ThriveCart and ThriveCart Learn Review
With so many checkout carts and course platforms out there, it can be really hard to decide which is the right option for you and your business.
ThriveCart* is a rising favorite in the online business space, and my platform of choice so in this article, I’m breaking down what I like, what I don’t and what you might want to consider if you’re thinking of getting this powerful tool for your business.
Overview of ThriveCart & ThriveCart Learn
ThriveCart* is a checkout cart software that allows you to create customized, fully designed checkout pages to sell your courses, digital products, physical products and even productized services. It’s a favorite software amongst online business owners because of it’s robust toolset, funnel-building options and flexible design interface.
And it’s available for a lifetime deal, at least for the next few months as they finally announced that deal will be ending at the end of 2023.
Meaning you pay once and never have to pay again, regardless of how many checkouts you create.
ThriveCart Learn* is the new fully integrated course platform that allows you to both sell and deliver your course or digital product right inside ThriveCart*. While there are still some limitations on the course platform, with the optional Learn Pro upgrade you can create lovely course experiences comparable to any other course platform on the market.
For a comparison with other course platforms, check out this blog post where I share the 9 most popular course platforms for course creators.
Best features of ThriveCart
1) Flexible cart & sales page design
Being able to customize your course or digital product checkout page to match your branding, show off your product and optimize for conversions is a huge plus for ThriveCart*. There are a few limitations with the design, but on the whole it’s very user friendly and flexible enough to work for most online business owners.
On top of being able to create checkout pages, I love that you can also create full sales pages right inside ThriveCart*! This means you can share all the information someone needs to want to buy your offer and have the checkout form on the same page, avoiding adding additional clicks and steps in the buying process.
I’ve particularly loved the sales page option when creating a stand-alone brand for a new offer, because it’s far easier to customize just one sales page in ThriveCart* than custom coding a new design in your website.
2) Integrated funnel options to sell bump offers, upsells & downsells
Once you’ve got someone interested in buying an offer, you have a great opportunity to offer complimentary things at the same time and allow them to add onto their purchase on the spot.
ThriveCart* lets you add one bump offer to each checkout or sales page, which is perfect for adding on a lower investment add on to your main offer - and can add up to some nice extra profit for you!
There are also robust upsell and downsell funnel options which are great for offering further suggested offers and deals to your new customer. The set up is a little fiddly, but I love that once you’ve designed an upsell or downsell page you like it’s really easy to duplicate that design into any funnel you create!
3) Easy integrations with your other systems
ThriveCart* natively integrates with most email marketing systems which makes fulfilling orders a breeze. I’ve even created free lead magnets in ThriveCart* to grow my list!
I’ve also explored adding a chat widget, pop-ups, analytics and more - all with a quick copy & paste of the tracking code.
4) Built-in course platform
ThriveCart Learn* is one of the newest - and best! - features to be added to ThriveCart* because having both your checkout and course platform on one system makes creating & delivering courses and digital products so much easier. Instead of having to connect up various software with Zapier or other automation, you can deliver your content with just a click inside your cart!
The course platform itself is simple but effective and with a few different layout options and customizable branding you can definitely make your course hub your own.
5) Easy affiliate program
A major plus for ThriveCart* is the super easy option to create an affiliate program and offer commissions for partners who sell your products. Affiliates can even access a general hub where they can find their affiliate links for all programs housed in ThriveCart* in once place, which I really appreciate as a regular promoter of products I like!
Worst features of ThriveCart & ThriveCart Learn
While overall I’m incredibly happy with my choice of ThriveCart* for my checkout and course platform, there are a few things that are worth considering if you’re on the fence.
While you do have a decent level of control over the design of your checkout and course, it would be wonderful if we could import custom fonts and other brand elements into our designs. I’d also like to see more control on the mobile design, as at the moment re-ordering your content is all you can do.
I love that there is a countdown timer build into the checkout software, but the evergreen countdown isn’t exactly impossible to work around. It would also be super helpful if we could apply the countdowns from our checkouts into emails & email funnels as well, but integrating a third party countdown app like Deadline Funnel* or Countdown Hero* isn’t too tricky so I can’t really complain too much there.
Finally, I’d love a bit more control to organize my checkout carts in their back-end system. At the moment, they’re listed in the order you create them but there isn’t any filtering or tagging available.
None of these are dealbreakers for me, but I wanted to share my honest opinion so you know what you’re contending with.
Who ThriveCart & ThriveCart Learn are best suited for
ThriveCart* is ideal for online businesses selling courses, digital products and productized services where individual checkout carts are the best way to sell those offers. It isn’t an online shop or e-commerce software, so if you’re looking for an “add to cart” option, you won’t find it here.
ThriveCart Learn* is only available for users of ThriveCart* and is free for the Lite version and another smaller lifetime fee to upgrade to the Pro version which unlocks more features.
You don’t need to be particularly techy to get set up or use ThriveCart*, however, some of the more advanced features do need some technical knowledge to use correctly.
Support has been very helpful and there is a raving fan Facebook group of ThriveCart* users ready and waiting to help if you need any 1:1 help getting started.
Special Affiliate Offer:
If you purchase ThriveCart* through my affiliate link, you are eligible for €300 Michelle Credit to use on anything in my shop if you purchase through my affiliate link & email me your receipt!
Have any questions about ThriveCart* or want to talk about my affiliate offer before you buy? Email me directly at hello@michellepontvert.com
