Written on November 17th, 2007 at 06:11 am by Darren Rowse
Blog Design - When to Go for a Professional Template?
Time for a little reader discussion. This one is inspired by a question from Frederico from Tutorialstream.com who is considering starting a new blog and asks:
I was wondering if you think that starting with a standard/free/low quality template and after some time (when I have some kind of readership) upgrading to a good one would be a good idea in terms of branding, to increase traffic and to show the readers that “the blog is doing well”.
What advice would you give Frederico when it comes to the design of a new blog?
74 Responses to “Blog Design - When to Go for a Professional Template?”
Guillermo
November 17th, 2007 7:02 am
You can have a standard, free and good quality template from the very beginning. Free does not mean low quality! On the other side… you pretend to gain readership with “low quality stuff”? C’mon buddy! Wake Up!! You are what you show… If you show low quality, you are low quality and you will never gain anything out of it… Want to be the king? Dress like the king!
Entendido Federico? Mucha Suerte!
Nick - road2graduation
November 17th, 2007 7:02 am
That’s good question and one I’m still trying to find the answer to.
I’d personally say that when you have the funds to get a professional to design the blog then do that - otherwise sit on it for a month or three.
It’d be good to hear what everyone else thinks?
Ash Haque
November 17th, 2007 7:03 am
I don’t think theres really any set standard for when to upgrade to a professional design, but as your website starts to build some solid traffic or earning a steady stream of income it’s always good to get something more unique.
It may not be a complete overhaul, but a simple professional logo can have a very solid effect even if you’re using a generic theme.
Wendy Piersall
November 17th, 2007 7:14 am
As soon as you can afford it!!!!!
Read my guest post on Darren’s blog as to why it’s rather important:
Is Your Blog Template Holding You Back?
Chris Coyier
November 17th, 2007 7:19 am
I am a designer for a living and I am still considering hiring another professional for the job. It is so valuable to hand a project like that over to someone who can see everything with a fresh set of eyes and apply their trade.
At first, a high quality free template is a fine choice, but as soon as you’ve proven to yourself that you are in this blogging game for the long haul, it’s time to think about a custom solution.
Lizard Wisdom
November 17th, 2007 7:29 am
We wanted a professionally designed blog from the start. We tried playing around with the free templates out there, but we just couldn’t get them to work for us.
It most likely has to do with the fact that we didn’t have the time to spend trying to figure out how to implement everything we wanted in our blog. We felt spending the money was a wiser investment of our time.
We also wanted something that is truly unique. We didn’t think we could do this on our own.
We are definitely happy with the result! Now, instead of worrying about designing our blog, we can concentrate on growing our business. :)
Michael Martine
November 17th, 2007 7:36 am
Free templates are one sure way to not stand out from the crowd. For the best first impression possible, you want your excellent content housed in a design that matches.
Dean @ Technical Itch
November 17th, 2007 7:36 am
I wouldn’t spend any money on a theme to start with.
I’d stick with a free template to start with (you can always customise it to give it your own look and feel).
Blog for a few months, get a few readers under your belt. Then once you’re comfortable you want to keep the blog going long term, and you’re happy with the current topics you blog about, then consider paying for a theme that fits in well with your blog topics.
You might by then, if you’re generating revenue from your site such as AdSense, find that that it pays enough for you to buy a theme!
Michael Martine
November 17th, 2007 7:38 am
Not everybody can customize a theme or template. I know those of you suggesting that mean well, but it’s just not an option for many people. Custom means you pay.
useful concept
November 17th, 2007 7:38 am
I think it really depends on the nature of your blog. Is it a commercial enterprise or not? Do you need a new design to satisfy any goals other than being unique (ad space, etc)?
Let your goals and objectives for the site drive the design and its timeframe. A good rule of thumb is that you will probably be doing a bit of a redesign ever couple years anyway.
Also, just because the design is free doesn’t mean it is bad or not serving you well.
