Poll time – who designed your blog?
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If you’ve got more than one blog – choose the one you consider to be your main blog. Tell us more in comments below!
My name is Darren Rowse and I’m a full time Blogger making a living from this new and dynamic medium from blogs like Digital Photography School and TwiTip - Twitter Tips.
Back in 2002 I stumbled upon an article about ‘Blogging’. I didn’t know it at the time but that moment changed my life. Since then I've become a full time blogger and have blogged on over 20 blogs and co-founded the b5media blog network.
You can connect with me via social media sites at Facebook (friend limit reached) - Facebook Fan Page - LinkedIn - ProBlogger on Twitter (also ProBlogger.com on Twitter) - SU - FriendFeed - Digg
168 Responses to “Who Designed Your Blog?” - Add Yours
Alex | Blogussion.com
July 6th, 2009 12:50 am
I bought the Thesis framework and just customized it so it doesn’t even look anything like Thesis anymore.
It really pays off to learn how to create your own designs. :)
Manrevo
July 6th, 2009 12:51 am
I considerably tweaked a free template though I’d love to get one custom designed one of these days. They’re so costly.
dandellion
July 6th, 2009 12:54 am
I used to tweak free wordpress templates. But, it’s much easier to do your own from the scratch.
Corey Freeman | Blogger Bear
July 6th, 2009 12:59 am
I design all of my projects. I started out using free themes and just never really found ones that fit, so I learned to make my own from scratch.
I’ve tried out Thesis, but I find it extremely limiting. Working with raw code works better and lets me do things my way.
Salman
July 6th, 2009 1:01 am
I use blogger minima template and made modifications to it
Regards
Salman
http://www.tips4blogging.co.cc
Andy Merrett
July 6th, 2009 1:02 am
Paid for a premium template (an original Revolution theme) but tweaked code here and there. This was after “making do” with free tweaked templates for several years.
VitaminCM
July 6th, 2009 1:03 am
I used a free template that I tweaked a lot. I’m still trying to find an ideal premium template that I like enough. Any suggestions?
Bart Gragg | Blue Collar U
July 6th, 2009 1:03 am
I purchased the developers edition of Thesis from DIYThemes. I have three blogs, two business and one for my hobby, running off of that theme. I am currently setting up two others based on Thesis.
All of these are customized (or will be, works in progress) by myself. I am learning the coding and tweaking and geeking as I just seem naturally attracted to this type of thing.
Cassie - MamasOnTheWeb
July 6th, 2009 1:04 am
I like the Thesis theme but I just modified another theme of Chris’s which is free. It’s the Copyblogger theme but my goal was to make it look as little as Copyblogger as possible.
Todd Wallace
July 6th, 2009 1:05 am
I have experience with XHTML and CSS and feel a little strange about it, but I used a non-default free template. Actually, I went through 3 trying to find one that was functional for my needs and had a good enough look. I will eventually design my own, but my goal was to get the blog online ASAP and I have never made a WordPress template before. I ended up choosing the free one from Unique Blog Designs for now.
Owen Kelly
July 6th, 2009 1:07 am
Spent the first 4-5 months of this year designing my own theme and modified a bit of code etc with drupal. Its still evolving to this day, and will probably never stop.
I’m certainly happy about all those days spent tinkering and playing around with code and photoshop. Can’t imagine what it would be like if I had to pay someone to design my blog, don’t think it would be worth it.
Dave
July 6th, 2009 1:09 am
I made a child theme on top of the wonderful Themehybrid Framework.
The Casual Observer
July 6th, 2009 1:10 am
I used “elements of SEO” (just to get a theme with two sidebars) and tweaked it a lot. I moved one of the sidebars to the left, implemented code that can randomly show adds in order to share revenue (show person A’s ads 30% of the time, etc), and changed a lot of look and feel stuff (added a nav bar, inserted a blurb about the author at the end of each post, etc) . I poked around on Google to figure out how to do a lot of things.
http://www.observingcasually.com/
raiderhost
July 6th, 2009 1:10 am
i use free wordpress themes : vibrant for wordpress n get few modification :)
Julian Simpson
July 6th, 2009 1:23 am
I bought Thesis. I think it was a good compromise. Ideally I’d have a bespoke theme. But Thesis was installed overnight and looks very professional.
Brandon Mendelson
July 6th, 2009 1:24 am
Only eight people paid for a premium theme so far? Boy do I feel like a dope.
I love Thesis though, it’s the only premium theme I have paid for that I can honestly say is worth it.
