The shocking wrong review process of Themeforest

[ThePixor]

I’m an expert developer and I continue to get absolutely non sense requests by the reviewers.

Ex. I submitted an item A and got 0 soft rejects, immediately approved. I submitted the same item A, I repeat, exactly the same, 2 weeks later, with only some design and content change, I got 20+ soft rejects for 7 weeks. I repeat exactly the same item, all with same code, only a style.css is the difference.

Ex.2 My theme have 6 blogs styles. Can be activated with 1 click, but you need to set the 1 option on theme options panel, after core plugin activated. Reviews forced me to create again all the blog system for make it like the live preview design, It work perfectly after plugin activation, so I has been forced to duplicate all the code for make it work also with out the plugin. So I lost hours to create a blog that no one, I repeat no one, will never use.

And really much more non sense requests.

Is really shocking see how really simple concepts are not understood by the Themeforest reviewers. Incredible.

[ewizz]

well all wp features needs to work out of box, without activating any plugin

[ThePixor]

This is the copy and paste message of the reviewers.
If you not understand that this not have any sense is a big problem.

Avada work with the core plugin only, all the themes with Visual Composer work with Visual Composer only.

The problem is simple: if a theme not work without the core plugin activate ALL the users will activate it. If ALL the users will activate it, NO ONE WILL NEVER use the theme without the core plugin active. If no one use it, create a duplicated code is a totally waste of time and not have any sense it actually create only problems.

Is so difficult understand this simple concept? It’s not web or graphics, it’s only human logic. Your reply “well all wp features needs to work out of box, without activating any plugin” not have any sense, this is the problem not the answer.

[creativeGagency]

You could have packed the features that require the Core Plugin, inside the core plugin from the start, that would have solved your issues.

[ThePixor]

It’s already did, all the features are into the core plugin, the problem is not this, the problem (only one of many) is that ask to create two times the same code, one for theme without plugin, one with the plugin. You not understood.

[ThePixor]

The problem is not possible to solve, due are non sense requests.

[CodePassenger]

Rules change over the time. Reviewers are okay at some point. I know its frustrating. Review system sometimes relax if those items are demanding that moment. When you plan to update, they will reject which are skipped previously. For WordPress items, they followed WordPress.org rules.

We can’t include directly in theme which are plugin territory and it can’t be activated automatically after theme setup. Users will activate it.

I faced several soft rejection when I submitted update. I accept those normally. Those rules are set later. Reviewers are human and they don’t create any rules but WordPress and Envato.

[ThePixor]

I agree. I understand that it’s not directly a reviewer problem due all of them must follow the guidelines of WordPress.org rules.

But the guideline are really wrong and not have any sense, almost for high quality themes that are more than a list of posts.
The shocking thing is that no one on Envato is changing this. It’s clear that most of the requirements really not have any logical sense.

The final result is this: Envato is paying money to damage his own company. You can understand this is a big non sense problem. I explain:

Envato is paying(to the reviewers) the money(the time spent to non sense requests is paid time, and it’s 80%) to damage(the 80% of updates I did due to requests are not useful to any users, the result is unused codes and bigger bug probability due any change to complex software can be reason of bugs, and this actually happen, I must restore my code after approvation many times) his own company. This is also one of the bigger cause of review process delays.

It’s really absurd that no one understand, is like I’m creating a electric car and a reviewer force me to insert a hidden petrol engine, or to run the electric car without any battery. Here there is the same level on non sense requests.

[ThemeSLR]

Hello guys,

Thumbs up for raising this topic. I also believe that there are major problems regarding the review workflow / process.

I also noticed that they are mostly checking the default blog archive (and put and accent to this part of the theme (mostly)). Which is really sad. As you said before “a blog that no one, I repeat no one, will never use.” here is the problem.

In many cases reviewers are checking the default blog, providing feedback for this part, but they are not checking other major issues.

• For example, on a WordPress WooCommerce theme they(the reviewers) are only checking the blog without taking a look at the WooCommerce pages / sections.
• @ewizz think about this case: Client buys a WooCommerce theme, but because reviewers only / mainly checked the default blog, the theme came with WooCommerce bugs. Nice ha?. And same problem for any other themes.

Out of the box is the key here. They should use this concept.

[CodePassenger]

I’m agree with you. But WordPress is Blog Engine with CMS flavor not complete CMS. WordPress.org followed their Blog review rules for any any theme. Example: Most popular Zerif Lite was down for violating rules.

My opinion, WordPres.org’s rules should be changed. Many site didn’t use blog. Its is time consuming and boring to adjust styles for Unit testing data.

I don’t want to say about our fellow author’s items quality which is popular. they get some privilege may be or not. I’ve only headache for our items.
Most of senior reviewers are right, some new reviewers are showing their creativity though some cases not relevant. At last, I love them all.

[webfulcreations]

With the hard Work and a lot of soft and hard rejections we get success to get a product published. Then people steal our items, and post them on Free download websites to downlaod for free.

Envato Thinks Reviewers are best Designers and coders on planet

After so much problem. We cannot offer coupons, we cannot see emails of our clients, but envato market other products like envato services, websites, etc to customers they get from or for our products.

The Fees is really high, I believe the money we pay them as fees if we spend this much money on Adwords we can have much more sales. or revenue.

I am struggling on Envato since 3 years, and now i doubt sometime i have wasted my 3 years. When they reject my items like i am a newbie.

Now you see the header, logos of ThemeForest, etc gone, Web Templtaes for themeforest and Websites for their new launched service like Wix website builder. Now you can understand they want to charge monthly to customers who actually came to buy our theme

[creativeGagency]

All those are not " we cant " all those are issues of yours, as you do not know.

[themeroasters]

TRUE you are!!

[themeroasters]

ThePixor …that is true, we are suffering because of the reviewer and sales are not there. Reviewers think there is problem with our design whereas that HTML is approved and sold then came the WP version but he still has problem, he thinks WP design needs to be changed overall, and also one of the rejection point was a default “space” between words, which is funny and out of the world - my question is why don’t you guys review the whole theme at a time rather than rejecting the theme countless number of times!!!

[TheRubikThemes]

Although I am with you that sometimes what the reviewers gave us is nonsense, I don’t quite agree with your comment about the blog.

We are developing website base on WordPress, blog is its core function.
Even though users don’t often use the stock blog post (need white paper statistics though?!) but you need to care about that for your buyers.
This is for your own sake.

Let’s compare to the smartphone nowadays.
We don’t often use the stock Phone App/Message whether the cost is high or low.
We may use Viber, iMessage, WhatApps, FB Messenger… for daily needs now.

In my cases, I just spend 1-5$/month maximum for ordinary call, just call who isnot an internet user.
Meanwhile I can spend $25 for 4G data services for my daily & business needs.

It doesn’t mean my phone can pass the QC process without testing the phone calling function, right?

[ThePixor]

Hi,

You’re completely right, the blog must work and must work good.
But I think you not understood that it already work good , everything work good including the blog.
The theme is this http://themes.framework-y.com/whitelabel/home/

You can see the blog is good. The reviewer are forcing me to create again all the blog system only for the reviewers due for him a blog must show like the demo just after theme activation and by see the default blog archive of wp.

While instead also the plugin must be activated and the user must select the blog type, obviously. This is the problem, create again something that no one will never use, just because the reviewers are not able to do 1 click.