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Perhaps one of the most striking features of WordPress is the easy availability of themes. Take a look at any of the other CMSs – be it Joomla!, Drupal or Textpattern – none of them comes even close when it comes to the availability of ready-made themes and templates. Not only does WP have numerous free themes to its merit, it is also well supplemented for by several Premium theme providers. So, what exactly are Premium and Free themes anyway? In simple terms, Premium themes are those which come at a price that is paid to the theme provider whereas Free themes are just that – free!
Just like any other commercial commodity, Premium themes too often undergo the debate regarding pricing – there are some who claim that Premium themes are an unfair means to monetize an open source project, whereas there are still others who hold the view that Premium themes are solutions which cannot be provided in the absence of commercial funding and, owing to the competition, often Premium themes are under-priced.
Pictured: 'Unsigned' -- a Premium Theme by WooThemes
Link to ‘Unsigned’ by WooThemes
When it comes to positives, Premium themes have many advantages:
On the downside, Premium themes also have their share of disadvantages:
WP Theme Repo is an excellent place to look for free themes
There are several Free themes for WordPress from different providers. Often, many developers develop Free themes to build their portfolio or just for fun. On the other hand, many Premium theme providers as well as WP-related blogs may release Free themes for their visitors.
Pictured: 'Sight' -- a Free Theme by WPShower
There are several advantages of Free themes:
On the downside, Free themes come with certain disadvantages too:
Irrespective of it being Free or Premium, a theme should serve your purpose well. Only you can comment on what exactly your needs are, but it helps to bear a few basic points in mind when settling on a theme:
Just in case even Premium themes fail to impress you, and you have the budget, consider opting for a Custom Design.
Which theme do you use for your blog? Is it free or Premium? Feel free to let us know in the comments!
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Sufyan bin Uzayr is a freelance writer and artist based in India. He writes for several print magazines as well as technology blogs, and has also authored a book named Sufism: A Brief History. His primary areas of interest include open source, mobile development, web CMS and vector art. He is also the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of an e-journal named Brave New World. You can visit his website, follow him on Twitter or friend him on Facebook and Google+.
Tuesday, June 5th, 2012 10:58
When I first started out with WordPress, I went for free themes until I got my first premium theme… this is where I discovered a big difference – no more frustration that themes cannot display well or with error messages. Premium themes usually have great support and will always work when there is a WordPress revision. Now, I anytime go for premium themes.
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 00:53
Very clear explanation, I always choose premium themes and customize myself to give it a fresh and perfect look.
Thursday, April 26th, 2012 09:08
A free, premium or custom theme has advantages and disadvantages, as you have highlighted in the above article. What I want to say is that a free theme is not always the worst choice. If you have some basic knowledge about CSS and PHP is very easy to change the theme’s design or layout. A good source of free themes is http://www.creattor.com and if you will browse through those themes you will find some high-quality stuff.
Friday, April 27th, 2012 06:10
Hi John,
Thank you for sharing the website. I found a couple of nice free themes, that I am working on right now. You should have said that you are required to register before downloading…however the registration’s free and took me ~ a couple of clicks. Thanks again for sharing.
Thursday, May 10th, 2012 03:41
I am absolutely in your opinion of steep.
From a free theme to customize it in code or design may be sufficient to emplement customer request. I think the important thing is to anticipate customer needs and possibly the evolution has come. From there you can choose to use a free theme, premium or to measure.
For me or not choose a premium theme is mostly a time saver for failing to implement certain features that it is level with the back office or front office. It also saves time if the design convien the client. Everything is well explained to him that he will not be unique, unless it requests a customization or a custom design.
This is often a matter of budget and development opportunities for the customer who ultimately determines the choice for me.
Saturday, March 31st, 2012 03:45
Definitely i would choose Custom WordPress Theme rather than this Free and Premium WordPress Themes. But The Custom WordPress Themes will cost more and we can stand out of crowd and say that our design is awesome.
Friday, March 30th, 2012 15:05
When choosing between a free or premium theme I would always go for a premium theme for a price of only $40 you get so much more than you would get from free themes.
The only useful file in free themes is the CSS file, for Premium themes you can get other features such as slideshows, portfolios, galleries, translation, SEO settings, etc.
But given the choice I will always go for custom made themes, they can have all the features of premium themes but are more lightweight because they don’t have to be as flexible.
Saturday, March 31st, 2012 12:25
Well custom made theme is always the best but the thing is that you have to be a coder/web designer to create or you have to pay someone. And if the premium theme costs 30-50$ then custom made theme will cost way more money and/or time to create.
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Paul
Friday, March 30th, 2012 15:05
When choosing between a free or premium theme I would always go for a premium theme for a price of only $40 you get so much more than you would get from free themes.
The only useful file in free themes is the CSS file, for Premium themes you can get other features such as slideshows, portfolios, galleries, translation, SEO settings, etc.
But given the choice I will always go for custom made themes, they can have all the features of premium themes but are more lightweight because they don’t have to be as flexible.
Steven
Saturday, March 31st, 2012 12:25
Well custom made theme is always the best but the thing is that you have to be a coder/web designer to create or you have to pay someone. And if the premium theme costs 30-50$ then custom made theme will cost way more money and/or time to create.
KBharath
Saturday, March 31st, 2012 03:45
Definitely i would choose Custom WordPress Theme rather than this Free and Premium WordPress Themes. But The Custom WordPress Themes will cost more and we can stand out of crowd and say that our design is awesome.
John
Thursday, April 26th, 2012 09:08
A free, premium or custom theme has advantages and disadvantages, as you have highlighted in the above article. What I want to say is that a free theme is not always the worst choice. If you have some basic knowledge about CSS and PHP is very easy to change the theme’s design or layout. A good source of free themes is http://www.creattor.com and if you will browse through those themes you will find some high-quality stuff.
Loïc Tortelier
Thursday, May 10th, 2012 03:41
I am absolutely in your opinion of steep.
From a free theme to customize it in code or design may be sufficient to emplement customer request. I think the important thing is to anticipate customer needs and possibly the evolution has come. From there you can choose to use a free theme, premium or to measure.
For me or not choose a premium theme is mostly a time saver for failing to implement certain features that it is level with the back office or front office. It also saves time if the design convien the client. Everything is well explained to him that he will not be unique, unless it requests a customization or a custom design.
This is often a matter of budget and development opportunities for the customer who ultimately determines the choice for me.
Karl
Friday, April 27th, 2012 06:10
Hi John,
Thank you for sharing the website. I found a couple of nice free themes, that I am working on right now. You should have said that you are required to register before downloading…however the registration’s free and took me ~ a couple of clicks. Thanks again for sharing.
Solomonc
Tuesday, June 5th, 2012 10:58
When I first started out with WordPress, I went for free themes until I got my first premium theme… this is where I discovered a big difference – no more frustration that themes cannot display well or with error messages. Premium themes usually have great support and will always work when there is a WordPress revision. Now, I anytime go for premium themes.
Bharat Chowdary
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 00:53
Very clear explanation, I always choose premium themes and customize myself to give it a fresh and perfect look.