Susan at Sticky,Gooey,Creamy,Chewy
July 6th, 2009 1:36 am
I’m currently using one of the free Blogger templates which I tweaked a little for my blog. This has worked well for me because I know very little about web design and am a little scared of HTML, CSS, etc. After a year and a half, I have hired a professional web designer to do a complete and unique redesign of my site. It wasn’t cheap, but now I can move my blog to its own domain and will be able to have all the features I want on it. Plus, she will take care of the migration and all of the technical stuff for me so that I can’t mess anything up! A very good thing!
Matt Cheuvront
July 6th, 2009 1:36 am
Used an ‘Elegant Theme’ framework with several tweaks, but I am in the process of making the transition over to Thesis (honing design skills in the process). It’s a slow and gradual process – but learning (advanced) web design is no easy task.
Elja Trum
July 6th, 2009 1:37 am
Initially I designed and programmed my blog from scratch. After a couple of years I’ve asked a designer friend to create a new and professional design for me. Haven’t regret that. Still love and use the design he created.
Hirvesh
July 6th, 2009 1:42 am
I’m on blogger. I used to have Woork’s Daily Inspiration template on my blog, but later decided to take a free template called “Daleri Mega” from Andreas Viklund and convert it to blogger template.
So far, I’m very pleased with the design, and I’ve learnt tad a lot about designing blogger templates.
Now, I’m going advanced, implementing some fancy effects on the blog.
Btw, while designing the blogger template, I got a real insight of how powerful the blogger platform is, if you know it inside out.
Wakish
July 6th, 2009 1:43 am
completely Designed it Myself :D
Spencer McDonald
July 6th, 2009 1:43 am
When I started the blog journey, my first blog was a free template. It was not appealing to the eye and soon I found myself looking for a paid premium blog template. Those did not work well. My knowledge of code and such was rusty at best. I thought, “Why not pay a professional to design my blog?” and I did. He was not very reliable and in the end I only got a portion of what I paid for. So… now what. I was confused, frustrated, and down right ready to give up. Then I discovered http://www.frugalthemes.com and found the right platform for designing my blog. I chose to understand how to use the widgets and codes better and the results are posted. My efforts took me at least 40 hours to learn and get right after much practice. Now, I am on my way with blogging.
Jim
July 6th, 2009 1:49 am
I went through numerous blog themes on my blog before and spent two months putting up content before I felt it was ready to be launched. I actually paid for one premium theme before I found another that I liked even more that was cleaner. Of course, I found another one after it launched that I liked even MORE. LOL By then I realized it wasn’t the format so much as the content. I think the format helped with the look of professionalism I was going for. Since it has launched I have tweaked it quite a bit, learning how to do each new thing every step of the way. The site has been live for nearly three months and I’ve updated content every single day. How much longer I can keep up that schedule remains to be seen. It’s been tough. But I’m enjoying the process.
E. Foley - Geek's Dream Girl
July 6th, 2009 1:50 am
My blog is based on Structure by Justin Tadlock. My designer didn’t do much tweaking to the original – mainly color scheme and header and such.
xxxevilgrinxxx
July 6th, 2009 2:10 am
I tweaked an existing free template. Next, I’m working on a child theme thingy, then get brave enough to do my own from scratch. Oddly, I’m looking forward to that :)
HazardousPaste
July 6th, 2009 2:19 am
I had fun creating my own!
justbloglah
July 6th, 2009 2:35 am
I use free template and with minor modifications.
Terri Zwierzynski
July 6th, 2009 2:39 am
I had an existing website design, and wanted my blog to blend with the rest of the website. I paid a designer to create a custom template for me, and I’m glad I did!
Chris Garrett
July 6th, 2009 2:43 am
Interesting results here really, would be interesting to correlate the impact frameworks such as Thesis have had on the amount of people designing blogs entirely themselves.
On the same note, anyone looking to move from a tweaked theme to a custom design, just get in touch with us quoting “ProBlogger” and we’ll give you 25% off our usual prices!
Isaac Yassar
July 6th, 2009 2:45 am
I use a free template from WordPress.org and tweaked it a bit.
Heidi Cool
July 6th, 2009 2:47 am
When I first started making Wordpress blogs–after using Movable Type for several years–I started with a free theme to see how it was structured. Then I dissected the code, moved things about and completely redesigned it to match an existing Web site I’d already created. Basically the original theme helped me see examples of the WordPress loop and other bits in action.
Now, when building new Wordpress sites I typically re-use certain code elements from other sites I’ve built then craft them into something suitable for that particular project.
