The John Chow Revolution Theme Review
I was asked by many people to make an announcement when John Chow’s site posted the review on my Revolution and Revolution news themes.
Well here’s the link to that review. Feel free to leave a comment over there with your thoughts about the themes!
I would say that for the most part, it was a positive (and extremely thorough) review. One thing that Michael failed to mention in the review, which got hammered on in the comments section, was the misconception that the only difference between the $59 version and the $199 version was the removal of credits. And a few people posted their opinions on that.
Anyhow, here’s what was left out of the review:
This package also includes one hour of free consulting which can be used for customization, site development or blog strategy.
So for those who think paying $140 to remove credits is a lot, consider that you get a free hour of consulting as well, and that is a majority of the $140.
There has been a lot of helpful (good and bad) feedback left on the review comments thread, and I plan on taking it all into consideration when I release the Revolution 2.0 theme. I’m really glad that I chose to invest in the review, because I think in the long run, it will be well worth the money.
I’m stunned. First, by the volume of people who posted the same complaint even after it had been clarified. Second, the regular complaint at the lack of color in the design simply astounds me. Now, I’m certainly no designer. If a designer is to a web site what an architect is to a house, then I’m the guy who remodels the place. The problem I see with most designs these days is that they’re too locked-in to the designer’s vision. Customizing most themes these days means asking yourself, “Do I want the stipes to lean left or right?” or “I wonder how that gradient would look in orange and starting from the bottom instead of the top.” In fact, it is Revolution that I find exciting, the possibilities are endless.
Don, great comment!
I’m a BG fan … but I think this whole conversation comes down to cheapos who don’t have a proper appreciation for quality work.
Most WP designers get barraged by people who don’t have a clue (or simply care) what reasonable rates for good web design work are. They think because their 14-year-old cousin “does websites” that we should all do it for a pop and crackers too.
I found the review to be a bit drab, I was especially concerned about his comment
“Overall, I’d say that the Revolution premium Wordpress theme is quite attractive and definitely looks professional. On the downside, it’s terribly boring with its monochrome color scheme. The main page looks like it could be challenging to monetize as well. The blog might look nice with a more creative header image.”
Anyone should know just because the designer chose the colors, the theme is very much customizable, including what he called making a creative header image. These are all things that can be changed to fit a persons own taste… I find the colors as they are quite stylish, and sleek, classy to be exact. The same reason i love the Apple colors, and style. It fits, its smooth and if you don’t want it, change to the bright colors!
Debroah, talk about customizable! Your site shows that off for sure!
I will take that as a compliment Cory, I hope
I am still working on it, a few things left to go as well as I bought the Rev. Newsletter theme which is taking longer to work with, just because i want it to be perfect! I will reveal it soon…
I read the review and thought it came across a little “cold”, not in a mean sense, but in an “uninterested” way. Perhaps Chow’s writing style is matter-of-fact, I’m not sure.
I would take issue with the persistent negative comments about the color scheme. A template is supposed to be just that, a starting block. If a designer released a full-on glossy, image heavy template, it leaves little to the imagination and little room for client side customization.
I think the Revolution themes are terrific, they are beautiful off the shelf, but leave lots of room for personal customization and imagination. The code is neat, clean and easy to understand. Everything a template should be.
Chow’s review though light on exuberance and enthusiasm, should provide you with a tremendous amount of exposure. I truly admire what you’ve done in a little over a year. Tremendous focus and determination.
First of all, I didn’t need to know how much you paid JC for the review, and I thought that was unprofessional. When I read this, I knew you were on a hiding to nothing.
The comment about the template being based on a monochrome colour scheme emphasises his short-sightedness, and together with his other comments, makes me wonder why this guy is held in such high esteem….the guy’s an idiot and its a shame you have to pay lip service just for the links.
He may well be a respected marketeer, but you only have to look at his site to realize he’s no graphic designer or arbiter of taste….sorry, but images of glorified Big Mac’s don’t cut it….I may be missing the point, but I just don’t get it.
You, Cory and Chris are pushing the envelope, so keep up the good work!
My thoughts…
Firstly, just be careful guys (Chris and Paul). The review wasn’t written by John Chow, so any negativity on the actual review cannot be pinned on him.
Secondly, I suppose the colour comment may have been expected as Michael has a – let’s just say a brightly coloured blog.
