Bloggers at certain point in time usually decide eventually that they would start using a paid theme. The problem that bothers them the most is whether they should use a premium theme or a completely customized theme. In this brief post I would discuss to you the two briefly including their advantage and disadvantage.
PREMIUM THEMES
Premium themes are themes you usually pay for. Obviously the quality of these themes are way ahead of free themes and the benefits that you’d receive from using it is just too much.
The cost of a single use license is very cheap either, ranging from $20 to couple hundreds of dollars. If you ask me its a great deal because for some couple of dollars you get yourself a good theme, and you set yourself apart from other millions of bloggers who use “cookie-cutter” free themes. Also with premium themes, you can pretty much expect the coding to be clean enough to maximize every possible potential for the blog.
Another thing to add is the support forums. Most, if not all, premium themes services come with lifetime support which includes access to tutorials and the forum. For me this is really crucial since working with your newly purchased premium design could be tough especially if you’re not techy enough to handle all the mind-boggling stuffs. One reason why the Thesis theme is soooo popular and well-loved is because of its excellent support enabling users to really make the most of what they paid.
Obviously the main disadvantage of Premium themes is that you really don’t get to look that much different from the rest of the users of the same theme. Yes, you can change the headers, colors, fonts designs or whatever but at the end of the day, you’re still using the same theme with 100 others. But heck that should not be that big of a factor when considering this type of theme! Here’s a short list of the popular Premium themes services:
- Thesis Theme
- WooThemes
- Ultimate Blogging Theme
- StudioPress
- Themewars (my theme! π )
CUSTOM THEMES
Customized themes are themes that are unique, meaning no one can have that same look, layout or whatever. The quality of these themes is never in question (debatable) and it’s certainly the type of theme you could use if you have big money to spend.
That being said, to get a custom theme you need to have $1000 upwards. Obviously what you’re going to get is more than just the “premium” and you’d feel super special knowing not any single blogger sports the same theme. π
There are several disadvantages that in my opinion the custom themes have. First is limited support. Most custom theme companies just have a limited number of revisions (mostly 3 revs). So in case you communicated poorly with them then its a big problem for your part when you couldnt seem to get what you want from them. And since different companies have different coding conventions, it can really be tough to do the dirty work yourself.
And another is the tough decision on choosing what company to hire. Most people find themselves trapped on choosing a cheap untested company to design their own only to find out that the work completely sucked. It usually is a big problem because most people want to have custom looks for their blogs YET don’t have that budget so they end up paying for a cheap (crap) company. Anyhow no worries, I already did the research for you for the top ones in this category
Conclusion
It’s a cliche statement, but it all depends on what you really need and what your goals are (and how much you can spend). Most people use (custom) designs to springboard themselves to fame while others let content speak for it.
I’m biased but obviously I would pick Premium over custom simply because you can do so much things that can match what a custom theme does for a very reasonable price. Support also does it because you don’t need to guess, most of what you want is laid out in there and that’s somethingΒ a custom theme NEVER does have.
Coding is another big factor. As I’ve said when you hire a custom designer, most of what you would see is in the front-end. But how about the back-end? How about how codes are optimal? How its integration maximizes the search engine traffic? Or is it even w3c compliant?
So I’m laying out the floor on you to speak. What do you think about the custom themes and the premium themes? Which one do you prefer the most?
Pubudu Kodikara says
Great point mate! I think its better to go for premium or learn hard and build your own theme by self! The best way is to build your own theme…. it can be done with no cost, and we have the freedom to do what ever we wont… right? π
.-= Pubudu Kodikara´s last blog ..Instant Article Templates β 3 Reasons Why MOST Article Templates Do Not Help You Write Articles Fast =-.
Melvin Reply:
December 13th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Right but you have to understand that not all (or very few) bloggers have technical skills to make their own theme.
Pavan Somu says
Covered basic points. Cool info dude
.-= Pavan Somu´s last blog ..Solutions for 40 WinXP Problems with XP Quick Fix Plus =-.
BloggerDaily says
Yeah, you got a nice point there! Premium theme might be easier and faster to setup your blog, but free theme will give you satisfaction as well as freedom to customize your site. Plus, it’s free!
Well, I’m saying this maybe because I love trial and error while modifying themes =)
.-= BloggerDaily´s last blog ..Honesty is The Best Blogging Policy =-.