Penjual Uang Lama
July 6th, 2009 2:48 am
I use a free template which I’ve found somewhere over the net. But, I modified it so it looks a little bit different than the original one. :D
Dawn/FFL
July 6th, 2009 2:52 am
I picked up a free blogger template on the web and tweeked it for more my style – I have seen others I like better since but don’t want to turn people off by changing too much so I will wait until my 1-2 year anniversary with this template.
Josh Wagner
July 6th, 2009 2:52 am
I designed my theme myself. I looked at the innards of some free themes but I built it myself. I think it helps knowing *how* everything works in your theme. If something goes wrong, you’ll be in a better position to fix it.
mickerlodeon
July 6th, 2009 2:52 am
I use a very simple free template that I tweaked quite a bit to make it even more elegant. I’ve found that a lot of free templates want to please everyone and they end up adding all sorts of stuff that most people really shouldn’t be putting on their blog. I don’t use a whole lot of elements that other people do (top posts, recent posts, recent comments etc.) so I really have to tweak most decent looking themes to make it how I want it.
Daniel Richard
July 6th, 2009 2:53 am
Totally done it up myself. :)
Hemanth Kumar
July 6th, 2009 2:54 am
I completely designed my blog. If anyone want one I will do.
Jessica Who
July 6th, 2009 3:00 am
I fell in love with the Thesis theme and bit the bullet, since I’ve implemented it I’ve received a bunch of compliments from my readers and my traffic literally doubled from one week to the next.
I may take some graphic design courses at the local community college in hopes of possibly doing my own blog design one day. I’ve got the vision, just not the skills.
Sudeep
July 6th, 2009 3:17 am
I got my template from Bloggers , but then tweaked it with some additions here and there . Still not that happy or impressed with my work .. need to modify it more further and need help ..
Any webdesigner than can help me ?
Dan
July 6th, 2009 3:22 am
I tweaked a premium theme option?
Kunal Bhalla
July 6th, 2009 3:28 am
Completely designed it myself. It’s my personal design/code playground and always “a work in progress”.
Also minimalistic — my favourite kind of design which I don’t get to implement in other sites I work on.
Dale Chumbley
July 6th, 2009 3:29 am
I love my Thesis! Plain, simple, clean. Powerful!
Aaron
July 6th, 2009 3:46 am
I took a little-used free template that I found and liked. Then I changed the header graphic, altered some of the internal code (the template was made for an old version of WordPress), etc.
Overall, I’m happy with the design, though the coding is a pain as I haven’t worked with PHP much at all and my HTML skills are over ten years old. It’s been a learning experience, but so far I’m happy with the results.
Now to build some real traffic to the thing. lol
Alvin
July 6th, 2009 4:09 am
I started my blog last month with thesis theme. Now I am focusing on the post instead of the design.
Antonio Tajuelo
July 6th, 2009 4:10 am
I created my own template from scratch. It is quite simple and many times a week I tweak it here and there =)
teratips
July 6th, 2009 4:21 am
i also used free template not default
for my Money. blogging Tips blog
http://teratips.com
Todd - Home Construction Improvement
July 6th, 2009 4:22 am
I purchased a template and customized it substantially. The site gets great compliments and it does very well with Adsense and affiliate marketing.
Deborah Kunzie
July 6th, 2009 4:29 am
I design them all and use my own software KeZoor as my blogging platform. Use it for all my customers.
RaceDriven
July 6th, 2009 4:39 am
I used a blogger template and made alot of modifications to it, if you can help it, you can’t leave it just default.
Of course as a Web Guy, I’m never happy with just stock and every template can be tweeted regularly, you never want to be the same as every other site out there.
Cristian
July 6th, 2009 4:49 am
I designed my blog and implemented it using a Child Theme for Thematic Wordpress Theme Framework. It’s a real joy to work with!
Rachel Kramer Bussel
July 6th, 2009 5:02 am
We just did a redesign on Cupcakes Take the Cake, after a reader from Penny Lane Designs volunteered to redo the site for us for free. She revamped the logo, changed the colors and cleaned things up, and we’ve gotten nothing but compliments. After 4+ years it was definitely time to shake things up. I wouldn’t want to redesign all the time and confuse people, but once in a while a refresher is good.
Dee
July 6th, 2009 5:16 am
I knew zip about coding so I had to research how to do it before I could tweak a free theme. Right now, I’m happy with it, but that may change in the future.
yournontoxiclife
July 6th, 2009 5:23 am
I am currently going through a blog design mid-life crisis and just came off a non-default template, mainly due to feedback that it wasn’t professional. Now I am using a blogger template that I customized a bit. Anyone want to check it out?
I’d appreciate BRUTALLY HONEST feedback! Thanks!
