Open the real HTML before you buy. Static extract for HTML and React, hosted demos for PHP, Figma embeds for design files. This is a working note from the VicanTheme journal, written for theme buyers and agencies. The catalog we keep returning to is HTML templates, because files you can host beat a locked builder when the brand has to last.
If you already know the industry, skip ahead to the recommended demo — Kalmara — and use the headings as a checklist rather than a speech.
Why a screenshot is not a demo
A marketplace that sells live demos as videos is asking you to trust marketing. VicanTheme unpacks the preview ZIP and serves index.html on our origin, in desktop, tablet, and phone frames, so you can tap the real navigation.
The iframe is same-site, so it is not blocked by X-Frame-Options. Zip the theme so index.html sits at the root. Finder extra folders are flattened on extract, and node_modules is stripped so a React leftover cannot bloat the demo.
HTML, React and Vue packs
Static packs run as files. React and Vue previews are the built output, not your laptop npm start. If the demo is blank, the pack almost always hid index.html one folder too deep or shipped an empty public folder.
Try Kalmara or Northline and resize the frame. You are looking at the real markup, including type, overflow, and the enquiry path, which a Dribbble shot will never reveal.
PHP, WordPress, Shopify, Figma
We do not execute untrusted PHP on the marketplace. Those products use a locked hosted demo URL; the source ZIP arrives after payment. Figma kits embed the file instead of pretending to be a website.
If a seller cannot provide a preview we can host or embed, the listing does not ship. That rule protects buyers more than any five-star badge.
What authors should zip
Put index.html at the root, omit node_modules, and include the pages you claim in the gallery. A preview that 404s inner links will cost you the sale even if the homepage looks expensive.
Buyers should refuse stores that only show videos. If you cannot inspect HTML, you are buying a picture of a website.
Questions people actually ask
Can I preview after purchase too?
Yes. The same files you demoed are in the ZIP, plus the license key.
Why did my upload fail to preview?
Put index.html at the zip root and omit node_modules.
Keep reading: Coastal boutique hotel website design: layout that does the job and Best HTML template for coastal boutique hotel sites in 2026. Or browse Guides in the journal.