Federico
November 17th, 2007 7:46 am
well guys, I am a webdesigner and I would produce my own blog templates so I would be able to do it from the beginning or later…
my question was purely about strategy, not something geared towards trying to save money…
Michael from Pro Blog Design
November 17th, 2007 7:48 am
I think it depends a lot on the sort of start you’re looking to make. If you’re getting into blogging fully prepared for the long-haul to success, then definitely start with a free theme. However, if you’re looking for a fast start, and you know that your content/niche/perspective are unique and could well be a hit, then a custom, professional design will be a huge kickstart to that success.
If you do use a free theme though, you still need to customize it enough to shake off the “template” feeling. With either route, paid or free, a little work will be required.
ronicadesign
November 17th, 2007 7:51 am
If you’re going to invest your time in blogging and growing your blog, you should start with something you’re happy with. Not because it’s free or “cheap”, you can invest as little as $10 - $50 for a great looking blog that can be customized with your logo and color scheme. Something you can tinker with if you want or if you have the time to invest.
You just have to do your homework, look around and really think about where you want your blog to go. It also depends on what platform you are planning on using. Wordpress and Rapidweaver have some really great theme resources and pre-built templates.
Later when you can afford to have a cusom, branded blog designed for you then do so.
Albert | UrbanMonk.Net
November 17th, 2007 7:55 am
I think there are a few “in-between” options. First, a free template can be pretty high quality. Secondly, you can just get a custom logo or header to replace the graphic, or maybe mess with the CSS a bit to change colors. If well done, that can already look like a professionally done template from scratch.
I’m a designer, but my own blog was just a case of modifying an existing template. http://www.urbanmonk.net/
The last option would be to get a brand new one from scratch - probably most expensive but least cost-effective.
Jim - Tech-Weekly
November 17th, 2007 8:07 am
I have managed so far this year to spend minimally on my blog site only paying for the cost of the domain name and then registering it and using it with Google’s Blogger.
Though my readership goes up and down I have been very happy with the minimal $10 that I have put into it. And I think it is evolving nicely. That might be the answer does Frederico have a design idea already in mind and can he afford to implement it.
I think until your readership demands it be shear volume why stress over an overpriced and over-hyped website design?
Mike
November 17th, 2007 8:11 am
I think I am going to agree with most people hear. Get a professional looking blog as soon as you can afford it.
mercutiom
November 17th, 2007 8:12 am
I’d say that using a template and making a few basic changes (background image, etc.) is a good start when beginning. It also gives you the advantage of building up readership now, and then, when you can upgrade whenever you have the money to do so. You can also bring in some more readership by getting people excited about the new design.
Iantrepreneur
November 17th, 2007 8:16 am
I have started with multiple free templates, here is a recap
http://www.ianfernando.com/2007/the-many-facelifts-of-ian-fernando/
Using a free template or making one yourself is good to first establish yourself and gather that traffic. once you have your traffic and you know your traffic can easily replace for a professional template I would go a head and get one done.
if you have a design that is free but clean it will still be useful, but later you need to invest - give it an upgrade, start fresh and your audience and readers will be awed
LiveCrunch
November 17th, 2007 9:05 am
Frederico,
I started 2 days ago live crunch blog, and let me tell you as long as you don’t put 2140501424 ads and keep the blog clean for a while you should be fine. Your blog design looks ok.
Let me know if you want to do link exchange that is what wee need right now.
Pádraig
November 17th, 2007 9:15 am
Personally, I am more attracted to blogs that have a very attractive, professional and unique design.
Also, I find that if I have a nice design, it helps keep me motivated to write articles and keep my blog updated.
There are some nice free templates out there, but in my opinion, nothing beats a good unique design.
Widget Ready
November 17th, 2007 9:19 am
In my case I started with some premium template but was not able to modify the design for my needs and tried some more simple themes for a while.
I think a blogger will change his theme from time to time because you visit your own blog more often than a regular website (it’s the same like a car or your wife :))
Maura
November 17th, 2007 9:31 am
I recently hired a professional to convert from MT to Wordpress and design a custom template.
This was not something I wanted to tackle on my own, since I was not gifted with the “designing” gene.
I think it’s important to consider your blog’s purpose and readership when making the decision on going with a pro design.
