Thrive Themes Review (Theme Builder and Architect): Best Page Builder For Conversion?

When it comes to creating a website, there are many tools available to help. Thrive Theme Builder is one of the best options, as it’s an all-in-one tool for making unique and professional websites from scratch.

Our detailed review will cover what Thrive Theme Website Builder is, how it compares to other website builders, its special features, e-commerce and analytics capabilities, the cost, integrations, support, pros and cons, and our final recommendation.

The Thrive Themes tutorial section provides you with valuable insights on how to use the other elements of this versatile platform. By the end of this review, you’ll have a clear idea if Thrive Theme Builder is the right choice for your website building needs.

What is Thrive Themes Website Builder?

Thrive Themes is a visual website builder that allows you to create custom templates and layouts for your WordPress website. It’s a drag-and-drop builder that requires no coding or design skills, although experienced developers can take full control of the code if they desire. The builder interface is easy to understand and navigate, and the wide range of features allows you to create websites with various styles, from a blog to a massive e-commerce website.

How to Install and Activate Thrive Themes?

To install and activate Thrive Themes, follow these easy steps:

1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to the left-side menu and click on “Product Manager.”

2. The Thrive Product Manager dashboard will open, displaying available Thrive products. Look for “Thrive Theme Builder” and click on “Install Theme” to install it.

3. In the bottom center of the page, select the “Install selected products” button.

4. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll find an “Activate Thrive Theme Builder” button. Click it to activate both Thrive Theme Builder and the Shapeshift companion theme on your website.

Similarities of the page builders

Page builders like Thrive Themes share common features like drag-and-drop design, integrations, and design elements, making them comparable to competitors like Elementor and Divi Builder. However, what sets Thrive Themes apart is its strong emphasis on customizability, speed, and SEO optimization for websites.

Differences between other page builders

Thrive Themes stands out from other website builders in a few key ways. It allows you to create templates for individual pages, including headers, footers, and sidebars. It also offers unique elements like Quizzes, Pricing Tables, and Countdown Timers, providing a high degree of customization and flexibility not found in many other page builders.

Unique Features of Thrive Themes

It offers unique Features that set it apart from competitors. These include Smart Site technology for quick, visually appealing site creation, the user-friendly Thrive Architect page builder with a drag-and-drop editor, and an A/B Testing Tool to optimize website design and content based on visitor preferences.

What makes Thrive Themes better than other page builders?

Thrive Themes is not only versatile and functional, but it’s also focused on the efficiency of your website. It’s packed with optimization features like asset lazy loading and adaptive images, which help your site load faster and maintain a higher ranking on search engines.

It is the only site builder that has an integrated course delivery solution (Thrive Apprentice), making it ideal for any coach, trainer, or educator who wants to sell courses to their clients. Also, it has unique customer targeting and lead generation tools called Thrive Leads, which are only available to Thrive Suite subscribers.

E-commerce Features

For business owners looking to sell products through their WordPress website, Thrive Themes provides seamless integration with WooCommerce, the most popular e-commerce plugin for WordPress. The platform also allows you to add shopping carts, payment gateways, and checkout facilities, helping you manage orders and billing information for your customers.

Analytics

This includes several built-in analytics tools, which help you track your site’s performance. For instance, you can use Google Analytics integration to track visitor behavior. The builder also has an A/B testing feature that helps you understand which design and content are most successful and identify which pages attract more visitors.

How Much Does It Cost?

The membership costs $299 per year. This includes Thrive Theme Builder, Shapeshift, and all their plugins and older themes. With this price, you can use their products on up to 5 websites.

Now, let’s see how this price compares to other popular WordPress theme builders by examining their multi-site pricing options.

Cost Comparison Chart of WordPress Theme Builders

	Thrive	Elementor Pro	Divi	Beaver Builder	Visual Composer	Bricks Builder
Price/Year	$299	$59 to $399	$89	$99 to $546	$49 to $349	$59 to $149
# Sites	1 to 5	1 to 1000	1 to Unlimited	Unlimited	1 to 1000	1 to 1000
Works With Any Theme?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Comes With Theme	Yes	No	Yes (4)	Yes	Yes	No
Refund Period	30 Days	30 Days	30 Days	30 Days	30 Days	30 Days

Remember, in order to use the theme builder, you must activate the Shapeshift theme. If you are not running the Shapeshift theme, you won’t be able to use Thrive Theme Builder.

As of the publishing of this post, they have almost 30 preset footer templates.

Integration

It provides seamless integration with several third-party tools, including website builders, payment gateways, and marketing automation software, to enhance your site’s functionality. With Thrive Suite, the bundle of all Thrive products, you’ll have access to all the features you’ll need to create a comprehensive site with unlimited possibilities.

Support

Thrive Themes offers an extensive support system that includes a blog, a knowledge base, and a ticketing system. The team responds quickly to any issues, and there are several online communities and tutorial videos available to help you understand the product better.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Flexible and Customizable
• Focused on site speed, SEO optimization, and efficiency
• Built-in A/B testing
• Comes with Course Creation tools, lead generation tools, and e-commerce capabilities
• Thrive Suite offers access to all Thrive products for a higher value

Cons:

• May take time to learn their Builder Interface (But they have a lot of video documentation available)
• Fewer pre-built templates than its competitors.

