Sunday, January 13, 2008, 4:01pm
A Discussion on “Premium” WordPress Themes
There’s a nice discussion at the Weblog Tools Collection website about selling WordPress themes and what is really meant by the word “premium”. Although I haven’t purchased a WordPress theme, I can see a few reasons why someone would.
A Concept Or Piece of Code is Intriguing to You
Occasionally I see a blog and wonder how they accomplished a certain look or feature. If it’s really small, sometimes I’ll take a look at the underlying code and implement my own variation for a personal project, but most times the code is so unique to the site that for me to use it would feel like stealing. In these cases, I’ve always asked permission to use the code and often reciprocate with a donation. The same concept can be applied to WordPress themes if they do something cool or unique.
A Client Wants Something Extremely Similar
If it’s already been built, why not just use it? The reason why magazine themes can sell so well is because they often freelancers and companies a quick and easy way to deliver a quality layout that many small businesses and online publications desire. The basic “magazine look” is really what the client is after, and if a freelancer can reduce his or her work to customization and personalization of an existing theme, both (s)he and the client will be happy.
So what is really meant by the word “premium”? To me, “premium” simply means the theme is for sale and you have to pay to use it. It should also mean that if you need help implementing or extending a feature, the designer would be accessible for advice. Personally, I think support is what allows a designer to charge for a theme.