If it is a business blog and you want to make a big impact from the beginning, then go pro (with someone who designs with SEO in mind). Otherwise, get a pro looking design as soon as you can afford it.
Peter Cooper
November 17th, 2007 9:45 am
I think it depends on your content and what you’re offering. If you’re entering a popular space, you’re probably going to need either a very professional or ultra unique design just to help stand out (unless you’re really good at making the linkbait). If you have something rather unique to offer, however, you might be fine even using a default template! A great example of this is probably Hugh McLeod’s GapingVoid.com which looks horribly default, yet is one of the most well subscribed blogs out there.
Christina
November 17th, 2007 9:53 am
Personally, I prefer to start with a clean and at least semi-professional looking design, one that is fairly plain, and add in a new feature, or change something smallish every month or so. Keep in mind that just because a design is ‘plain’ doesn’t mean it has to be boring.
This way you don’t rapidly jump from a theme your readers are used to seeing to something entirely new and shocking them. I recall reading somewhere about a study done that showed that when someone visited a site they were familiar with to find a whole new design something like half of them left and never went back. Change in large doses scares people.
Upgrading/modifying a little at a time also gives the advantage of not taking so much time or money all in one shot, and shows that you’re growing and expanding as a blogger/company. I think this is better overall than having a stagnant design that never changes.
On the other hand, if cost and time weren’t an issue, I think I’d probably go for a professional design after maybe 5-6 months, but try to keep some of the existing design elements present, so its not entirely unfamiliar.
Michael
November 17th, 2007 10:02 am
Focus on content not design. I don’t read Problogger because of its design. Do you?
Peter Cooper
November 17th, 2007 10:22 am
@Michael: I don’t typically read blogs because of their design (usually because I get all the content in Google Reader!) but I’ll admit there have been quite a few I’ve signed up to because their design was either striking or gave me the confidence the blogger was very focused on their blog. Design and branding are great tools to give an impression to actually get the subscriber.. not so much for keeping them.
Melissa Donovan
November 17th, 2007 10:32 am
I’ve been asking myself this very question. When I launched my blog, Writing for Writers, I picked a URL I already owned, and chose a free theme, which I customized myself. Luckily, I know how to do some basic customization of WordPress themes. I love how it turned out but now the site needs to grow.
Upcoming changes start with the design, which will involve a major overhaul. I’m still not earning enough revenue to warrant purchasing a fancy theme like Revolution or to pay someone for customization, so I’m going to do what I can with my own design skills and/or find a designer who would be willing to trade for my writing services (know anyone who might be interested?).
However, once I am making a reasonable profit, I definitely plan on paying for a streamlined content management system for my site. I’m looking forward to that day!
One of the great things about the Internet is that you can do a whole lot at a very low cost and continue improving your web presence as your financial resources grow.
-Melissa Donovan
Writing for Writers
Federico
November 17th, 2007 10:46 am
Hey Christina, your idea is really interesting
@Michael: nor do I, but I like this design
suz
November 17th, 2007 10:57 am
Since you are a web designer I would go for customizing a free template to start out with as it won’t cost you any money. I wouldn’t leave the free template unaltered, seeing a blog design which you have seen elsewhere is confusing and makes a visitor think the blog might be one of those automatic spam blogs too. Customizing the graphics (header, background) make a huge difference to the design and a few CSS tweaks change the type and/or layout. Then later on you can add more to it or hire someone to do more drastic changes.
turtie
November 17th, 2007 11:23 am
I suggest start with a free one and build up some readerership because in the blogging world, the majority of us are not serious about blogging and quit after a couple weeks, or even after a couple days. If you find yourself enjoying the blogging gig, then its a sign that you’re going to be in it for the long haul, and switching over to a professional template would be a good idea. You don’t want to fork over a couple hundred bucks for a sweet design if you dont’ have the drive and ambition to blog! So prove to yourself first that you can handle the rigors of blogging before you shell out the cash.
MoneyNing
November 17th, 2007 11:42 am
Why not start with a free one and heavily optimize it? When you start off a blog, you might not have much money but you definitely have the passion and time for it! Spend tons of time tinkering with free templates and eventually some colors will match!! (it helps if you have a little bit of HTML background but it is not necessary).
