If you are searching for a WordPress theme that can handle virtually any project without forcing you to learn a new interface for each client, the Total – Responsive Multi-Purpose WordPress Theme from WPExplorer is a serious contender. Designed to bridge the gap between powerful customization and user-friendly operation, Total leverages the live WordPress Customizer alongside the WPBakery Page Builder (included free) to give you complete control over your site’s appearance. Whether you are building a corporate portal, a personal blog, an online store, or a portfolio for a creative agency, this theme provides the structural backbone to make it happen. With over 58,000 sales on ThemeForest, it has proven itself as a reliable, scalable solution for both beginners and seasoned developers.
Key Features
- Live Customizer Control: Instead of a traditional, clunky admin panel, Total uses the WordPress Customizer. You can adjust colors, fonts, layouts, and header styles while seeing the changes in real time, which eliminates guesswork and speeds up your workflow.
- WPBakery Page Builder Included: The theme comes bundled with a full, unmodified version of the WPBakery Page Builder. This gives you a true drag-and-drop experience for building unique page layouts without touching a single line of code.
- Exclusive Builder Elements: Total includes over 70 custom elements not found in the standard WPBakery plugin. These include icon boxes, pricing tables, animated text, testimonials sliders, and blog grids. Notably, many of these elements also work inside the Elementor builder, giving you flexibility in your preferred page builder.
- Dynamic Templates System: You can create global templates for your blog posts, custom post types, and archive pages. This means you design a single template and apply it across hundreds of posts, ensuring brand consistency and saving immense amounts of time.
- Card Builder & Pre-Built Card Styles: The theme offers a unique Card Builder that lets you design custom entry styles for your blog, portfolio, or staff grids using WPBakery, Elementor, or Gutenberg. You can also choose from dozens of preset card designs to get started instantly.
- 11 Header Styles & Header Builder: Choose from predefined header layouts such as vertical, centered logo, or bottom menu. For advanced needs, the Header Builder allows you to create a completely custom header using the page builder of your choice.
- Built-in Demo Importer: Import any of the live demo sites—including content, settings, widgets, and sliders—in under one minute. You can selectively import only the sample data, customizer settings, or widgets, giving you a head start without unwanted bloat.
- WooCommerce & Plugin Compatibility: Total is fully compatible with WooCommerce for e-commerce, bbPress for forums, BuddyPress for social networks, The Events Calendar, LearnDash, and major SEO plugins like Yoast. It also supports WPML, TranslatePress, and Polylang for multilingual sites.
- Font Manager & Color Palette: Register Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts, or upload custom fonts directly from the admin panel. The Color Palette system lets you define a site-wide color scheme that becomes selectable in the Customizer and builder elements.
- Developer-Friendly Architecture: Built with modern CSS custom properties and a custom CSS framework, the theme is lightweight and easy to extend. It includes over 600 online code snippets, theme hooks, and filters for advanced modifications.
Who Is This For? Use Cases
Freelancers and Agencies
If you manage multiple client websites, the Total – Responsive Multi-Purpose WordPress Theme is an ideal foundation. You can master one theme and use it across diverse projects—from law firms to restaurants—by importing a relevant demo and tweaking the settings. The ability to disable unused features via the Theme Panel keeps each client site lean and fast.
Small Business Owners
Business owners who need a professional website without hiring a developer will appreciate the live customizer and the one-click demo importer. You can have a fully functional corporate site, complete with a blog and contact form, up and running in an afternoon.
E-commerce Entrepreneurs
With built-in WooCommerce support, custom shop layouts, and the ability to design product pages using the Dynamic Template system, Total is a strong choice for online stores. The responsive design ensures your product images and checkout process look great on mobile devices.
Bloggers and Content Creators
Bloggers can take advantage of the pre-built card styles, multiple blog layouts (masonry, grid, standard), and the local scroll feature for creating single-page sites. The theme’s SEO readiness and schema.org markup help your content get discovered.
Developers and Advanced Users
For those who want to push the limits, Total offers a child theme, extensive hooks and filters, and a CSS framework that allows for custom card creation and template overrides. The developer mode header style gives you a blank slate to build from scratch.
