Here's what I think of RocketTheme at the moment...
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- Gene Page
- Hero Rocketeer
- Posts: 289
- Thanks: 0
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I've noticed I'm quickly approaching the one year mark.
Below is an organized review for RT and anyone else to enjoy. It's mostly good stuff :cheesy:
Support:
Early on I had some MAJOR problems and getting support took me being a squeaky wheel. Eventually you guys responded and eventually those problems were solved. While it did take nearly two months (or more I can't remember), I was thankful all the same to get them fixed so I could move on.
But since then... nothing. I haven't had very many problems and the ones I have had were incredibly minor. Your stuff just seems to work. I'm thinking those bugs I ran into were just some seriously rare flukes. Relations-wise, I had my initial complaints, but you guys are tops in my book. A few of you can be terse with your responses, but I don't expect otherwise when you have forum-only-support. You answer the same damn questions day in and day out. That must be tiresome. I think you should add a tier to your clubs for ticket support. People who pay more have unlimited helpdesk access, the rest of us have the forum. As long as you can balance and not neglect the forum people, it would be worth it for everyone.
Designs:
You guys have a diverse group of members with a diverse group of demands. You've made it clear and I agree: you can't please all the people all the time. I'm big on feature-rich templates that push the conceptual boundaries. I've made this clear repeatedly in my posts regarding USAtoday.com's one-of-a-kind website . I think Lumiere was a great example of pushing the boundaries, but you guys haven't repeated that success since.
But that's okay. Everyone wants something different, and many people have said they don't want feature-rich designs. I still think with some exception that your designs are the best around.
I do think your demo content should contain less custom work. I look at things on the demo and say "hey, that looks cool" only to find out it's all custom classes and not a part of the extension options. I say, either do less custom work for the demo or make it simpler to repeat.
On that note: Your documentation for each template is usually good, but I find somethings are missing from time to time. Usually I'm not the first to ask about it in the forum, so I find what I need to know in an existing thread.
Framework:
I love Gantry. Yes, LOVE. I can code up HTML/CSS on Notepad++ with the best of them, but the amount of time I save using Gantry is invaluable in my opinion. I followed the bloatware controversy and I think the naysayers are elitists. My clients don't like to pay out the wazoo for me to act like a sensitive artist, and Gantry let's me charge a fair price for my time and everyone is happy.
The documentation for Gantry is also incredible. It's been months since I've struggled to figure something out.
I do have one dislike... Width. I'm not alone on this one, other members point out regularly that the constrictions of Gantry prevent us from making sites like those of GK and JA - 100% rubber responsive. I believe we should have control over this in Gantry settings.
Extensions:
I'm sadface on this one. None of my suggestions to improve your extensions have been implemented. Time goes by, and they remain unchanged...
Automatic K2 Tags for RokSprocket
Option for K2 Video instead of Image for RokSprocket (like JoomlaBamboo's ZenTools)
Facebook Events for RokMiniEvent
I can accept that you're busy with other things, but these would be huge improvements. More and more people are using FB for events. ZenTools has had K2 videos for a year now. And I don't know what more to say about K2 tag sorting that others haven't said many times.
Overall:
I joined RT because someone over at GK talked you guys up constantly. GK was going through a bad transition so I decided to look elsewhere. In reviewing your templates I found some really great stuff, so I signed up. I'm glad I did.
You guys are cool and I like the people I meet here. I spend most of my time on this forum in The Water Cooler and Member Sites, which is positive testimony to the reliability of your templates.
My clients have expressed much more enthusiasm since making the switch. That's probably the most important change. It's also a big part of why I feel compelled to promote RT and Gantry to others.
I wished this thread had picked up any traction, but that's not on RT or anyone else. I guess there wasn't any interest.
That's all. - Last Edit: 11 years 8 months ago by Gene Page.
- Show Support for These Requests...
Automatic K2 Tags for RokSprocket ->
www.rockettheme.com/forum/index.php?f=16...86380&rb_v=viewtopic
Option for K2 Video instead of Image for RokSprocket (like JoomlaBamboo's ZenTools) ->...
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- cdavis411
- Preeminent Rocketeer
- Posts: 17787
- Thanks: 882
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thank you for the thoughtful critique.
btw not sure if you are aware of this based on one of your statements but there is a premium level support available
www.rockettheme.com/premier-support
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- Gene Page
- Hero Rocketeer
- Posts: 289
- Thanks: 0
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cdavis411 wrote:
thank you for the thoughtful critique.
btw not sure if you are aware of this based on one of your statements but there is a premium level support available
www.rockettheme.com/premier-support
If it was $225 more a year for unlimited ticket support, that'd be different, but I'm amazed anyone pays that for 3 incidents. No offense, I'm not saying your time isn't valuable, but that's a lot of money in my part of the world. - Show Support for These Requests...
Automatic K2 Tags for RokSprocket ->
www.rockettheme.com/forum/index.php?f=16...86380&rb_v=viewtopic
Option for K2 Video instead of Image for RokSprocket (like JoomlaBamboo's ZenTools) ->...
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