Phlox and Hello are both available through WordPress.org and are therefore direct competitors. That is certainly the case since both themes are used as a base for the Elementor page builder. Phlox vs Hello, 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 Hello vs Phlox comparison 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 Phlox Conclusion
Both of these themes are in the top for popular free themes on WordPress.org but are completely different. Both are great in their own way. 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. Phlox also works perfectly with Elementor, but adds a lot to this, such as demo designs and widgets for Elementor. I personally prefer Phlox.