Dean Saliba says
Obviously I go or the free theme and then try and customise it slightly.
If you buy a premium theme then there are other people out there with the same one, where as if you buy a custom theme then you get something that looks unique.
.-= Dean Saliba´s last blog ..Understanding Forex Trading A Little Better =-.
Narayanan Hariharan says
If the idea is to get a new design for your blog, the lifetime support is of no use because you are likely to change the theme in a year or max two. Instead of using premium themes/custom themes, I think the best way to go about is to customize free themes yourself – that way the blogger gets accustomed to his theme and can make it unique in his or her own way.
According to me:
Disadvantages of using premium themes:
1. A lot many people buy the same premium theme as you which means you have to customize it quite a lot to make it unique – same can be done with free themes as well.
2. Support is usually in the form of support forums and you cannot always expect solutions for your individual problems. Eg: I had posted an issue with my WP installation on WordPress support forums and haven’t got even a single reply in over a month. If I can’t expect replies in such a large and community driven forum such as WordPress support forums, I definitely can’t expect a reply for my questions on my theme.
Disadvantages of using custom themes:
1. You’ve mentioned it already – finding a good developer/design studio and getting what you want out of them.
2. Support will go for a toss if you lose contact/touch with the developer
3. This one is the most important – I’ve noticed that custom themes made by most design studios look pretty much the same to me – same structure, just a few minor changes here and there.
That being the case, I’d rather customize a free theme myself than go in for paid ones.
.-= Narayanan Hariharan´s last blog ..How To Map A Windows Folder To a Drive Letter? =-.
Agent 001 Reply:
December 13th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Nice points. I am same as you, I would customize free themes myself rather than invest my money on those paid themes.
.-= Agent 001´s last blog ..Christmas Gift: 7 Dollar β 7 Minutes β 7 Days =-.
Melvin Reply:
December 13th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
@narayanan, you’re right but the main thing I dont want with free themes is that you’re really not sure about how the theme is built (w/c can also be said to premium and custom). I mean 80% of free themes suck enough to contain crappy codes and just about everything that will really not help. The backend is questionable too.
And as I’ve mentioned above, most bloggers are not technically knowledgeable, so they would still need guides (in support) if they are about to customize something.
Lets put it this way, premium themes have same functions with free themes but its more convenient to use premium ones because of all those kind of add-ons and bundles they have that free don’t have.
Dana @ Online Knowledge says
I think it is also hard to choose which web designer will create best customize theme for us if we do not know web design technology. And we will lost much money if we make mistake in choosing web designer so i prefer to use premium theme instead costum theme for beginner.
.-= Dana @ Online Knowledge´s last blog ..Five Software that Must be Installed for New Laptop =-.
Mathew Day says
Hey Melvin, coool Blog and very informative post! I read your article over at “Dailyblogtips” and I liked it very much. I had to click on your link to check out your blog and I’m glad that I did.
Melvin Reply:
December 13th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
yea man, thanks sooo much. π I appreciate that people like the post I had in dbt. π
(and keep coming back here)
Jens P. Berget says
I have been using custom themes, and that’s mainly because I couldn’t find a premium theme that I thought was exactly what I was looking for, and the price of my custom theme was fairly cheap. Actually, it was just as cheap as the premium themes I was looking at.
Now, I have moved from WordPress to Drupal, and currently using a free theme. I’m waiting for my designer to finish my new theme.
– Jens
.-= Jens P. Berget´s last blog ..Oh No, Not Again =-.
Gordon says
To tell you the truth, I prefer custom themes. I’m kinda getting sick of the whole “Buy Thesis + Write Anything = Good Blog” bit. There are other good frameworks out there and you can get much better results if you know how to market without even doing proper SEO.
Ok if you are not familiar with HTML or CSS, then your options are limited. Nice post, thanks for sharing!
.-= Gordon´s last blog ..Branding Websites And Blogs =-.
Melvin Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 10:49 am
lols, iS that really the saying (buy thesis, write anythng)? haven’t heard/read that yet. Anyways, yea so many people are so much focused on getting search engine rankings that they forgot doing marketing.
