In today’s article, we take a stroll down memory lane and look back about ten years. We take a glance at how popular WordPress theme providers website design looked like in the past.
I hardly remember what websites I had at that time. However, I started with WordPress 2008 and I remember a lot of these WordPress theme providers listed in today’s article around the current time.
I have listed 20 popular WordPress theme providers that have been around and in the business for over ten years. It’s incredible to see how their website designs have evolved and changed over the years.
I have used two tools to grab screenshots and get information when these theme providers registered their websites.
The tools I’ve used is the Wayback Machine – Internet Archive, which is a fantastic site to see how the web looked in the past. They have over 411 billion web pages saved by today, which is impressive numbers. The other tool is Whois.com to generate domain information.
So here comes a blast from the past. A tip is to compare the images below with how these popular WordPress theme providers website designs look like today. It may differ a great deal!
Check Out How 20 Popular WordPress Theme Providers Websites Looked in the Past
TemplateMonster
TemplateMonster is a huge marketplace that has been in business since 2002, which makes TemplateMonster one of the oldest players in the industry.
They have a wide variety of WordPress themes, WooCommerce themes, WordPress plugins, HTML templates, but also other CMS templates such as Joomla templates, Drupal themes, and more. Here is a screenshot of the TemplateMonster website from 2003-06-18.
TemplateMonster domain creation date: 2002-04-26.
Check out how the TemplateMonster website looks today
» TemplateMonster – 2020
Elegant Themes
Elegant Themes is one of the largest WordPress theme clubs today, with around 650K customers. Nick Roach is the founder of Elegant Themes, one of the most successful WordPress businesses in the world.
Elegant Themes offer both WordPress themes and plugins; however, their flagship is Divi, which is one of the most popular themes and page builders in the world. Here is a screenshot of the Elegant Themes website 2008-08-20.
Elegant Themes domain creation date: 2008-10-07.
Quite a big difference in the Elegant Themes website design 2008 and 2020, right?
» Elegant Themes – 2020
CyberChimps
CyberChimps is a WordPress theme company that has been around for over ten years. They offer both premium and free WordPress themes. Their most famous theme is their free theme Responsive with over 50,000+ active installs on WordPress.org.
Here is a screenshot of the CyberChimps website 2010-08-20.
CyberChimps domain creation date: 2010-05-23.
Check out and compare CyberChimps 2010 verse 2020.
» CyberChimps – 2020
Gabfire Themes
Gabfire Themes was founded by Sahin Ozek and Charlie Patel in 2008 and is another WordPress theme provider that has over ten years in the theme industry.
They mostly build WordPress themes in magazine and news portal styles. Advanced Newspaper, Sharp, and Stylebook are their most popular themes.
Here is a screenshot of the Gabfire Themes website 2009-02-03.
Gabfire Themes domain creation date: 2008-07-10.
Their website design differs significantly between 2009 and 2020. Take a look at the Gabfire Themes website 2020.
» Gabfire Themes – 2020
Graph Paper Press
Graph Paper Press is a New York digital agency that builds WordPress themes and plugins. They are a well-known name in the WordPress community and has been active in the theme business for over ten years.
Here is a screenshot of the Graph Paper Press website 2008-12-16.
Graph Paper Press domain creation date: 2007-12-07.
There is a big difference between website design by Graph Paper Press 2008 and 2020. Check out how the Graph Paper Press website looks like today.
» Graph Paper Press – 2020
Viva Themes
Viva Themes is another WordPress theme provider that has been in the business for a long time, more specifically over ten years. The people behind Viva Themes are a group of professional web developers with long experience in creating themes and templates.
Here is a screenshot of the Viva Themes website from 2009-12-17.
Viva Themes domain creation date: 2009-06-15.
Like so many of the participants in our article, it differs significantly between Viva Themes website design 2009 and 2020. Have a look at Viva Themes 2020.
» Viva Themes – 2020
Theme Junkie
Theme Junkie is one of many popular WordPress theme providers that have built WordPress themes and plugins for over ten years. The company consists of a remote team of five designers, developers, and support staff.
They have a wide range of themes for various niches such as Business, E-Commerce, Real Estate, Fashion, Food, and Travel.
