What's going on in the themes section?
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The last few months we’ve seen a very strange policy in the themes section on WP.com.
Firstly, many old themes, but with interesting features and aesthetic solutions, were retired.
Then we saw the removal of premium themes.
Then we are faced with the multiplication of single-page themes, which could easily be just a pattern for one page.
Now, I came across repeating themes, derived from “Blockbase”, which don’t add any new functionality. In fact, they lack things that have become standard, like a space for widgets and the infinite scroll (and the button that replaces it).
Finally, a new theme from Automattic that has patterns that caught the attention of independent filmmakers, the Videomaker theme, was not made available.
What is going on?
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Nothing special is happening. Things change in time. Themes that are no longer compatible disappears, new themes appears, …
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Hi @radtrad,
Firstly, many old themes, but with interesting features and aesthetic solutions, were retired.
There’s nothing unusual about this. We have always retired themes when they become too old to maintain, either due to evolving web technologies, or due to changes in the features WordPress offers.
The block editor is a major change in how WordPress works, and for most of our older themes it’s simply not feasible to update them to fully support the block editor, so we’re systematically retiring older themes in favour of new block-based themes.
Then we are faced with the multiplication of single-page themes, which could easily be just a pattern for one page.
Now, I came across repeating themes, derived from “Blockbase”, which don’t add any new functionality.
You are correct – a number of new themes we launched are actually just variations on another theme. These themes have been created for the full site editor that’s coming in WordPress 5.9 in January. That site editor will allow you to essentially create your own theme using blocks, but we’re offering these pre-made variations with different color and type options, and in some cases different layouts, to give people a starting point for those who don’t want to create a block-based theme completely from scratch.
In fact, they lack things that have become standard, like a space for widgets and the infinite scroll (and the button that replaces it).
While these things used to be standard, they no longer are. Along with the block editor and full site editor coming next month, the way WordPress themes are built is changing. Going forward, if you want a widget area, for example, you’ll create one yourself using a special block in the site editor, so it’s no longer something that’s pre-defined in the theme.
Finally, a new theme from Automattic that has patterns that caught the attention of independent filmmakers, the Videomaker theme, was not made available.
Videomaker has not been released on WordPress.com yet, no. As far as I know it’s planned for release early in the new year.
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Nothing special is happening.
Yes, something is happening. Before we had themes, now we have templates.
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Thanks, Kokkieh, for the answers.
Some observations:
There’s nothing unusual about this.
There’s nothing strange about the fact, but it has taken on other contours due to what I’ve described. In short, we went from a point where the themes were very complete, to another point where the user will have to design their own theme. I particularly like this freedom, but for most and new users the experience of having something practically done seems to me a more comfortable starting point. See all the confusion that occurred with the block editor for simple posts; won’t we now have something similar in the customization of themes?
You are correct – a number of new themes we launched are actually just variations on another theme.
Particularly I think that launching themes with different layouts gives a better impression to newcomers; there are many new themes on WP.org that the responsible team could bring here.
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Going forward, if you want a widget area, for example, you’ll create one yourself using a special block in the site editor, so it’s no longer something that’s pre-defined in the theme.
for most and new users the experience of having something practically done seems to me a more comfortable starting point.
Echoing @radtrad’s sentiment: It used to be that WordPress.com bloggers would choose a theme for their site and then fill it with content. Now it feels like the level of entry to site setup has become much higher for new users. How is WordPress.com addressing this?
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As I said in my reply above, we’re releasing new block-based themes, some of them with multiple variations, to give people a starting point for those who don’t want to create a block-based theme completely from scratch. With these themes people can then simply substitute their own images, colors, widget blocks, etc. in the site editor, exactly the way they’re already doing this with page layouts on individual pages in the page editor.
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Ok, but the differences between them could be a little more than colors and fonts. Why not have themes with different locations for widgets, by the way? Or themes that have blog posts in different formats? Or themes with the infinite scroll (and the button that replaces it)?
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Our developers keep working on new themes, so there’ll be more variety in the future.
Thanks for your feedback :) -
I’ve just discovered that all the premium themes are gone!
I have been using the Huntt theme by Themes Kingdom for a while now. It is clearly not ”outdated” since it is still sold and supported by its third party seller. You refer to the new block design but is really a downgrade in my opinion. More on that below.
I am disappointed that you no longer will do support for my Huntt theme website. I have put a lot hours into setting the site up. Your block-based themes that you now are promoting are and have been far inferior to the premium ones that until just recently were part of your package.
I understand that you keep changing but this development is a bad deal for your premium customers: For example, if I want to continue using the Huntt theme fully supported I will first have to buy it directly from Themes Kingdom for about 90 euros. Then, in order to import it to my WordPress-account I have to pay for the WordPress Business plan upgrade which will add another 300 euros/year. It’s clearly not the deal I signed up for when I got my premium account.
