Kadence vs. GeneratePress: Which is Better?

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Starting a niche website or blog is a lot of work. You begin with finding the right niche, opt for a good web host, then go after a brandable domain name, and then comes the WordPress theme selection. However, if you find yourself in the middle of a Kadence vs. GeneratePress tug of war, then someone got to step up and help you out.

There is no doubt that both Kadence and GeneratePress are two of the best WordPress themes for building an authority blog or starting a niche website. After using the Kadence theme for two years, I’ve switched to the GeneratePress theme. I could be wrong about this, but I think GeneratePress is a better WordPress theme than Kadence.

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It doesn’t mean I won’t test out the Kadence theme in the future. I’ll surely get back to the Kadence WordPress theme and see how it works out for me.

Let me be honest with you, blogging or niche website building hasn’t been the same. Now you have to look through the core web vital, page loading speed, and GTMetrix scores before you expect Google to show some love.

Anyway, I’d dig deeper into various aspects of a WordPress theme that would help you determine which WP theme is better for you.

So without any further ado, let’s get right into it.

Kadence vs. GeneratePress: Key Factors to Determine the Difference

The main difference between the Kadence and GeneratePress WordPress themes is that GeneratePress is quite affordable as compared to Kadence. Furthermore, my testing showed that GeneratePress is faster, easier, and more reliable as compared to Kadence.

Anyway, there are some key factors to keep in mind while choosing a WordPress theme for your blog or niche website:

  1. PageSpeed Insights
  2. Core Web Vitals
  3. Multiple Layout Styles
  4. Design Customization
  5. Admin Panel
  6. Built-in Functions

Let’s discuss them in detail:

1. PageSpeed Insights

Google PageSpeed Insights is the number one resource for testing your website speed. Once you put your site through PageSpeed Insights, it thoroughly investigates your website performance and provides you with a report on your site performance for both mobile and desktop screens. The ideal score for any page or website is between 90 to 100.

One of the reasons I switched to the GeneratePress theme is the PageSpeed Insights scores. Those numbers significantly improved after I made the switch. I had used Divi, Splash, and several other themes before sticking with Kadence for a while, but then, I finally moved to GeneratePress.

2. Core Web Vitals

The core web vital includes First ContentFul Paint (FCP), First Input Delay (FID), Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). These website performance metrics determine how fast, appropriate, and responsive your website pages are for the visitors.

You can check out the core web vital scores in the Google PageSpeed Insights tool. Make sure that your pages don’t fall below the 90 scores. Otherwise, you’d start to see errors in the core web vitals section in the Search Console.

3. Multiple Layout Styles

Multiple layout styles mean you have a wide range of website layout templates to choose from, meaning if you’re using the free version of GeneratePress, you can’t enable the blog-style layout. Instead, you only get a generic, large-featured image template.

Most premium themes have multiple layout style options, even if you choose a WordPress theme from Themeforest. However, I learned that when you opt for a professionally-built WordPress theme by a theme company, it can’t get better than that.

One of the perks is that you get theme updates from time to time, especially if you’re a premium user. Not only does it enhance your site performance, but it also improves your website management.

4. Design Customization

Design customization is the ability to adjust, alter, and innovate the overall design (of the website). Since I have been using the premium version of GeneratePress, so this might be a factor. In most free themes or freemium versions, you don’t get much room for making noticeable design customization.

I haven’t had a chance to use the Kadence premium version yet, so it might be unfair to comment on the design customization ability. As far as the GeneratePress premium version is concerned, it was top-notch when it comes to design customization.

5. Admin Panel

An admin panel is an excellent tool for managing a WordPress theme. Most free and paid WordPress themes come with admin panels now. No admin panel means you’re on your own when it comes to making theme or design customization on the WordPress site.

The admin panel provides you with all the features of the WordPress theme at your fingertips. GeneratePress does have an admin panel feature that includes several options such as site identity, layout, typography, colors, menus, widgets, additional CSS, and more.

6. Built-in Functions

There are several built-in functions in some WordPress themes that make your job easier. GeneratePress has Import/Export feature that allows you to export and import your layout design. It means that you can export the layout file and import that file to another GeneratePress-based site to copy and paste your site layout.

Similarly, you can reset the GeneratePress theme if you want to discard all the customization. It’s also true that most WordPress themes offer built-in functions in the premium versions. So the free versions might not have a lot to offer.

Kadence vs. GeneratePress: Which is Better?

Kadence vs. GeneratePress: Which is Better?

Before concluding, I must say that I’m a big fan of both of these WordPress themes. However, I’m more inclined toward GeneratePress. I have used Kadence for quite some time, but I might be sticking with GeneratePress for the next few years.

Let me spill the beans for you.

You should know that theme companies occasionally roll out updates, and they strive to make the themes better and more reliable for users.

I found GeneratePress faster than Kadence, but it doesn’t mean I don’t like Kadence. Kadence is one of my favorite WordPress themes, but I want to stick to GeneratePress for at least a couple of years before moving to another one.

The Kadence premium version is a bit pricey compared to GeneratePress. Whereas, Generate is cost-effective, faster, and easy to use for everyone. At this point, I believe that GeneratePress is a better WordPress theme than any of its competitors on the market.

Above all, my page speed insights score got better after switching to GeneratePress.

If you don’t believe me, then take a look at the screenshots:

StartedBlogging.com PageSpeed Insights: Kadence Theme

Desktop:

Mobile:

StartedBlogging.com PageSpeed Insights: GeneratePress Theme

Desktop:

Mobile:

So numbers speak for themselves.

Isn’t it?

Let me know what you think of these WordPress themes, or else, here’s the better question:

Which one of these WordPress themes is better than the other?

Feel free to drop a comment below.