Not enough info

  • magicmagdelene

    (@magicmagdelene)


    10 years, 2 months ago

    Really really despise being roped into liking a theme but not having all the information I need to make an educated decision. Only after installing and beginning to design do I see that there are only 2 slides available in the free version. There are no spots to see a comparison of the features of the free vs pro that I could find. Don’t have a rating for the theme since I uninstalled it immediately. Giving SmartCat the 1 star. Be honest with your product and your customers!

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Theme Author smartcat

    (@smartcat)

    10 years, 2 months ago

    Actually, we have a full article on the site, with all the features listed, and the ones that belong in the pro version are highlighted in big green letters saying “PRO”
    https://smartcatdesign.net/articles/athena-responsive-multipurpose-wordpress-theme/

    How are we not honest ? does the theme not include a full description ( it does ) ? Does the customizer options miss-lead you in any way ?

    your opinion is yours to have, however I want to take a minute to mention that Athena (free) took over 250 hours to design and build. It is loaded with a ton of features that most other free themes do not have.
    You yourself said you immediately un-installed it, so how can this review be valid, given that you didn’t spend the time to get to know the theme…

    Additionally, it is a free theme and it is GPL. if you find the instructions are lacking, its best for the GPL community if the users make suggestions to the developers, rather than angry & unjustified reviews and accusations.

    Food for thought.

    Theme Author smartcat

    (@smartcat)

    10 years, 2 months ago

    If you took a look at the theme page on our website you will see that the free theme having 2 slides is explicitly mentioned on that page, http://i.imgur.com/EHnou9B.png

    Thread Starter magicmagdelene

    (@magicmagdelene)

    10 years, 2 months ago

    All instances of “Pro” in green:

    PRO Immediately following your purchase, you’ll be redirected to a page containing your licence number, and a link to download your compressed theme files. (in regard to updating from free to pro)

    PRO Your licence key is included in the purchase confirmation email you received from Smartcat. After activating Athena on your site, click on “Appearance” > “Athena Licence”. (in regard to updating from free to pro)

    PRO If you wish to disable the Jumbotron completely, from your WordPress Dashboard select Appearance > Customize > Jumbotron > Jumbotron Settings > Hide.

    PRO In Athena Pro, you can also remove the Smartcat branding from the Footer, and edit the copyright text.

    – this last one marks the only function difference offered between the pro vs free version. I will admit that you did mention the 2 vs 5 slides in a small bit of text under the heading “Configuring the Jumbotron”, but otherwise the entire page was directions on use of the template (the first three directions being how to download, install, and upgrade from free to pro), and further directions listed under the heading “SETTING UP YOUR ATHENA HOME PAGE.” I still do not see where you offer a comprehensive list of the differences between free and pro. As I stated, I am leaving your company the 1 star, not the template that took over 250 hours to design, regardless of the features it is loaded with (of which I still cannot see or locate in description anywhere, so I have no way to judge the value or worth of your claims), nor how it compares to other free templates. The template is very likely very lovely, even though it doesn’t fit my needs. I am leaving the review for your company’s lack of straightforward communication before installation of your template.

    If you’d like any further assistance in understanding how a comprehensive list of differences between products can help a client (who has the potential to possible become a customer) make an informed decision if your product is right for them, I direct you to a few examples:

    http://www.sharkclean.com/vacuums/2/uprights-and-canister/

    http://www.refluxguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/product-comparison-best-practices-small.png

    https://easydigitaldownloads.com/wp-content/uploads/edd/2015/09/edd-compare-products-view-comparison.png

    http://www.zilkerventures.com/portfolio/tax-compare

    These are just a few examples after a quick “Google” search on “comparing products.” Perhaps it may guide you in the future. Perhaps not.

    Theme Author smartcat

    (@smartcat)

    10 years, 2 months ago

    But we do have a similar list like that.. http://i.imgur.com/azBvcS4.png. Its not in the exact format that you wish to see, but it does a good job of highlighting the features.
    Not to mention the pro version demo here https://smartcatdesign.net/preview/athena/

    It highlights the features in the pro version.. the features in the free version are already there in the customizer.

    I will definitely consider adding a list of differences, i will point out that the majority of our users have already used the free theme for an hour or so and gotten the feel for the theme, the pro version features are listed in the article above, and there’s a full demo of the pro version. I find from experience as a user and a developer that having a full demo is a lot more comprehensive than a list, because the user gets to see the feature in action:

    http://smartcatdesign.net/preview/athena/

    we have spent many hours setting up the pro version demo, with every little option can be seen there. Some of your examples are pricing tables that work better for multiple product variations, we only have the two.. if its not in the customizer of the free, then you can see it in pro.

    If the user is looking for what you’re suggesting, ill definitely consider it for the future, however I will still highly disagree with what you said about us not being “honest” with our product, your review seems too harsh, and not justified. The theme is still excellent and we’re very proud of it. The proof of that is that it has 0ver 5000 active users in less than 4 weeks of being live. I hope you consider my points and decide to change your review to something more appropriate.

    Thanks for the feedback, I always love hearing suggestions on improvements.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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