potential customers. The site also offers plenty of monetization options for businesses to charge membership fees or receive payments from their customers.
Niche Specific Themes
Some AppThemes are particularly well adapted to directory and classifieds themes. For instance, if you're looking to create an online directory of listings or events, AppThemes' Vantage theme may be most appropriate. The theme not only allows you to create (or mass import) your listings from the backend, but also lets your users add listings or events of their own from the frontend of your website. In addition, each listing can be geo-coded using Google's map service. This means that visitors can browse listings based on their location with the help of markers on Google Maps. Likewise, the JobRoller theme lets recruiters post their job description in terms of title, category, salary and location. Job seekers can then browse through the available jobs, filtering by job category, location, etc.
Community Support
Along with detailed documentation for each of its themes, AppThemes also provides a comprehensive list of FAQs. Forum support is on offer as well, and considering that many of their theme users are professional web developers, most questions are answered by members of the community itself. The site's themes are available in over 25 languages, all of which are supported by AppThemes' Theme Language Packs.
Plans & Options
AppThemes offers two broad categories of annual membership - Single Theme and App Themes Club. The Single Theme membership provides one theme along with a lifetime license and unlimited websites. The App Themes Club, on the other hand, provides access to all themes and 20+ marketplace items. The Developer option under both categories also supports Photoshop (.psd) files. Support and updates for all membership options are provided for the duration of the membership.
Conclusion
The themes are most appropriate for use with specific business domains, particularly for directory, classifieds and job listing applications. They allow for a high degree of customization, and work seamlessly with third-party plugins. The themes can be further developed to include more complex features, but an in-depth knowledge of coding may be necessary. With a support forum buzzing with expert advice, users can expect to create websites that cater to their specific requirements.