Hey everyone… So I know a lot of people here have dealt with this. Just trying to figure out what’s better for website performance. Do you go for a theme from places like ThemeForest, or would you rather use a page builder like Elementor Pro? I know there are a lot of things to think about, but I’d like to hear your thoughts. What’s worked best for you?
Here’s how I see it for page load speed:
- Block themes (FSE) are the lightest since they don’t load a lot of unnecessary code. They’re fast but might not be super user-friendly.
- Lightweight classic themes like GeneratePress are also great.
- Page builders like Bricks can be powerful but slightly heavier. Still, they’re better than Elementor or other builders.
These are the ones I’d recommend!
Honestly, keeping things simple with your theme is key. A free theme from WordPress’s directory can work really well, though some might try to sell you extras, which could slow down the site. I’d just stick with something simple and fast.
GeneratePress is the way to go! It’s fast, lightweight, and doesn’t add any unnecessary stuff. If you can build your site with the free version or one of their demos, it’ll be a smooth experience.
Just make sure to use the least amount of plugins, avoid external scripts, and keep your images optimized. Also, getting a good hosting setup (VPS is best if you can afford it) will give your site an extra boost.
@KarmaCrafter
Oh, and avoid Elementor and Divi if you can. Even if you optimize them well, they’re still too heavy for most people’s needs.
Block-based themes like the 2024 theme with the built-in block editor will give you the best performance. The downside is that the block editor is pretty basic, so you might want to add extra plugins like Twentig, Stackable, Spectra, or Kadence to get more features.
Your question’s a little off. It’s like asking if a car from a dealership is faster than one with Firestone tires. Many themes on ThemeForest are made to work with Elementor, and just using Elementor doesn’t mean you won’t need a theme. They go hand-in-hand.
That said, I’d stay away from ThemeForest in general. Most of their stuff is poorly made and unsupported. You’ll probably end up with more problems than solutions.
The best themes for speed are the paid versions of Astra, GeneratePress, Kadence, and OceanWP.
Page builders are the main reason why your site’s speed takes a hit.
If you’re aiming for top performance and don’t want your site filled with unnecessary code, the best thing is to build your own theme. It takes more time, but in the long run, you’ll have complete control, and your site will be faster because there are no external dependencies.
Let me know if you need help with that!
I’d say go with ThemeForest since they’re optimized for speed.
EvansBrown13 said:
I’d say go with ThemeForest since they’re optimized for speed.
Can you give examples of any ThemeForest themes where you’ve achieved 100 on PageSpeed Insights?
EvansBrown13 said:
I’d say go with ThemeForest since they’re optimized for speed.
Can you give examples of any ThemeForest themes where you’ve achieved 100 on PageSpeed Insights?
It’s not exactly realistic. Even one of the best ThemeForest themes, Salient, only got me a 99/98 on GTMetrix back when scoring high was harder. This was on a 2GB VPS using RunCloud and a CDN. The scores on PageSpeed Insights were above 90, but it required a lot of tweaks and optimizations that most people won’t bother with (disabling scripts, managing plugins on individual pages, hosting Google Analytics and fonts locally, adjusting cache settings, etc.).
Most users buying a theme from ThemeForest will struggle to get those kinds of results. You need a lot of experience to even know which themes are worth using, and by the time you know that much, you probably won’t even use ThemeForest anymore.