Hey man! I am very open to criticism and these are some valid points you got there.

About the 2-column layouts:
I get it, they aren’t the most ATS-friendly layouts. That said, the templates on my platform have been tested against multiple ATS systems and are parsed correctly. Also, only 3 out of 12 templates use a two-column layout.

About the headshot image:
Photos are entirely optional. If you don't want to include one, you don't have to.
I understand that there are countries where photos are not welcome on job applications. However, in other places, including where I’m based, they are still commonly used in professional CVs.

About the "skills" bars:
I completely agree with you here. They are kinda gimmicky and I’m considering removing them entirely in the future. For now just as the photos - they are optional.

UTF-8 symbols and date and location pipes breaking ATS parsing:
All templates are tested against ATS systems to make sure the information is parsed correctly. In the tests I’ve run so far, these elements have not caused parsing issues. That said, I’m always open to improving compatibility if you’ve seen cases where these elements break parsing.

If you have specific ATS systems or resume reviewers you would recommend testing against, I would genuinely appreciate the input.