In this blog post I am going to discuss in depth about the new Thrive Theme Builder released by Thrive Themes and the light version of Thrive Architect which comes along with it. Unlike the original Thrive Architect plugin, the Thrive Architect light which comes along with the Thrive Theme Builder. Unlike the full version of Thrive Architect, there are lots of missing elements and features in Thrive Architect light.
Instead of including the functionalities of the Theme Builder in Thrive Architect itself, Thrive Themes is selling Thrive Theme Builder as a separate WordPress theme known as “Shapeshift”. The theme builder is included in the Shapeshift theme. This is a business move by Thrive Themes, not only they will be able to sell Shapeshift as a separate theme, but when a user will find out about the missing features in Thrive Theme Builder they will be inclined to buy the “Thrive Theme Membership” or the Thrive Architect itself.
Of course, when you are selling Thrive Theme Builder (Shapeshift theme) for $67 for a single site licence, it must be functional. It is great that you can build custom header, footer, blog archive and single blog post template using the Thrive Theme Builder, you would also need to be able to edit the contents, design the pages and blog posts.
So for that they have included a light version of Thrive Architect along with the Shapeshift theme so the users will be able to make their websites fully functional and usable.
But in the light version of Thrive Architect they have removed a lot of elements and functionalities. Because if they provide all the functionalities of Thrive Architect, the original Thrive Architect plugin will be obsolete, which is a very popular plugin on its own.
Missing Elements and features in Thrive Architect light
1) Landing page templates
When you install and setup the Shapeshift theme, in the Thrive Architect Light a lot of landing page templates are missing which is originally included in the full version of Thrive Architect. Those are locked and you cannot load them, the only way you can access them if you buy Thrive Architect and install it. It is a big problem for people who frequently have to make landing pages for marketing purposes. Without the landing page templates they will have to build every landing page from scratch which is a very painful task. The sets of landing pages marked with the green stars mean that they are locked.
2) Click to tweet
In my opinion it is a quite useless element. It is nothing but a box where you can put a bunch of text. When someone clicks on the box they will be prompted to tweet that specific text.
3) Content Reveal
In my opinion, this element is also not that important. It is simply a simple content box where you can put texts and images in. It will be hidden from the users and will reveal itself automatically only after a certain period of time. I cannot find a use for this, if you do, then you must have Thrive Architect installed.
4) Countdown timer
This element might be very important for some marketers who frequently release new products or provide a discount for a specific time. A simple countdown timer might increase the urgency for users to buy that product.
5) Evergreen countdown timer
The evergreen countdown timer is exactly the same as the normal countdown timer, the main difference is that an evergreen countdown timer again starts counting down from the beginning when it is finished.
6) Credit card
This element is also pretty useless. No it has nothing to do this integrating a payment gateway. This element is just for showing a bunch of popular credit card icons. You can easily download an image like this from the internet and use it.
7) Fill Counter
The fill counter might add some animation in a page. But the fill counter of Thrive Architect is pretty bad. The main reason is that it is not that customizable. Also, the fill counter is only in percentage.
8) Google Map
Okay, so google map is a very important element if you want to show your location in the map. It should have been included in Thrive Architect light. But you can easily get the google map embed codes from Google and directly embed it as HTML. As you can work around it so it ins’t such a big issue not having this element.
9) Progress bar
I have made about 200+ websites using Thrive Architect and I hardly used this element. Sometimes I put this in the popup to show that that are 50% finished. It is also not such an important element in my eyes.
10) Table (important)
Okay, I feel this element is very important and a very crucial element missing from Thrive Architect light. If you frequently write blog posts related to comparing different types of products, then this will be a big blow for you. There are many beautiful templates in full version of Thrive Architect.
11) Call to action (important)
Call to action are simply designed boxes with buttons for your website visitors to click on and claim your offer. In full version of Thrive Architect there are lots of beautifully designed call to action templates. So Thrive Architect light users will miss this element quite a bit.
12) Guarantee box
Guarantee boxes are simply just designed content boxes with guarantee seals in them. You can easily make it on your own, it is not something big you are missing out from. You can easily do without it.
13) Pricing table
Finally, the pricing table is also missing from Thrive Architect light. The pricing table is important for showing different product packages you have. Having product packages is a very important marketing tactic. The full version of Thrive Architect provides some beautiful pricing table templates for you to use. There are some very impressive advanced options too.
Should you buy Thrive Architect or Thrive Theme Builder(Shapeshift theme)?
Both Thrive Architect and Thrive Theme Builder each costs $67 for a single site licence. The best part about Thrive products is that you get lifetime licence, you do not need to renew the licence every year, you will get updates and new features forever! Now the question comes, which one will be a better choice for you if you are on a tight budget and can buy only one of them?
If you are a service provider such as an electrician, plumber, provide roofing services etc. you need to have custom designed header with your phone number social icons then Thrive Theme Builder is the better choice. Also if you are a blogger and need custom designed blog page and single blog post template, then in that case you should also buy Thrive Theme Builder instead of Thrive Architect.
But if you are a marketer, and need to make conversion focused landing pages on a daily basis then Thrive Architect is definitely the better choice for you.
Hope this blog post helped you out. Please feel free to share this blog post with anyone you feel is confused on whether to buy Thrive Architect or the Thrive Theme Builder.
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Professional Thrive Themes, Thrive Architect & Thrive Theme Builder (Shapeshift) Services
- Making a full website using Thrive Theme Builde. Custom designed header, footer, blog archive, single blog post template.
- Desiging Websites & Landing pages with Thrive Themes & Thrive Architect
- Making custom header, footer, blog page and blog post template using Thrive Theme builder
- Customizing Thrive themes such as Ignition, Pressive, Rise etc.
- Making & setting up popups with Thrive Leads
- Making existing Thrive Architect landing pages mobile responsive