Is TemplateMonster worth it?

[gnomiXa]

My friend needs my help with her website, I am a professional web dev and I know that template modifications can be painful and can take a long time.
She really liked the look of this template
templatemonster.com/demo/35351.html

However, I wanted to find out whether it's worth the price. She really likes the layout in the template and I did tell her that any mods maybe impossible or cost prohibitive.

My question: does TemplateMonster work as promised - ie - is the layout going to look exactly like it's in the demo. I am helping her for free and not really willing to spend hours on the web site.

I read a lot of negative reviews here about TemplateMonster, but the only reason was that any mods are going to be hard. What if no mods are required to the layout? Does it work then? Does it break any Zen Cart functionality?

thanks

I looked for a free template that had a similar look but none exist w/o lengthy css modifications, which I am not willing to do at this point.

[gilby]

My friend needs my help with her website, I am a professional web dev and I know that template modifications can be painful and can take a long time.
She really liked the look of this template
http://www.templatemonster.com/demo/35351.html

However, I wanted to find out whether it's worth the price. She really likes the layout in the template and I did tell her that any mods maybe impossible or cost prohibitive.

Zen 1.3.9 ONLY, NOT the latest and SAFEST 1.5.0
Its often very difficult to add mods

My question: does TemplateMonster work as promised - ie - is the layout going to look exactly like it's in the demo. I am helping her for free and not really willing to spend hours on the web site.

It will probably work as you see it. You will have to have image software to prepare suitable images for it.
Some body WILL "probably have to spend hours working to get it to work".

I read a lot of negative reviews here about TemplateMonster, but the only reason was that any mods are going to be hard. What if no mods are required to the layout? Does it work then? Does it break any Zen Cart functionality?

It often breaks lots of bog standard zen-cart functionality

I looked for a free template that had a similar look but none exist w/o lengthy css modifications, which I am not willing to do at this point.

This will probably take less time in the long run and give better functionality.
If you are not willing to do this at this point then RUN, don't give your friend a nightmare (where you will probably end up with the blame)

[keneso]

I don't know how close the friendhisp is, but my feeling is she's going to need your help again for some minor/major stuff.

Why don't you ask her to pay you the 140/189, maybe with a little discount, and install, and customize a free template?

[dgent]

Looking at the template, Id install this..

demo.zen-cart-themes.com/demo-free/index.php?tpl=pure

And modify it to suit. Ive used this template as a basis of all my designs. That TM one you linked to is very simple.

[SPH]

I'm sure that the template will work as is. But down the road mods could be an issue. What mods are you and her contemplating?

Is she prepared to use the template with about the same layout? Most TM templates use rows and not columns (will column layout grid mod work?) Show few number of products per category. Few side boxes turned on. Once she turns on more sideboxes and shows more products per category the general look might be different.

Myself, I recently tried to copy some of the colors from a TM template and put it on my free Abagon Red template on the site in my signature.

If she has $140 to risk she could just buy the template to take a live look and hope for the best. Will you and her come up with another option that potentially looks as good? Maybe she'll have to choose looks over some function.

sph
prommart com

[SPH]

Yes, what gilby said: that template is shown as for 1.3.9h zencart only.

You'd want to start her off with the latest and safest zencart, 1.5. You'd have to ask TM if this template would work with latest zencart.

Otherwise, if she has no immediate template development support and a free template will not work, a good course might be to start off with a commercial template such as these and go with it as long as possible. If and when some required mod breaks it - and that isn't certain (and people have problems all the time without using TM templates) it might work long enough until another suitable template can be made.

sph
prommart com

[Get Em Fast]

Or........................since you're a professional designer, forget ALL the rest, design a template from "scratch", then she will be happy, and you will also KNOW everything works as expected. NEVER rely on somebody else's template........................ESPECIALLY if you're a designer. Just do the work, man! :) It will probable save you LOTS of EXTRA (and unnesasary) work later on.

Of course, that's just MY opinion...................but I got my opinion from personal experience with TM's templates.

[fairestcape]

Be careful not to sacrifice FUNCTIONALITY and OPERABILITY, over LOOK and DESIGN.

TM templates look good, because they are designed to seduce you into purchasing them. In the hands of highly skilled zencart developers, and very knowledgeable graphicists, they can be made to behave properly, but for relative novices, TM templates are really just problems waiting to happen.

These problems begin the minute you want to add your own customisations, and make use of additional modules - the vast majority of which do not work properly in a TM environment.

You will spend HOURS (possibly days) on this forum, seeking help for practically every little thing you try to do, when you discover (for example) that a setting in the admin panel does not have the effect it was designed to achieve.

And because hardly any helpers on this forum use TM rubbish, people will not be in a position to help, because that help may require hours of research and possibly a few days of unpicking the custom code that TM floods into its templates.

More importantly, your site will experience long periods of down-time (so no sales come in) and you will eventually be forced to pay for assistance which may or may not properly resolve the problems.

As I said... in the hands of a ZC GURU, TM may be an option. For the most part you are opening up a hornets nest.

[dgent]

She really likes the layout in the template and I did tell her that any mods maybe impossible or cost prohibitive.

My question: does TemplateMonster work as promised - ie - is the layout going to look exactly like it's in the demo. I am helping her for free and not really willing to spend hours on the web site.

I read a lot of negative reviews here about TemplateMonster, but the only reason was that any mods are going to be hard. What if no mods are required to the layout? Does it work then?

Yes....

[stevesh]

I'd agree with dgent - if you're prepared to use the TM template exactly as they wrote it, it should work fine. The only caveat I would offer is that some TM templates assume you're using certain mods (like the Column Layout Grid mod). If the display doesn't match the TM demo when you install the template, check that first.