If you’re considering using Thrive Theme Builder as the backbone for your WordPress website, you probably want to see how it looks and performs in the real world first.
Sure, you could look at the demo site, but dummy content doesn’t reveal the full picture.
Instead, let’s take a closer look at 5 live websites built on Thrive Theme Builder in 2021. I’ve included a link to each site so you can experience it for yourself, along with its page load time (Pingdom website speed test), where they’re hosted and any relevant additional plugins they’re using.
Let’s get straight to it.
1. ActiveGrowth.com
Theme: Thrive Theme Builder
Plugins: Thrive Architect, Thrive Apprentice and Thrive Leads
Speed: 1.56 seconds to load 1.5MB
Hosting: WPX Hosting
ActiveGrowth.com is the personal website of Thrive Themes founder Shane Melaugh, so it makes sense that he’s switched over to his company’s latest theme to show it off.
In my Thrive Theme Builder review, I looked at ActiveGrowth.com and noted its slow loading times. Some of this was down to large image files on the homepage, but Thrive Theme Builder took some of the blame. I’m pleased to see that, according to Pingdom, ActiveGrowth’s homepage now loads in just 1.56 seconds.
The site also uses Thrive Architect (a visual page builder), Thrive Apprentice (online course builder) and Thrive Leads (email list builder).
2. ModernManimal.com
Theme: Thrive Theme Builder
Plugins: Thrive Architect, Thrive Apprentice, Thrive Leads and Thrive Ultimatum
Speed: 1.55 seconds to load 1.9MB
Hosting: WPX Hosting
ModernManimal.com is lifestyle blog, created by Matt Totten. The blog hasn’t been updated in a while, which is probably because Matt now spends his time writing for the Thrive Themes blog.
ModernManimal looks strikingly similar to ActiveGrowth (“half smile and fold your arms!”) and it’s a good example of a personal branding website, with very clear newsletter CTAs.
3. GreenLanternGolf.com
Theme: Thrive Theme Builder
Plugins: Thrive Architect, Thrive Ultimatum and Thrive Headline Optimizer
Speed: 0.98 seconds to load 1.9MB
Hosting: SiteGround
GreenLanternGolf.com is a golf blog run by Justin Blair. Justin runs GreenLanternGolf as a side business and has almost 200 posts on golf technique and equipment.
I’m particularly impressed with how fast Justin’s site loads: the homepage loads 1.9MB in under a second! That’s an enviable speed score, and I’m sure it helps GreenLanternGolf perform well in terms of SEO and customer experience.
GreenLanternGolf demonstrates how Thrive Theme Builder can be the backbone is a fast-loading website
4. ZanZen.nl
Theme: Thrive Theme Builder
Plugins: Thrive Architect, Thrive Ultimatum, Thrive Headline Optimizer and Thrive Apprentice
Speed: 2.28 seconds to load 2.2MB
Hosting: WPX Hosting
ZanZen.nl is a Dutch spirituality blog, run by Hans van Zanten (see what he did with the name there). ZanZen provides online courses (using Thrive Apprentice of course ) and promotes Hans’ coaching services.
I really like how Hans has designed the header of his blog posts that include embedded music. The music player is nicely integrated into the hero image.
5. Aquatex.dk
Theme: Thrive Theme Builder
Plugins: Thrive Architect, Thrive Ultimatum, Thrive Headline Optimizer and Thrive Apprentice
Speed: 5.22 seconds to load 2MB
Hosting: SiteGround
Aquatex.dk is a Danish water analysis company. Unlike the other site examples I’ve covered in this post, Aquatex is a physical company, servicing water systems across Denmark. Their website is used to promote their services with testimonials and collect leads.
Aquatex makes nice use of Thrive’s content blocks and has a handy lead capture box to collect information form potential clients (I’ve auto-translated the below image into English so it’s clearer).
Thrive Theme Builder: is it worth it?
If you’re going to invest in a new WordPress theme, Thrive Theme Builder is a solid choice. It’s very versatile and, using drag-and-drop editing, you can customize it to look and perform however you need it to. If you need to know more about what Thrive Theme Builder is and how it’s different from other WordPress theme, read my Thrive Theme Builder review.
In my opinion, there’s a trade off to be made between website speed and features. If you need nothing but a simple, fast-loading website, my number one theme recommendation is GeneratePress (it came top in my analysis of the fastest WordPress themes).
If you want to completely control the design of your WordPress theme, without knowing anything about CSS or PHP, then Thrive Theme Builder is an excellent choice. The examples I covered prove that Thrive Theme Builder can be fast-loading (GreenLanternGolf.com loaded in under 1 second), which is great news for potential users.
Thrive Theme Builder costs $97 for a single site license ($127 for a 5-site license), which is higher than most WordPress themes. You can get a much better deal if you become a Thrive Themes member (from $19/month, paid annually), because you’ll get access to Thrive Theme Builder plus all of Thrive’s other plugins (Thrive Architect, Thrive Leads etc).
If you want to see what Thrive Architect can do, take a look at these Thrive Architect examples, too.
Overall, Thrive Themes has a lot of happy members, and, after 2 years in development, Thrive Theme Builder doesn’t disappoint.
If you’re on the fence about about using Thrive Theme Builder, I recommend checking out Thrive’s guide to building a conversion optimized website from scratch. It takes you through a step-by-step process using Thrive Theme Builder and it’s a great way for you to figure out if it’s the right theme for you.