Mine was from a free template but I have made so many changes to it and merged so many themes together that it is pretty unique now.
Richard Ellender
November 17th, 2007 11:56 am
G’day!
Some of the most famous blogs around have very “basic” templates, in some cases this enhances the viewing experience.
You should concentrate on adding quality content to your site, once you have some loyal readers involve them in the re-design process.
boio
November 17th, 2007 12:47 pm
i’m just about to go through a rebranding of my blog. 2 weeks ago i posted a ad on a designer jobs website and i got some responses.
i was looking not only for somebody to redesign my wordpress theme, but to create a few flash(y) banners, a good logo and to help me install the theme and fix all the little things that will make my readers enjoy their experience.
when i saw your post it was like you read my mind. (by the way, i sent all the applicants to problogger for those posts related to your logo re-design).
i was thinking not only to re-brand my blog but also to change my blog name from boioglu (that’s my last name) to boio. it’s easier to remember, shorter url etc.
besides that i wanna have some good old contests o my blog in the next 2 months to lure more readers and to make them love the new brand.
i don’t know for sure what should be the right steps for all of these and how much should i pay for everything. i don’t wanna be “robbed” by a designer, but i wanna have a worry free blog. (i don’t wanna spend my time fixing all the issues with different themes and trying to personalize it).
darren, could you let me know your thoughts on this?
keep up the good work!
boioglu
November 17th, 2007 12:51 pm
and one more thing: should i go for a flashy web 2.0 theme or a simple one with ight colors?
boioglu
November 17th, 2007 1:01 pm
hi darren, i’m not sure if my first comment got there. so i’m posting it again. if it’s a duplicate, please delete it. thank you.
i’m just about to go through a rebranding of my blog. 2 weeks ago i posted a ad on a designer jobs website and i got some responses.
i was looking not only for somebody to redesign my wordpress theme, but to create a few flash(y) banners, a good logo and to help me install the theme and fix all the little things that will make my readers enjoy their experience.
when i saw your post it was like you read my mind. (by the way, i sent all the applicants to problogger for those posts related to your logo re-design).
i was thinking not only to re-brand my blog but also to change my blog name from boioglu (that’s my last name) to boio. it’s easier to remember, shorter url etc.
besides that i wanna have some good old contests o my blog in the next 2 months to lure more readers and to make them love the new brand.
i don’t know for sure what should be the right steps for all of these and how much should i pay for everything. i don’t wanna be “robbed” by a designer, but i wanna have a worry free blog. (i don’t wanna spend my time fixing all the issues with different themes and trying to personalize it).
darren, could you let me know your thoughts on this?
keep up the good work!
Max Powers
November 17th, 2007 2:33 pm
I love all the comments, it really gets me thinking.
I don’t think I’m ready just yet as this is an experiment to me at this early point.
If the traffic continues to increase, and I still want to participate, then pro to me is the only way to go.
Ken Y-N
November 17th, 2007 3:38 pm
I’m actually in the process of getting a custom logo (thanks for the coupon last week Darren!) and my “focus group” of friends have been impressed with the designs they’ve done. I’ve not finished the design iterations yet, but I suspect I’ll be going for a custom template next.
I’ve decided to try to establish my site brand in the next few months, so some logo is needed. I’ll have to see what happens once I get everything designed and up and running!
William Lehman
November 17th, 2007 5:53 pm
The simple answer I would put forth is this.
When your content warrants it.
It’s easy to get caught up and put a new template up or even get so focused on ads that your content suffers. I made an observation similar to this on my own blog yesterday when it hit me that I was more concerned with the looks of my sidebar than I was with the content.
Now, I’ve went back to basics with my template (even took down a lot of the ads that were cluttering my sidebar) and suddenly that invigorating spark of just writing is coming back for me.
Sai
November 17th, 2007 6:20 pm
I think I cant
As everytime i upgrade or change a theme, i got some problem. Even try to back up before doing thing, but still.
