Journal vs Fastor Theme

I think those 2 themes will be the most purchased in 2017. It you have installed them, can you tell which one is better. Both have one page checkout, blog and sticky menu bar.

Who is faster loading (I think Journal has 500k java script on front page that is quite a lot)?
Which one is more compatible with 3rd party extensions?

Both themes have their own structure and not compatible with most extensions. Actually, this is pretty normal and you should always consider customization of VQMods for your template.

In terms of coding, I thing Fastor is programmed badly. It looks very amateurish to me, back end is VERY slow, settings are saved in a weird way etc. But I am a developer, so I have a little twisted way of estimating web applications. In general, Fastor works fine. It just could be GREATLY improved and optimized.

Journal, on the other hand, may simply not fit your store specialization. You definitely don't want to sell cosmetics and beauty products with Journal, since its style is quite unfitting. So Fastor will be your choice here.

lz1nud wrote:I think those 2 themes will be the most purchased in 2017. It you have installed them, can you tell which one is better. Both have one page checkout, blog and sticky menu bar.

Who is faster loading (I think Journal has 500k java script on front page that is quite a lot)?
Which one is more compatible with 3rd party extensions?

If you would have said between Journal and Shoppica, I would understand your concern to some extent, but Fastor, really???

Journal 14312 sales / release date: 13/03/2013
Shoppica 6185 sales / release date 23/11/2011
Fastor 1852 sales / release date 19/11/2015

Now your original question regarding faster loading, is really related to what you have in your front page...
The more carousel, pictures (size and formatting), widgets you have the longer it will obviously take. There is no escape from that. It is like asking how long is a piece of string.
As far as compatibility goes, if the extension doesn't affect the catalog side of things (admin only) they are normally fine. If they do affect the catalog side of OC, most of the times is just a matter of adjusting the TPL files in default or just copy them across the template theme.
Other people have mentioned here before that, normally if the extension doesn't work in a custom theme, chances are they won't work well in the default Opencart theme either...
In my personal experience here in OC I found out that to be pretty accurate

You are asking which one is better... For who? For you or for me? I don't know what your needs are, so I guess you should do your home work and decide for yourself. If you are asking which one is better value for money, then, just look at the sales figures above.... As far as easy to use I can only tell you that Journal (the one I'm using), took few hours to get use to the admin layout.


@thekrotec

Journal, on the other hand, may simply not fit your store specialization. You definitely don't want to sell cosmetics and beauty products with Journal, since its style is quite unfitting

I don't really get which style are you referring too. Considering that the theme is almost entirely customisable, if you have the design skills and the time, the sky is the limit.
Then again, considering that the majority of beauty products are today sold either on Ebay, Facebook or WP , who am I to judge...

These are the 15 basic layout setup you get with the latest version anyway:

https://www.journal-theme.com/

Most people are happy with those (judging by the web sites layout we can see around), but there is nothing stopping you starting from scratch and create a really unique site. You can always use custom CSS and Javascript within the theme...

Burt65 wrote:I don't really get which style are you referring too. Considering that the theme is almost entirely customisable, if you have the design skills and the time, the sky is the limit.
Then again, considering that the majority of beauty products are today sold either on Ebay, Facebook or WP , who am I to judge... These are the 15 basic layout setup you get with the latest version anyway:

https://www.journal-theme.com/

Most people are happy with those (judging by the web sites layout we can see around), but there is nothing stopping you starting from scratch and create a really unique site. You can always use custom CSS and Javascript within the theme...

Like I said, each store has its own specialization and no, Journal doesn't fit all of them. Also no, most people don't want to mess with CSS too much (even me, a developer) to make certain theme fit their needs. This is why there're many different themes on the market and not everybody purchases Journal. All their 15 basic layouts does NOT fit a store, which sells cosmetics or health and beauty products. Fastor on the other hand fits perfectly for this task, despite that it's badly programmed.

Like I said, each store has its own specialization and no, Journal doesn't fit all of them. Also no, most people don't want to mess with CSS too much (even me, a developer) to make certain theme fit their needs. This is why there're many different themes on the market and not everybody purchases Journal. All their 15 basic layouts does NOT fit a store, which sells cosmetics or health and beauty products. Fastor on the other hand fits perfectly for this task, despite that it's badly programmed.

Off course Journal doesn't fit them all. That's why is entirely customisable. The 15 basic layout a more of a lazy solution for some customers and developers that don't want to explore or learn the full extension.

You don't need to mess with or learn CSS, all you need is to leave a ticket to DA with your requirements and if achievable they will do it for you. Quite simple actually... Not any different from what some of the developer that sell extension here do with their customer

The fact that in your opinion, Fastor its badly programmed, has really no bearing with the OP...
But since we are here, I would like to know what is it the Fastor has, that does improve sales of cosmetics & Beauty products over Journal?

I think this kind of detailed info, would help more the users around here...

Burt65 wrote:Off course Journal doesn't fit them all. That's why is entirely customisable. The 15 basic layout a more of a lazy solution for some customers and developers that don't want to explore or learn the full extension.

