Buy a theme from ThemeForest or directly from its authors?

Should you buy a theme from ThemeForest or directly from its authors? The theme is the same in both places. What changes is how long support lasts and what it covers.

We make MyHome, Listivo and Vehica and sell them in both places. Bought from us, each comes with 12 months of Premium Support, which also fixes problems on your own site. On ThemeForest, item support lasts 6 months and answers questions about the theme.

Looking at a theme from another author? The six questions near the end work for any theme. Support is one part of keeping a site healthy, and our WordPress maintenance checklist covers the rest.

What is the same in both places

The theme you download is the same, wherever you buy it. The team that made it ships every update to both places.

• The same theme, from the same authors
• Theme updates for life, also after support ends
• One license for one site
• Support answered by the people who wrote the theme

Updates keep the theme working with new versions of WordPress, so run them wherever you bought it. Before you do, read how to update a WordPress theme without losing your changes.

What differs is the support that comes with your purchase. It differs in how long it lasts, and even more in what it covers.

Buy a theme from ThemeForest or directly, row by row

Here is ThemeForest vs buying direct for the same theme, side by side.

The rows marked no are not a flaw of ThemeForest. They are its rules, the same for every author who sells there.

Why many people buy on ThemeForest

ThemeForest is Envato's large marketplace for website themes, and many buyers already have an account there. Your purchases, downloads and purchase codes stay in one place. Our public rating, 4.93 from 800+ verified reviews, also comes from buyers on ThemeForest.

ThemeForest item support vs Premium Support

On ThemeForest, item support follows rules that ThemeForest sets, the same for every author. It lasts 6 months from the purchase, and you can pay to extend it under the same rules. It covers three things.

• Questions about how the theme's features work
• Bug reports
• Help with the plugins that come with the theme

Under ThemeForest's rules, item support does not cover installation, changes beyond the theme's features, server problems or plugins that do not come with the theme. For a business owner, those are often the first problems.

Premium Support is our own, so it can do more. With it, the people who wrote the theme also work on your own site, in cases like these.

• A white screen or a broken page, found and fixed on your site
• A conflict with a plugin you added, also one that is not ours
• A slow page, a failed update or a server setting to change
• Trouble installing the theme or running an update
• Setting up new fields, search filters and how listings show

Everything happens in writing, so you keep a record of what was done. If we need to look at your site, we ask for access in the reply. A new feature built to your own plan is custom work, and we say so before anything is done.

What else you get when you buy from the authors

12 months of Premium Support in one payment

Every theme bought on tangiblewp.com comes with 12 months of Premium Support. It is part of the one payment for the license, with no subscription.

That is twice as long as item support on ThemeForest, and it comes from the same people. We have made WordPress themes since 2015 and sold 15,000+ licenses.

Amazing product and stellar support. I wish the whole internet was made by these guys! labiri, verified customer

Packs for agencies and freelancers

One license is one site, wherever you buy it. From the authors, you can also buy the same theme in a pack for 3 or 10 sites. Premium Support then covers every site in the pack for 12 months.

Money back within 30 days

A theme license bought from the authors comes with money back within 30 days. On ThemeForest, refunds follow ThemeForest's own rules. Either way, you can test the theme free for 7 days before you pay.

Which place to buy fits you

ThemeForest fits when

• You already buy there and want every purchase in one account
• You or your developer take care of installation, servers and plugins
• You need answers about the theme's features, not work on your site

Buying from the authors fits when

• You are not technical and want the authors to fix the site itself
• Your business runs on the site, so a broken page costs you clients
• You build sites for clients and want a pack for 3 or 10 sites
• You want support for 12 months, not 6

Still deciding who should build the site at all? Build it yourself, hire a developer, or have it built for you compares the three paths.

Already bought on ThemeForest?

Nothing changes for your theme. Item support stays as ThemeForest sets it, and theme updates keep coming after it ends, as When your support period ends explains.

If you want help on your own site, you can add 12 months of Premium Support. First add your ThemeForest purchase code to your TangibleWP account, so we can see your license. Our guide on what to do when your ThemeForest support has expired walks through every option.

Six questions to ask before you buy any theme

Whether you buy a WordPress theme directly from the developer or on a marketplace, ask these first. The answers matter as much as the features.

1. Who answers support, and did they write the theme?
2. How long does support last, and what keeps working when it ends?
3. Does support fix problems on your own site, or only answer questions?
4. Does the theme get updates for life?
5. How many sites does one license cover?
6. Can you test the theme on a real website before you pay?

For our themes, this guide answers all six. Then check the theme itself. Our checklists cover choosing a real estate WordPress theme and choosing a classified ads WordPress theme.

You do not need a license to ask which theme fits your project. How to get help with your theme shows where to write.

Questions