Technical Details & Compatibility
The Total – Responsive Multi-Purpose WordPress Theme is built on modern coding standards and is compatible with the latest versions of WordPress. It uses valid HTML5 and CSS3, with CSS custom properties for efficient styling. The theme is fully responsive and retina-ready, ensuring crisp images on high-resolution displays.
Key compatibility points include:
- Page Builders: Full support for WPBakery (included free), Elementor (many exclusive elements work natively), and Gutenberg (some elements available as custom blocks).
- E-commerce: WooCommerce compatibility with custom styling for product pages, carts, and checkout.
- Community & Learning: bbPress, BuddyPress, and LearnDash are fully supported.
- Events: The Events Calendar (Tribe Events) integration.
- SEO & Performance: Built-in schema.org markup, Yoast SEO support, and options to minify JavaScript and disable unused features to reduce page load times.
- Multilingual: WPML certified, plus support for TranslatePress and Polylang. Included .po/.mo files for Spanish, German, French, Russian, and several other languages.
- Bundled Plugins: Slider Revolution and WPBakery Page Builder are included at no extra cost.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Exceptional Flexibility: With 11 header styles, multiple layout options, and a built-in Card Builder, you can create almost any design without custom code.
- Time-Saving Demo Importer: Import a full demo in under a minute, including images, widgets, and settings. This is a massive productivity boost for freelancers.
- Exclusive Elements: Over 70 custom WPBakery elements—many also available for Elementor—give you functionality you would normally need separate premium plugins for.
- Strong Developer Support: The theme includes a CSS framework, over 600 code snippets, and direct support from the developer, AJ Clarke.
- Excellent Value: At $59.00, you get two premium plugins (WPBakery and Slider Revolution) plus a theme that handles corporate sites, blogs, and stores equally well.
- Proven Track Record: With over 58,000 sales and consistent updates, the theme is mature and stable.
Cons
- Learning Curve for Beginners: While the live customizer is intuitive, the sheer number of options (header styles, card builder, dynamic templates) can be overwhelming for absolute beginners.
- WPBakery Dependency: Although Elementor is partially supported, the deepest integration and exclusive elements are designed for WPBakery. If you are an Elementor purist, you may find some features less accessible.
- Demo Images Are Not Licensed for Commercial Use: The images imported from demos are sourced from free stock photo sites, but you should verify their licenses if you plan to use them on a commercial client site.
- Premium Add-ons Not Included: Slider Revolution’s premium template library and WPBakery’s template library are not included; you would need separate licenses for those features.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Total compatible with the latest version of WordPress and PHP 8?
Yes. The Total – Responsive Multi-Purpose WordPress Theme is regularly updated to support the latest WordPress core updates and PHP 8.x. The developer, WPExplorer, maintains a strong update history, and the theme is tested with current versions of WooCommerce, Elementor, and other major plugins.
Can I use Total with Elementor instead of WPBakery?
Yes, you can use Elementor as your primary page builder. Total has made many of its exclusive elements (such as icon boxes, pricing tables, and testimonials) available for use inside the Elementor builder. However, the deepest integration, including the Header Builder and some advanced dynamic template features, is optimized for WPBakery. You can switch between builders, but for the best experience, WPBakery is recommended.
Does the demo importer work on a localhost or staging site?
Yes, the built-in demo importer works on localhost, staging, and production environments. The import process is server-independent and typically completes in under one minute. You can choose to import only the sample data, customizer settings, widgets, or sliders, which is useful if you want the design structure without the demo content.
Final Verdict
The Total – Responsive Multi-Purpose WordPress Theme by WPExplorer is a powerhouse that justifies its status as one of the most popular themes on ThemeForest. With over 58,000 sales and a 5-star rating, it has been battle-tested by thousands of users across countless industries. Its strength lies in its balance: it offers the depth that developers need—hooks, filters, a CSS framework, and dynamic templates—while still being accessible to non-technical users through the live customizer and one-click demo imports. The inclusion of WPBakery and Slider Revolution at a price point of $59.00 makes it an exceptional value, especially when you consider that similar functionality often requires multiple premium plugins. If you are looking for a single theme that can handle a corporate website, a WooCommerce store, a blogger’s portfolio, and a membership site without forcing you to learn a new system each time, Total is a wise investment. Purchase it today, import a demo, and start building a site that looks custom-crafted in minutes.