Thirdly, the price of a review on johnchow.com is no secret. It displays the price at the top right of his page, “Get reviewed by this blog for $400″ so it’s not exactly unprofessional to mention it.
Fourthly, I must admit I didn’t like the tone of the reviewer from the opening paragraph.
And finally – Brian, don’t worry about the folks that don’t like it. Everyone has different tastes, and Chow’s blog isn’t exactly known for it’s pleasant and friendly atmosphere.
Ok, I’ve been so busy answering emails re: Revolution, I’ve finally carved out some time to respond to the comments. Thanks to all who have commented, and I appreciate (more than you know) your support.
Yes, there were some things about the review that I wasn’t happy about, and a lot of backlash from the commenters. In all honesty, it really doesn’t bother me what a 17 year old blogger from across the globe thinks about my themes.
This whole John Chow review thing was really an experiment, and a way to market the theme. I’ve learned that in the internet business, you need to take risks, one of which is *forking up a hefty $400* to see if something works.
The bottom line is that everyone has the right to their own opinion, and obviously they are free to verse it the way they deem necessary. There’s nothing that says a review (or its comments) has to be positive, and I knew that going into this. I’m very satisfied with the way my Revolution themes were designed, and according to my showcase pages, I’m not the only who feels this way.
Peace.
Brian – sorry to have made you sad!
I actually just read your comment here and then I embarked on my journey to find your comment… I eventually found it in my Aksimet spam (I do not know why!) and I have subsequently de-spammed the comment…
Having already commented on my blog about this, I’ll keep it short…
I never meant to detract from your great work – instead I have much respect for you and I believe you to be a cornerstone of the Wordpress community!
Sure, I don’t like the style that Revolution was designed in – but I know exactly what you tried to do with Revolution and to whom it is targetted. My design was meant to be a reaction to yours, in the sense that it showcases my ideas with regards to how I would’ve designed it… Even though I will be releasing it soon – it is not meant to be competition – instead it is meant to support the ever-expanding WP community (I believe this was one of your aims with Revolution?).
Last point – I realize that Small Potato’s Showcase is different to Revolution… What I meant was that the Revolution (a niche theme, just like Showcase) is not new, since SP for one has just released a completely niche theme as well…
Anyway, commenting and providing feedback in this way is actually great and I realize my post would’ve offended some people (which was not my aim), but at least it provokes some positive communication and discussion on a topic. Keep up the great work – look forward to seeing V2.0!
Too many comment here with each style. Why?
Because people, yes real people LOVE you BG.
Nice theme, I thing.
I realize now that the review cost is shown, trouble is though, the site is so pimped to the max, that’s it’s diificult to see the wood for the trees.
A couple points, after reading the review and comments:
As entertainers realized long ago, any press is good press; it all creates buzz – and the majority of people will forget the details, but remember your name.
Secondly, there is a gap in understanding what a design is meant to accomplish as wide as the Grand Canyon. Everyday themes meant for 99 percent of blogs is expected and should be, free. However, premium themes have a whole other audience and goal.
Design can be thought of the digital equivalent to architecture. Very few houses are built complete with the cushy couch pillow and a steaming cup of cocoa. Why are houses sold with bland creme-colored walls and boring carpet? Like houses, theme designs are meant to be filled with the occupant’s color, or content.
Until we can get beyond those misconceptions, blogging themes, like blogging itself, will be mired in the past.
I use Brian themes longer than I read john Chow’s blog. I have consider myself to buy a review for one of my sites, but some competitor did it before, and I think the review was not good.
When I read the revolution theme review I didn’t like it either because I think the theme and concept are a revolution, and the lack of colour is not a problem.
To have a good review on John Chow’s blog you must have a product that makes him earn more money and to be something like an affiliate program, of a wordpress plugin that will make him make more money.
So the main point of this kind of review is to get more traffic and people to visit your website, maybe someone didn’t like the price of the Revolution theme, but they downloaded one of the other amazing themes Brian has for download.
Does this theme support wordpress 2.3?
You know i want to purcase this beautiful wordpress theme so please answer this question.
“The taste to quality is the taste to life” – Zino Dawidoff.
Well, if you ever need a case study on the Revolution Theme, just look at my site Easy Wordpress Dot Com. I love the Revolution Theme, it has enabled me to do something I’ve been trying to figure out for a long time – use Wordpress as a CMS.