Category page experiment update & new Category page design for WordPress

That’s another case. I personally won’t add any new items until everything is set up.
But overall numbers are still incomparable - it’s about wining competition. But it is growing and Envato should consider this

Hey mate. I would like to know, what “real value” actually means. 1000 in 1 theme with numerous customization options, I suppose? Potential customers of these themes are a “Curve Hand Agency” or these who actually have no clue about website development. Anyone, who has basic understanding, will never buy this item. Only 14% of US traffic tells everything. Envato choosed a wrong direction in marketing a lot of time ago, making ThemeForest a place where cheap Elements and such “Everything included, but actually Nothing” do rock. The truth is out there.

They already began their another bussinesses after the Experiment.

Theme development was always about features and very tiny details, The number of customization and demos could be convincing for advanced users and could be tricky for novice users which explain why so many themes with junk code make sales better than well established ones. Price is another player.

https://take.ms/MefUr

Also one of themes:
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Ok. So why all other marketplaces on the web don’t offer cheap themes? Because Envato forced authors to decrease prices to compete with hugely marketed (not without Envato help) bloated bestsellers and Elements subscription. So, it’s fun to see when you show some new items that have good sales. They would get much more sales if not current Envato marketing strategy took a place. In 2010 it was a real design challenge. It was time when you can hear something like this from reviewer: “It will be a killer”. Current “community” means nothing now.

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Guys we do not have any power. Rich get richer. Poor get poorer.

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Personally I set my themes price to 199$ and it was selling before I switch to very low price :wink:

Envato didin’t forced anyone to lower prices. It’s purely authors idea to sell products for $13 or $19 with hope it will give them best sellers status.

  1. I’m sure my fellow UI friends at Envato can find better UI solutions for this 80% space (wastage?) above the fold.

  1. Please replace the first block from ‘Selling Fast’ to ‘New in Town’.
  2. Please decrease the size of these huge cards. https://i.vgy.me/pI3Xch.png

I hope someone sees this.

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Yes please replace the “selling fast” block to “new in town” block. Give the exposure to new items.

What is the deciding factor for items time wise (day, week, month) to get featured in selling fast ?

They are using 1408px container, I am not seeing this space on my laptop but I see them in my other large screen.

I meant that they created an environment for a such authors move, if you didn’t get. Other things, you said about, are just result of Envato policies.

Reasons for this new item to have good sells-

Maybe author promoted his item on his own. Secondly this item is priced very low for WordPress standard.
Or very exceptional item quality.

Most new items in market have very low sells.

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Is this new wordpress category page live, because I don’t see it?

Thank you James for all the time you dedicated to this thread today. I think it was needed.

The problem I see with these kind of responses are that it sounds like you are looking at short-term data to make decision that will have long-term effect.

Envato wants to have the biggest revenue, which is understandable. But what the most reasonable people in this thread (not the emotional, angry ones) are pointing at is that the current conversion increase by changing the default sort is nothing that anyone should be surprised of, and it shouldn’t surprise envato as well. These items have proven to be a good sell in the (sometimes not so recent) past and directing more views at them will most likely increase conversions than directing people to ever-changing new items of which a great part is (purely statistical) not bestselling.

So I am more baffled by the fact that Audiojungle did not see an increase in conversion than I am by the fact that every other marketplace performed better when only showing the bestsellers.

But the decisions made by this - in my opinion obvious - result of higher conversions might actually not benefit envato in the long run. Concentrating on the current best sellers is not wise in a fast changing industry. The next big thing might be just around the corner, but it may not be on envato’s marketplaces anymore but on a competing marketplace, because of these decisions.

You say things can still change and I think they will. I mean isn’t it highly reasonable to expect a dip in sales if the marketplace is not giving enough focus on growing and renewing their libraries, making way for new trends; items designed for these trends. If there is too much focus on today’s best sellers, there will be no room for tomorrow’s.

It sounds like you are prepared to adapt to this moment, when you will see the decrease in sales, the fall of the bestsellers. But the question is: will the new potential bestsellers then be here, on envato, already uploaded and waiting for their moment to shine? Or will the authors of these new trends be here? Or will they already be somewehere else, driven away by the time when the best sellers were still best selling and left no room for new, different, experimental items?

I think it might be too late to switch this back as soon as you can see the loss in numbers.

New items are the future, and you have mentioned them a lot in your posts, that you are going to make some room for them. But the room is not here at the moment.

The new category page designs are a step in the right direction, but the change of default sorting is live right now, and someone may ask himself why you did not test this compromise-looking category page before making the harsh decisions of changing the default sort. (And by this taking away the only spot where new items really were found)

If you implement the new category pages with a bigger focus on both new and old items soon enough, you might be able to actually secure the sustainability of envato market. But right now, the sustainability is in danger. Not for the next months. But certainly, in the next years.

I am really wishing for a great category page design that gives enough focus on new and trending items, on featured items, on staff picks, on high quality items even with low sales.

But even more I am wishing for a category page design that has sustainability in mind, and not current conversion. And is tested for that, with reason, and not with just 2 weeks of current numbers. And has in mind that a marketplace should provide opportunities for new authors with new great ideas becoming the next big thing.

I am sure you will provide us with a category page that will be good for the marketplace for now and for years to come.

But right now, the current page is not.

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Ok. So what do you see on your laptop? On my windows laptop(which I’m sure majority of the potential buyers use), I see this: https://i.vgy.me/ycIgS8.png

Now add to this the bookmarks bar, the adware bars.
As I said, I’m sure a better optimization of screen real estate is possible.

This is how it look on my laptop https://take.ms/41sfl my screen resolution is 1920x1080, Hope this help Envato team.

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@BenLeong please explain why, choosing “order by newest item”, the newest are not even showing up! What appears is from 2017 or earlier, in almost every category!
If you guys are using some complex query to extract that data, please explain what it is, because ordering by newest first, extracts just a bunch of random themes that are NOT the newest, NOT the most recently updated, not trending, not the top selling, are just old themes in that category with no reason to appear first!

WHAT ARE YOU DOING GUYS!? ARE WE IN THE REAL WORLD OR IN SOME NEVERLAND MADNESS?

Come ON!

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