Comments on: How To: Find the Right WordPress Theme

By: david

david — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 10:55:42 +0000

I totally agree that price,quality and support are most important factors of themes and templates. In my own theme gallery those are most important factors to me, because i would like to provide only quality themes to people. Like every time i bought from Theme Forest i have needed support because of different bugs.

By: Steven

Steven — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:17:35 +0000

Personally I wouldn’t even consider a free theme for a WP site that I expect to make money from. The premium themes offer more than support which I agree is usually not even needed. The main reason is a professional design, followed by XHTML/CSS valid, cross-browser compatibility, and absolute attention to details (including SEO)… updates too. Most (not all) free theme designer don’t have a reason to be that intentional about their work. I’m not saying there aren’t exceptions, it just takes a lot of time to weed through free themes to find those exceptions.

By: heyetsizlik

heyetsizlik — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 13:55:11 +0000

I will also consider the functionality supported by the theme and whether the theme get it right for the SEO.

By: Ahmed

Ahmed — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:20:17 +0000

Free themes can look like premium with simple customization if used for personal blogs. Premium Themes are recommended with an advanced or professional use.

By: sjones

sjones — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:41:34 +0000

Finding the right wordPress theme is not difficult if you are know what are after.
Premium WordPress themes are good but can be costly. Personally I only use free wordpress themes on my web sites. I usually alter the theme slightly (mainly the color) to suit my needs by changing the css style sheet.

By: Nuwan

Nuwan — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:55:33 +0000

One of a major advantages of a primimum theme is the support for changes and enhancements. We rarely get the support for the free themes.

By: Sulumits Retsambew

Sulumits Retsambew — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:21:44 +0000

Support and future upgrades is one of my main concerns while making a decision. I also love easy to customize themes – these make me free from problems of finding someone to make desired changes.

By: John Hoff - WpBlogHost

John Hoff - WpBlogHost — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:50:15 +0000

For me, I look at a few things.

First, I look at the bones of the template. Will it allow me to do what I want (1 or 2 sidebars, menu layout, etc). I want to make sure the key things I wish my visitors to see are in the right areas. I usually have a vision of what I want before I even start looking for a template (design-wise). Then the search begins to find a template which fits my vision.

Second, I look at reputation. When someone or a company has an already established record and everyone likes them, it’s a good chance you can trust the code – which brings me to my next point.

We need to be careful which themes we use. Remember, we are trusting someone else’s code. If they code it wrong or are sneaky, they could code in spying elements, which isn’t good. Luckily, I haven’t come across this just yet. (Same goes with Plugins).

As for price, as long as it’s not much over $100, I’ll pay for it if it’s what I want. One of the worst things you can do if you’re trying to make money and start a business is try to think you can build everything on free. It’s a way of thinking I really wish people would start reconsidering.

By: Jonathan Downin

Jonathan Downin — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:14:55 +0000

I agree with sentiments earlier in the comments. If you are just starting out you should find a theme you like and ease into dabbling with the CSS. Once you get accustomed to it you can really make it your own to the point that it is unrecognizable as being the original theme.

I would say also that you should think about the number of columns you want, but if you are unsure to go with 3. It is generally easier to remove a column by just removing the call for it (usually in the footer) and tweek some CSS.

I have found this from my personal experience and accomplished just what I described. I have linked to the original theme in the footer on my site so you can compare the original theme to the current look. You would never guess it started out looking how it did.

By: Premium Theme Info

Premium Theme Info — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:07:42 +0000

I think if you want to buy a premiu wordpress theme, the support is the most important.