Nicholas Z. Cardot
July 6th, 2009 5:31 am
I picked up a template from Woo Theme that I’m really happy with. I then searched the internet for the fonts that they used in the template so that I could customize my own logo and such.
Pet Snakes
July 6th, 2009 5:36 am
I just use thesis theme on all of my sites. Easy as it gets.
Selene M. Bowlby
July 6th, 2009 6:07 am
I designed and developed it myself. :)
Aftercancer
July 6th, 2009 6:12 am
I used a free template over at After cancer now what, designed by Ourblogtemplates.com If you guys are reading, THANKS!
NFL Football
July 6th, 2009 6:15 am
I use the free wordpress templates available in the extend area of wordpress.org. I try to avoid changing the theme itself much cause when the theme is updated, I have to redo all the changes. If there’s something I can put into a widget, I do it.
Arin
July 6th, 2009 6:28 am
I severely modified a perfectly good free blogger template. I like what I got. Funny thing – I only knew HTML when I started but I ended up learning quite a bit of CSS.
Its a great way to learn I must say. Most newbies like I was, aren’t comfortable spending on any amount when it can be done for free.
P.S. Does a template affect your SEO in any way?
Danielle
July 6th, 2009 6:33 am
I’m using a free Woo template – their free stuff rocks but I’ve got my eye on a few of the premium ones!
online game my brute fanatic
July 6th, 2009 7:09 am
I search for free templates and settled with one from ourblogtemplates.com. Then, I did some minor customization until I was satisfied with the look.
Diana
July 6th, 2009 7:24 am
Right now pro templates are out of my range, and since it’s the sort of thing I have to change annually, I prefer to invest my income elsewhere – I do donate to the designers when I can!
Ryan
July 6th, 2009 7:41 am
I use one theme for 2 or 3 of my blogs, but they’re all pretty much just for fun. I’m also using WordPress for a product site for which I created a theme from scratch. The intent was to have a theme that didn’t look like a blog, but still used WordPress for the backend to make it quick and easy to update.
Ravi U
July 6th, 2009 7:45 am
@Alex: Wow, that’s an impressive customization. I usually hate Thesis-powered sites as they tend to have a cookie-cutter look, but yours looks like an Envato kind of site (ie. FreelanceSwitch.com).
I also customized a free template for my site, but I mostly use paid premium themes on other sites I develop for others, where I don’t have time to tinker over time.
Cigar Inspector
July 6th, 2009 7:51 am
Was using a free template the first year, then hired a designer for a unique theme when it took off.
Jade Craven
July 6th, 2009 8:10 am
I ended up using a theme from Themeforest.net . It was only $25 and is a lot easier to hack than some of the other premium themes out there. I really like it.
I would probably hire a designer once my sites grow to a certain point. But until then, will just modify this theme to suit my short term goals. I really love it :)
Bruce Dillahunty
July 6th, 2009 8:18 am
I’ve been surprised at how much emphasis I see on having development done for you… of course maybe that’s why I’m not rich and famous :-)
aBlogz
July 6th, 2009 8:19 am
I am using Blogger with a Free template (not defual ).I want to use WordPress ,but i have no hosting .!
Mike Turco
July 6th, 2009 8:22 am
I’m using wordpress along with a smattering of plugins. I had to tweak pretty much everything and still have a ways to go.
Fredrik Smedenborn
July 6th, 2009 8:43 am
One of the purpose of building my blog was to learn more about the wordpress engine and therefor I built it from ground up.
I think that you use about the same time building your own theme as trying to get into another theme-maker’s thinking and then try to tweek it – though you never really get it exactly as you want it.
Narcisist
July 6th, 2009 9:29 am
I purchased mine and then tweaked it to my liking,I taught myself Style sheets, and everything else in between with trial and error.
Now I do them on the side for a cheap price, extra income always helps.
Beth
July 6th, 2009 9:30 am
I’ve heavily modified a template with Blogger, and have been really surprised at how much you can customise the look of a site, as compared to hosted wordpress blogs (where you have to pay for the CSS access). I’ve been flirting with the idea of moving over to my own hosting, but for the time being I’m quite happy staying with Blogger.
Benjamin Solah
July 6th, 2009 9:34 am
I downloaded Takteek01 and modified the hell out of it, changing fonts and colours and designing my own major header.
Thomas
July 6th, 2009 10:34 am
I use a template and provided all of the art & photography for it myself.
Sean Davis
July 6th, 2009 10:46 am
I used the Thesis Theme as my platform and then went psycho on it…
http://successonmymind.com/
Jay | Wealthy Affiliate Insider
July 6th, 2009 11:17 am
My choice isn’t there. I tweaked a free default template.
