ExtendThemes Helps Entrepreneurs Create Professional WordPress Sites with Intuitive Tools and Affordable Packages

TL; DR: ExtendThemes makes customizable WordPress themes that allow entrepreneurs to build professional websites quickly. Its base-level service is free to use, which can save small businesses thousands of dollars each year. And ExtendThemes helps users stay ahead of ever-changing WordPress software updates while offering unique themes that make ecommerce sites stand out. That means entrepreneurs can feel comfortable establishing a web presence while also working on scaling their business.

Certain functionalities, including email hosting and ecommerce capabilities, can make a website custom-built by a designer a costly project. But small businesses just starting out don’t need to drain their budget by spending money on website design — especially if they can build a responsive, high-quality version themselves.

ExtendThemes makes it possible for anyone to build a website, and it’s easy to learn and master, so even the least technical entrepreneur can design a comprehensive ecommerce experience. And instead of charging thousands of dollars for a custom website experience, ExtendThemes allows users to build their own with its base package, which is free.

And when a company grows and decides it needs additional functionality — including a more responsive design or some assistance with ecommerce — it can affordably upgrade to the service’s Pro version.

The web development industry is changing fast, and many companies still believe that professional websites can only be built with code.

But ExtendThemes does the hard work of programming software that is streamlined for the most recent WordPress updates, so users, especially cash-strapped SMBs, no longer need to hire web developers early on. Many entrepreneurs are also trending away from code because developers like ExtendThemes have built such intuitive software.

“We save people time and help them build a professional website faster,” said Horea Radu, Co-Founder and CEO of ExtendThemes.

With ExtendThemes, anyone can build a site on their own schedule and at a fraction of the cost. That means ecommerce companies can have their websites up faster, and they can invest that money in new employees or boosting production to help their organization scale.

ExtendThemes entered a market that was already quite competitive with a variety of products and services. Companies continue to compete over functions and costs. However, many still haven’t figured out what ExtendThemes learned early on: The user experience is at the heart of the software development process.

“Initially, our goal was to design a powerful page builder for WordPress,” Horea said. “At first, it was complicated. We wanted something more intuitive. So we came up with our one-page builder, and it ended up working so well that we expanded into a whole platform.”

It doesn’t matter how many options a program has if its features aren’t accessible to its users. For so long, it was web developers who designed and implemented products. But now that route isn’t necessary to build a basic, professional website.

ExtendThemes offers a selection of responsive themes that users can further customize. These themes include drag-and-drop capabilities so entrepreneurs can tweak the sites to their business needs and branding. And it provides robust support in case they run into any problems or have any questions.

“Many people are just getting started with WordPress, so putting all the customization in one screen is really a winning scenario,” said Horea.

ExtendThemes designed its offerings with first-time WordPress users in mind. And that is an important differentiator, because many developers and website builders try to convince those who are new to WordPress or website design that it’s too difficult to tackle on their own. But it isn’t impossible, and it’s a fraction of the cost of hiring a developer.

Some other industry competitors don’t offer fully functional free versions of their platforms, either. That means it can be hard for new users to find the best offering, and it may cost hundreds of dollars to try out different platforms before finding the right one. But ExtendThemes doesn’t cost anything to start using, and that provides companies with a way to test its capabilities and ensure it’s the right fit.

ExtendThemes has set itself apart by making its platform easy to learn and use, and nothing holds first-time designers back from creating their ideal site. In the early years of WordPress, platforms typically fell into one of two camps: Those that had design freedom and those that were easy to use. Today there’s no need for compromise.

The platform offers five core themes, each with practically infinite variations. They include options for building responsive portfolio sites and others for more complex ecommerce sites. What’s important is that companies can remain experts at what they deliver — from cupcakes to carpentry — and the software isn’t going to get in the way of a final product they’re proud of.

The design elements can match the values and aesthetics of the specific business, and an organization doesn’t have to be at an enterprise level to create an enterprise-quality website.

Other web design platforms may have 100 themes with little substantial difference between them besides the color scheme. But ExtendThemes focuses on the functionality and use of the site, allowing users to alter the specific design elements.

“I think customers are moving away from themes that are stuffed with features to more lightweight, simple solutions,” Horea said.

The importance of focusing on ease of use is that customers become highly engaged with the product. Many themes have similar design options, often causing users to choose the one closest to their vision. But users who just learn a few basics can master the ExtendThemes platform.

Because it is so easy to use, many users find themselves mastering the ExtendThemes platform and creating the site they’ve always wanted. It also allows new designers to easily adjust more complex design elements.

Working with ExtendThemes means entrepreneurs don’t have to choose between high-quality design or ease of use. And the platform also keeps its clients updated with the latest versions of WordPress — including the much anticipated Gutenberg.

“The Gutenberg change is just starting to happen. It hasn’t happened yet, but it will change a lot of things, including how WordPress themes work and how people design websites using WordPress,” Horea said.

Seemingly everyone in the WordPress world is talking about Gutenberg and what the future holds. It can cause some anxiety for those who have just gotten used to the status quo, but ExtendThemes is excited to offer the same — and updated — design capabilities on the new platform.

“Big changes are coming, and we’re working on adding new stuff on top of what WordPress is producing. There’s still some functionality missing in Gutenberg if you want to design a full website,” Horea said.

Its main focus for the past year has been replicating the Colibri WordPress Builder experience on top of Gutenberg, which will redefine the WordPress Customizer to give users even more control over the design of their website.

Colibri targets beginners who build websites occasionally, or who are the DIY type. and offers five main benefits:

• A full site editing experience directly in the WP Customizer
• Predesigned pages and sections that help the user put together a website quickly
• A clean UI that users can customize things contextually
• No coding skills necessary
• A drag and drop interface

While it’s not clear how much Gutenberg will change the way entrepreneurs interact with WordPress sites, it is clear that it will change the site-builder market. And ExtendThemes will capitalize on these changes by creating themes that have near-infinite design variables while keeping the user experience at the heart of its product.