Rhys says
I’m going to agree with some of the points made – the cheapest way to get a new theme is make your own. It’s not easy for the first time, but it’s a great skill to learn. Nobody is sure how long premium themes support will last, so knowing your way around your own themes can be beneficial in the long run.
Plus you can then sell your own premium theme π
.-= Rhys´s last blog ..New WordPress Plugin β InComment Comment Source Referrer =-.
Melvin Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 10:51 am
Hahah, yea I quite have some friends who did their own and eventually sold it and made a lot of money. Im not sure I can do that right now (and afford the cost)..
But again 95% of bloggers aren’t technically competent enough. π
Agent 001 says
Melvin you decide to answer it yourself (I am referring to your comment on one my post about free vs premium theme).
Anyways I would love a custom theme over a premium theme but I will never buy a custom theme. I am good at HTML and CSS myself so can do customization of free themes myself.
Custom themes are costly but if you search, you can get very good designers who will do the job for 100$ and also provide personal assistance.
When I look at premium themes most of them look so similar and also you can easily find free alternatives to many. So I like to stay away from Premium theme. But I have seen some good themes at woo themes recently.
Thesis theme is also very popular but I hate it. I do not know why people like it. It is only good for people who have never even heard what is HTML, CSS or PHP. For me thesis is the worst theme I have ever seen. If you want a similar solution like thesis for free look at the theme I am using.
.-= Agent 001´s last blog ..Christmas Gift: 7 Dollar β 7 Minutes β 7 Days =-.
Melvin Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Your statement is debatable. While there are really good free themes, majority (maybe 80%) of it suck. I mean most have cookie-cutter design, ugly codings and more likely it would harm the blog more than grow it.
Not really that premium themes look similar. At the end of the day its still your choice on what premium ones to use. My theme (themewars), I dont see many people using it (only Nate Whitehill founder of UBD) so its good. I prefer themes that are not that famous (yet).
Thesis is not the worst. Im not in the position to speak because I haven’t used it but its really not the worst. Im pretty sure of that. π
Agent Deepak Reply:
December 17th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
I said worst in the sense of customization. I know its is pretty awesome and have seen many beautiful themes built out of it.
But there is a lot of customization needed. Without customization it is just a text theme. I do not see sense in Paying for a theme and investing lot of time (time almost equal to building a custom theme) in customization.
If you get any opportunity then see for yourself.
Anyway I am saying this with my small experience only. You see I sold my Greatest Review blog and the new owner Fas uses Thesis on it. I was asked to customize it and customizing it is like building from scratch (not complete scratch as frame is available). Also I did not contact their support.
.-= Agent Deepak´s last blog ..Back to Basics: What is Blogging? =-.
Paul Anthony says
This argument shouldn’t be about premium verses custom themes. Lets raise the question of brand equity.
You aren’t going to build brand identity on the web by using another off the shelf, same as the man next door theme.
The web is huge, but then so too is the reach and visibility of the above mentioned sites for finding themes. Put any reputable designer (your audience in some cases) in front of those sites, and I’m guessing they’d be able to spot the premium themes which have been bought off the shelf every time.
Cookie cutter, fast food business presence paint by numbers? Not for me folks. Custom design all the way.
.-= Paul Anthony´s last blog ..Surfing on a wave of internet demand to grow. =-.
Karol K. says
I think that it’s good to have a custom theme, and you really can get it built for less than $1000.
George Serradinho says
There are so many different themes out there today and one needs to find one that meets their goals and targets. Some themes are easier to customize and others not. Some require coding to make it unique while others have backend options that can be changed.
.-= George Serradinho´s last blog ..Serious Monday Roundup #21 =-.
jj-momscashblog says
Melvin, Great post with excellent info. when it comes to themes there is many different opinions that I thought you explained the differences well. I tend to like the easiest when it comes to picking out a new theme. Of course right now MCB has an original, since I bought this blog I of course kept the theme the way it is…which is unique and different. I like unique & difference. Thanks for putting in the links to the different themes…excellent!! jj
.-= jj-momscashblog´s last blog ..Sell Your Used Books β Make Money & Enter Contest =-.
Niall Harbison says
I really think that people get caught up in the look of their blog too much. People are always asking me what sort of theme, what widgets, what styles etc etc all thinking that those little things are what are going to make or break the blog! Sure those little things are going to help a little and might even catch a few extra subscribers etc but if you are not pumping out quality content then it doesn’t matter if you have the shinest biggest blog template in the world!
