2022 Update: Thrive Themes is no longer selling their old themes (Rise, Squared, Pressive etc) individually and now offer a single super theme – Thrive Theme Builder – that combines the power of their Thrive Architect visual editor plugin with a theme framework (here are some real websites that use Thrive Theme Builder in 2022).
You can still achieve the look and functionality of Thrive’s old themes with Thrive Theme Builder. Keep reading to see them in action.
You can read as many sales pages and testimonials as you like, but when it comes to choosing a WordPress theme, there’s nothing quite like seeing it in action on a real, live website. Demo sites are ok, but you only ever see the ‘showhome’ version that’s never been tested by real users. By looking at some real sites that use Thrive Themes, you’ll get to see each theme’s capabilities, run it through a speed test and get some layout ideas.
The below Thrive Themes website examples are archived as they were when using the now defunct Thrive Themes (Pressive, Rise, Squared etc). Since these old themes are no longer for sale or updated, they are used on fewer sites than before. I’ve added links to the correct theme in the 2022 update section.
-> If you want to see what Thrive Architect looks like in action, take a look at these Thrive Architect examples, too.
-> If you’re interested in Thrive’s latest theme, have a peak at these Thrive Theme Builder examples.
1. HillbillyHousewife.com
Thrive Theme: Minus
Plugins: Thrive Visual Editor (now Thrive Architect)
Traffic Estimate: 75,000 monthly pageviews
Homepage Speed: 4.51 seconds to load 1.4MB
Hosting: Mom Webs
HillbillyHousewife.com is a simple, effective homemaking blog built on Thrive Theme’s minimalist “Minus” theme. It’s stripped down and basic, with emphasis on the content, eye-catching sidebar elements (including mailing list sign-up) and a footer advertisement. The theme also provides a useful related posts section, attractive comments and scrolling social share buttons to encourage interaction. I think HillbillyHousewife is the best example I’ve seen of a site built with Thrive Themes and very few additional plugins.
2022 update: Hillbilly Housewife still uses the Minus theme from Thrive!
2. ArmchairEmpire.com
Thrive Theme: Squared
Plugins: Thrive Visual Editor (now Thrive Architect), Thrive Headline Optimizer
Traffic Estimate: 269,000 monthly pageviews
Homepage Speed: 3.89 seconds to load 4MB
Hosting: Linode
ArmchairEmpire.com is an example of the Squared theme in action on an affiliate content website. The homepage has been customized with Thrive Architect to provide simple links to review categories and a blog grid. The site also makes use of the WP Review Pro plugin to create attractive product reviews.
2022 update: Armchair Empire still uses the Squared theme from Thrive!
3. DuctTapeMarketing.com
Thrive Theme: Squared
Plugins: Thrive Visual Editor (now Thrive Architect), Thrive Leads
Traffic Estimate: 265,000 monthly pageviews
Speed: 1.34 seconds to load 1.1MB
Hosting: routed through Cloudflare
DuctTapeMarketing.com is an excellent example of a well-designed agency website, built using Thrive’s Squared theme. The site is run by marketing consultant John Jantsch and doesn’t diverge much from Squared’s demo framework (view the demo here), which is great because it’s a very nice-looking, functional, fast website. The site also uses Thrive Architect to design attractive pages for the site’s podcast episodes (for example, this one).
2022 update: Duct Tape Marketing still uses the Squared theme from Thrive!
4. TheSingingZone.com
Thrive Theme: Pressive
Plugins: Thrive Visual Editor (now Thrive Architect), Thrive Headline Optimizer, Thrive Ultimatum
Traffic Estimate: 80,000 monthly pageviews
Speed: 4.62 seconds to load 1.6MB
Hosting: routed through Cloudflare
TheSingingZone.com is a nice example of a Thrive Themes site selling a digital course (the site is run by Per Bristow, a voice and performance coach based in Los Angeles). The site also uses Thrive Architect to create a couple of landing pages for Per’s course and events, and a 2-step opt-in form for email address collection (this comes as one of the theme’s features).
Get Pressive Theme from Thrive Themes (with Thrive membership)
2022 update: The Singing Zone now uses the Genesis theme.
5. DogsNaturallyMagazine.com
Thrive Theme: Rise
Plugins: Thrive Visual Editor (now Thrive Architect)
Traffic Estimate: 1.5 million monthly pageviews
Homepage Speed: 2.98 seconds to load 3.8MB
Hosting: GoDaddy
DogsNaturallyMagazine.com is a very successful site built on the Rise theme from Thrive. A portal for everything connected to natural dog health care, the site also uses Thrive Architect to create compelling landing pages.
2022 update: Dogs Naturally Magazine now uses the Genesis theme.
Thrive Themes: is it worth it?
There are some big names in the WordPress theme game, but Thrive Themes have gained an almost cult following in the last 3 years or so, and it’s no surprise as to why; the themes look good, perform well and are extremely easy to setup and customize (with color pickers and page templates etc).
I’m not going to lie, I personally choose to use GeneratePress Premium for this site, because it’s one of the fastest WordPress themes, very easy to customize and only costs $59 for unlimited sites (there’s also a basic free version available). Here are some GeneratePress examples and GeneratePress Premium examples for you to look at.
I hope these 5 examples of actual, real, working WordPress sites that currently use a Thrive Theme are useful in helping you make a decision about which theme to use on your site. If you want to ask me anything specific, drop me a Tweet (@tomtheseoguy) or leave a comment below.
P.S Some of the landing pages created on the above sites were made using Thrive Architect (formerly Thrive Content Builder/Thrive Landing Pages), for more details, read my full review here (I use Thrive Architect as a plugin alongside my Genesis theme).
P.P.S. Here are some examples of the Thrive Architect plugin in action. And don’t forget to take a look at Thrive’s latest theme, Thrive Theme Builder (here’s my review).