Some plugin also, I have to reinstall I think that’s problem, That’s why I just maintain old template about 2-3 months, then redesign
Neil Duckett
November 17th, 2007 6:53 pm
Free theme is fine when you`re just staring out but add a little customisation to make it your own right away … when the traffic comes you can look t getting something custom made to suit your needs. If you`re still keen and the blog is running after a few months get a little creative and spend some bucks.
Costa
November 17th, 2007 7:34 pm
I think I will go along with the advise from Urbanmonk.net
get a nice free theme and mod it to your satisfaction.
Chris
November 17th, 2007 7:40 pm
I’m with UrbanMonk on this one. My advice is to start with a free template and then to move to a customised version of a free template :)
Unless you’re attracting thousands of visitors to your blog (like proBlogger, John Chow, ShoeMoney etc) you’re unlikely to find limitations with a customised free theme.
Case in point, Im moving my site designs to customised free themes before new year; working on them now in fact!
Ivy
November 17th, 2007 7:54 pm
I’ve been tinkering with the idea of getting custom blog design as well. However, I don’t think my current traffic (and earnings) warrants an investment on my template (my blog is only a month old).
However, I did what Christina did as well - designed a really nice looking banner, aligned elements in my page for a good Line Of Eye strategy, and highlighted the column with recent posts and comments in a strong color to get it noticed, so users won’t just pop out after reading the front page article.
I have even posted entries on how to brand your blog using a simple free template by making some very simple changes to it. So I am happy with what I have for now until I get some serious, consistent traffic. I’ll definitely consider getting a pro template then.
Make Money Online Dot Net
November 17th, 2007 11:44 pm
I always start with a free template but make sure to knock up a custom header. Once the blog starts to really pay for itself then I’d go for a pro custom template, then again I’m pretty conservative in everything I do online.
Ben
November 17th, 2007 11:55 pm
Free or customize, it really should not matter. Find a design that you like and keep it clean looking and readable. Nothing easier than that and your readers will never know if your design is free or professional.
Sarah @ Real Life
November 18th, 2007 12:46 am
I’m certainly not an expert. But I stuck with a standard template to start, and now that I have it established I’m paying someone for a new design. It should be implemented in a few weeks.
That being said, if you use a standard template, you need to at least customize the header.
It also depends what niche you’re in. If your tech, I’d say you’d better have some bells and whistles to start with.
Sarah @ Real Life
November 18th, 2007 12:49 am
This brings up the old question, “What’s more important, content or design?”
Niamh
November 18th, 2007 2:21 am
I think in depends on whether you have the time and the interest in adapting a free one. Someone will have put a lot of thought into designing a free one. Their work will have mattered to them and so free does not automatically equate to poor quality.
I hope you don’t mind me giving a little feedback on your site. I find the dark background hard going. It would not encourage me to linger long. I think the jumping jack on the hostgator does not enhance the experience. Having said all that I will be back as I am interested in the content.
@Michael I think ProBloggers recent revamp was a terrific improvement with the main posting area now over to the left.
Harrison McLeod - JCM Enterprises
November 18th, 2007 2:47 am
Content and design go hand in hand these days. As a designer, I have to admit, if a blog is unattractive I won’t stay too long, but once in a while I’ll come across a blog that has interesting content and I end up staying. After all, the information is what people are looking for to begin with.
I agree with Sarah that if you do go with a free or purchased template, you should do something to customize it to make it your own. The banner is the easiest way to add your own sense of style to any given template.
Another important point to remember is to talk to your designer before you purchase the template. I’ve run into many instances where a client has purchased a template and then wanted changes made that cost more in my time to do than the template cost originally. Realize that not every designer is a coder and there are limitations to what kind of modifications your designer will be able to make. In some cases you’re better off finding someone who understands coding to custom make your template from scratch.
Ben was right when he said it shouldn’t matter whether your template is free or customized. Find one you like, make sure it’s readable, pleasing to the eye, and suits the overall tone of your blog.
Dwilma
November 18th, 2007 5:56 am
I think that to be attractive the blog has to work like most other blogs. If you get too fancy, the visitor might not feel invited to post. One major irritation to new programs is that they change the conventional interface and I have to look around for how to do the old tasks.
