In this GeneratePress Review, we’re going to work out the Milk, so that we can conclusively determine whether GeneratePress premium is deserving your money.
Why do we always talk about the Divi theme, OceanWP, Astra, Hestia but so rarely GeneratePress Theme?
However, this theme is properly coded, it is powerful, it is light, it has a nice look and it is ideal for making showcases, magazines, online stores or blogs. Its versatility will allow you to do everything…
In this review, we will dive into this amazing WordPress theme and take a closer look at what it has to offer.
PS. GeneratePress (I will often abbreviate it in GP during this post)
1 - Why does GeneratePress deserve our attention?
This freemium theme offers many useful features and many advantages:
On the other hand, GeneratePress free version seems to be restricted. You will then have to use the Pro version to make your web projects a reality. We will compare these two versions throughout this post.
The free version is directly available from the official WordPress directory and has more than 200,000 active installations with more than 99.9% of reviews rated 5 stars.
That’s to say it an excellent theme.
2 - Who is GeneratePress for?
If you are really new to WordPress, you may be disappointed by installing GeneratePress: at first, it seems simple, basic and without any interest.
This is often the case with many themes, you will need to configure it so that your site looks like something!
This is exactly the purpose of the options available under the Appearance> Customize tab of all WordPress sites.
The advantage here is that GeneratePress also does not offer a whole bunch of options as OceanWP can do for example. This then simplifies the job.
Only the most important options are there and above all, they are well classified to understand instantly on which part of the site you are acting (this is not the case for all themes, believe me!).
So, you could say that GeneratePress is intended for those concerned with the performance and SEO of their WordPress Sites.
This is also the ideal theme for those on a tight budget because the pro version is offered at a very reasonable price: $ 59 per year for an unlimited number of sites! With 40% discount when the license is renewed .
3 - Is it a powerful WordPress theme?
As the performance of a site is an important criterion for SEO and the user experience, I did a little test to see if GeneratePress was as good as what I and you read here and there .
I installed a WordPress site on a remote server, I created a lot of useful content using, I added some images and a cache plugin (W3 Total Cache) so that the site is in a close reality conditions.
Then, I activated in turn 4 different WordPress themes and I launched a PingdomTools test to measure performance.
Finally, note that all the tests were carried out with the free version of the themes and that no page builder was activated.
The result of this comparison:
1.The GeneratePress theme: bingo! The test result shows that GP is a successful theme! The loading time is fast (264ms) and the number of database requests is rather limited (only 17). This very satisfactory score earned.
2. The Astra theme: this theme was the surprise of this test. In the free version, this theme is also very effective. It comes in second with a loading time of 286 ms and only 13 requests in the database.
3. The OceanWP theme: it arrives at the third place of the table for this test. This is not surprising since OceanWP is endowed with countless options. Some of them can be resource-intensive.
4. The Schema theme: I suspected that this theme would have a very low score since it is almost blank and yet it comes in 4th position in this test. I got surprised actually, I use this theme in my other blog and it is one of the fastest loading, ultra-SEO friendly WordPress theme from Mythemeshop
So we can now answer the question: YES, GeneratePress is a powerful and optimized theme.
If you combine it with fast-loading Webhosting, you should have no difficulty getting your site load very fast.
4 - Where to start with GeneratePress?
Getting started with GP is very simple.
Just go to the Appearance> Themes> Add tab, which you will find in the dashboard section of your site.
Find “generatepress” then click on install then activate.
To learn more about installing WordPress themes, here is a guide that might help you.
From then on, your site will have changed its appearance and you will be able to start customizing it.
But for now, you won't be able to access all of the options. If this is your wish, you will have to install the
You can get this premium version from the official website and install it as a plugin.
That is to say that you will keep the free theme active and you will add an extension that will bring many customization possibilities that we will discover together ...
Related Topic :
5 - Customizations of Free GeneratePress vs. premium
When you activate the premium version of GP, you will access many features.
One advantage that is not found in all WordPress themes is that you can activate only the features that interest you.
If you don't see any utility, you can deactivate them and this will have a positive impact on the performance of your site which will not load unnecessary code.
When the modules are activated, you will find new options available in the Appearance> Customize tab which will allow you to fully customize your site.
Let's take a closer look at the differences between the free version and the premium version:
5.1 - Customize the layout
Layout is essential for the design and visual harmony of a site. In the Appearance> Customize > Layout tab you can configure the visual of the navigation (main menu), of the footer, of the appearance of the blog, etc.
layout tab - Free Version
In the free version, you will only have a few basic options to customize:
- The container,
- The header,
- The main navigation,
- Sidebars (sidebars),
- The footer
- And the blog.
layout tab - Pro Version
In the premium version, you will find much more complete options which will allow you to fully control the appearance of the elements cited for the free version but you will also be able to customize:
- Secondary navigation,
- The fixed menu
- And the Off-Canvas.
- For example, in the free version, you cannot act on the credits at the bottom of the
- Page but the premium version offers this possibility.
5.2 - Customize the colors of the site
Colors are essential to adapt a site to the graphic charter of your brand / logo.
GP Free Version
GP Pro Version
As you can see in the image above, the choice of colors in the free version is really basic: you can customize the color of the background, text and links.
The premium version will give you control over the choice of colors for many elements of your site:
The body.
The header.
Primary, secondary and off canvas menus.
Buttons.
The contents.
Sidebars and footer.
The forms.
Each customization tab offers internal options.
5.3 - Customize the typography
Another very important element in the design of a site: typography.
