This awesome review is not a sneaky recommendation for Themematcher. This is a real review with all positives/negatives in mind. OK here we go:
As their logo says: online tool that helps to make a custom WordPress theme from a static/HTML page layout.
The main use is when you want to move your static website to WP CMS and preserve the original design of your website. Another possible use is when you want to add a WordPress blog to your website with similar design of your site. Well, it will not look 100% the same, but the colors, design patterns and the header will look the same.
The process of the theme creation is pretty simple – after entering the url of your designed website, you’ll be taken to a short video that explain what to do next. In short, what you have to do is to select the content area first, then the sidebar. Then, preview the new theme and after a purchase, it will be available for download.
The price range is from $47 up to $297. The difference are the Themematcher’s support and custom design tweaks option:
While most of web designers will be OK with the “Standard” plan, if you don’t know how to teak PHP and CSS, it’s better to choose the “Professional” one. The “Reseller” plan is the best plan for web developers and freelancers – it’s just cheap and the easiest way to sale a HTML to WordPress service.
Negatives:
1. Sometimes it’s just sucks. The matcher is taking the colors and fonts as they are but mess up the whole page layout, stripping some menus or links and this will make you to work hard in order to set all things up, as they should be.
2. If your website have a content area with two sidebars – stay away , because there is no option to set 2 different sidebars on the fly. You’ll need to do it manually and this is not a simple task – struggle with the code, WordPress functions and who knows what, unless you’ll pick the “Pro” plan for Themematcher support on this issue to save your health and mood.
3. The same as above, if the header of your website is complicated, the menu is a drop down menu or you have more than 2 menus. Complicated footer areas fall in to the same category, so it’s better to ask their support if they will help you with this.
4. Limited reviews and CSS tricks. Come on, 67 bucks and only five revisions? What to do if you’ll need six? This a question that you should ask before buying.
Positives:
1. It’s damn fast and easy.
2. Still, it’s very cheap. To make a custom WP theme with a freelancer will cost starting from $300 in the best scenario.
3. The usage itself – not only to convert your own design. Actually, it’s possible to make a theme from any website in the Earth, even Google. Aka having an inspiration from others to create your own design (Do yourself a favor: consider legal issues and don’t even think to steal others images).
4. While it may not 100% feet your design wishes for converting your company website to WordPress, Theme Matcher is the best option for creating a WordPress theme for your blog, that will be functional side by side with your current website.
Conclusion:
– Very simple way to create a theme from any web design, as long as the design is simple, have one sidebar and content area.
– Perfect for adding a blog to existing website, great for web designers to automate their hard work at custom theme creations.
– Low budget solution for private blogs/site owners
– If you have a good budget and complicated design needs, it’s better to hire a professional designer to do the job.