Thank You Premium WordPress Theme Developers
I’ll admit, it’s been WAY too long since I updated this blog.
So I recently decided to give it a face lift.
During my “hunt” for a new theme, I came to realize how much I appreciate premium theme developers.
It started because I wanted a theme that would be visually appealing but at the same time easy to work with so that it wouldn’t take me a long time to maintain it.
After a long search, I finally found the perfect theme…
The theme I settled on is called “Headlines” from the team at WooThemes.
Why did I chose it?
There were 3 main reasons:
1) Rock Solid Control Panel
There are many reasons I like purchasing premium themes from companies like WooThemes, Solostream, iThemes and StudioPress is because they all have powerful control panels.
Here’s a quick look at the one for this Headlines theme from WooThemes:
Once you get playing around with all these options, you can quickly modify the look and feel without getting into “the code”.
For a guy like me who knows enough to be “dangerous”, this is a good thing! LOL
So it’s made it a lot easier for me to tweak the design to get the look I was going for.
2) Very Visual Theme
The second reason I chose this theme is because it’s very “visual”.
I’ve done a lot of testing in this area and I can assure you that the better your blog looks, the more people enjoy spending time reading it.
That’s why you’ll see me use a lot of pictures and video.
This theme makes integrating pictures throughout your site VERY easy. In fact, all I do is basically upload one image per post and the theme takes care of everything else.
It will resize it if I want to make it a “featured” post and it will automatically create the thumbnails for my homepage, archives pages and sidebars widgets.
This saves me hundreds of hours over the course of a year.
Here’s another tip…
If you are ever stuck for pictures, one of the websites I go to often is called Fotolia.
It’s a site where you can purchase Royalty Free Pictures. This basically means you can pay a one-time fee for the right to use the picture on your website or printed materials (always check the terms just to be sure as far as how you can use the images).
For the most part, I just purchase the images as I need them.
But if I am starting a new site (like a membership site) where I know I’ll need a LOT of images, I’ll spend the time to find all the images I want, save them in my “lightbox” and then I’ll purchase a 1-month membership.
This gives you the ability to download up to 30 images a day.
So then I just make it a daily routine to login and download another 30 images until my membership expires. By doing this you’ll save quite a bit of money vs. downloading them individually. The key is to remember to login everyday during your membership to get the images!
The point is, use images to increase the “eye candyness” of your site.
And yes, “eyecandyness” is a word. LOL
3) Support
The third reason I like purchasing premium themes is because of the support.
A lot of people underestimate all the time that is needed to provide ongoing support for WordPress themes and plugins.
(trust me, we know how important support is as we have answered over 11,000+ support tickets since we launched our membership plugin WishList Member)
It’s a never ending task and there are always a million tweaks you can make inside WordPress.
And if you’re like me, “tweaking” can sometimes lead to a cry for help!
So part of what you pay for when you buy a premium theme is the support from the developers.
In this case, WooThemes has a flourishing support forum that is actively supported by not only the team at WooThemes, but also by other WooThemes customers.
It also comes with videos and support guides.
TIP: The best practice is to consult the support guides and/or videos first. You’ll save the developers and yourself more time that way because quite often, your question will have already been answered in the videos or instructions.
I’ve experienced the same high quality support when purchasing themes from the other leading WordPress theme developers mentioned above (Solostream, iThemes, StudioPress).
For me, this is critical.
Sure you can find free themes somewhere on the web. The problem is, they may or may not be supported.
And when you have a question, it’s comforting to know that there is someone there who can help.
…PLUS…
When there are updates to WordPress, these guys are on it.
It’s another HUGE plus to know that your theme will always work with the latest version of WordPress.
So for me, I love premium themes because…
- They are easy to work with and save me hours of unnecessary work
- The themes look good without me needing to be a “code ninja” or trained graphic designer
- You can’t beat world-class support materials and help
That’s why I’d like to give a virtual high five and a BIG thank you to all the premium WordPress theme developers.
You guys ROCK and we appreciate all your excellent designs and code.
Have you purchased a premium theme?
If so, what was your experience?
Let us know what theme you bought and why you like it in the comments below.
Related posts:
Stu
McLaren helps small business owners get better results from their online
marketing.
Hi Stu,
I was always a lover of your old theme but like this one too.
Like yourself, I only go for premium themes because of the support. My mother-in-law would say “cheap is dear” and if you’re building a business around your blog, it’s not a bad idea to spend some money on a good theme.
Happy New Year btw to you and your lovely wife.
Trish
I am all for premium themes because they have a lot of ground covered already (as compared to a Vanilla Wordpress blog).
Unless you are a blog fanatic and highly technical yourself, you will appreciate how much work has been done for you.
I use Semiologic for its extensive set of plugins and SEO features. Affiliate link not included – lol.
Arun
I agree with you – you get what you pay for. So unless you’re a wordpress theme developer yourself (as aspire to be) leave that to the pro’s.
It always goes back to the same adage – what are you uniquely qualified to do? Is what you are currently doing the highest and best use of your time?
If editing a wordpress theme is not it – then use a premium theme (or a really sharp webmaster!).
Stu,
You got me started with premium themes and I absolutely LOVE them! You DO get what you pay for and I’m amazed by the customization capabilities of WooThemes in particular.
Your blog looks EXCELLENT!
Kelly
I agree Stu. I use premium themes as well as well as for my clients. My question for you is when will you have time to personally chat with me about Wahmcart & Wishlist Member?
Hey Stu,
The new theme looks great. But I also would like to thank you for the information on where you get these great Word Press Themes.
With Knowledge comes power. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and power.
Mike
Hi Stu.
I appreciate the quality of your recommendations. You only refer us to the best and what you use yourself. I always check out your recommendations before selecting new products.
Thank you,
Susan
Stu, thanks for including iThemes in this post. Appreciate it and a big ditto!