noesac Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 (edited) I've been using Prestashop for 3 years and for every Presto-Changeo there are 100 terrible developers*. I'm sick of wasting my money. I'm now in the market for a good theme but I have no idea where to start - is there a ratings system or some way of identifying the really highly regarded theme developers in this community? * this includes the official prestashop module team. I bought the official SEO module...what a piece of trash, both in terms of the product and customer support Edited February 3, 2013 by noesac (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Patron Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 not really prestashop is a mess compared to say a wp/joomla/drupal, where you can see user ratings...here it's looking through forum posts...the major problem with addon's you can't directly contact the developer...the put so many layers in between so people can't buy directly from the developer....like google cant' find them...ave maria pues That is why I even started writing modules, the couple I bought were just utter junk, so I wrote them for my own shops....and then one thing led to another...and now I sell many a month...I thought of putting them on addon's but like you I expect quick responses to any questions issues or concerns, that does not appear to be the case for some with addon's... I guess now I should learn to write my own template...the one I have now I liked when I started...getting a little long in the tooth now.., I started to think of just going to 1.5.3 and using the standard template...and all the new work is being done in 1.5, i.e. where the really cool themes to be for these days...(not on addons but the big theme companies) good luck.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noesac Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Can anyone recommend these guys then? http://elationbase.com/elation-liquid/ They seem to do good work but again it's hard to tell A) whether the underlying code is good quality, and what their post-purchase support is like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Patron Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 I can only recommend them if they sponsor my race car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whispar1 Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 (edited) Agree with Elpatron - its hard to find honest ratings. Themeforest does have a rating system and some you can tell who the developers are and can contact directly without jumping through hoops. You can read the comments and see what type of response you get. Marek at promokit as well as SDS have been responsive for my concerns. Edited February 3, 2013 by Whispar1 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Patron Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Can anyone recommend these guys then? http://elationbase.com/elation-liquid/ They seem to do good work but again it's hard to tell A) whether the underlying code is good quality, and what their post-purchase support is like. it's easy to tell, they have a support forum..go read it...if they respond...and how they respond... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fixgear Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 hey noesac, i bought their elation liquid theme the other day and when i ran into issues (things i need help with that are not covered in their videos nor on the blog) i sent them an e-mail and also posted on their support blog, so far 3 days have passed and no response. also, on the support blog the last time they responded to a query was feb. 8th and judging from a few comments there they seem to have disappeared. sad really since the theme is REALLY nice. so, you decide. if they ever get back to me i will post an update here. saludos, jeremy... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dh42 Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Looking at the post history is a good measure, you can see "likes" they have versus the posts. One thing I would look for also is a developer that gives back. There are a lot of developers that make a module and come to post it on the forum and that is all you ever see of them. Then there are others (not going to name names, because it is actually a long list) that help other users with variousproblems on the forum not pertaining to their modules. Those are the good guys. Do your research and don't be afraid to make a post to ask about a developer, there are several from the forum I would highly recommend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeckyl Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 the major problem with addon's you can't directly contact the developer... Hi, it's very strange because in addon's you can find one link to contact directly the developper for module or template, and it's not very new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presta Ecommerce Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 I usually look for user ratings and comments. Themeforest has good comments/ratings system that helps me a lot when trying to determine if developer is dedicated and helpful. When it comes to official prestashop addons, you are right that developers there are difficult to reach. That's why I push hard to help each and every customer that needs help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Patron Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Hi, it's very strange because in addon's you can find one link to contact directly the developper for module or template, and it's not very new. This goes through directly to the developer or the prestashop layer then to the developer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocothecat Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 (edited) If you want a prestashop theme and your prepared to pay for it, I'm happy to give you a few clients you can talk to... as for the add on forum I think everything I've bought off there has been a pile of poo. The problem is people want everything for $100-200 then complain when some guy can't provide that product to them or it takes a life time to complete. You get what you pay for ... If your just looking to purchase a theme off the bat then I would look at the theme portal places and check out downloads vs comments and the support questions / forums they tend to have that would give you some idea. However you can't please everyone, so for every 10 good reviews your bound to find 1 unhappy customer... Edited March 27, 2013 by cocothecat (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presta Ecommerce Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 However you can't please everyone, so for every 10 good reviews your bound to find 1 unhappy customer... Exactly! 1 bad review in 10 is ok and you shouldn't worry about it. More than that is probably not going to be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeckyl Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 This goes through directly to the developer or the prestashop layer then to the developer? Hi, directly to the developper. