Last Updated on August 24, 2020 by Christopher G Mendla
I had been using Artisteer for years. Development pretty much ended around 2015. The WordPress 5.5 update caused issues that required some major changes to the template. That was impossible with Artisteer. After some research, I switched to Nicepage.
Background on templates and themes
I started using Artisteer when I was developing Joomla sites. As with WordPress, both free and paid templates and themes were available. I really couldn’t find any off the shelf templates that met my needs.
(Our previous Artisteer posts)
Artisteer created nice looking, functional templates for Joomla. As responsive web design became an issue, the app was updated to develop responsive templates.
When I started developing in Ruby on Rails, I found that Artisteer could create a decent, responsive template. The same held true for WordPress.
WordPress 5.5
The release of WordPress 5.5 caused a number of issues. I found that images were distorted. I also found that my comments had disappeared. With the last release of Artisteer being in 2015, it was obvious I needed a new Template Generator
Alternatives
There are a number of alternative WordPress generators available. Almost all require a purchase or subscription. I looked at Divi, Themes Generator, Template Toaster and others.
Nicepage seems to be descended from the Artisteer – Themler line. I wasn’t sure if I would need the $129 or $59 license. I tried the $59 license and it seems to be meeting my needs.
First Impressions of NicePage
Ease of use
There are a few quirks in the user interface but the learning curve was surprisingly flat. You can choose either a pre-made or blank template.
I think that with a little bit of practice, a decent template can be created for most sites within 2 hours or less.
Getting to the blog and post templates seems a little awkward. I’m finding that I need to click ‘new block’, then choose the blog or post template to edit it. I’m pretty sure there is an easier way.
I also notice that if you do any customization to a blog or post template and then choose a new layout, the customization disappears.
Disappearing widgets
Setting up widgets, especially in the footer, was a little tricky. The secret is to add a WordPress Position and Shortcode – Position and Widget area and give it a label such as footer1.
I managed to lose my Google Analytics custom html widget for one of my sites but getting the code from Google Analytics was no problem.
Distorted images
I had an issue with images being distorted. The Nicepage support folks suggested adding the following to the CSS customization of the theme. Adding it in Nicepage did not resolve the issue but adding it in WordPress under Appearance – Customization did work.
.wp-block-image img
{
height: auto;
}
I also added the following as I wasn’t sure if the webexpress images were causing an issue
.webpexpress-processed img
{
height: auto;
}
Installing the template on WordPress
Installing the templates is done the same way as any other WordPress Template.
Templates for other platforms
Nicepage also creates templates for other platforms such as Joomla.
Pricing
You can download a free version to try it out. Premium plans range from $59 to $199
Checking your site
I found a couple of potential issues:
- The mobile emulation in Chrome was showing the mobile versions differently than they appeared on an actual phone or tablet. Double and triple check that. Check mobile devices in portrait and landscape mode.
- If you are running adsense, make sure you are getting impressions after applying the new template.
- Check your analytics code to be sure that is running.
- Of course, other aspects such as comments, forms, archives and pages need to be thoroughly reviewed.
Summary
Nicepage definitely met my immediate needs. I was able to create new templates for four sites within a couple of days.
I still have a fair amount of work to do to get the templates exactly as I want them.
The Nicepage site says “No Coding Required” BUT you do need to have a working knowledge of layout concepts.