Keep your new design as similar to the most popular designs.
Dave
Jenny Lens
November 18th, 2007 6:49 am
PROFESSIONAL IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO!! I struggled for months and months trying to find a free theme I could tweak. I finally found one, then after struggling with it for weeks, realized it wouldn’t work in 2.3.1. Something about it was choking my cpu usage, and I struggled to optimize it.
I did yet another Google search and found Michael Pollack’s solostream.com themes. I wrote him early summer, when I was supposed to be paid for work and wanted to work with a pro. My money was embezzled, so I’ve been scrambling for months to survive.
However, when I found Michael’s page of themes, I sent my $59 for WP-Glory (which was only about a month old, newly released for 2.3.1) and couldn’t be happier!!
I spent one day tweaking it, still needs work, but doesn’t look like his basic theme other than three columns and a featured post on top. He also posted some videos, and I picked up a few tips.
I learned it’s not just what the theme looks like, it’s the coding. Is the CSS set up so you can readily change type color, size, whatever? CSS optimized? Can you understand all the elements, to change the header, footer, whatever?
I will never ever go back to free themes and I’ll make sure I’m buying from someone who makes a living designing themes/WP blogs. Not just someone who cuts and pastes some code from here and there. Been there, done that!!
PS I’ve noticed some of the top blogs are ugly, some are beautiful. Lorelle’s tops that list. Look how elegantly simple, but she also doesn’t clutter it up with ads. I love dark turquoise blue, plus she organizes her info on sidebars and content so wonderfully.
I love how Lorelle balances a design on the top left and her large signature on the bottom. Because she has so few graphics and ads, you can focus on the content and the few visuals make an impact. Oh, if we all could do that, survive without ads!
The WORST offenses are bright colors clashing with each other, or as someone wrote, a dark background and white text. Keep it simple and calm. Less is more! Basic art 101!!
I don’t want ads nor images in the middle of posts, but I’ll put up with them if the content is rich. As an artist, I am not seduced by a beautiful page if the content relies on too many outside links and there’s no personal comments. As an artist, I don’t want to see art just to fill up a blog.
But if you have info I need to know, I’ll put up with a bad design, too many ads. But why discourage peeps? Hard enough to find readers, give them yet another incentive to stay!
Mark
November 18th, 2007 8:05 am
Although content is king, currently I am in the process of strengthening my brand and will be investing in a customized theme.
The new look will help to graphically support the launch of some really interesting posts and features I have coming up.
I look at it as a long-term business decision.
Stephanie
November 18th, 2007 8:12 am
I’ve always stuck with customizing free templates. Sometimes I’ve made some pretty serious changes, while other times I’ve just changed the header. I don’t want to look like dozens or hundreds of other blogs if I can help it.
I do think starting out with at least some minimal customization helps. It seems to me that it could be harder to attract attention if new readers have seen the exact same template over and over.
devin holloway
November 18th, 2007 8:16 am
This is a question I’ve batted around in my head, too.
Ultimately I decided that it’s more important to blog regardless of what the site looks like. In other words, you don’t want not having a professional design to stop you from publishing. Just look at Craigslist…
But the sooner you can get around to it the better. I’m not practicing what I preach (read: haven’t got around to a custom design myself) but a Marketing degree and years of experience in the marketing field tell me consistency is king - you want a site design that reflects the look and feel of the message you’re sending through your blog posts, and rarely will you find a ready-made template that accomplishes that.
There goes my $.02…
Niamh
November 18th, 2007 10:20 am
I think political bloggers can get away with using templates. It is almost a mark of how serious they are and of course their content is king.
Pieter
November 18th, 2007 10:48 am
I gotta agree with Urbanmonk as well. Getting a free template has a lot of benefits, especially as a starting blogger (which I am): It’s free, and it’s quick.
Besides that, some free templates are of a pretty high quality, and with some minor customization, you surely can get a very nice individual look to your blog.
I certainly plan on using my template for a while, and should I make some money, I might use it for a new template, but I’ll see to that when I get to it.
