Comments on: Review Of iThemes Builder Theme

By: Ellen Sechler

Ellen Sechler — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:49:36 +0000

I just took an online course in WordPress and as part of the course fee I was able to choose a free theme. I chose Builder because it was recommended by the course teacher because of its flexibility and the Builder-Style-Manager plug-in. While I do like the theme itself, I’ve had a lot of technical issues with the style manager plug-in, and because I didn’t purchase it from Ithemes I have no technical support. For some reason the custom style I’ve created keeps “breaking”. It’ll be working fine half way through the build and then all of a sudden the CSS Preview disappears and the edits I make no longer work. I was told it could be a compatibility issue with Internet Explorer so I’ve now tried using Firefox but seem to still be having the same issue. I’ve literally rebuilt the site from scratch 4 times now. If it happens again I’m giving up and moving onto another theme.

By: Emma Robinson

Emma Robinson — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:26:35 +0000

I’m new to wordpress for websites and I have no coding skills… so maybe i-themes builder is for me. But I’d like to try before I buy…is that possible?
Also, what about the style editor… can I use any font I want for the menu and text? Can I have a menu on the left hand side of the page instead of the top?
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By: Brad Trivers

Brad Trivers — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:48:09 +0000

I’m a web developer that is new to WordPress and wanted to hit the ground running so I purchased Builder (I retired my clunky custom-built CMS). At first I had a few issues (like refresh not working) but the more I use it and the more I learn about WordPress the more I like what Builder offers. Support has been very patient with me.

Kevin – I thought it was pretty clear that Builder themes were required for Builder, although I have to admit that the 9 existing themes aren’t super. This really doesn’t matter because the power of Builder is building your own customized layouts to meet client needs. With the price as low as it is one site more than pays for the license – I think you should take another look and you might find that what you own was well worth the money.

I bought the iThemes plugin package as well – worth it just for BackupBuddy I’d say.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:17:50 +0000

Buyer Warning, Builder only works with 9 Themes, not the full arsenal you get when you buy the all access themes pass. The purchase page is deceiving, leading one to believe that all themes work with builder, when in reality, only 9 themes work, and those 9 are bunky and limited at best.

When I realized this, I immediately asked for a refund, simple mistake I thought, right? Well, the folks at ithemes REFUSE to issue a refund, despite the fact that it was only a few hours after I realized this shortcoming.

So now I must pay for something that I am not going to use, and they have been very uncooperative in that they’d rather keep my money, than issue a simple refund.

By: Susan Gertz

Susan Gertz — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:18:53 +0000

I am using Thesis and thinking of switching to Builder. I think I follow the basic ideas behind builder, but I do not see any discussion of whether each customized layout can have specific widgets assigned to the wigitized areas. Right now, I use widget logic to accomplish this.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 18 May 2010 20:18:20 +0000

I’m giving serious thought to buying Builder to add to my arsenal of themes I can offer my clients. It seems user friendly and doesn’t require a lot of coding knowledge.
Thanks for the additional information.

By: Valerie Cudnik

Valerie Cudnik — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:09:31 +0000

I’ve been using Builder since shortly after it’s release. Love it! It really makes building custom templates a snap. The only issue I’ve had was using a single plugin, and fortunately it’s not one that I need often.

Still love and use my StudioPress themes, too. Plus Artisteer for uber-quick simple themes.

By: Chris Jean

Chris Jean — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:45:34 +0000

@ Elaine We just released a beta version of the Builder Style Manager plugin last week. It's still a very early draft of the concept, but already many people are using it to modify their site's style. You can see more details here: Builder Style Manager Beta Released

By: Elaine Drennan

Elaine Drennan — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:41:58 +0000

Hello,

I’m very interested in purchasing this theme as it would allow us to be very flexible with our clients. I’m just wondering if the back end style editor is ready yet?

Thanks!

By: Jeffro

Jeffro — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:09:35 +0000

Just wanted to say that Conorp was the lucky commenter and has received access to a copy of the Builder theme. Congratulations. Someone from iThemes should be in touch with you soon.