The difference between Genesis and Kadence WordPress Themes
It’s hard to choose the right theme for your website. There are so many options out there; how do you make a decision?
Genesis and Kadence are two of the most popular WordPress themes available. They’re both great choices, but they each have their strengths and weaknesses. Let’s take a look at the differences between these two popular themes.
Why Genesis and Kadence are two of the most popular WordPress themes on the market
When it comes to choosing a theme for WordPress, you’ll want to look at how user-friendly the design is, how customizable it is, and whether or not it has all of the features you need. You also have to consider whether or not people will view your website on mobile devices.
Both Genesis and Kadence are extremely popular choices, with a large user base. Many people have already purchased these themes (they’re not free), and they will likely continue to be very popular choices for years to come.
Genesis has been around for over ten years, while Kadence is a newer theme that was built on top of Gutenberg. There are some key differences between these themes that you should know before making your final decision.
About the Genesis WordPress Theme
Genesis has been around for over 10 years and has been updated multiple times. It’s a very popular theme framework and has been used by many successful bloggers because of its solid build and fast performance.
Genesis is known as a framework, rather than just a stand-alone theme. It requires the use of child themes. This means that you will need two separate themes for your website—the Genesis Framework and one child theme.
In order for Genesis to work properly, the parent theme must be installed first. You then have to activate it and go through a few steps to choose your child theme.
To customize things like fonts and headers, etc. in Genesis, you may need to be comfortable using a bit of coding. There are several child themes to choose from that have some flexibility for customization, but anything beyond the build-in basics will require some behind-the-scenes work on your part.
About the Kadence WordPress Theme
Kadence was built on top of the Gutenberg Editor (which uses blocks) and is still in its early stages. It’s a new theme framework and hasn’t been updated that many times yet but already has a lot of great functionality and will continue to evolve over time.
Like Genesis, Kadence is also known as a framework, which means you may need to purchase a child theme to go with the free Kadence framework if you want anything beyond a very basic site.
Kadence is very easy to customize and is very user-friendly, even for the beginning blogger.
The differences between these two themes
There are a few key differences between Genesis and Kadence that you should consider before choosing the right theme for your website.
1. Flexibility on Your Homepage
Genesis’ homepage allows you to use widgets, which means you’ll have more flexibility in publishing content over several different areas of your site template. The original design was built without the Gutenberg Editor in mind, and you can even add custom widgets to the homepage. On top of that, Genesis is compatible with several other popular plugins, so you don’t have to worry about losing out on features if you decide to switch to a different theme down the road.
Kadence’s homepage looks more modern and flat compared to Genesis. It comes with the new Gutenberg Editor, so you’ll be able to customize your page layout with dynamic blocks. You can add custom unique content (images, maps, text) throughout each block. This is a great perk if you need creative flexibility when building out your website’s homepage or landing pages. There are also many child themes now for Kadence, which will make this process even easier.
2. User-friendly design options
When you choose Kadence, it comes with built in flexibility to change things on your site easily, like fonts, headers, colors, images sizes, etc. It also comes with several already made for you blocks that you can add to your pages and posts. These are sections you can add easily to include things like testimonials, galleries, and more.
In contrast, Genesis offers a lot of customizations but does through some coding knowledge and the use of widgets. You might need to look for additional plugins that will allow you to edit specific elements of your site. That is because the traditional blog post and page layout (found in Genesis) are not designed with the Gutenberg Editor in mind yet, which can cause some compatibility issues with third-party plugins.
3. Child themes
Genesis is really only compatible with child themes, so if you choose one of the well-known ones, you’ll be covered. If you’re just getting started blogging and need some flexibility when it comes to design changes, then a child theme might be a good fit for you.
On the other hand, Kadence can be used with both parent and child themes. You can’t add widgets to the homepage, but you will have more flexibility with your design options in general.
4. Support for other plugins and services
Genesis is compatible with all the popular WordPress plugins, including WooCommerce and JetPack. Genesis also works with several e-commerce platforms, like Shopify and Easy Digital Downloads.
Kadence is compatible with popular plugins like WooCommerce and WPML, but it doesn’t have the support of third-party services that Genesis currently has. In some cases, you may need to purchase a separate plugin or service if you want to expand your site’s functions in certain ways.
Benefits of each theme
The Genesis theme is one of the most customizable themes on the market. You can customize the layout of your site, fonts, colors, logos, and more. This means that you can get your website looking exactly how you want it to look.
There are also tons of different features that come with Genesis. You get value for your money because there are so many design choices that come with this theme, as well as technical features like custom widgets, compatibility with other plugins, drag-and-drop content blocks on your homepage, and so much more.
The benefits of Kadence are that you get a sleek, clean design with the new Gutenberg editor. This makes it easier than ever to edit your website content. You can also create unique designs by using custom blocks for your header and page layouts that are both easy to use and completely customizable.
With Kadence, you’ll be able to easily give your website a fresh and modern look that will make it stand out among all your competitors. You’ll also be able to add third-party plugins and services, along with custom blocks for unique content.
The disadvantages of each theme
Genesis is a very complex theme. It comes with so many design choices and customization options that you might feel overwhelmed when starting out. It can also be hard to go back and make changes to the layout of your website.
With Kadence, you’ll notice that it is a bit less flexible than other WordPress themes. There are only a few design choices available for this theme, so you might not be able to achieve the same level of customization as with some others.
Both Genesis and Kadence are great themes, but they’re designed for different users. Kadence is a good choice if you need something that’s easy to use and comes with fewer design choices. Genesis is more difficult to set up, but it has so many customization options and site features that you can’t get anywhere else.
Ultimately, it all comes down to your preferences and your site’s needs.
Which Theme Should I Choose for My Website or Blog?
Both themes have their own benefits and downsides. Before you purchase your web site’s theme, be sure to consider these common questions:
What is the focus of my website?
Your website should reflect your business or blog. For example, if you’re a photography company, it would make more sense to go with Kadence because you can design a homepage that uses professional and modern images. If your website is more of an informational blog, then it would make sense to go with the Genesis theme because you’ll have more options for layouts and widgets on the homepage.
What do I want my site to look like?
Take the time to think about how you want your site to look and function. Whether you sketch it out on paper or look at other sites and make a note of what features you like the best, it’s important to take the time to consider the experience you want users to have when coming to your site.
Once you know the most important factors for you, it will be easier to review child themes and find one that most closely matches your vision.
What are my technical skills?
It’s also important to consider how comfortable you feel with your skills in setting up either theme. If you’re a beginner, the Kadence theme’s more basic layout might be easier to get up and running. If you have at least a little experience with website design, then Genesis might be a better choice for your site as it has many customization options that will allow you to make it truly unique.
Conclusion
Genesis is more customizable with design choices and features like custom widgets, compatibility with other plugins, drag-and-drop content blocks on your homepage, and so much more. The benefits of Kadence include its sleek modern look as well as adding third-party services through custom blocks to create unique designs. Both have their own advantages, but it all comes down to what kind of website or blog you want.
We recommend using Restored 316 child themes to go with either Genesis or Kadence, so take a look at what they have to offer and to decide what will work the best for you.
Don’t forget to check the preview for each theme you are considering on mobile as well since for most bloggers, the majority of their traffic comes from mobile devices.