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How to Choose a WordPress.com Premium Theme

Premium WordPress themes have become a very popular way for talented designers to provide a service they're very passionate about (designing themes) while making a little money for their efforts, at the same time. Almost everyone agrees premium themes have

  • Very high quality graphic design and CSS development

  • A theme structure with functions that make it very easy for the user to customize and adjust the theme to suit his or her own needs

  • Comprehensive documentation, providing the user with extensive instructions on how to use the theme, especially if the theme has multiple features and customization options

Premium themes are fully supported by the designer who created them. Typically, when you buy a premium theme, you should expect full support on the use of that theme for as long as you're using it.

Fully investigate any theme before you put money down on it. Some things to check out before you pay:

  • E-mail the designer who's selling the premium theme and ask about a support policy.

  • Find people who have purchased the theme and contact them to find out their experiences with the theme and the designer.

  • Carefully read any terms that the designer has published on his or her site to find out any restrictions that exist with licensing.

  • If the premium theme designer has a support forum, ask whether you can browse through the forum to find out how actively the designer answers questions and provides support.

  • Do a search in Google for the theme and the designer. Often, users of premium themes post about their experiences with the theme and the designer.

Although premium themes are cropping up all over the Web, a handful really stand out with quality products and services:

  • Thesis: Chris Pearson is the designer of the Thesis theme, which is available in the price range of $87 to $164. The features within the Thesis theme give you full control of your theme functions without having to possess one single bit of coding ability.

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    The Thesis administrative options panel allows you to configure different elements of the theme and display features. And you have access to full support from Chris and his community of users, as well as lifetime upgrades of the theme.

  • WP Remix: Designed by R.Bhavesh, WP Remix offers all the standard features of a premium theme, plus additional features, such as WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) page template editing, seven different color schemes, and compatibility with several popular WordPress plugins.

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    The pricing on the WP Remix theme ranges from $75 to $275. You have access to full, continued support via a very active support forum, very detailed documentation that provides comprehensive explanations on how to use the theme, and access to future upgrades at no additional cost.

  • iThemes: Cory Miller is the designer for a selection of premium themes called iThemes. iThemes's prices are around $80 apiece. You can also purchase various packages of different themes, which run from about $200 to $500.

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    iThemes have an extensive support forum. You also have access to future upgrades of the themes you've purchased from iThemes.

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