Hello to all designers and developers,
Unfortunately, since 2018 and after the introduction of Envato Elements, we have seen a significant decrease in sales and income. From 2018 to 2024, about 75% of market sales have decreased, and we are approaching the complete destruction of sales in the market. You can see sales reduction charts in this post.
The significant decrease in the income of authors has caused the development of products for the Envato market not to be economically justified, and large teams are no longer willing to design products for Envato. As a result, we will only see weak and low-quality products in the market in the future. Many authors have also stopped their activity in Envato. Designing and developing a professional WordPress theme takes about 6 to 12 months for a professional team. Is it worth developing it with this low income?!!!
We have built our business based on Envato Market as a full-time job and unfortunately, we are now witnessing the decline and destruction of our business. We are very worried and disappointed about the future of our jobs here.
Several factors have caused the decline in sales, such as competitor markets, AI, and other platforms. But the biggest decrease in sales is related to Envato Elements subscription model!
Here are some points.
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Why Envato market grew a lot compared to other competitors and why do designers and users prefer this market to other markets?
In recent years, Envato market, especially ThemeForest and CodeCanyon, has grown significantly, and users and authors prefer it to other competitors. The reason for this was that the income of the market was reasonable and appropriate for the authors and they designed new and professional products in competition with each other and developed their professional teams to operate in the market. As a result, due to the presence of professional products in this market, users also preferred to buy from this market.
But now unfortunately, because of the sharp decrease in income, professional teams can’t develop a top-quality product, and as a result, we will have a market with low-quality items, and then users would move to other markets. -
Why was the Envato Elements subscription model created?
Other markets that were not able to compete with Envato, introduced their subscription model to attract users at a low price. Envato, fearing to lose the users, so in a similar action, designed the Envato Elements subscription model to attract users!
But the important point here is that other markets were full of low-quality and copied products, and they still could not compete with Envato. So users still bought from Envato. -
Access to millions of digital items, unlimited downloads, and infinite projects, just by paying $16 ($11 for students) ?! This causes a sharp decrease in income!
In the Envato Elements subscription model, the user has access to millions of items such as WordPress templates and plugins, codes, photos, etc by paying only $16 ($11 for students) and can design infinite projects with them. Even after the end of the subscription period, he can design his projects unlimitedly with the items he has downloaded. -
A sharp decrease in the income of market and elements authors!
Previously, the user used to pay about $100 to design a website, including the WordPress template, required plugins, photos, etc. But now, by paying only $16 ($11 for students), he can design unlimited projects. This is great for the user but terrible for the authors!
This greatly reduces the income of the market and elements authors. -
Null website owners steal items easily!
Now, by paying only $16, null website owners have full access to all items and copy them to their website for free downloads or sale!
As a result, Envato Elements has severely reduced the income of both market authors and Elements authors. Considering that Envato is focused on Envato Elements and promoting it everywhere, soon the entire market will stop selling and we will all be forced to move to Envato Elements, which only earns a small amount of money. As a result, we are forced to leave Envato.
I believe that the Envato Elements was a terrible decision and will destroy our business!
Please invite other authors here to participate in this discussion and express their opinions about Envato Elements. Also, we should look for a solution to solve this issue, otherwise, our business will be destroyed soon.