Here is a screenshot of the Theme Junkie website 2009-11-02.
Theme Junkie domain creation date: 2009-09-07.
If you compare Theme Junkie 2009 and 2020, you will see that there is a big difference in design and appearance. Here is how their websites design 2020. Check out and compare.
» Theme Junkie – 2020
iThemes
iThemes, a US-based WordPress theme, and plugin company were founded by Cory Miller back in 2008. They offer both WordPress themes and plugins, and since Liquid Web acquired iThemes, they now also provide WordPress hosting.
Moreover, their BackupBuddy plugin is a well known and widely used backup WordPress plugin. Their security plugin iThemes Security with close to a million installations is also a popular product.
Here is a screenshot of the iTemes website 2008-04-22.
iThemes creation date: 2005-11-16.
iThemes 2008 has a clean and spacious look and feel. Their website design 2020 also looks impressive, so the development of their website design has been successful.
» iThemes – 2020
Gorilla Themes
Gorilla Themes is another WordPress theme company that has been in the theme business for over ten years. They specialize in niche themes for industries such as car dealers, real estate, and music.
Here is a screenshot of the Gorilla Themes website 2009-12-30.
Gorilla Themes domain creation date: 2008-12-05.
Take a glance at the Gorilla Themes website design in 2020.
» Gorilla Themes – 2020
RichWP
RichWP is a WordPress theme provider founded by Felix Krusch and has been creating themes for over a decade. They have a large selection of theme categories available such as blogging, ecommerce, magazine, video, portfolio, and more.
Minimalist and elegance is a hallmark of all themes from RichWP. You can choose between premium and free themes.
Here is a screenshot of the RichWP website 2009-11-16.
RichWP domain creation date: 2009-02-04.
It differs significantly from the RichWP website design now and then. Check out what their website looks like today.
» RichWP – 2020
Press75
Press75 is another popular WordPress theme provider, established already in 2008 by Jason Schuller. Jason Schuller, however, sold Press75 in 2014. But still today, Press75 delivers high-quality WordPress themes.
Press75 creates premium WordPress themes for niches like business, photo, video, blogs, and magazines in minimalistic style.
Here is a screenshot of the Press75 website 2009-12-28.
Press75 domain creation date: 2008-01-09.
Press75 is one of the theme providers in today’s article that changed their website design the most. There is a big difference between then and now. Check out the Press75 website design 2020.
» Press75 – 2020
ThemeTrust
ThemeTrust has been building and selling WordPress themes for over a decade. Henry Jones is the founder and owner of ThemeTrust. He also runs the web design blog – Web Design Ledger.
The WordPress theme provider ThemeTrust has a vast selection of minimalist themes with varying categories such as business, portfolio, e-commerce, and more.
Here is a screenshot of the Press75 website 2010-10-25.
ThemeTrust domain creation date: 2008-01-09.
Compared to ThemeTrust website design in 2010, there is a big contrast to today’s design. ThemeTrusts website feels modern and trendy. Check out ThemeTrust look for 2020 here.
» ThemeTrust – 2020
WPZOOM
WPZOOM is a popular WordPress theme shop based in Amsterdam and founded by Pavel Ciorici in 2008. They have a wide selection of WordPress themes focusing on business, Woocommerce, magazines, and blogs.
Some of their popular themes are Inspiro and Foodica. They provide both premium and free themes.
Here is a screenshot of the WPZOOM website 2008-05-12.
WPZOOM domain creation date: 2008-03-27.
In the WPZOOM website design in 2020, there are no traces of the design they used in 2008. A complete makeover. Check out what the WPZOOM website looks like today.
» WPZOOM – 2020
Organized Themes
Organized Themes is a WordPress themes store that has been around for over ten years and started by offering free themes but later switched to premium themes. They have an extensive collection of WordPress themes in the categories of business, church, restaurants, nonprofit, and blogs.
Here is a screenshot of the Organized Themes website 2010-11-30.
Organized Themes domain creation date: 2008-07-30.
Organized Themes has also undergone a significant transformation in their website design. Compare 2010 with today’s design. Quite a big difference, right?