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fixgear Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 cocothecat, so, you are saying paying 100 euros ($140) for the elation liquid theme and then expecting decent support is too much to ask? that seems ridiculous! 100 euros is LOT of money for a theme and i certainly do expect it to work as it should and have support for as long as i use it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocothecat Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 cocothecat, so, you are saying paying 100 euros ($140) for the elation liquid theme and then expecting decent support is too much to ask? that seems ridiculous! 100 euros is LOT of money for a theme and i certainly do expect it to work as it should and have support for as long as i use it. I think my reply was more in regards to having something bespoke than pre purchased, I miss read the original question 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fixgear Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 ok, gotcha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piercingpusher Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Can anyone recommend these guys then? http://elationbase.com/elation-liquid/ They seem to do good work but again it's hard to tell A) whether the underlying code is good quality, and what their post-purchase support is like. Absolutely not! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piercingpusher Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 hey noesac, i bought their elation liquid theme the other day and when i ran into issues (things i need help with that are not covered in their videos nor on the blog) i sent them an e-mail and also posted on their support blog, so far 3 days have passed and no response. also, on the support blog the last time they responded to a query was feb. 8th and judging from a few comments there they seem to have disappeared. sad really since the theme is REALLY nice. so, you decide. if they ever get back to me i will post an update here. saludos, jeremy... Since there is no update - Still no support? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anves Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 I've been using http://prestadesigner.com/ for a 2 weeks now and the support is good - Logan answers quickly and tries hard to get it fixed in a reasonable amount of time - The prices are really fair Vin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totalfs Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 cocothecat, so, you are saying paying 100 euros ($140) for the elation liquid theme and then expecting decent support is too much to ask? that seems ridiculous! 100 euros is LOT of money for a theme and i certainly do expect it to work as it should and have support for as long as i use it. I think that you live in a different world. 100 Euros for a fully working generic theme is ok but if you expect a life time support for this money you should get reality check. To get a custom web theme would cost you E3000 to E5000 if you go with any decent agency. And they will charge you E100 p/h for support. 100 euros hardly covers a half a day of any working person. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dh42 Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Its a quantity thing. They make money by the people that never need support. But they also lose money by those people too. I have bought themes and modules and I expect them to work as advertised or to be fixed. I don't think that is too much to ask. I have bought modules from Presto Changeo before and I know they have spent more supporting the module than what I paid for it. It works out in the end most of the time, through me and my clients that buy their own modules, I can think of a few thousand dollars that has been spent with them because they provide excellent support. On the other hand, I bought a module from another seller that provided horrible support. It was coded poorly and a few of the features did not work. So I sent an email to the site (it was a 3rd party site) and asked them to remove the module. I buy modules and themes a lot of times, not because I cannot do the programming to accomplish the task, but to save time and money. Sure I could make a custom module for everything I need, but if I can buy one for $100 and charge a lower rate, spend less time on the project and move on to another project; I make more money in the end. 100 euro for a theme, it should provide the level of support that it is advertised as having. Bottom line is I would buy from people that are active on the forum. I have bought modules, themes, paid for programming from several people on the forum and I have only been slightly screwed by one. He just never started the work, was never paid, so I moved on. A list of people that I would recommend that I have done business with is Presto Changeo, Shokinro, Nemo1, and Bellini . All of them I would say are excellent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fixgear Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 totalfs. i never said i expected lifetime support but there is a HUGE difference between lifetime support and their selling the theme and then disappearing off the face of the earth, paaaaaleeeeeeaaasssseee!!! they have completely IGNORED my emails and questions on their blog and i just went back to look out of curiosity and they have entirely deleted the blog for support and have only left the general comments/suggestions blog. i bought the theme because... 1) i loved it and it suited my needs. 2) i read support comments on their support blog so thought they would be there for me if i needed them, at LEAST to get it up and running. 3) they promised (still do) "support & updates" on their website. see attached "lies.png"!!! but that has been a lie. so i don't need a reality check but i DO need a company that does not do false advertising and lie to sell it's theme. as Dh42 pointed out, we should get what is promised to us. basic decency dictates that the prestashop add-ons store should REMOVE the theme all together. i only hope they take note of this. LUCKILY, i have been able to get some excellent advice and help from these forums regarding my store and the elation base liquid theme but ABSOLUTELY NO THANKS to the developer. nuff said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totalfs Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 fixgear, I agree 100% unreliable - useless provider should be kicked out and nothing I said above excuses them to break their contract with you. What I meant that, if a product is 100% working (I guess yours it's not) then obviously you will install it and use it and any tweaks you do to it, just help yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fixgear Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 ok, thanks! yes, i have become a prestashop pro with all i have been forced