Alojamento Para Sites
July 6th, 2009 11:29 am
well, i used a paid software to generate my Wordpress theme
Yes, wrong choise but i was a noob and the theme design seems very much what my blog is about.
After generating i didn`t made anything special on it….
Dan | Bar Zine
July 6th, 2009 11:52 am
I bought a theme called Arthemia Premium. At the time it was the best I could find for my purposes but I still had to modify it a lot, from simple things such as changing the background pattern, fonts and colours through to adding JavaScript code to the search box so that it would display “Search here” before someone clicked on it and modifying code (such as title tags) to improve SEO. I’ve learnt so much from doing it that I’m thinking I might make my own theme from scratch next time …
JJ
July 6th, 2009 12:10 pm
I use a free template from blogger. I have been having a great time. I am attempting to gain a profit from blogging…..however small without spending any money.
Have I been successful yet? If you count nickels and dimes successful then yes. I have been enjoying the process, and will continue to use blogging as an outlet.
See what Chew the Fat is all about.
thehoodnerd
July 6th, 2009 12:21 pm
Im a noob so I paid for a template. Im looking to get it customized a little bit.
goldfries
July 6th, 2009 12:24 pm
I designed all my blogs myself.
It’s
- FREE
- gives me room to exercise my DESIGNER skills
- different from the rest
- an absolutelyticusshiolly satisfying experience when it’s completed.
- an even more absolutelyticusshiolly satisfying experience when people say it looks nice. :D
MotivelessCrime
July 6th, 2009 12:26 pm
I found a free template off of Top Tut. It works flawlessly but I sometimes worry that it doesn’t fully reflect the feel of my blog. Eventually I hope to have my own template built by a professional.
Roberto
July 6th, 2009 12:27 pm
I use the Crybook template. And I did some translation into german :) Not a big deal.
Jenn
July 6th, 2009 12:31 pm
I use one of the free Wordpress templates, no tweaking of code, just as is using the available free widgets and settings. Seems to work for now…
alison
July 6th, 2009 12:32 pm
I had one originally free from pyzam.com.
I then went to Rainydaytemplates.com and had Ellie customize one for me. She loved the argyle and continued to use the image for my background.
Also purchased a unique pre-made template for my personal site: newliefasnewwife.blogspot.com
Ricky Buchanan
July 6th, 2009 12:33 pm
I’ve mostly done my own designing but started off using the Hybrid theme framework from Justin Tadlock. It has made the designing so much easier – especially since he released the “skeleton” child theme which doesn’t actually have any styling as such but has all the elements there ready to mess with. It’s the most flexible thing I’ve ever found :)
Keith Wozniak
July 6th, 2009 12:46 pm
Bought a premium theme and made a few small changes. Bought a few diff themes and finally realized to stop looking at themes so I’m not tempted to buy yet another.
Bridget Casas
July 6th, 2009 12:46 pm
I use the Wordpress The Journalist v1.3 template. I did design my own website at http//:www.onegoodphotographer.com and I am making some changes to it now.
Customized Marketing
July 6th, 2009 12:56 pm
Well, needed the choice I considerably tweaked a premium template. Will probably continue to tweak!
Mikes Sumondong
July 6th, 2009 1:46 pm
Where is this going?
Morgan
July 6th, 2009 1:53 pm
I feel pretty lucky, because my husband is a web developer/designer, so the design is mine, but he is doing all of the work. I honestly don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have him as a resource. (I am launching it on the 15th of July.)
Paramendra Bhagat
July 6th, 2009 2:03 pm
I am glad to be in the majority.
“I Considerably Tweaked a Free Template.”
darya
July 6th, 2009 2:24 pm
I borrowed code from several different free themes then tweaked it a lot to fit my needs. I’ve never seen a theme like mine, and since it was my first go at it I’m pretty proud of myself :)
Zemalf
July 6th, 2009 2:34 pm
Somewhere between considerable tweaked a free one and completely designed myself.. going for a new one from blank to get it just right and know exactly what’s in there.
Whitney
July 6th, 2009 2:58 pm
I just had my website professionally done by Gisele Jaquenod Designs. I like her style so much that I am thinking of hiring her to redesign all my blogs so that they are a cohesive bunch (but each with their own style).
Muzi Mohale
July 6th, 2009 4:31 pm
I had a premium theme http://www.wpzoom.com/themes/yamidoo/ tweaked to suit my needs. Some of the premium themes are just rubbish, I’ve paid for useless stuff before with very limited options on the admin page.