» Organized Themes – 2020
StudioPress
StudioPress is another WordPress theme shop that has been in the business for over ten years. Brian Gardner is the founder of StudioPress, which is also behind the popular Genesis Framework. In 2018 WP Engine acquired StudioPress.
StudioPress has a large selection of WordPress themes for categories such as business, real estate, ecommerce, photography, and more.
Here is a screenshot of the StudioPress website 2009-02-04.
StudioPress creation date: 2002-04-12.
There is a big difference in the design if you compare StudioPress 2009 and 2020. For the better, I have to admit.
» StudioPress – 2020
Themes by bavotasan.com
Themes by bavotasan.com is another WordPress theme shop started by Chris Bavota back in 2009. Chris Bavota is a WordPress developer from Montreal, Canada. Themes by bavotasan.com have dozens of themes geared towards different niches such as portfolios, WooCommerce, blogs, and more.
Here is a screenshot of the Themes by bavotasan.com website 2009-11-14.
Themes by bavotasan.com creation date: 2008-10-29.
Themes by bavotasan is another WordPress theme provider that has been in the business for over ten years. Like many other websites, Themes by bavotasan has also changed their website over the years. Here is their website design in 2020.
» Themes by bavotasan.com – 2020
Themify
Themify is another WordPress theme shop that can celebrate its 10th anniversary. Nick La, a cofounder, launched Themify in 2010 and has since grown into one of the most significant WordPress theme and plugin sellers in the world.
Their flagship theme is the multipurpose Ultra theme. They have also created their own Themify framework.
Here is a screenshot of the Themes by bavotasan.com website 2010-08-16.
Themify creation date: 2010-03-29.
Like so many other popular WordPress theme providers have also changed their website design over the years, but Themify in 2010 looks surprisingly good. Check out the website design by Themify in 2020 here.
» Themify – 2020
PremiumPress
PremiumPress has been in the industry for a long time and is one of the oldest theme providers on the list. They build niche WordPress themes in various categories such as Dating, Auctions, Directory, Real Estate, Shopping, to name a few.
Here is a screenshot of the Viva Themes website 2010-05-26.
PremiumPress domain creation date: 2002-10-30.
There are significant differences between their website 2010 and 2020, as it should. Take a look at what Their website design looks like today.
» PremiumPress – 2020
AppThemes
AppThemes is a WordPress theme provider that been around for over ten years. They have several niche well-known themes, such as ClassiPress and Clipper.
They also have a large marketplace with both themes and plugins. Here is a screenshot of the AppThemes website from 2010-10-29.
AppThemes creation date: 2008-12-27.
Have a look at how the AppThemes website looks today.
» AppThemes – 2020
ThemeZee
ThemeZee is another popular WordPress theme provider that can celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. Thomas Weichselbaumer started ThemeZee back in 2010 as a part-time project; later, it turned into a premium theme shop.
They have a large selection of WordPress themes in magazine-style. They offer both free and premium WordPress themes.
Here is a screenshot of the ThemeZee website 2011-01-29.
ThemeZee creation date: 2009-11-26.
Of course, like so many other popular WordPress theme providers, ThemeZee’s website design does not look the same as back in 2010. ThemeZees today has a website design with a spacious and elegant look and feel. Compare 2010 and today’s design below.
» ThemeZee – 2020
Wrapping Up
Pretty fun to see what these popular WordPress theme providers website designs looked like ten years ago! There are not many similarities to their designs in the past compared to their website look and feel today.
However, time changes and trends come and go. Do you remember what the websites looked like in the nineties? Hopefully, we don’t see that trend coming back (for a long time)!
In addition to the WordPress theme providers included in the list above, several other WordPress theme providers have been in the theme business for as long. However, I could not capture any good screenshots of what these sites looked like a decade ago.
But I hope this blast from the past creates memories for everyone who remembers what it was like in the WordPress theme business and how these popular WordPress theme providers website designs looked like ten years ago.
Keep reading the article at WP Pluginsify. The article was originally written by Peter Nilsson on 2020-03-12 05:20:19.
The article was hand-picked and curated for you by the Editorial Team of WP Archives.