What I Like About It

Customer Service

Their customer service is super quick to respond. They have a special forum for all their products, and when you post a question, they usually reply within a couple of hours.

Plus, you can give them temporary access to your account to help with and fix any Thrive-related problems. I’ve had a few issues over the years, and their customer service has consistently gone the extra mile to resolve them.

What I Don’t Like About It

There’s only one thing I dislike about Thrive’s theme builder. It’s because you have to use their Shapeshift theme for it to function. So, if you have a theme you really love and a fairly big website, switching your theme to use the theme builder can be a bit of a hassle.

Thrive Theme Builder Versus Thrive Architect

Thrive Theme Builder:

1. Primary Function: Thrive Theme Builder is a comprehensive WordPress theme builder that allows you to create and customize entire website themes.
2. Design Control: It offers extensive control over your site’s design, enabling you to modify headers, footers, templates, and other global design elements.
3. Ease of Use: Thrive Theme Builder may have a steeper learning curve for beginners, but it provides advanced users with the flexibility to design and structure their websites as they envision.
4. Customization: You can design your theme from scratch or adapt pre-designed templates to create a unique website. This makes it a great choice for those who want a distinct online presence.
5. Integration: Thrive Theme Builder integrates seamlessly with other Thrive products, such as Thrive Architect, to enhance design and functionality.
6. Global Design: It focuses on global design elements, making it suitable for users who need full control over their website’s look and feel.

Thrive Architect:

1. Primary Function: Thrive Architect is a WordPress page builder plugin, primarily focusing on designing and customizing individual web pages or posts.
2. Design Control: Thrive Architect provides a range of drag-and-drop elements, templates, and design options to create visually appealing content on a page-by-page basis.
3. Ease of Use: Designed to be user-friendly, Thrive Architect is accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise. It’s particularly suitable for those who want to create engaging content without a steep learning curve.
4. Customization: While Thrive Architect is great for customizing the layout and content of individual pages or posts, it doesn’t offer global theme customization like Thrive Theme Builder.
5. Integration: Thrive Architect works seamlessly with other Thrive products, making it easy to enhance the functionality and design of specific pages.
6. Page-Level Design: Thrive Architect is primarily geared towards designing and customizing content at the page level, making it an excellent choice for those who want to create compelling individual pages.

In summary, the choice between Thrive Theme Builder and Thrive Architect depends on your specific needs. If you want to create and customize an entire WordPress theme with full control over the global design, Thrive Theme Builder is the ideal choice. On the other hand, if your focus is on designing individual web pages or posts with ease, Thrive Architect is a more suitable option. These two tools can also work together to create a seamless and customized website experience.

Thrive Theme Builder Vs Thrive Architect Features

This is a premium product, meaning it requires a purchase or subscription to access its features and updates. While they do not offer a free version, they do provide a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing users to try out their products risk-free.

Feature	Thrive Theme Builder	Thrive Architect
Type	WordPress Theme Builder	WordPress Page Builder
Purpose	Create and customize entire website themes and layouts.	Design and customize individual pages and posts.
Editing Interface	Front-end and back-end editing options are available.	Front-end WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editing.
Pre-designed Themes	Limited pre-designed themes; more emphasis on customization.	Offers a wide variety of pre-designed landing page templates.
Header and Footer	Full control over global header and footer designs.	Limited control over header and footer compared to Theme Builder.
Customization	Extensive design and layout customization options.	Primarily focuses on customizing individual page elements.
Dynamic Content	Allows dynamic content for post lists, archives, and more.	Limited dynamic content capabilities compared to Theme Builder.
Content Templates	Limited content templates for post and page types.	Offers various content templates for different use cases.
Advanced Features	Theme-wide design consistency, website typography, and custom field integration.	Focuses more on individual page features like buttons, forms, and content elements.
Pricing	Typically more expensive due to broader functionality.	Generally more budget-friendly for those who only need page building features.
Learning Curve	Slightly steeper learning curve due to the full website theme control.	Easier to get started with, especially for building individual pages.
Ideal Users	Web designers, developers, or those looking to build a cohesive website.	Bloggers, marketers, and anyone needing to create visually appealing pages.

Many people are curious about the difference between Thrive Theme Builder and Thrive Architect, and it’s important to know that both are included with your subscription.

Here’s the difference: Thrive Theme Builder is for designing your overall website theme, while Thrive Architect is for editing the content on your pages and posts.

Thrive Architect is like a tool for editing what’s inside your website, like text and images, but it doesn’t change the core structure of your theme, such as the header, footer, or the overall appearance of your site.

On the other hand, Thrive Theme Builder lets you modify the entire look and style of your website.

You can use Thrive Architect with almost any WordPress theme because it doesn’t alter the core design of your site.

However, if you want to use the theme builder, you have to use the Shapeshift theme; it won’t work with other themes.

Another important thing to note is that Thrive offers preset content areas that you can mix and match, which sets it apart from Beaver Builder, which doesn’t provide templates for different content sections like headers and footers.