to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dh42 Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 I can say that I would not expect someone to support a theme over the weekend, with that being said, did you purchase the theme on their site or from the addons store? I have contacted them and pointed out this thread and asked them to comment on their support policies or to give you support. hopefully they will respond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fixgear Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 thanks Dh42. i bought the theme in early march so it has been about 6 weeks, no excuse for not responding in 6 weeks. i purchased it from the add-ons site but i thought they also made money on those sales (?). i had seen questions on their since deleted support blog from others who had purchased it from the add-ons site as well and they had responded. thanks, jeremy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dh42 Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 They do still make money on those. The reason I was asking actually is that if you purchased it from the addons site, Prestashop holds their addons developers to a stricter standard, since they are the ones taking the money. I an going to forward this message on too, if they don't reply, Prestashop can get you a refund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piercingpusher Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 (edited) I've been using http://prestadesigner.com/ for a 2 weeks now and the support is good - Logan answers quickly and tries hard to get it fixed in a reasonable amount of time - The prices are really fair Vin They say their themes is SEO-optimized, but they are all missing category and sub-category descriptions... That is a SEO Disaster! Content is everything. I can`t see any SEO advantage at all.. Sorry. Edited April 23, 2013 by piercingpusher (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fixgear Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 i understand, that is why i took my complaints here. i figured that prestashop would not take lightly to the disappearance of the developers. i actually found the theme on the " Top 10 - BEST Addons for PrestaShop in Spain - April 2013 " which is still there (see screen shot attached which i just took). "BEST" is subjective i suppose best for the elation people as they earn a ton of cash but not really the "BEST" for the user. i do not want a refund since i AM USING the theme but i would like some support. i haver actually figured out most of the issues on my own in the past 6 weeks, ok, with a lot of help from the presta forums so this will hopefully help future peeps interested in this theme. jer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjamin utterback Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Hi fixgear, could you PM me the e-mail that you used to register and send messages to the Addon store. I can check on the messages, maybe none of the went through. I'm sure we can help understand what happened. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elation Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 (edited) Hello everyone, This is Elation Base Themes, our police is to support as much as we can to all of our customers, no exceptions. We normaly take 1 to 3 business days to reply all communications. Expect holidays. The Elation Liquid Theme is constantly been updated and tested with every new release of PS. Currently we are in theme version 2.6 (over 10 releases in a year). He have been the best sell theme of months with lot's of happy customers. With 43 user votes - 38 five star (maximun). http://addons.presta...sign-theme.html Here are a few quotes Super cool and terrific technical support who will assist in great way... Go for it!... We love the Elation Liquid theme. It was very well documented and easy to install. We had some little questions about the theme after installing and Alvara did helped us very quickly and very well !! If I need a theme again, I would look for the themes of Alvaro, I'm very happy with his service ! Great Product and great support, excellent! Exellent theme with good futures and possibility. Also the service of the develeper s great. Keep going on. Great Theme,easy to handle and a realy good professional support. Support is Great! I would love to buy more things from this Developer! Thank you again! Customer support is outstanding!!! .... and many more So anyboy who need support do not hesitate to contact us here and we will be happy to assit you https://addons.prest...id_product=5559 Thank you Edited April 23, 2013 by elation (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fixgear Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Benjamin, thanks, i will send you a pm. well, well, well, good to see elation base alive and well. ok, i'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say maybe you never got my e-mail BUT i also posted on your support blog which also had a few other complaints on it from customers of yours wondering where you were and why you never answered there either. why did you remove that blog? i am referring to the support blog, NOT the general questions and comments one that is still up. thanks, in the future i will post my questions here. jer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elation Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Lol, We were getting way to much span with the WordPress blog so we had to remove the support blog, until we find a new solution anyone will have to contact us through the normal procedure. https://addons.prestashop.com/en/write-to-developper?id_product=5559 I am happy to tell you we sold quiete a lot of theme and I can asure you the 99% of the users are completely satisfy of the theme design, features, quality and support. So send us you questions and we will be happy to assit you ASAP. Thanks!!!!! Benjamin, thanks, i will send you a pm. well, well, well, good to see elation base alive and well. ok, i'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say maybe you never got my e-mail BUT i also posted on your support blog which also had a few other complaints on it from customers of yours wondering where you were and why you never answered there either. why did you remove that blog? i am referring to the support blog, NOT the general questions and comments one that is still up. thanks, in the future i will post my questions here. jer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerB Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I too have problems with the elation liquid theme and have never had a reply to my emails. When the screen size is reduced on this theme , as on a smart phone, a new navigation dropdown menu appears but my problem is that the menu items are not the same as those which I have set up on my main horizontal menu and I can't figure out where they are coming from. Does anyone know how this is set up? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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