I’m now more experienced and know what to look for before buying a premium theme.
barry finlay
July 6th, 2009 5:21 pm
I use the free theme Atahualpa 3.3.3 by BFA WebDesign but spent a lot of time tweaking the theme and doing all my own graphics. I intend to develope my own theme at some point, just trying to find the time.
BLOGERCISE
July 6th, 2009 6:33 pm
I use a non-unique paid for theme, although I didn’t pay for it! It was donated by the designer and allowed him to get it seen on a flagship blog!
Dean Saliba
July 6th, 2009 6:51 pm
I’m not very good at creating a layout from scratch so what I do is get a free one and then edit the hell out of it.
replica watches
July 6th, 2009 7:00 pm
we’ve done the design ourself after trying several disappointing companies and freelancers.
http://www.zenreplica.com
Novephel
July 6th, 2009 7:17 pm
I tweaked the iNove theme that Wordpress offers. Now it looks nothing like the original and it’s unique.
Amy Grindhouse
July 6th, 2009 8:22 pm
As some above hint, was not able to splash out on a bespoke theme, i tweaked a great free one I found. I absolutely love it with my own touch!
Gaby
July 6th, 2009 8:30 pm
I designed and coded mine myself. Or more, I coded it and then designed it, so it’s semantic.
Perniagaan Internet
July 6th, 2009 8:50 pm
Actally, the theme that I use right now
already edited by me by some coding
Glady
July 6th, 2009 9:03 pm
I won Revolution Pro Media in a contest and I tweaked it. Now I bought Thesis theme and customize it for my clients. It’s a really neat theme. Makes designers out of ordinary people. :-D
Dominique
July 6th, 2009 9:38 pm
I used a free template and tweaked it to what i needed. Have tried with premium templates which I have won but they seem very complicated to customise(Maybe coz I am not a designer /coder by profession)
Jens P. Berget
July 6th, 2009 9:45 pm
I hired a professional designer from India. He’s awesome and fairly cheap.
He designes everything I use, all my blogs, websites, banners and ebooks.
- jens -
Leanne
July 6th, 2009 10:22 pm
I designed my full portfolio/blog myself – using one installation of WordPress and a large handful of custom templates to get different looks for different categories.
I’m a self-taught WordPress designer, though, with a background in fine art and graphic design.
I don’t even want to know how much it would have cost to hire it out.
I’d be curious to see a poll “how much would you pay for a custom design”.
Justin Woodbridge
July 6th, 2009 10:24 pm
I use Thesis, which have customized, but am eternally improving.
Thesis is a great theme for people with interest in web design, as it lets you easily customize the theme.
Michael
July 6th, 2009 10:26 pm
There are a lot of great free templates out there for both Wordpress and Blogger if you are willing to search around a bit to find them.
Samuel - sparklife.info
July 6th, 2009 10:28 pm
I designed mine in Dreamweaver (you can copy/paste a lot of the code, so you don’t have to be a programming whizz) and then ‘converted it’ into php wordpress-theme compatible. It’s a lot easier than you think and you can get everything EXACTLY how you like rather than having to fit a predesigned theme. I’m happy to explain how to do it if anyone is interested. :)
Sam
L Webb
July 6th, 2009 11:00 pm
My partner and I did all the customization ourselves on both of our Movable Type sites. They’re always a work in progress as we add new features.
http://www.mygourmetconnection.com
http://www.myshoppingconnection.com
Pam
July 6th, 2009 11:10 pm
I mostly use free themes that I tweak, but for my main blog I purchased the DIYThemes Thesis theme.
Bob
July 6th, 2009 11:12 pm
You don’t have the option I took – customizing a premium template; I’m using a version of Innuendo.
Michelle
July 6th, 2009 11:15 pm
I am a beginner. Don’t know HTML or CSS. Not happy with the free themes I tried. Then found Atahualpa in the Wordpress.org free themes. Lots of room for modification. I created a very SIMPLE theme which suits me and my audience. I love it! I even have a favicon!
Michele
July 6th, 2009 11:16 pm
We use a free Wordpress design. There are so many many wonderful options and we have been able to add and delete what we like.
Jodi Kaplan
July 6th, 2009 11:45 pm
I used a free template with minor tweaks.
Tim
July 6th, 2009 11:45 pm
I designed and developed mine myself. It’s a very simple design so it wasn’t hard, but having said that, I’ve also done some fairly complex themes for other people.
ITrush
July 6th, 2009 11:46 pm
I use a premium design too and customize it myself so that it’ll look different from the other.
ithemesdotnet
July 7th, 2009 12:36 am
Interesting to see that the number of people that use a free theme (not default) [157] is so close to the number of people who use a premium theme [150].
direct response marketing
July 7th, 2009 12:49 am
as i started blogging and i dont get much revenue out of it i am using a free template which is tweaked a bit,
Mario
July 7th, 2009 1:24 am
Darren,
I write two blogs (English / Spanish) about the subject of financial literacy using the blogspot platform.
