In regard to theme installations not matching their examples. I’m afraid that’s how theme marketing works. They want to show their theme in the best light, illustrating what is possible with the theme, not what you get by default. It’s almost always going to take some effort to get your pages to look like the examples. You should not think of theme samples or demos as “This is what your site will look like automatically”. Consider samples and demos more as “We give you the tools to make your site look like this. It’s up to you to wield our tools properly.”
It’d be more honest to always include a sample view of a new, default WP installation using the theme. Only showing the Hello World! or Sample Page content without applying any other theme elements. They can show embellished views as well, but always having a default view would be meaningful. I’ve yet to see a theme author do so. They don’t wish to scare away users ??
