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Hey folks
I’m currently working on what I hope to be my first premium theme, but I’m wondering what your thoughts are regarding built in features
Iv added a slider, a carousel, a filterable portfolio with several page layouts available and social icons. Also several custom widgets are included
But when do you stop adding features? Do you guys try to keep up with other themes and add at least the same features and more, even though they may not really be needed by most users?
I’ll keep adding till I feel it’s complete, but it would be nice to know he others handle ‘feature envy’ (can’t think of better way to phrase it)
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SimpleSites4U said
Hey folksI’m currently working on what I hope to be my first premium theme, but I’m wondering what your thoughts are regarding built in features
Iv added a slider, a carousel, a filterable portfolio with several page layouts available and social icons. Also several custom widgets are included
But when do you stop adding features? Do you guys try to keep up with other themes and add at least the same features and more, even though they may not really be needed by most users?
I’ll keep adding till I feel it’s complete, but it would be nice to know he others handle ‘feature envy’ (can’t think of better way to phrase it)
Just add what your design needs.
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If you wanna do it clever think about who you’re making the theme for and wether your target group has a need for certain features. And for christs sake, don’t look around Themeforest and be a copycat.
Imho most developers have very little idea about specific user needs and just blow up their themes with dozens of features nobody will ever use while omitting features and templates that would be great to have.
Browse around sites in the real world! You won’t find sliders on most creatives/portfolios/blogs. Bloggers don’t need incredible page building abilities – they need solid category/tag/archive templates and options in that regard.
Could go on with this list for pages but you hopefully get the idea.
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Yeah iv drawn up a finalised set of features which iv now built in
iiv posted some pics if anyone has the time to comment http://themeforest.net/forums/thread/critiques-on-themes/68447
I guess my worry is missing out on any sales cos of these mainly redundant features
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but on the other side, if u want to hit top sales you need a multipurpose theme, which will have tons of features to be as adaptable as it can get. It is a debatable subject.
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Anps said
but on the other side, if u want to hit top sales you need a multipurpose theme, which will have tons of features to be as adaptable as it can get. It is a debatable subject.
I don’t think so, look at Orman’s themes – they’re not packed with zillions of shortcodes or sliders and they sell like hotcakes.
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I don’t think there is TOO much, if you know how to keep things simple and not spaghetti. If you are having fun adding features and listening to your buyers then I don’t see why not add new features every now and then. It can improve sales that you regularly update and not just with bugfixes but feature. The price could even go up. This can create a ‘buy it while it’s cheaper then enjoy the benefits of free lifetime upgrades’ feeling.
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Anps said
but on the other side, if u want to hit top sales you need a multipurpose theme, which will have tons of features to be as adaptable as it can get. It is a debatable subject.
While that may be true for some i also claim the opposite: the best selling themes have a clear and distinct direction! That’s what many other ones totally lack.
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digitalimpact saidHis old themes sold like hotcakes .. the trend has moved on
Anps saidI don’t think so, look at Orman’s themes – they’re not packed with zillions of shortcodes or sliders and they sell like hotcakes.
but on the other side, if u want to hit top sales you need a multipurpose theme, which will have tons of features to be as adaptable as it can get. It is a debatable subject.
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From a user point of view:
It’s great to have a ton of features and as much options to customize the theme yourself but I am coming from a webdesign background. For a person who doesn’t have a background like that a big amount of option can be really frustrating, confusing and they end up not using most of the additional features. Keep that in mind 
