iThemes Review
Are you a web designer who uses WordPress? Are you looking for a platform where you can download themes and other tools needed to improve your website? Look no further – iThemes is here to help you out!
iThemes is an online website where you can download themes. You can also use the tools that are available within the website to gain more traffic or to optimize the speed of loading your page. Many web designers stated that iThemes changed their website for the better, and now they gain more traffic as a result of the changes that were implemented.
Visit the website of iThemes today and discover a lot of features that can enhance your website. We listed down the features below, and discover how it can help you create a reliable website for your clients.
The target market of iThemes is web designers who create websites for their clients. The industry has become more competitive, with clients becoming more selective when it comes to the web designer that they will hire to create their pages. If you are a web designer who wanted to land on a good-paying client, you need to use platforms like iThemes to create a good-looking website.
Without iThemes, you will have a hard time creating a good website because clients can be picky. Another thing that you should watch out for would be the endless coding that will be required to keep a website from developing bugs.
iThemes continues to release new developments to help web designers. They stated that several changes will be rolled out in the future to enhance their tools or to update the themes that they offer. iThemes is a great choice, according to web designers, so you should give it a try.
OVERVIEW OF THE PRODUCT
iThemes is a website where you can download a collection of themes and plugins. The website has a simple design, making it easier for you to find the things that you would like to download. The themes and plugins are located on their own pages, and you can download it anytime.
When the themes or plugins have been downloaded, you can immediately use it on your website. Installing the theme or the plugin on your website does not require a lot of skill – it can be activated after a few clicks.
RESULTS TO EXPECT
You should expect positive results after using iThemes. One thing that the manufacturers guarantee is the creation of an attractive website that displays all of the information needed by the visitors. iThemes also encourage web designers to put a lot of visuals on the website that they create to make it more appealing.
Many web designers who resorted to iThemes reported satisfaction with the results. They stated that the people who keep on visiting their pages are delighted to see the designs that were used. It also made the website look more professional, raking in more traffic and generating more profit for the owner.
FEATURES
WORDPRESS HOSTING
Using iThemes will automatically make your website applicable for WordPress Hosting. WordPress has become one of the best platforms used by web designers to create a website, and when the page that you create becomes available for WordPress Hosting, a lot of opportunities will start to come.
This feature will give you the ability to control the iThemes Sync Dashboard. This will also improve the performance of your WordPress website to make it more appealing to the public. On top of that, you are entitled to receive a storage space of up to 20 GB, which makes it an ideal place to store important files used by the webpage your created.
Another benefit of WordPress Hosting is the amount of page views that can be generated in a short span of time, and the free and automatic SSL certificate that will be awarded to your website, making it a highly secured one that can deter hackers and other forms of cyberattacks.
BACKUP BUDDY
Web designers who do not have a reliable backup plans tend to lose their website when something bad happens. This should not be the case – you should still be able to retrieve your files even when problems start to happen. With the Backup Buddy feature from iThemes, you can restore your website even if the whole system has been compromised.
Many experts stated that the Backup Buddy feature of iThemes is one of the most reliable in the industry today. This was created in 2010, and it was the company’s answer to the growing number of web designers who request for a backup feature to be added.
Server crashes are common, and they can happen anytime without warning. If your website runs with backup buddy activated, you should not worry about server crashes deleting your files because it can be restored.
Some of the things that can affect the performance of your website are malware viruses, bad commands, deleted files, errors from the users, hacking incidents, and server crashes. With backup buddy, you can be confident that any of these issues will never have a severe impact on the website that you created.
SECURITY
When it comes to security, iThemes wanted to protect their clients by developing tools that can detect security issues. Tools like the WordPress Brute Force Protection, File Change Detection, 404 Detection, Strong Password Enforcement, Lock Out Bad Users, Away Mode, Hide Login and Admin, Database Backups, and Email Notifications helped website creators to feel more secured.
The WordPress Brute Force Protection will set a limit on the number of login attempt that can be made by an individual. After a few attempts of accessing the system with an incorrect password, a user will be locked out. The File Change Detection, on the other hand, will notify you if any changes on the files stored on your website were made. This will help you know if you have been hacked.
