Originally published at: https://community.envato.com/wanted-woocommerce-shopfront-themes-15000/
With all the buzz about WooCommerce joining Automattic, and pushing forward the agenda of WordPress as an accessible and empowering eCommerce solution, we thought it’s the perfect time to run a contest to find the next best eCommerce theme ever! After all, WooCommerce is the most popular eCommerce platform on the internet.
So we’ve put up $15,000 in prize money for Envato’s most wanted file type – WooCommerce Shopfront Themes on ThemeForest.
We’re running a “Best Item” contest where authors of all eligible WooCommerce shopfront themes uploaded to the marketplace between June 24th and September 2nd will have a chance to win awesome cash prizes!
What You Can Win
- The 5 best WooCommerce themes win $2,500 each
- $2,500 bonus prize for the most innovative eCommerce experience
That means that an amazing theme with an innovative and engaging eCommerce experience can win $5,000 for a single theme!
What We’re Looking For
We’re looking for 100% dedicated eCommerce shopfront themes built around the WooCommerce plugin and platform and designed to provide the best eCommerce experience possible. To be eligible for the contest your theme must be:
- A dedicated shopfront built 100% with eCommerce design and functionality in mind.
- Be powered by the WooCommerce plugin (and optionally extensions). All supported plugins must be appropriately styled.
- Themes with ‘placeholder’ text or images in the live preview will not be eligible. For example avoid using the default WooCommerce placeholder products and “lorem ipsum” text.
We’ll be looking for themes that provide and demonstrate the best eCommerce experience possible, including all the features and elements that you’d expect to see on established shopping sites. Think about the needs and experiences of popular department stores and retailers for extra inspiration.
For the Most Innovative bonus prize, we’ll particularly be looking for that special ‘wow’ factor, such as coming up with an eCommerce related feature or user experience that doesn’t even exist yet, but once we see it we know we want it!
What We’re Not Looking For
Just like with shopping, sometime’s it’s hard to put your finger on exactly what it is you want. So here’s a few additional things to avoid that we’ll be watching out for:
- We’re not looking for business or portfolio themes that also have a shopping cart feature. Similarly, your dedicated eCommerce theme should not feature a portfolio section.
- We’re not looking for multi-purpose themes with an eCommerce option, we are looking for themes that are solely eCommerce themes.
- We’re not looking for eCommerce themes that have “Shop” in the demo site menu. If it’s truly a dedicated eCommerce theme, the whole site should represent the shop!
- It’s okay to still have a blog (this is WordPress after all), but think about what shop sites might typically blog about and make sure to style it and lay it out in a way that makes sense with the overall shop (e.g. do it yourself articles, professional shopping tips, gift guides, product demos and reviews, etc).
Remember, 100% eCommerce sites with the best eCommerce experience you can create!
It’s a Contest!
This Envato’s Most Wanted is a contest. And like any contest, you don’t want to be disqualified because you didn’t follow the rules. So as well as carefully following the procedure below, make sure you read everything in full.
Here are the key details:
- Upload your items to Envato Market on or after Wednesday, June 24th and before the competition closes on Wednesday, September 2nd at 23.59 AEDT time.
- The winning files will get a share of $15,000.
- All winners will receive the much-desired “Won a Most Wanted Contest” badge.
- An author can enter as many items as they wish.
- Multiple submissions from the same author must be different to one another.
- An author can win a maximum of one (1) “Best Item” prize.
- An author can win both a “Bonus Prize” and a “Best Item” prize for the same item.
- Eligible items must be 100% dedicated eCommerce shopfront themes
- Eligible items must be powered by the WooCommerce plugin.
- Final eligibility of entries is determined by Envato staff.
- Envato staff to judge “Best Item” prize winners.
- The quality of the eCommerce functionality and experience will be a key criteria in “Best Item” judging.
- Envato & judges retain the right not to award “Best Item” or “Bonus” prize(s) at their sole discretion if they deem appropriate levels of skill have not been met.
- Prizes are payable only via PayPal, Moneybookers/Skrill, or Payoneer.
- Only new items uploaded to the site within the contest time period are eligible.
- The entry deadline is based on the date of the final submission/resubmission leading to the item’s approval on Envato Market. Not the date of final approval.
We’ll announce the winners a few weeks after the event closes, and send out the prizes several weeks after that. So, let’s get started.
How to Enter Your Items
- Upload your items according to the normal ThemeForest upload instructions.
- Make sure to follow the WordPress Submission Requirements
- Upload your items to the WooCommerce category on ThemeForest
What to Do After Your Items Are Approved
Once your items have been approved, do the following as soon as you can:
- Complete the Most Wanted Entry Agreement. By doing this, you agree to keep any winning entries online for a minimum of two years.
- Post your approved entries in the forum thread.
And that’s it. Good luck!
