Buy WordPress themes - or create them yourself?


 This article is aimed at people who want to equip their WordPress website with a new design. I will answer the question of who is an existing, paid theme worthwhile and should instead rely on an individual solution. In the last few years, the market for paid designs has exploded. The prices for decent systems tend to be somewhere between $ 30 and $ 70. Added to this are sales tax and possibly PayPal fees. Ready-made themes are particularly suitable if your budget is manageable. For a double-digit amount, there are - with exceptions - complete designs that not only look chic but can often convince with many additional features. This includes, for example, the integration of shopping plugins, translations, and of course, mobile views for smartphones and tablets. It has also become common practice to offer designs suitable for many different types of WordPress websites —portfolios, online shopping, company websites, communities, etc. Interested parties can preview a demo version, read reviews from buyers, and in many cases, ask the developers a question before buying. As beautiful and inexpensive as the finished designs, maybe, some disadvantages should not be swept under the rug.

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These are often complex themes that have been designed for the largest possible group of users. Ultimately, only one of the 100 different options is used. The rest sticks as ballast on the server and slumbers in theme functions that are not used but are available and take up space. There is the fact that designs can be sold any number of times and are. Therefore already in use on many websites. For a real unique selling point with its own corporate identity, an individually designed design must be created that is geared to your own customers' needs and demands. A self-created system is always lighter and more individual than a finished product - just like cooking. Good web developers know this and don't recommend an existing design per se. However, an individual solution also has a unique price. The third option is a kind of hybrid between the two solutions presented. Here a finished design is bought and adapted to one's own needs.

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The big advantage of this approach is that you don't start from scratch, but rather at 50-90%. The last percentage points are then either done by yourself or taken over by an expert. In terms of price, this is also a compromise solution - it is not as cheap as a finished theme. Still, it is also not as expensive as a completely individual solution. I've worked with all three of the above options for dealing with WordPress themes. In the end, it always depends on the customer's budget. The cheapest option - buy a finished design, and you're done - is gladly accepted. My job is to add content appealingly and get any design problems under control. Creating WordPress themes myself is what I enjoy most because it's about an individual customer solution. The result is unique. There is no unnecessary ballast on the server, and the code remains lean. However, as already mentioned, it is a costly and time-consuming solution. Unfortunately, the necessary framework often does not exist on the customer side. The hybrid version of the purchased theme with subsequent editing has become very fashionable. There are many advantages, especially from the customer's point of view - the costs remain manageable, and the time required is usually limited. From my point of view, a hybrid solution can make sense, but not always.

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You get the latest versions of all theme files and have access to support and updates for one year. But if you want to support and updates after this year, you'll have to pay again. I think that's nice. Other theme sellers, such as the vast theme marketplace Themeforest, offer themes for a one-time fee. The music is then yours forever. You will also get updates as long as there are updates. Isn't that better? In which case do you (presumably) feel better treated as a customer? I have a subscription in the first case, and I extend the subscription as long as I am a satisfied customer.

On the other hand, I am of no interest to a provider after the purchase in the second case. I have already experienced several situations - certainly you too - in which you feel very well treated. Until you've paid. And then the interest decreased noticeably. 100% GPL - should I even care? The GPL license does not mean that everything has to be free, but your freedom of use is not restricted when you receive the software.

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We are used to it in many areas of life that we are not restricted in using the product we have just bought. Imagine you buy a camera, but only you can use it. Or the number of pictures you can take with it is limited. Or you can only take photos of nature with it. In the software world, we are often faced with the strictest restrictions, usually purely for greedy reasons. WordPress supports the GPL license and believes that you can also exist this way without excessive user restrictions. I support that myself - and I owe WordPress so much that I prefer to keep providers who also think and act that way.

Furthermore, it is pleasant to buy a WordPress theme and use the same theme for 1000 customer projects. Anyone who has been working with WordPress for a long time knows that: Themes shouldn't be able to do everything. Themes take over the graphic design and typography of a website.

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