Although I’ve heard many positive comments about wordpress, I’ve remained as a blogspot user which doesn’t mean that won’t consider migrating my work. First, I need to learn how difficult it could be.
http://financialculture.blogspot.com
Kind Regards.
Sam Mbale
July 7th, 2009 1:34 am
I use both Blogger and Wordpress. Blogger is good for ease of use and wordpress is fine if you are into PHP
Entrepinoy Bank
July 7th, 2009 1:39 am
I used Quick Press wordpress free template in Entrepinoy Bank and will tweak it to suit my needs. Even if it has simple design, I like it because it loads fast. Anyway here is my baby:
http://entrebankph.com and htt://www.elliswell.com
Mahesh
July 7th, 2009 1:54 am
I’m using a free theme from UBD. But, I tweaked it a little.
-Mahesh.
Sanjo-chan
July 7th, 2009 3:07 am
I recently created my own Magazine based blog theme with my knowledge of HTML and CSS after putting up with many free themes out there already. It took a few months to put together, but this was to make sure everything went smoothly before launch, of course. ^^
r0man.de
July 7th, 2009 3:30 am
Own work of course. Well, im Designer :)
teratips
July 7th, 2009 3:33 am
Great Poll, i dropped my poll
Money Blogging Tips by http://teratips.com
TheAnand
July 7th, 2009 4:07 am
I hired Ben Jacob(benjacob.in) to do mine :)
fas
July 7th, 2009 4:39 am
What about tweaking a paid template?
C. C. Wooden
July 7th, 2009 5:42 am
I purchased Thesis and would like to customize it. Where does one learn to customize?
RyoBase
July 7th, 2009 8:44 am
use a free template and then customize it.
Jermaine Holmes
July 7th, 2009 8:53 am
I used to tweak free themes, but I did finally found a free theme I liked and didn’t have to tweak. It’s perfect for my website. I also found one that works for my personal blog, but I’m more ecstatic about the one I found for my business website.
David Stillwagon
July 7th, 2009 11:17 am
I took the freebie!
Traffic Blogger
July 7th, 2009 11:34 am
Interesting comments. I like using free and premium templates/themes, and modifying them as needed. Why build a theme from scratch when there are most likely themes that are already done that are even nicer than what you had in mind?
Kim
July 7th, 2009 1:09 pm
I’m currently using a free template that I tweaked quite a bit, only because I’m still learning how most of the code works. As I develop more skills in that area, I look to do more of my own thing.
Flat Baby
July 7th, 2009 1:58 pm
im designing myself, kinda tight budget here
Blogger Make Money
July 7th, 2009 3:51 pm
I customized my free template myself, and I think it is unique.
enterprise resource planning
July 7th, 2009 4:27 pm
The benefit of a search engine friendly website is it has a greater chance of getting sales. Good website structure makes people spends more time on your site and the more vital it turn out to be useful in their mind, the better chances that they will purchase your product or services.
Jazz
July 7th, 2009 5:04 pm
I used a free theme but did quite a bit of customisation. in retrospect its actually made it harder to maintain in the long run as upgrades to wordpress and some plugins have impacted our CSS
Jennifer
July 7th, 2009 6:12 pm
I took a free theme & completely re-designed it from the ground-up. But I’ve also been poking around with the code.
Gaby
July 7th, 2009 9:31 pm
I noticed Traffic Blogger’s comment “Why build a theme from scratch when there are most likely themes that are already done that are even nicer than what you had in mind?” Because it’s fun :D
Anthony
July 8th, 2009 1:43 am
Being a Wordpress professional, I designed all my themes myself.
I won’t say from scratch but nearly, I use a CSS grid for all my projects (960gs) and the rest is mine :D
Kat Rice
July 8th, 2009 1:53 am
Since my company does so much work for clients, building wordpress blogs and CMS, we did it our selves: http://www.veribatim.com/blog/
J2S
July 8th, 2009 2:06 am
I’m using a free template from WordPress.com because I can’t make up my mind. Once I do finally decide what I’m going to do cosistently, I’m switching to the .org version of WordPress and I’ll pay for the THESIS theme.
Lee Ka Hoong
July 8th, 2009 6:02 pm
I’m not hiring anyone to design my blog themes but still I vote for “I hired a Designer for a Unique Design”, because I’m winning a blog contest in someone else blog, so the owner designed a Wordpress themes for me.