404 Detection is helpful because it will notify you if someone is trying to use a bot to search your website for vulnerabilities. Strong passwords will also be required for admins, editors, and other members of the team who have full access to the most important features of the website.
Bad users, or those who have many failed login attempts, will also be locked out when the Security feature of iThemes has been activated. Away mode will help you protect the website by locking all of the features needed to edit it if you are away.
Hiding the login and admin will change the default URL on your website, making it harder for hackers to look for vulnerability. Database backups and email notification will help you restore your website when problems start to appear.
Pricing and Packages
The iThemes pricing structure is incredibly reasonable. Charging just $15 a month for a hosting plan means any business can afford this kind of service. Customers are billed annually for their hosting plans, and that includes all the extras that are thrown into your plan bundle (i.e., iThemes Sync, iThemes Security Pro, and iThemes BackupBuddy plugins).
The standard plan (the only one available currently) is for hosting 2 websites. If you have more than 2 sites that you want hosted by iThemes, get in touch with a customer service rep. They’ll help you create a tailored hosting plan to suit your business needs. We like that iThemes is basic, easy to use, and has simple pricing, yet also provides additional options for expanding outwards and upwards if the need arises.
SYNC
With the sync feature, you can manage updates that will be displayed on your WordPress websites. You don’t have to switch from one place to another to post updates because you can do it in a single location. This will save you a lot of time.
Other highlights of Sync include:
- daily email notifications of available updates
- the ability to ignore updates for specific themes and plugins
- the installation of updates en masse or selectively
- bulk installation of themes and plugins on multiple sites
- the ability to manage comments and users on multiple sites
- the ability to hide Sync on sites you manage for clients
- custom client dashboards to restrict access to WordPress features
- a mobile app to manage multiple WordPress sites on the go
- integration with other iThemes products for improved security and smoother backups
- site uptime, downtime, and performance monitoring and reporting (pro feature)
- instant email notifications if something goes wrong (pro feature).
The free version of Sync will let you manage up to 10 sites, while the premium version includes additional pro features and support for more sites.
PLUGIN SUITE
This will give you unlimited licenses to the premium WordPress plugins that were developed by iThemes. This comes in an affordable bundle, and you can use it immediately after the payment has been made.
TOOL KIT
The tool kit will provide you access to more than 20 WordPress plugins, more than 200 customizable WordPress themes, more than 900 hours of video tutorials, and more than 10 iThemes Sync websites.
TRAINING
Accessing this feature will enable you to read the instruction manuals on how to use iThemes. This will also help you create a website using all of the tools available from the platform. Video tutorials can also be found under this feature, making it easier for you to create the website that you want.
Pros
- Budget-friendly option for WordPress users wanting a simple hosting option
- Comes with tools to make WordPress site management easy
- Lots of training/self-help/education resources
Cons
- The support offering is lacking
- Hosting plans aren’t the cheapest on the market, yet you’re still required to do some of the tasks typically covered in plans offered by premium, managed WordPress-oriented hosts
CONCLUSION
iThemes is a good website to visit if you are looking for themes and tools that will enhance your page. You can also score good discounts if you visited their page during the holidays.
USING THE WEBSITE
Users who visit the website of iThemes will immediately notice the active promotions given away by the company. The options and features that are used by web designers are located conveniently on the header. You can select these essential tools and you will be redirected to a page where you can download them.
There are also tutorials uploaded on the website that you can access to increase your knowledge about web design. This website is highly recommended for bloggers, freelancers, website administrators, and agencies.
Help and Support
iThemes has a friendly and knowledgeable customer support staff. The team is based in Oklahoma, so you always get someone who speaks your language and understands the issues you are having. Support can be reached via the online contact form. Messages are generally answered within 24 hours during normal business hours Monday thru Friday 8am – 5pm CT.
Final Thoughts
It’s clear that iThemes have begun to shift their focus more towards plugins. There are still some very good themes in their collection, but, if you’re looking for a great value theme club with a large and growing selection of modern and feature-packed themes, there are some other great options to consider too.
However, the iThemes WordPress plugins, such as BackupBuddy, Sync, and iThemes Security Pro, are undoubtedly some of the very best around. If you’re looking for a professional solution to cover the backup, security, and maintenance aspects of your website, the iThemes plugin portfolio is hard to beat!
