Setting up an eCommerce store can be an exhausting process as many details need to be taken into consideration while doing so as to make the website a success. Tasks such as conceptualizing the website, deciding on the products to be sold from the website, developing and maintaining the website, marketing the business, etc need to be accomplished in a timely manner. In such a situation it is important to make the processes simpler.
One method of making the process simpler would be to select an open source platform. as i discussed in my article on eCommerce Website Development, an open source platform comes with it’s fair share of benefits. In an endeavour to make the selection process simpler for you we have decided to to evaluate a few systems for you and the Zeon Theme by Tesla Themes is a part of this endeavour.
So let’s not spend any more time and dive straight into what the system has to offer.
Features the Zeon Theme Scores On
There are certain basic parameters to look for in an eCommerce system to comprehend it’s viability for your requirement. The following are the various features the Zeon Theme definitely scores on.
1. Integrated with WooCommerce
- The attribute that gets me immediately interested in the Zeon Theme is it’s integration with the WooCommerce plugin. You ask me why? Well, it’s simple.
- The most important reason would be that WooCommerce is the most extensively used system in the eCommerce ecosystem. Furthermore it’s free. These two aspects when combined make the Zeon theme a valuable proposition as it now means that you have both a vast range of plug n play extensions at your disposal and a large developer base you can touch base with in case of any development assistance that might be required.
- This integration has me really charged up about the Zeon Theme.
2. WPML Compatible
- Words that are most likely to be synonymous with ‘eCommerce’ are ‘Global Business’. So, if you eventually intend to make your eCommerce website available for a global customer base or you want to make your website available to a global audience to begin with then WPML compatibility is definitely a USP for the Zeon theme.
- This feature provide you with an option to seamlessly translate the various pages, posts, menus, etc in the theme in a language of your choice.
3. Responsive
- Moving on, the recent times have seen an introduction of varied mobile devices into the market. Additionally, it has also seen a dramatic upward spike in the number of end users making use of their mobile devices for internet browsing purposes.
- Going with the trend it becomes imperative to have a responsive eCommerce website and the Zeon theme provides just that.
4. Browser Compatibility
- While we are talking about recent trends, browser compatibility cannot be missed in the context. With the internet browser space seeing a sudden rush of new browsers the developers of the Zeon theme have gone an extra mile to make it compatible with some of the most used browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera which is a great feature I would say.
5. Custom Post Types
- The Zeon Theme provides a host of custom post types such a s main slider, FAQ, services etc to make the website creation process absolutely simple
6. The Tesla Theme Framework
- The framework provided by the developers provides an option to change the website logo image. It also provides an option to change the website colors and typography. All these features provided by the framework make customization of the website an extremely effortless process.
- Further the framework also provides option to show contact information through Google Maps and provides a social sharing option to end users through the use of Social Sharing Buttons. The social sharing option is particularly useful to reach out to potential customers in the most cost effective method.
Documentation
- The documentation of the Zeon theme is definitely commendable. Right from giving an introduction to the theme to covering all aspects of the theme in detail the developers have done a fabulous job with the documentation.
- What’s more? The documentation is supported with images highlighting the feature in question.
- This documentation makes the process of setting up the theme a cakewalk and can be done by an any individual with scant knowledge of the WordPress environment.
Support
- While I haven’t has the chance to actually experience the customer support first hand, the regularly updates support forum and a 4.8 star rating on ThemeForest definitely stand testimony to the seemingly good customer support
What I’d Like to see
Search Engine Optimization
- While the Zeon Theme scores well on most parameters I’d definitely like to see more on the Search Engine Optimization front. While there is some mention on the framework dashboard of “SEO”, I didn’t really see much support for it. Let’s hope the developers are working on it! 😉
By and large I am of the opinion the theme has included some great features and is moving in the right direction. However, here’s a little concern. The Slider Revolution Responsive WordPress Plugin which has recently been in news for the SoakSoak malware is integrated with the Zeon theme. Wondering what the developers of the Zeon Theme have done about it and to what extent the theme has been affected by the plugin!
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