The Investor's Journal
November 18th, 2007 4:59 pm
I have considered purchasing a quality professional theme, such as the Revolution theme. But ultimately I decided that this would be limiting myself, in that I wouldn’t learn how to alter a free theme to my liking (which would lead to not knowing how to design a website).
So instead, I took the incredibly flexible prosense theme and customized it to my liking, taking hints from professional themes. It was free, and I learned about web design.
66tx
November 18th, 2007 8:19 pm
Read my guest post on Darren’s blog as to why it’s rather important:
Jenny Lens
November 19th, 2007 5:59 am
OMG: I meant to praise Michael Pollack, of solostream.com, but I worded my first post badly. I wanted to hire Michael because I worked for someone and earned the money to work with a pro. I was tearing my hair out because I couldn’t find a free theme that I could modify per my needs. Lucky for us, Michael sells reasonably priced themes that are very easy to modify and are SEO optimized.
Here’s the original post again with a corrected statement:
PROFESSIONAL IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO!! I struggled for months and months trying to find a free theme I could tweak. I finally found one, then after struggling with it for weeks, realized it wouldn’t work in 2.3.1. Something about it was choking my cpu usage, and I struggled to optimize it.
I did yet another Google search and found Michael Pollack’s solostream.com themes. I wrote him early summer, when I was supposed to be paid for work and wanted to work with a pro. My money was embezzled [by someone in the rock/art field, a “seed-y present-er” in SF, CA SO I COULD NOT HIRE MICHAEL]. I’ve been scrambling for months to survive.
However, when I found Michael’s page of themes, I sent my $59 for WP-Glory (which was only about a month old, newly released for 2.3.1) and couldn’t be happier!!
I spent one day tweaking it, still needs work, but doesn’t look like his basic theme other than three columns and a featured post on top. He also posted some videos, and I picked up a few tips.
I learned it’s not just what the theme looks like, it’s the coding. Is the CSS set up so you can readily change type color, size, whatever? CSS optimized? Can you understand all the elements, to change the header, footer, whatever?
I will never ever go back to free themes and I’ll make sure I’m buying from someone who makes a living designing themes/WP blogs. Not just someone who cuts and pastes some code from here and there. Been there, done that!!
PS I’ve noticed some of the top blogs are ugly, some are beautiful. Lorelle’s tops that list. Look how elegantly simple, but she also doesn’t clutter it up with ads. I love dark turquoise blue, plus she organizes her info on sidebars and content so wonderfully.
I love how Lorelle balances a design on the top left and her large signature on the bottom. Because she has so few graphics and ads, you can focus on the content and the few visuals make an impact. Oh, if we all could do that, survive without ads!
The WORST offenses are bright colors clashing with each other, or as someone wrote, a dark background and white text. Keep it simple and calm. Less is more! Basic art 101!!
I don’t want ads nor images in the middle of posts, but I’ll put up with them if the content is rich. As an artist, I am not seduced by a beautiful page if the content relies on too many outside links and there’s no personal comments. As an artist, I don’t want to see art just to fill up a blog.
But if you have info I need to know, I’ll put up with a bad design, too many ads. But why discourage peeps? Hard enough to find readers, give them yet another incentive to stay!
Sue
November 19th, 2007 8:49 am
Free definitely doesn’t mean low quality. You can have a professional looking blog without paying money to a designer. Oh, and buying a premade template like Revolution doesn’t really qualify as having a professionally designed template, unless you pay extra to have Brian customize it for you. Otherwise you will just be one of many with the Revolution theme.
And with a little learning and a local copy of WordPress installed on your pc, you can do the customizations yourself on a well made, professional looking free theme that you start with. Unless of course you really think pink goes well with green and purple or that dark gray type on a black background is readable. Or that blinking headlines are the best. :)
Of course, the key here is to start with a great theme, whether it’s free or not.
greg hickman
November 19th, 2007 1:35 pm
I’ve actually just gone out and found someone to redo my site. So excited to have it go live. In about a week or so it should be up running. I ultimately am trying to learn to do this myself so that in a few years I will do a custom theme. Not enough time to do that right now…
I think having it done professionally, if you can find it for a reasonable price is definitely worth it if you see yourself blogging for years to come.