How come that WordPress has not bothered to inform its customers about the change that is coming? It is the least you could do since it has consequences in terms of time and money for your customers. It’s essential for any business to communicate directly and openly about any major changes that might effect its customers.
Just Jennifer was right when she made this observation: It used to be that WordPress.com bloggers would choose a theme for their site and then fill it with content. Now it feels like the level of entry to site setup has become much higher for new users. How is WordPress.com addressing this?
Yes indeed, why should I spent time designing my web site from the start up, which is what it feels like? The reason I came to WordPress in the first place was so that I wouldn’t have to bother with it.
I sincerly hope there will be other customers protesting this development and that the premium themes are re-instated.
/Carl Dieker
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@podalidafilm, the fact that there are no more premium themes does not mean that sites that use any of them will not be supported. You can continue using your theme without any problems.
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We removed all premium themes from WordPress.com several months ago, so it’s no longer possible to buy new Premium themes. But existing owners of premium themes can continue using them, and we still provide support as usual for those themes.
However, keep in mind that we’ve always retired premium themes when they become too old, just like we do with free themes – regardless whether a theme is free or paid, it will eventually reach a point where it’s simply too old to still keep it working properly without completely re-writing it from scratch.
But even then you can continue using the theme as long as it still works for you. Retirement just means the theme no longer receives updates and bug fixes.
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Thanks Radtrad!
These are great and illuminating posts that I recommend all premium subscribers to read:
I am quoting from the WPcomMaven-blog post ”What The Heck is going on with Themes?”:
”On September 1, 2021, WordPress.com retired all 83 available Premium Themes…”
(https://wpcommaven.com/2018/07/17/my-themes-been-retired-now-what/)
Yes, this information came out from a blog. I think it could have been something that WordPress could have put out themselves.
The blog continues:
”I’m still trying to grasp the reason for this change, but it is not clear to me. If it were a question of block compatibility, that opens the question why free themes that aren’t entirely compatible with the Block Editor are still available in the Theme Showcase.
Essentially this means that anyone wishing to use any theme other than the free themes currently available in the WordPress.com Theme Showcase, 120 as of today, will need to upgrade their site to the Business plan so they can install a 3rd party theme. If that’s the intention, it’s disappointing.”
Before September 1, 2021, the word ”premium” in premium subscriber meant that you had access to themes that in total were worth a minimum of 3.000 €. (Calcuating each theme at the lowest price, 39 €. Some of them had an individual price tag of almost double the price.)
After September 1, 2021, as I stated in my previous post, a premium subscriber not only have to pay the price of each individual third party theme but also have to pay about 300 €/year for an upgrade to the Business package. (Only way to install third party themes.)
I am not a novice when it comes to having a premium theme retired. It happened ones before. And I understand the argument ”we’ve always retired premium themes when they become too old” by staff Kokkieh. However, one of the troubling things with the changes that were implemented on 1 September 2021, is that when the premium themes are gone customers are left with themes that have far less optimization and custom settings than before.
What I am saying is that the argument that premium themes are continually retired because they are out-dated sounded logical in the past. But this time, getting rid of all 83 premium themes, some of them which you yourself recommended until 1 September 2021 because they are supposedly outdated, the real answer for removing them seems to lie elsewhere.
As stated by others, the most plausible answer to why the removal of the premium themes offer for premium subscribers was implemented is that WordPress wants to push this section of their customer base in to paying for a business subscription. The latter being several times more expensive than the premium offer.
Myself, the main motivation for me to remain as a premium subscriber is being able to keep my old premium theme. If I at some point in the future would like to experiment with another theme, or if I by mistake would hit the ”activate button” instead of the demo mode, my premium theme will be gone forever.
Please make this change: Now when I want to access the support page of my theme Huntt there is only a text explaining that this theme has been retired. Even though the support page for my theme is not actively being moderated there a still a lot tips that are helpful in keeping my site optimized. Now I have to google for the support page instead. If you next to the retired-information had a link to the old premium theme support page it would make my life – as well for others who are in my situation – much easier. It would also give your old premium theme subscribers some feeling of comfort, that you totally haven’t left them out to dry.
/Carl
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Thanks Radtrad!
These are great and illuminating posts that I recommend all premium subscribers to read:
I am quoting from the WPcomMaven-blog post ”What The Heck is going on with Themes?”:
”On September 1, 2021, WordPress.com retired all 83 available Premium Themes…”
(https://wpcommaven.com/2018/07/17/my-themes-been-retired-now-what/)
Yes, this information came out from a blog. I think it could have been something that WordPress could have put out themselves.
The blog continues:
”I’m still trying to grasp the reason for this change, but it is not clear to me. If it were a question of block compatibility, that opens the question why free themes that aren’t entirely compatible with the Block Editor are still available in the Theme Showcase.
Essentially this means that anyone wishing to use any theme other than the free themes currently available in the WordPress.com Theme Showcase, 120 as of today, will need to upgrade their site to the Business plan so they can install a 3rd party theme. If that’s the intention, it’s disappointing.”
