Image by teddY-riseD

This post has been submitted by Sharon Hurley Hall from Get Paid To Write Online.com.

I am not a coder, so if I want my WordPress blog to look great, then one option is to shell out for a premium theme. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great, free themes out there, but sometimes you want something that’s a bit different and is not on thousands of sites. I have bought premium themes twice. Here’s what I have learned from the process.

Ease Of Updating

Many premium themes now have theme option panels, but no two panels are alike. The more options a theme panel has, the less you have to mess about with the code, which I personally find very useful. It’s worth checking out the screenshots of the admin panel to see what you get, as some themes just give a couple of basic options. The most detailed theme option panels let you change color schemes, decide where posts will appear, handle feed redirection, manage advertisements and much more.

What’s Under The Hood?

This is all about search engine optimization. Many themes are properly optimized these days so that the post title appears at the top of your page and so that duplicate content is eliminated, but there are still some that aren’t. I like themes that automatically show excerpts on archive and category pages and that put as much content as possible in front of the reader. The theme preview is a good guide, and it’s also worth checking out some sites that use the themes.

Handling Images

I don’t know about you, but I detest having to run round in circles to manage post images. Many premium themes now include automatic thumbnail resizing with the TimThumb script. If it’s properly implemented, you don’t even have to use custom fields to get your thumbnails - just upload an image as normal and you’re all set.

What Does It Depend On?

Thanks to bigbrightbulb for this tip: ‘make sure it’s not dependent on plugins from a 3rd party. If they stop dev, it could break at the next wp update…’

Many premium themes include plugins for page navigation and other key functions. Ideally, any functions that you really need to make themes work should be built right in. As I’ve found to my cost in the past, sometimes plugin authors stop working on them, leaving you up the creek if your spanking new theme depends on them.

How Good Is The Support?

There are always questions when you install a new theme, especially if you want to take full advantage of the possibilities for customization. I find it’s essential to choose a theme with a great support forum, otherwise you are dependent on whether the developer chooses to respond to queries. Most of the big names in premium theme development - StudioPress, WooThemes, iThemes and so on - have active forums where you can get answers to virtually any question. Even if a premium theme is new, check out the launch post to see how the theme author responds to queries. If days pass and responses are incomplete, then that theme is better avoided. Finally, as coqui2008 reminds us, check that theme support is included in the purchase price (and upgrades as well).

These are a few of the major issues that matter to me when selecting a premium theme - what’s important to you?

Sharon Hurley Hall
Get Paid To Write Online.com
_____

Don’t miss a post in 2009, subscribe to receive PiggyBankPie’s articles by Email. Using an RSS reader? Subscribe to our Full RSS Feed.

Related Posts:

With The Launch of SearchWiki, What Now For Digg?
Productive Blogging: 8 Tips To Become More Efficient
Earning Money Through PDF Ads
5 Wordpress Plugins To Increase Your Blog’s Stickiness
10 Paid To Blog Programs At A Glance