Should You Pay for a WordPress Theme?
The following is a guest post by Dan Cawrey. If you would like to write for this blog, please check out the guidelines here.
If you are going to be starting your own blog, WordPress is a great way to go. It’s simple, completely configurable through the web, and is run by a company that knows how to make good, free and open software. But once you’ve decided to use this platform as the back end, you need to start thinking about what the front end might look like.
WordPress’s outward appearance is powered by something called a theme. You have a several options when deciding what theme to choose: paying for one, using a free one or designing your own.
Paying
Shelling out some dollars for a WordPress theme is not a bad idea. With this option, you’re guaranteed a premium theme. You’ll get lots of options in the back end that you can customize, and many companies who design professional WordPress themes offer good support. One thing to be careful about, however, is paying too much for a WordPress theme. Don’t spend more than a couple hundred bucks on one, especially if you are just starting out. Check out FlexSqueeze Theme, WooThemes, OrganicThemes or ElegantThemes for some good designs.
Going Free
You can also opt to not pay for a theme, which is perfectly acceptable for smaller sites. There are scores of themes that are available for free. Actually, there are almost too many to choose from. You’ll never run out of free themes, but you might just run out of time trying to find just the right one.
There is one problem with free themes however, and that’s the fact that being available for no cost means someone else is using that theme. The internet is a big place, but for some, having a sense of originality is important, which may make or break this option. You can Google some free WordPress themes, and the WordPress folks also have about a thousand on their site.
Do it Yourself
WordPress is a fairly simple platform, and as such you can also design your own theme. If you have any experience using HTML and CSS, you can simply start from scratch and make a theme of your own that fits your design tastes.
You don’t need to have a bunch of programming experience, but WordPress runs on PHP so having some experience with that language is helpful for getting things to run just right. This is a great option for those who like to tinker. Check here for the official WordPress guide.
Middle of the Road
The best option for choosing which route to go here is actually a mix. Depending on how original or authentic-looking you want your site to be, you might want to grab a free theme and customize it yourself. If you think you’ll need more advanced back end features, you might want to pay for a theme and then change the front end. The additional changes could be done yourself, or you could hire someone on a site like Elance to help you make so quick (and cheap) modifications.
Starting your own site takes a lot of decisions, but one of the best ones you can make is to choose WordPress and to get yourself a design that fits your audience. Hopefully this guide helps to make your site the best it can be!
About the Author: Daniel Cawrey is a freelance writer. In addition to blogging about credit cards, he also runs his own site (powered by WordPress) on Google Chrome and Chrome OS.
Tags: blogging, free themes, free wordpress themes, premium themes, premium wordpress theme, Wordpress, wordpress theme
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Filed under: blogging • Wordpress
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If we are new to wordpress then we must try free theme otherwise it will create mess for newbie. Nice Article thankyou
krishna @ New Tricks´s last [type] ..Download From Rapidshare-Hotfile-Etc As Premium User For Free
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Twitter: DennisEdell
says:
Having done it whichever way at this point, I’ll state…..only pay if it is custom from the ground up; you can do lots with a set premium theme, but not nearly as much.
FYI: FlexxSqueeze is a framework like Thesis, not your average premium theme.
Dennis Edell´s last [type] ..Pro-Blogging Is it All About the Money
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I have used wordpress a lot of time and I have never thought about buying a template. When you are starting as a new blogger and you are not really the expert at tweaking templates etc, and you have limited means to hire a professional to do the tasks for you, I think it is best for you to go for the free templates- even if that means sacrificing originality. But if after some time, you find that your website is bringing some revenue and has the potential of being a successful one, then perhaps you can think about buying another template and additional plug-ins.
Daniel Black´s last [type] ..3 Things Everyone Should Do Before The Tax Year Ends
[Reply]
Thesis and Genesis theme are also good, and can easily be customized.
But building your own theme is definitely a must-try for bloggers, since it can help you in so many ways – may it be through selling the theme or by offering it for free, which can in turn build your site more natural links.
Lauren Bennett @ Mc505ll´s last [type] ..MC505LL Review
[Reply]
Very good advice and I agree. WordPress is the best way to go to start your own website. I see no point in paying for someone to make the site for you when u can just install a plugin such as flex squeeze which will make your site look very professional as long as you make the content for it.
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I think it’s great that there so many free WP out there but they can be a pain in the butt a lot of the time. Another theme that’s pretty great that you left out is Thesis, it’s probably my personal fav!
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[Reply]
I think if you have a real need for a specialized wordpress blog, then go ahead and pay, but if you just need a regular wordpress blog, get the free ones. You can customize some of it on your won, or just hire someone to fix it up for you.
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[Reply]
There are a lot of tutorials online that can help you customize. There is also some inexpensive software that can help you design your own theme. Even though I am relatively new, I like to go custom.
Thanks for the insights
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I’ve tried only the free ones and the templates are great, I think it’s always better to experience ourselves too working with the free templates first before going for the paid ones. The ones we pay for I’m sure, will be better then the free ones and a professional’s work will be flawless of course, but hiring one may cost a fortune. However, as our blogs become more full fledged we may always think about it, after all the perfect touches can come only from a professional.
[Reply]
I think the best way is to customize a ready free theme. But in case you can’t do this for some reason, it’s better to pay a professional for preparing a theme for you. Anyway, I don’t like it when people use free templates or a default theme. It looks not solid.