Jayce says
I do my own customization from other free theme. Using it now. π
.-= Jayce´s last blog ..How to hack Facebook account profile =-.
Lisaa Beers says
Hi Melvin,
First off, thanks for including my business in your list of top custom blog theme designers! I agree with a couple of the other commenters that if you have a hobby blog or are just starting out, a free or premium theme can fit the bill. But if you’re serious about building a brand for yourself or your company, a custom theme is the only true way to achieve that.
You’re totally correct about the difficulty that people face in knowing who to hire. I’ve heard so many horror stories of web design projects gone bad during my ten years in this business! There are great points here about making sure to look at the variety in a company’s portfolio to make sure they aren’t just tweaking the same theme and selling it as custom, and I also recommend that people raise the issue of SEO when speaking with a prospective service provider.
The point I would like to make here is that a really good designer can work with you to enhance your project, due to their experience. It’s important they understand the marketing and SEO aspect of things. I like to work with clients to understand their business, their market, and their goals for their site or blog so that I can offer suggestions and recommendations of what has worked for me and my clients, and this kind of feedback can be invaluable in the success of a new site or blog. But, then again, I tend to give a higher level of service than many out there.
Training is also important and I include some training time with clients so they are confident in using their new site. Again, the point you raise about future follow up is an excellent one. You should look for a company that has been in business for at least a few years and are full time and serious about their business. Many cheap, fast turn companies come and go because they don’t have a viable business model and if you need something down the road, you’ll be left high and dry.
Custom themes are not for everyone, certainly. But for those who need a truly unique site they are essential. Thanks for your post that brings up terrific points about what to look for in a good custom design service!
Lisa Beers
.-= Lisaa Beers´s last blog ..WordPress Basics β Pages vs. Posts =-.
Ajith Edassery says
I would try to make my theme unique rather than buying that standard theme that 100s of others have. So you can either build it own your own based on some code base (like I did), or get a totally custom theme done.
While themes like Thesis have clean code base and looks consistent, you need to pay $150+ for a dev license and add another 100 or 200 for customizing the same. Instead, you may be able to hire a smart and cheap theme designer for 100 bucks may be π Of course, upgrades would be a problem unlike Thesis etc.
.-= Ajith Edassery´s last blog ..Category Feeds in WordPress =-.
Jp Manching @ Beginners Blogging Guide says
uhmm…it’s hard to choose hehe
But I like themes that are simple and easy to navigate. Themes that are fast loading and has no problems and conflicts with plugins π
Thanks Melvin.
Jp
.-= Jp Manching @ Beginners Blogging Guide´s last blog ..No Commentator? Then be the Commentator =-.
Ruchi says
I am learning how to make a theme, but i prefer free themes as long as you are not making money, if you start making money , premium theme is a way to go.
.-= Ruchi´s last blog ..How to use Digg Effectively to Promote Your Blog =-.
Leland says
Hey Melvin, I’m a little late but I really enjoyed reading this post, as I run a custom theme company myself. I think you did a good job covering the main advantages and disadvantages when it comes to premium and custom themes.
If you have the money and are serious about your blog, I would definitely recommend getting a great looking, unique design for your blog. It doesn’t even necessarily have to be a completely custom theme.
Already existing premium (or even free) themes can be a great starting point your own custom theme. The advantage to buying a premium one, however, is hopefully you would get access to a vibrant support community. Pretty sure all the ones you’ve listed have support forum areas.
.-= Leland´s last blog ..Hurricane =-.
Wess at The Sugarbuzz Project says
I would love to be able to afford a premium theme…let alone a custom theme. For now, I’ll just work with freebies. I can tweak them a little, but one day I’d really like to learn how to make my own.
.-= Wess at The Sugarbuzz Project´s last blog ..Happy Holidays From TheSugarbuzzProject.net! =-.
Anne @ lifestyler treadmill says
Hi Melvin,
I would choose the premium theme based from the advantages cited above. However, based from your experience, does the theme on your site (could be free theme, premium, custom them) has a significant effect on your page ranking? Thanks a lot!
Anne @ lifestyler treadmill´s last blog post ..Lifestyler Treadmill