We compare two of the most popular free WordPress themes of the moment here. The basic theme for Elementor versus one of its biggest adversaries and new themes, Kadence. Hello vs Kadence, which is the better theme? We start with Kadence which does not mean it would be better.
The Kadence Theme
This Kadence Theme Review will quickly show you what to expect from this increasingly popular theme. There are people who think that this is the best current free WordPress theme and I have to say it is certainly up there together with Astra and a few other themes.
Kadence's Rating 5/5
The Kadence theme can be downloaded for free via their own site or via WordPress.org where it is one of the most popular themes with a very high rating. The theme is already above 100,000 active installs. In other words, it is currently installed on more than 100,000 websites. You can see all this data in the images below.
Kadence's Demo Websites
This video shows you exactly how to import a demo website into your WordPress which is a bit different then most themes operate. The video on the right starts exactly where the demos are mentioned. To learn how to import the plugin for this, watch the video from the beginning.
Kadence Theme Review Performance
We are running a Kadence Theme Test on loading speed at GT-Metrix. We use a website with the Kadence Theme with optimized images and the best cache plugin out there, WP-Rocket. This cache plugin already works fine once installed, but in this case we also set it up perfectly to achieve the best possible results. You can see these results below, the theme is amazingly fast.
Kadence's Page Builders
Kadence is a special theme that works very well with the Gutenberg Editor, which is an exception because it is actually not possible to work with it on its own since Gutenberg is still in the testing phase. Kadence does this by using a plug-in they developed themselves called Kadence Blocks. Of course, the theme also works perfectly with the Elementor page builder or any other elite page builder.
Kadence Theme Review Colors
The Kadence theme offers 12 pre-programmed color combinations, which also include feminine websites and Light & Dark Colors. The programming of the colors was carried out by a professional team. Incidentally, it is certainly possible to make personal adjustments to such a color combination.
Kadence Header Editor
The Kadence theme uses a special header editor with which the header can be styled very freely, even by people who do not have technical knowledge such as HTML or PHP knowledge. Many top themes today have this, and the feature is often referred to as Header Builder.
Kadence Compatibility
Apart from compatibility with all top page builders, the Kadence theme is also compatible with plugins that are important to many people. These include The Events Calendar, Learndash, Woocommerce, LifterLMS, and a few more. It allows you to sell products, conduct courses, solicit donations, or lead a forum through your website.
Kadence conclusion
My take on Kadence is that it’s no surprise that its free version has become so popular. Even the free version is already very good, and the pro version takes it even further. Kadence can really be used for all types of website and I can definitely recommend the theme for both beginners and pros. However, there are themes that are even better, such as Astra or Ocean-WP, but more about that in another article.
Let’s continue this Kadence versus Hello Review with the Hello Theme.
The Hello Theme
I’m starting this Hello Elementor Theme review to indicate that Hello is a great theme and really delivers a fast-loading website. On the other hand, that is not so strange because there is practically nothing in it. The good thing is that Elementor itself can do a lot and certainly with the pro version. Let’s discuss point by point why you should or should not use the Hello Theme for your new website.
Hello's Rating 4.7/5
The Hello Theme now has more than a million active installations. Understandable because everything works perfectly if you use Hello as a basis to work with Elementor. Somehow, there are often people who give highly valued items only 1 star. I consider this group to be one that didn’t understand anything and probably does this with other themes as well.
Hello Theme Review Speed
Hello is as seen below even very fast without a cache plugin. We ran 2 speed tests on Hello on the GtMetrix website, the first without using the best cache plugin out there called WP-Rocket and the second with the plugin installed.
Hello Child Theme
Voor het geval u van plan bent om aanpassingen aan de code van het theme te gaan maken in de toekomst is het verstandig met een child theme te werken. Een fatsoenlijk webdesigner maakt zijn child theme in een paar minuten, maar als u geen ervaren designer bent en geen zin heeft om te puzzelen hoe dit moet dan kunt u hier op Github het standaard child theme voor Hello Elementor downloaden.
Elementor Page Builder
It makes little sense to use Hello Elementor without the Elementor page builder. Hello serves as the basis for the all-round page builder. Elementor is used on more than 2 million WordPress websites and is steadily gaining popularity. Both the free and pro versions are just really good. The differences are in the number of widgets available, the use of templates and a wider range of demo websites and some other things. Buying the pro version is definitely recommended if you can spare $50.
This website was created with Elementor Pro and I really enjoy working with it. I also work with other page builders like the DiviBuilder but Elementor is one of my favorites.
Hello is the perfect Starter Theme
As mentioned before, after installing Hello you will see that there is really nothing left in your site. For example, there is no sidebar or header, there are no settings via the “Customizer”. That’s all there after you’ve installed Elementor, so don’t worry.
Hello Templates & Demo Library
Elementor provides you with a demo library with which you can install a complete demo website with one click. Depending on the version of Elementor you are using (free-pro-expert) you will have more and better designs available in the Kit Library. You also have access to templates.
So much more can be said about Elementor but I advise you to read on on the Elementor website or read my review for Elementor itself.
Hello Theme Review Conclusion
You have probably noticed in this Hello Elementor Theme Review that I am certainly enthusiastic about the theme, although there is practically nothing in it. For experienced people it is a great theme to have a super fast loading website. For laymen it is advisable to start with a good design that can be installed via the Template Kits in Elementor. If you prefer to work with a theme that is not entirely dependent on Elementor, but still works perfectly with it, just like Hello, then the Astra Theme is an absolute must.
Hello vs Kadence Conclusion
Both of these themes are in the top for popular free themes on WordPress.org but are completely different. Hello is 100% minimalistic and there is nothing in it that is not necessary, it acts as the basis for the Elementor page builder with which practically everything is possible. Kadence also works perfectly with Elementor, but adds a lot to this, such as demo designs and widgets for Elementor. Both themes are great in their own way.