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Thanks Radtrad!
These are great and illuminating posts that I recommend all premium subscribers to read:
I am quoting from the WPcomMaven-blog post ”What The Heck is going on with Themes?”:
”On September 1, 2021, WordPress.com retired all 83 available Premium Themes…”
(https://wpcommaven.com/2018/07/17/my-themes-been-retired-now-what/)
Yes, this information came out from a blog. I think it could have been something that WordPress could have put out themselves.
The blog continues:
”I’m still trying to grasp the reason for this change, but it is not clear to me. If it were a question of block compatibility, that opens the question why free themes that aren’t entirely compatible with the Block Editor are still available in the Theme Showcase.
/Carl
-
Thanks Radtrad!
These are great and illuminating posts that I recommend all premium subscribers to read:
I am quoting from the WPcomMaven-blog post ”What The Heck is going on with Themes?”:
”On September 1, 2021, WordPress.com retired all 83 available Premium Themes…”
Yes, this information came out from a blog. I think it could have been something that WordPress could have put out themselves.
The blog continues:
”I’m still trying to grasp the reason for this change, but it is not clear to me. If it were a question of block compatibility, that opens the question why free themes that aren’t entirely compatible with the Block Editor are still available in the Theme Showcase.
Essentially this means that anyone wishing to use any theme other than the free themes currently available in the WordPress.com Theme Showcase, 120 as of today, will need to upgrade their site to the Business plan so they can install a 3rd party theme. If that’s the intention, it’s disappointing.”
Before September 1, 2021, the word ”premium” in premium subscriber meant that you had access to themes that in total were worth a minimum of 3.000 €. (Calcuating each theme at the lowest price, 39 €. Some of them had an individual price tag of almost double the price.)
After September 1, 2021, as I stated in my previous post, a premium subscriber not only have to pay the price of each individual third party theme but also have to pay about 300 €/year for an upgrade to the Business package. (Only way to install third party themes.)
I am not a novice when it comes to having a premium theme retired. It happened ones before. And I understand the argument ”we’ve always retired premium themes when they become too old” by staff Kokkieh. However, one of the troubling things with the changes that were implemented on 1 September 2021, is that when the premium themes are gone customers are left with themes that have far less optimization and custom settings than before.
What I am saying is that the argument that premium themes are continually retired because they are out-dated sounded logical in the past. But this time, getting rid of all 83 premium themes, some of them which you yourself recommended until 1 September 2021 because they are supposedly outdated, the real answer for removing them seems to lie elsewhere.
As stated by others, the most plausible answer to why the removal of the premium themes offer for premium subscribers was implemented is that WordPress wants to push this section of their customer base in to paying for a business subscription. The latter being several times more expensive than the premium offer.
Myself, the main motivation for me to remain as a premium subscriber is being able to keep my old premium theme. If I at some point in the future would like to experiment with another theme, or if I by mistake would hit the ”activate button” instead of the demo mode, my premium theme will be gone forever.
Please make this change: Now when I want to access the support page of my theme Huntt there is only a text explaining that this theme has been retired. Even though the support page for my theme is not actively being moderated there a still a lot tips that are helpful in keeping my site optimized. Now I have to google for the support page instead. If you next to the retired-information had a link to the old premium theme support page it would make my life – as well for others who are in my situation – much easier. It would also give your old premium theme subscribers some feeling of comfort, that you totally haven’t left them out to dry.
/Carl
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@podalidafilm While there are exceptions, WordPress.com does not normally announce retirement of features or themes. And please keep in mind that what appears on my wpcommaven site are my musings on the subject, nothing more.
Meanwhile, I see that forum Staff replied to you in your thread at https://wordpress.com/forums/topic/premium-themes-disapeared/
At this time we do not offer Premium themes as we are working on curating a new collection of themes that are fully compatible with WordPress block editor. We plan to relaunch premium themes again in the near future!
I do tend to agree with you regarding access to a retired theme’s showcase set up information if you have such a theme active on your site. (This is one reason why I tend to PDF a copy of the theme page for my currently active theme.)
my 2¢/ I also wish that WordPress.com would at least maintain the theme’s feature tags on the theme showcase page so that it would be easier to search for similar themes. But like all things WordPress, things change at such a rapid pace these days that it’s a challenge to keep up. And that will likely be the case when FSE is fully adopted here.
/my 2¢ -
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I hate the new direction without the classic themes. Yes, now I spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to custimize mi blog instead of filling it with content.
I had to change my theme because the old one had no access to the forums, where I used tio learn how to use my theme.
Would have been great if wordpress notify in time about this changes. At least I could have made the changes I need with the help of the forums.
My new theme: a nightmare to find the solution Im searching. I have to dive in 1,000 threads to learn how to place a header image. Before, I only needed to check the formum of my theme, search “header” and do it.
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