[Reply]
Twitter: showappeal
says:
I would definitely recommend people ALWAYS go with a premium paid theme for their main site or business site. Chances are you will be able to customize it easily, have a properly coded site, and not have to send any backlinks to another site. With that being said, go free if the site is only meant to sit out on the internet for adsense revenue or a site that is hands off.
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[Reply]
There are just so many free themes (even think back to abandoned themes from WP 1.0) it’s really hard to justify paying for a new one unless you absolutely need to have the control over the appearance or you simply don’t have the skills needed to dig through theme code. In that case, paid themes are life-savers. I personally love the middle road, modifying themes exactly as you need them.
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Well one thing is sure that for newbie couple of hundred dollars is really a problem. They must try the option of free themes. However when you think your site is earning handsome amount of income then it the time to bring in some originality and to spend money on your blogs. thanks for your information..
Kashif@Resignation Letter´s last [type] ..Sample Resignation Letters
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Many themes are also fairly bloated. Can anyone recommend a good starting point theme to customise from? The simplest wordpress theme has to have just 2 files I believe.
George´s last [type] ..Fred Olsen Cruise Lines 8 December 2011 for 14 nights
[Reply]
I do believe that if you are really going to go with wordpress then you should either invest in a nice theme or hire someone to tailor an existing for your needs. Great posts
[Reply]
Twitter: akcruisetransfr
says:
I personally think – professional (premium) theme fits better most business sites, and when your livelihood depends on solid web presence – makes no sense to compromise on quality.
Ana Mitchev @Alaska Cruise Transfer´s last [type] ..Seward Alaska Airport
[Reply]
I guess that beginners should start from free templates then as they progress and earn, they may choose to pay for premium ones. Free WordPress Themes are as functional as those that are with fee but of course, they must be of an excellent quality. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with trying for better choices.
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[Reply]
I like to use free themes and customize them. Just make sure you download the theme from a reliable site, as some free themes might contain encrypted code (that adds hidden links to your site, for example).
It’s always a good idea, to use the Theme Authenticity Checker plugin (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/tac/) to check a new theme.
Tim@health articles´s last [type] ..The effects of smoking
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you can always make one on your own with a little photoshop, html and css. so there is no need to actually pay for a theme.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@andy@P90X Results,
How many people actually have the skills to do so, though?
[Reply]
I think you can get away with something free, especially if your starting out. However, once your earning some money from your site, its time to take things more seriously and invest in a new look for the site.
Nice post. thanks.
[Reply]
Twitter: RajeshChaukwale
says:
Great tips friend. And thanks for the resources on developing our own theme. I am currently having a good theme for my blog, but need to develop my own. The links are really helpful. Great work.
Rajesh@Bypass Sharecash´s last [type] ..How to use Hotfile premium cookies 2011
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I don’t see the advantage of paying for a WordPress theme since you will want to customise the theme anyway. Whether you’ve paid for the theme or otherwise, customising it will cost time and/or money.
If you hire someone to customise the theme, THIS cost will make the price of a paid-for theme seem insignificant. However, free frameworks such as Thematic make the job of customising a theme easier work for your hired coder.
I recommend getting a good, free, clean (not already heavily designed) theme with semantic, valid code and hire some help to make it look unique.
Then again, I would say that.
Heydon Pickering´s last [type] ..Display-None Issues
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Heydon Pickering,
That’s where I think FlexSqueeze really hit a home run. While you have to pay, it’s a great, quality theme that’s easily customizable on so many levels that a complete beginner could figure it out to make their blog look unique.
Thanks for the input!
[Reply]
Brochure Templates
@Heydon Pickering,
well said.I do agree with your point of view.
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[Reply]
Twitter: rfcamat
says:
I paid a license for the Thesis Theme and I think it is one of the best blogging investments I have. I am planning to buy a license for Genesis Theme which I think is a great WordPress theme.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Raymund@Canon laser toner,
I have heard good things about both. What do you think about the FlexSqueeze Theme?
[Reply]
Agenda Templates
@Alan Mater,
I don’t understand this????
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Agenda Templates,
What don’t you understand?
[Reply]
Nice post ! Your New visitor and yes i would prefer free theme ,dont think that all love the free stuff but at starting atleast one should not buy themes or invest but just start understanding the wordpress customization.Thanks for Nice post.
Regards
Navneet
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[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Navneet@IndianExamResults,
That’s what I did when I first started out. I got a free them and learned how to customize it the way I wanted it. Definitely not a bad route to take.
[Reply]
I’ll pay for a really good one to self-customize, but no more than $30 or so.
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[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Kelli,
Have any you recommend?
[Reply]
A company I worked for a while ago paid a silly amount of money for a pack of themes from some designer in India. The quality was so awful and in my spare time I was learning HTML and CSS.
Within about 3 months of studying and eventually practicing CSS for an hour -sometimes a little more- each day I was able to create themes of an even higher standard than the completely unusable ones we received.
CSS isn’t the hardest thing to learn and with a basic knowledge of it you can create themes and lay out your own pages. I’d definitely recommend learning a little HTML and CSS to anyone who wants to make it on their own online.
Start with a basic wordpress free theme and learn how the code works with a little time each day, before you know it you’ll be redesigning everything yourself from scratch
.
[Reply]
Twitter: rcawebtechnolog
says:
Hi,
It is a very good advice and I agree that,WordPress is the best way to go to start your website, because it have lots of plugins which support web developers and also 24 hours support from Wrodpress.org Thanks for such a nice information.
Regards
Amit
[Reply]