Subscribe To My RSS FeedFree vs Paid WordPress Blog Themes
Dec 21st, 2008 | By CJ | Category: Web DevelopmentI enjoy reading other blogs and come across many interesting ideas and thoughts. Here’s one I felt compelled to comment on, as it talks about the issue of WordPress themes, free versus paid. I have no objection to paid themes, but when one is first starting out, money is usually an issue. This was VERY true in my case, so I became (and continue to be) the Queen of finding free stuff on the Internet! LOL!
Admittedly, some of the points made in this blog post at wpdigger.com are valid.
It says:
Here are some reasons why (you shouldn’t use free WordPress themes):
1. You need to give a link back to theme designer (some themes also requires you to give additional back-links to theme developer and theme sponsors lol ). You can remove the links but some times they can catch you and ask you for the link.
2. Free themes are used among a lot of web blogs. They look same.
3. You may not be satisfied with their design and coding layout if you are concern about SEO.
In point #1, they say you are required to leave a link back to the theme’s creator. Why is that a negative? I believe in giving credit where credit is due. If I hired someone to create a theme for me, and paid for it, I would still leave a link in the footer, because if they’ve done good work, they deserve to have the whole world know about it! I don’t have any problems with leaving a link to theme creators in the footer. This is a non-issue to me. I’m really big on reciprocal links.
In points 2 and 3, however, I find accord. It IS hard to find a free theme that does everything you want and doesn’t look like everyone else’s. So this may be a very good reason to hire freelance coders.
However, if you’re like me when I first started out, money may be a huge issue. So, finding the right free theme is going to take a lot of research and time, but if you are patient, I can almost guarantee you that you’ll find just the right theme. In the meantime, you can get started with something else and switch when you find something more suitable.
I found this source for free themes last night, and I highly recommend them. Their themes look VERY professional and not at all “canned”: http://web2feel.com/
The only other point I would like to make about using free themes that many others are also using, is… that may be so, but, usually, those other sites that are using the same theme you are, are not necessarily in the same genre. How likely is it that someone using your theme is writing about the same topic? And if you do find someone using the same theme, you can always change your theme. I like mixing things up every so often, anyway, so this is also not an issue for me.
The choice is yours. I just wanted to give you a little more to think about.
Stumble it!
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Deborah
http://termlifeinsurance2.com
I really very liked this post. Can I copy it to my blog?
Thank in advance.
Sincerely, Timur.
Absolutely, you may copy the post to your blog. Just be kind and leave a reciprocal link, and I’m good with it!
Thanks!
~cj
Well, I always thought that free themes are not worthy stuff but yesterday I came across some nice WP layouts at Flashmint. I was pleased with the fact that I can customize them in any way I need so it’ll become a kind of unique design, and no one else will have the same one. Check them out, they are really nice http://www.flashmint.com/wp/2009/01/the-hottest-free-wordpress-themes/
hi..thanks for the blog ..i loved reading it . as i myself being a blogger felt the i got to know few things more about word press..and your blog was a great help for me to knowledge on few things..i hope that this blog will be at the same time even more helpful to others too. good luck
I myself being a blogger felt that i got to know few things about word press..and your blog was a great help for me to knowledge on few things..i hope that this blog will be at the same time even more helpful to others too. all the best.
Optical Migrane
Nice to see good posts like this one, Great Info thanks.
I really liked your blog!
Hi
Great blog, you some great catergories and very interesting topics. I have enjoyed it.
I will return, keep up the good work
Mike
Hmm, I’m debating whether to delete diana and OpticalMigraine’s comments. Looks like they read from the same marketing book about blog commenting…LOL.
It brings up a good topic, by the way: Comment Syndication-good or bad?
I do compile a list of blogs I comment to and I try to comment fairly regularly but ALWAYS relevantly. It takes a few minutes longer, but I find I’ve also been edified in some way to have actually read some of what my colleagues have written. AND, it keeps me updated with what’s “going on” out there!
But not all of us see it that way. Ce La Vie.
diana and OpticalMigraine have garnered a reprieve. Shining examples.