Phlox and Inspiro are both available through WordPress.org and are therefore direct competitors. That is certainly the case since both themes can be used for the construction of very nicely looking webshops. Phlox vs Inspiro, which is the better theme? We start with Phlox which does not mean it would be better.
The Phlox Theme
As a matter of fact this website you are looking at right now, I built it with Phlox Premium and Elementor. I can tell you right away that this is a great theme, but we’re going through all the points of the theme so slowly. Phlox was launched back in 2013, a golden age for WP themes.
Phlox Themes' Rating
The Phlox Theme has a free version with a rating of 4.8 out of 5 as seen above. The premium theme has an average rating of 4.66 out of 5. With these figures, the Phlox theme is among the best rated themes on Themeforest.
Loading Speed
The Phlox theme has impressive loading times as can be seen below in the 4 completed tests. However, there are faster themes, such as Astra. Such fast loading times are always achieved with an elite cache plugin.
Phlox's Page Builder
Phlox is a so-called Elementor Theme, which means built to support Elementor. Building the website practically only happens with Elementor. What I needed Phlox for was a beautiful demo website from which I could start my site. The demos of Elementor Pro itself I found a bit disappointing.
160+ extra Widgets in Elementor
Purchasing Elementor Pro is made completely unnecessary by the many extra widgets offered by Phlox within the page builder, 160+ to be precise. An unprecedented number of extra widgets which offers practically unlimited possibilities.
A Second Page Builder
You also get the Bakery page builder as a tuned version with about 60 extra widgets in it by Phlox.
Building a Blog
We call the structure of this website a blog. If you click on “Blog” in the menu or on “Compare Themes” you will see the blog layout. There are dozens of settings what people do and don’t want to show in the items. My experience with the Phlox theme for blogs is very good, this site is like my baby everything works so well. So if you want to build a blog, Phlox is definitely a good choice.
Phlox offers a variety of layouts and options to help you become a professional blogger, or just to get started in the blogging world. You can do everything with blogging. Phlox uses best practices in typography design to ensure that content is easily readable on all devices. Phlox supports all types of blogging, including grid, masonry and timeline. It also covers layouts such as tile, land and classic.
Phlox Theme Review: Starter Sites
I just mentioned that I had selected Phlox on its beautiful demo websites, in total there are 190+. These come in different specializations such as blogs, shops, corporate and much more. The layouts are of extremely high quality. As far as I’m concerned, Phlox is even undervalued with its rating.
Reuse Sections
Being able to save and reuse sections at lightning speed is a great feature. It says “Exclusive” in the corner but there are many more themes that have this.
Phlox: Global Colors
The theme uses 3 basic colors that are used throughout the site. If you adjust it, it will automatically adjust across the entire site. Doesn’t seem like a real exclusive feature to me, but it’s certainly practical.
Headers and Footers
The Phlo theme offers a complete collection of options for both footers and headers. There will certainly be something to your liking for your website. You can make further adjustments to your chosen design with the Header & Footer Builder.
Phlox Theme Review Conclusion
I assume that you have received a very positive impression of Phlo by now, this is a great theme. I can’t copy all the information here, not 1 on 1. If your interest has been piqued, read on on their own website. As far as I’m concerned, Phlox is one of the better themes on Themeforest and highly recommended.
Let’s continue this Inspiro vs Phlox comparison with the Inspiro Theme.
The Inspiro Theme
Let’s start this Inspiro theme review. Inspiro is a WordPress theme that focuses on video and photo editing. It has a modern design. Inspiro has many features, including a fullscreen area for Vimeo, YouTube, and self-hosted video backgrounds, Page Builder integration, and is ideal for displaying your video portfolio. The theme can be used with WooCommerce as well as popular Page Builders like Beaver Builder and Elementor.
Inspiro's Rating
Since the last time I wrote a review for Inspiro, there are now a lot more people who gave a rating. However, the average remains high, 4.7 out of 5 is a very good rating. Especially since Inspiro is very focused on video features, something that perhaps not everyone understood immediately and therefore some give a very bad rating.
Video Functions
As for the special video features that Inspiro offers, below is a list of features for the free version and the pro version, because there are big differences between them.
You can see that all video features are in the pro version, but nothing in the free version. If you are looking for a free theme with video functions, we can say that Inspiro is not suitable. What the pro version offers is beautiful, but don’t be alarmed by the price for a license of 79 dollars per website per year. For this you have practically the best theme there is for WP, the Divi theme. And not for 1 website, but for unlimited sites.
Video Backgrounds
As shown below, videos in the header can be used as background. Other great features are video on hoover, videos in portfolio items and video lightboxes. One of the best features is the video autoplay on mobile and tablets.
Portfolio with video BGs
Below is an example of a Portfolio page design. You can hover over each item to see a preview of the video or image.
Inspiro & Elementor
Inspiro theme review: Demos
The Inspiro theme has a series of very nice demos and for various niches. Demos or also called starter sites can be installed with 1 click via the backend of your WordPress. Inspiro has a small 35 demos for the free and pro version together, including demos for shops and of course photography.
Inspiro: Headers
Inspiro doesn’t have a real header builder like the top themes but with 1 click you can install other types of headers. Different headers on different pages, everything is possible.
Image/Video overlay
Another wonderful tool is the gradient overlay customizer pictured below. This is one of the features that immediately struck me while writing this Inspiro theme review. You can create beautiful effects and give your website a professional look.
Inspiro Theme Review Conclusion
As the last part of this Inspiro theme review, I give my overall opinion. The free version of Inspiro has virtually no features and I would never use it. The pro version is good for website photographers, film makers and other people who want to use videos all over their site. The pro-theme can be called downright expensive, so I have my reservations about that too.
Inspiro vs Phlox Conclusion
I like Phlox better, it is just a bit better overall. The problem is Phlox wants to see a separate expensive license for every website you want to build with it. This will quickly cost you a lot of money. You are better off with Astra or Divi that can be used on an unlimited sites and are also even better and more stable themes.