While the free version offers some general options, the
GP Pro Version
GP Free Version
In the Free version, you can customize only the font of the site body and that of the H1, H2, and H3 titles.
In premium version, you can customize the font:
from the body,
from the header,
primary, secondary and off canvas navigation,
buttons,
of all titles,
widgets and footer.
For each element, you can define a different Google Font, fat, size, line height, etc.
5.4 - Customize the general parameters
From the Appearance> Customize> General tab of GeneratePress, you can simply work on the icons (font or SVG) and on the CSS optimization.
The only difference between the free version and the pro version is the Smooth Scroll option.
5.5 - GP Menu
From this tab, you can assign your menus to the locations offered by GeneratePress.
PRO VERSION
FREE VERSION
The free version of GP only offers one menu location: the main navigation.
In the premium version, you will be able to create 2 additional menus. You can display them in 3 locations:
Main Menu
Secondary menu
Off Canvas Menu
These menus and locations can also be managed from the Appearance> Menus tab.
5.6 - Widget areas
You can manage your site's widgets from the Appearance> Customize> Widgets tab, but you will get a more general view directly from the Appearance> Widgets tab.
There are no big differences between the widget areas offered in the free version and those in the paid version. Only one widget area is additional: that of the Off Canvas Panel.
In both cases, GeneratePress has many areas where you can place all kinds of widgets.
An area is also available in the top bar. This feature is rarely available in a WordPress theme. Most of the time, you are forced to code it manually.
6 - The other features of GeneratePress
We have just seen that GeneratePress premium was highly customizable. With all these options, it's impossible to miss your project!
But that’s not the only highlight of this theme. Here are the other features you will find:
6.1 - Importing demos
If you are not a "designer" at heart, good news: GeneratePress allows you to easily import pre-built layouts.
Just go to the Appearance> GeneratePress> Site Library tab to choose a demo to import.
After choosing the demo you like, all you have to do is install it in a few clicks.
Ideally, this layout should be installed on a blank site because the settings of the demo will overwrite those already made.
Discover the generatepress theme examples
6.2 - GeneratePress “elements”
If you are a developer or if you know a little bit about code, you will certainly like this feature called “elements”.
GeneratePress allows you to code certain content using hooks which allow you to fully customize your theme directly from the back-office of your site.
This video will certainly be more explicit:
With this feature, you will almost no longer need to use ageneratepress child theme ... You can insert content in the Head section, set display rules and more!
6.3 –GeneratePress “Sections”
Within your publications (pages or posts), you will be able to use the “section” functionality. It's a kind of basic page builder that allows you to create a specific layout.
Thus, you will add sections one after the other to compose your page.
This feature is far from resembling "real" page builder but can be interesting for layouts that are both simple and sophisticated.
6.4 - Publishing options
As if all the configuration options were not sufficient, you will find still other options to customize the appearance of your writings.
You can act individually on each page or article of your site.
Within your publication, you will find options available from the sidebar of the edition.
You can act individually on:
- Sidebars (sidebars): you can place it on the right or on the left, you can deactivate it etc.
- Widgets: you can activate or deactivate the widget areas as needed.
- Elements: If you use the element functionality, you can deactivate them as needed.
- The page builder: you can decide the width of the content.
7 - Compatibility of GeneratePress with builder pages
The GeneratePress theme does not have a “home” page builder, but it is compatible with most page builders.
You can then build your site with GeneratePress and the content of your pages / articles using Elementor, Beaver Builder, thrive architect, SitOrigin, Divi Builder or more simply with Gutenberg.
This compatibility provides real flexibility:
>>You won't have to get started with a new page builder.
>>If you do a site redesign, you can keep the builder already used.
>>You can continue to use your favorite page builder.
GeneratePress Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
GeneratePress Review 2024 Summary :
GeneratePress is a free WordPress theme created by Tom Usborne, a developer from Canada. GeneratePress has a focus on excellent performance and clean code. It works with all page builders and has excellent documentation with 2,554,338+ Downloads and 200,000+ Active websites.
Performance: 5/5
Free Trial: No, but the core theme is free
Price: From free, Pro version starts at $59
8. GeneratePress Pricing :
The GeneratePress (GP) Pro version comes at a price of $59 per year or $249 one time payment. The package comes with usage GeneratePress premium license key on unlimited websites, whether it’s yours or your client’s, and also 1 year's value of updates and support. Should you decide again to renew the license, you get a big 40% discount. It’s a crazy deal.
To take advantage of all its features, you will have to use the pro version and get the GP Premium plugin, with a gp premium license key.
It will cost you just $59, granting you access to the following extras:
Personally, I see the value for money is great. Look for instance what it gives opposed to some competing solutions existing on the market:
Themeforest: The largest of the themes sold on the website cost on average about $ 59. They are not regularly usable on an infinite number of sites and include 6 months of support only.
OceanWP: this ultra-popular theme costs $ 129 in premium for use on an unlimited number of sites.
Astra: another theme famous for its performance and pretty similar to GeneratePress. It will cost you $ 59 for use on an infinite number of Websites.
Genesis: the framework alone costs $ 59.95 but you will have to buy a child theme (normally a price of $ 129.95 for both). But, support and updates are covered for life and you don't have to renew.
9. conclusion: general impression
GeneratePress is making a lot of noise and I understand why!
I did not know this topic before writing this article but here are the strengths that I could note:
In short, I can't really find any inconvenience for this rather complete theme, but it would be interesting to have your opinion in the comments 😉
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