Template Companies

-- HikaShop version -- : 4.6.2
-- Joomla version -- : 3.10.11

I'm looking to replace my aging template which is not HikaShop optimized.

The listing on the HikaShop page is quite old...is there another list of current templates made in the last year or two that anyone knows of?

Thank you

nicolas wrote: Hi,

Well, I guess that most template providers already have templates for HikaShop and those were released several years ago. In the last year, most template providers spent their time updating their templates to be compatible with Joomla 4, which is a big endeavour and thus, not many new templates were released since then.
For example, on themeforest.net/search/hikashop you can find many templates for HikaShop, and among them several which were updated in the past few months for that compatibility.

I think the biggest list is www.rcatheme.com/hikashop-templates/ with 36 templates for HikaShop, all compatible with Joomla 3 and Joomla 4.

Yep...been looking at RCA theme, but sadly the ones I like are all made either 2017 or 2019...nothing more recent I like, so I was looking elsewhere and not many people have HikaShop optimized templates. Over the years I've asked Rocketheme to do one, but they just don't see any need.

nicolas wrote: Well, I kind of agree with them. If I were to do a website with HikaShop, I wouldn't use a template optimized for HikaShop. While it looks nicer and it's easier in the short term, it's a big problem in the future as you're stuck with the template. If the template is not updated when we release changes in the HikaShop views, or if it isn't updated for Joomla 4, you'll have a hard time moving to something else. I prefer a template which doesn't override HikaShop's stuff. That way, when I update, it's pretty straight forward.

Regarding the RCA templates, all the ones listed on my link have been updated recently for Joomla 4. So I don't see a problem with using them, even if they were first made a few years ago. It would actually increase my confidence in them continuing supporting their template in the future.

Thank you Nicolas...so you think one NOT optimized for HikaShop is the best. I never thought of it like that with the updates. Reason I was considering an optimized one was because I have random image issues on mobile. I know MANY years ago I brought this up, and I think it was another member of the team said I had to go through some special "media" codes to make it look right and it's just beyond my capabilities. SO I was thinking an optimized one would be best for the display of products and categories.

I really like the Ivee theme from RCA theme, but it was first published in 2017. My template I have now was back in 2014 if I recall correctly, and Rockettheme doesn't have plans last I spoke with them to continue updating past J4 so I wanted to try and future proof myself as best as possible by getting the newest template I could that I liked.

Based on what you said...I guess I'm back to square one finding sometime I'd like. Aside from RCA Theme...is there another template manufacturer that you would recommend over anyone else for their support>

Thank you

nicolas wrote: Hi,

Future proofing is hard, especially for a template.
Joomla 5 is supposed to be released in a year. So when you pick a Joomla 4 template right now, you're gambling on whether the template will support Joomla 5.
The best is to use a template as simple as possible. The less bells and whistles it has, the easier it will be to migrate.
For example, a template like this kevinsguides.com/guides/webdev/joomla4/j...-templates/j4starter should be a brease to migrate to Joomla 5. There will probably be nothing to do. The problem is that it is very crude, without options to customize it. So you need to add CSS to it to make it look nicer.
But without knowledge on CSS, then I think your best bet is RCATheme. Their templates are well maintained, even the old ones, so I wouldn't be afraid about that. Also, I don't remember seeing issues between HikaShop and their templates, which proves that the templates are well thought of.

Thanks Nicolas...

So if I am reading what all you have said correctly, even though optimized for HikaShop templates are sometimes an issue due to their overrides for the views...the RCA Theme templates that are optimized should be ok?

I just want to make sure as I've gotten very used to the Gantry backend for placing things on the site, and they use that as well...so it's a bit of a win for me.

nicolas wrote: Hi,

Yes, that would be the conclusion. Now of course, I can say for sure that RCATheme will continue supporting their templates in the future. Even them can't say for sure what will happen down the line. But so far, they have a good track record.
That's why we have their templates listed first on our templates page: they are numerous, well-maintained and support is good.

Perfect...thank you very much sir!