I’m looking forward to the change so stay tuned!
greg | http://www.toonice4tv.com
Niamh
November 20th, 2007 12:32 am
@Jenny Lens
I don’t think you need to worry. I tripped a little over your first posting and quickly got that you were praising Michael Pollock. I even went and checked out solostream.com and came away impressed.
Coach Kennedy Patrick
November 20th, 2007 3:31 am
I think adding a custom header would be just enough to give your blog some additional personality w/o adding expenses. A header can be created with a nice piece of art or photo. You can create a header for FREE using several services. You can also use Irfanview. Good luck!
Lejanson
November 20th, 2007 7:57 am
I have been looking for a good template on my own. For now, I am settling on a FREE one. It looks good somehow.
Hector A. Henry S.
November 20th, 2007 4:39 pm
Hi
Well in my case i would say, that first you have to have clear what its a professional design and what its a on professional design.
And other thing what i really think its matter its what you write, that really make you look professional, because what matter a good page a cute or awful template if you don’t have good content.
or you here consider that its aren’t that way?
bye, greetings from the seven color sea.
Tommmmy
November 20th, 2007 9:03 pm
I have only been blogging for a little over a year & started with a free Blogger template. I have learned how to customize it & it seems to work for me. Later this year I think I will alter the design with a new template that’s better though.
Just curious about a comment I read earlier. Somebody said don’t have a black background with white letters, ha ha, mine does….and I like it.
Could I get somebody to comment on my design or is that inappropriate? If not, here’s a link.
http://www.bat-blog.com
Chris Cagle
November 20th, 2007 11:39 pm
My opinion is that if people have to ask the question as to whether a FREE template will work or not probably should use a free template.
Those who are willing to spend the necessary money to get a custom template are serious about their endeavor and will reap the rewards sooner than those who wait by using a free template.
With many new (read: worthless) blogs starting every minute, you need a way to stand out from the crowd. It takes two things to do that and be successful: a great writer, and a custom template. Two recent great examples: http://ittybiz.com/ and http://voxfortis.com/blog/
Hope that helps a little…
Federico
November 21st, 2007 10:07 pm
well, I should correct, when I said free/low quality or professional I should have said free vs unique
I know that a lot of free templates are really good both graphically and from a coding point of view.
thanks everyone for the interesting opinions
Lyle
November 22nd, 2007 4:28 am
Where does one look for a good designer? Besides solostream.com
Thanks
china tour
November 23rd, 2007 2:51 am
Besides that, some free templates are of a pretty high quality, and with some minor customization, you surely can get a very nice individual look to your blog.
coldhitz
November 24th, 2007 4:22 pm
I came across this today. I’m gonna read the tips and follow them , to the best of my abilities. I’ve been at it for only a short time , and I’m already wondering about the pro templates. It seems hard to scan through all the information given out about blogging. I do believe that the platform I’ve chosen ( blogger) has a high quality , smooth looking , free offering , that is pretty cool for the beginner, and has taught me the basics of building. I’m learning , and listening , with an open mind , and developing , what I believe is an important message. I wanna thank the people working so tirelessly to free the world from the chains of 9-5.
lucas131
November 25th, 2007 8:08 am
It can be a good thing to upgrade your blog template after time. But is it good for branding? Well logo of site on top make a crucial matter to branding so if you will make a big changes of your logo to something completely different few times people will not recognize your blog. People easy remember logos so its best to not change it too much and maybe one time try to make best possible blog template you can do. Focus on it a lot of time but then dont change after week or so. Maybe thats the way.
chloe
December 1st, 2007 12:43 am
well, i guess the basic template of wordpress is sufficient enought.
BJ
December 10th, 2007 7:24 am
I have been looking at a ton of designs in the past 4 weeks. When I visit sites that list “the top 10(0) blog designs” etc. I always come away wanting.
The best blogs (by readership) out there have GREAT content but very few have great design.
Free or paid for, it all comes down to content.
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