What Is Happening With Kadence?

Issues

Kadence users are restless. Over the course of the past several weeks I’ve seen a number of Kadence users expressing unhappiness:

• Some people think that the additions to the Kadence Advanced Form Block were an unnecessary waste of time because there are lots of good form plugins available.
• Other people are saying that the designs in the templates library are outdated.
• Someone mentioned that you can’t import a footer template and have to use the footer builder.
• Another user said that it seemed like updates have stalled.
• Several people pointed out the less than ideal large number of rapid fix updates to Kadence Blocks.
• And some users reported that updates have spoiled their styled content.

What Has Changed Since I Started Using Kadence

Here is my take on these points. Note that this is just my opinion and I recognized that everyone’s situation is a bit different.

Three years ago when I switched to Kadence, the Kadence Theme was the most advanced theme available. It still is!

However, a lot of things have changed since then:

• Kadence Blocks Pro was released and got support for dynamic data
• The Kadence Theme Builder was released
• Kadence Starter Sites were released
• Kadence Child Theme Creator was released
• Kadence Cloud was released
• Kadence Cloud was extended to allow users to share and even sell Kadence templates and child themes
• Kadence is one of the few themes that got integration with Elementor global styles
• Kadence Conversions was released
• Kadence Shop Kit was released
• And more

I feel like I’ve gotten an incredible value for my purchase. There is so much, that I think of it as the “Kadence suite.” However, I don’t use everything that has been added.

The Developer’s Vision Shapes the Product

Every theme, every block collection, and every product is the result of the creator’s vision, along with feedback from users. My sense with the Kadence suite is that it is targeting small businesses, entrepreneurs, and content creators who need sites ranging from relatively simple to moderately complex, as well as the freelancers and agencies that serve that demographic. Kadence seems to be well balanced between advanced features and ease of use.

The Trade-Off for Having a Suite

The perception that “updates have stalled” is clearly wrong, but I imagine that updates to the part of the suite that you might care about most, or where your main pain point is, perhaps didn’t get updated first. I think we are in a state now where the suite is large enough that one or two components will be updated at a time and developer attention will rotate through the different parts in response to user feedback and the developers’ vision for the product’s future. That is the trade-off for having all the goodies vs the developer just focusing on one thing.

Issues with Recent Updates

This year Kadence Blocks have gotten a couple of big updates with the 3.0 and 3.1 releases. It is “blocks turn” for a big refresh. We want these updates because otherwise the software becomes dated and falls behind. Unfortunately, some people experienced styling loss during these updates and there were a number of small fixes rolled out. Also, the 3.1 Kadence Blocks update happened about the same time as WordPress 6.3 was released, and that version of WordPress introduced some changes in how CSS and JavaScript assets are handled, which resulted in issues for some users throughout WordPress. The Kadence and WordPress updates happening about the same time probably didn’t help.

Both of the big updates to Kadence Blocks and the 6.3 release of WordPress had beta periods when users could test out the changes. I know, who has time for beta testing? In most cases, for many sites, as long as issues are fixed quickly there is no melt down, though of course it is a pain to scurry around fixing things. However, if you have one or more high profile sites where there is no tolerance for anything going wrong, then you know that it is a best practice to test updates first.

An Advanced Forms Block?

Some people think that the new Advanced Form features were a waste of time. My thought is that 99% of the users of Kadence Blocks need a contact form and probably some kind of signup form. That functionality “fits” with the small business, entrepreneur, and content creator demographic. So, I could use a dedicated contact form plugin or a full forms plugin, but if the Advanced Form Block means that a significant number of users can eliminate those plugins, then it makes sense to me.

Dynamic Data Features

My main interest is in relation to dynamic data features. I’m looking for a Repeater Block and especially for the Query Loop Block. While writing this article I noticed that there is already documentation for the Repeater Block, so I guess that is coming soon. I hope that the Query Loop Block is not too far away.

The Template Library

In terms of the template library, we have heard in an interview with Torque Magazine that Kadence is preparing an AI driven wizard that will help you select, install, and customize your site’s templates, probably making Kadence, in this area, on the cutting edge. I imagine that they want to wait for that update before designing more templates, so that new templates can be used with the AI feature.

But I Need It Now

What happens if you need a feature that isn’t ready yet? The recommendation from experienced site builders is this: don’t put off projects in the hope that a pending feature will drop right away. Realistically, we have no control over when features will be released, and it has always been the case that site builders either don’t take jobs their tools can’t accommodate, or we use another tool when the requirements call for it. I know that can suck, but it is the way it has always been.

Beyond the Features List

It is clear that Kadence is working hard to deliver the best in class products.

Let’s pause and look beyond the feature lists. When I look at how the Kadence suite has evolved, I see an incredible amount of developer creativity and innovation. I see a team who communicates well and is very responsive to user feedback. I see a helpful and friendly community that has grown up around Kadence that is nurtured and appreciated by the team. Kadence is a WordPress success story and we all share in that.