You don't need to mess with or learn CSS, all you need is to leave a ticket to DA with your requirements and if achievable they will do it for you. Quite simple actually... Not any different from what some of the developer that sell extension here do with their customer

You probably don't understand the difference between general layout and colors. Nobody will rework the whole template for you specifically, only change a few basic things maybe. This will NOT make Journal more suitable for certain stores, no matter how you like it.

Burt65 wrote:But since we are here, I would like to know what is it the Fastor has, that does improve sales of cosmetics & Beauty products over Journal?

But I already said that multiple times, that general layout of Fastor is more suitable. It's just is. You either understand it or you don't. How can I explain it to you? It's obvious for me, because I'm in this kind of business, but definitely not obvious for you. Just accept it. Or don't. I don't care,

There're better layouts for selling cars, another - for clothes, electronic devices, cosmetics etc. Of course there're tons of stores, who mix layouts or use absolutely unsuitable ones. But in general, when you start selling particular stuff you eventually install a more suitable template, which most store have. And it is NOT just colors, it's layout in general.

Burt65 wrote:I think this kind of detailed info, would help more the users around here...

How your questioning about Fastor being suitable for cosmetics and beauty shops will help? Topic starter didn't even mention, which products he is going to sell. I simply gave an example of the situation, when Fastor is more suitable solution.

thekrotek wrote: But I already said that multiple times, that general layout of Fastor is more suitable. It's just is. You either understand it or you don't. How can I explain it to you? It's obvious for me, because I'm in this kind of business, but definitely not obvious for you. Just accept it. Or don't. I don't care,

Oh... so Fastor is more suitable for not any particular reason other that because you said so....

And, because you say you are a developer your word is like the bible....

I get it... I though you were here to help the OC user with some tangible knowledge, but its ok...

No worries...

Back on topic...

Burt65 wrote:

thekrotek wrote: But I already said that multiple times, that general layout of Fastor is more suitable. It's just is. You either understand it or you don't. How can I explain it to you? It's obvious for me, because I'm in this kind of business, but definitely not obvious for you. Just accept it. Or don't. I don't care,

Oh... so Fastor is more suitable for not any particular reason other that because you said so....

And, because you say you are a developer your word is like the bible....

I get it... I though you were here to help the OC user with some tangible knowledge, but its ok...

No worries...

Back on topic...

Hello, do you think Journal is so customiseable that a developer could make it look like a custom theme?

I'm really used to it with all the modules and its settings and I already have a custom design waiting to be implemented, but I don't know if I should go completely "custom" or have them integrate it into a Journal theme.

What's your opinion?

I know the code would be a lot less bloated if we did the theme from scratch but I really don't want to find & buy every single module that the Journal theme has replaced in my OC installation ( I've paid tons for most of my extensions and I don't have a problem with it, but I'm afraid it's going to be like the site is starting from scratch and I can't do that )

I'm not sure I really understand what you are asking, but anyway here it goes...

Journal is a custom theme like all the others out there, but with some extra added functionality...

Opencart has it own theme (default). Journal is based on that and build on it. If you want a theme that looks completely different form the main stream, you will definitely need to hire a developer to adjust it, to your new/different requirements.

If you already have Journal and the changes you are after, are mainly cosmetics, then yes I would stick to it and just learn or pay someone to play with the Journal theme. If you are after changes, that are not part of the Original OC way of working, then I would start from scratch with a good developer

I guess what I'm saying is that Journal gives you a lot of options out of the box as far as customization, but obviously if your requirements are not part of those options then you either find a developer that has a good knowledge in both OC and what ever theme your shop is based on, or pay more and start from scratch to build a store based on what ever eCommerce you like and make it unique...

I would first get in touch with DA regarding your ideas, then you could also try the commercial support area that we have here:

viewforum.php?f=88

Burt65 wrote:I'm not sure I really understand what you are asking, but anyway here it goes...

Journal is a custom theme like all the others out there, but with some extra added functionality...

Opencart has it own theme (default). Journal is based on that and build on it. If you want a theme that looks completely different form the main stream, you will definitely need to hire a developer to adjust it, to your new/different requirements.

If you already have Journal and the changes you are after, are mainly cosmetics, then yes I would stick to it and just learn or pay someone to play with the Journal theme. If you are after changes, that are not part of the Original OC way of working, then I would start from scratch with a good developer

I guess what I'm saying is that Journal gives you a lot of options out of the box as far as customization, but obviously if your requirements are not part of those options then you either find a developer that has a good knowledge in both OC and what ever theme your shop is based on, or pay more and start from scratch to build a store based on what ever eCommerce you like and make it unique...

I would first get in touch with DA regarding your ideas, then you could also try the commercial support area that we have here:

viewforum.php?f=88

Hello and thanks for your answer.

I don't intend to change any OC functionality, my main goal is to have a completely custom made look on top of the Journal theme. Sort of maintaining Journal's functionality, because it's much more than just a theme, but with my own custom theme installed so the front-end is completely different. ( from the header, to the body part, as well as the categories, product pages and the footer, everything ).

I want to ( and will ) remain on OC since it's really handy for all tasks I want it to perform.

I contacted DA but they told me they don't deal with custom work and the two developers they told me to contact were unavailable.

journal have 4 columns, i dont know fastor have how many ? also features which one have more ? in journal i heard that we can save the templates we create . is it true? I need a faster theme anyway. Please help