Regards,
Lee
Brian
July 8th, 2009 7:50 pm
I have several blogs running but one of my main ones is with Google’s blogspot which I customised through the html editor so that it looks a little more unique. This is fairly easy to do just by using an image for the header, changing column widths and background colours.
I have also started to use Wordpress now for my new blogs and I purchase my own domain names to publish them against rather than using a free platform.
tish
July 8th, 2009 11:08 pm
I use Joomla and one of the Joomla templates that I could customize.
Grace @ Sandier Pastures
July 8th, 2009 11:28 pm
A friend of mine tweaked a free WP template. Right now, I so want to change to a more professional looking theme and weighing the option of hiring a designer to do it from scratch or find a decent looking theme and have someone tweak it for me. It all depends on my budget now (which is not much!).
Because no, I am not a designer and can’t afford my blog to display an error if I make a coding mistake! :-(
Patelligence
July 9th, 2009 1:01 am
I use WordPress for my main blog, but I also have a Blogger account.
I’m looking into redesigning it. Any thoughts on where to find the best free templates?
Thanks…
Headless Mom
July 9th, 2009 1:11 am
Karen from Amusing Designs did a great job with mine!
Money Making Ideas
July 9th, 2009 11:57 am
I won a a prize of a membership site for premium themes, so my current themes is a premium themes. It’s a premium themes, but it’s FREE.
Cheers,
Davis Lee
DK
July 9th, 2009 3:07 pm
My husband and I did everything from scratch on our own. Learning every small bit and realizing that so called trivial stuff turn out to be the biggest pain (u know where) was some of the benefits of this process!
DK
July 9th, 2009 3:08 pm
My husband and I did everything from scratch on our own. Learning every small bit and realizing that so called trivial stuff turn out to be the biggest pain (u know where) were some of the benefits of this process!
tasarhane
July 9th, 2009 4:50 pm
designed myself.. still working on it ;)
Shay
July 10th, 2009 9:01 am
I used to run a heavily-modified version of the Mimbo theme but just recently launched a new theme designed and coded by myself. It feels good to finally have my own creation =)
yonasu
July 10th, 2009 12:19 pm
At the moment I’m using a highly customized premium template, the only thing that’s left of the original template is actually only the sidebar. I’m working on a new design which should be up and running in about a week or two though!
TheBlogISMine
July 11th, 2009 2:18 am
completely Designed it Myself :D… So it’s worth to see my PRemium Unique WP Theme like John Chow Dot Com WP Theme buy mine more beautiful…. -)) if you want I can share it with you -)
John | China Travel Guide
July 11th, 2009 1:01 pm
I used a Free Template, then designed details.
Tall Blogger
July 12th, 2009 1:45 am
I completely designed it myself too. I like it this way because I know every little peace of my site and can change it how I want and where I want at any time.
James Whatley
July 13th, 2009 6:51 am
a friend of mine designed it in exchange for free publicity/recommendation
A good deal :)
Wordpress Theme Builder
July 15th, 2009 3:31 pm
I used to use the pre developed themes from different sites but now I developed my online tool for making highly customizable themes for any kind of website. Do try!
SURVEYS FOR MONEY
July 18th, 2009 7:55 pm
For the moment I’m using a free default template, partly because I’m a new blogger. I’m more than likely to tweak a template or design my own in the future. But for me to do that at this moment would take considerable time away from my blogging. But a unique design would help me to draw more readers in.
Opal Pendant
July 19th, 2009 7:33 pm
Its better To get a Free Theme which Is good For Your Niche And Work On Content too,
I did a little Css Tweaking after watching some tuts and similar things and i saw some improvements in clicks so Kept that theme From more then a month, Will try a new theme sooner too see what diff i get
jay ess
July 27th, 2009 3:01 am
unfortunately i don’t have enough experience with css, html, or php to create my own theme so i had to get a free theme. however, it is an excellent theme (hybrid) and am quite pleased with it. it’s very customizeable and has plenty of space to put whatever you need to where ever you want to put something. and for someone like me, that makes it nearly perfect. also, it is very simplistic so people don’t get distracted with too much going on.
Roberta
August 4th, 2009 2:23 pm
My boyfriend designed mine and it’s the most unique theme I’ve ever seen…he’s a genius :)
jackssparrow
August 13th, 2009 6:41 pm
Really great ideas. I like every example. Just might have to try these… So cute! Thank you!
more templates easy to download
rohlinge
September 29th, 2009 9:30 pm
This is interesting to know that compared to the rest, those venturing to design their own templates are a considerable minority !
I now should be proud of being one of them !
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