How to Buy a Custom WordPress Theme
Posted by Mike | Filed under Blogging
Let’s face it — custom themes can highly boost your blog’s reputation. Custom themes give your blog a recognizable design and an established brand. Since I’m having The WWW Observer redesigned again (someone is coding the theme now), I decided to share some tips with you on how to buy a custom WordPress theme. There are a lot of things that you should consider and pay attention to when buying custom themes. I’ll brief you into all (if not all, then most) of them and hopefully you’ll have an idea on how to properly purchase a custom theme without having regrets.
First, look for a designer. Find a designer who has a nice portfolio. There are several out there who have well-established portfolios but charge a lot more than others who don’t. You may also want to check some designers who are just starting to build a portfolio but have the skillz to create your dream theme. Some of them have “dont-pay-if-you’re-not-satisfied” offers, be sure to give their services a try.
Thoroughly check the designer’s pricing and terms. Once you have found the person or the company that you think can design the theme of your dreams according to your specifications, take a look at the pricing and the terms of service.
Be sure that you have the budget to order a custom theme from the designer! Ask him how long it will take him to finish the job for the said price. Also check if the designer offers refunds in case you’re not satisfied with the design. Some don’t offer refunds but offer unlimited revisions. Some don’t issue refunds and don’t revise the design at all.
Take extra measures to avoid regrets later — always read the terms and the fine print!
When you have checked the cost and the terms, it’s time to send the design concept. You have to send a wireframe or a layout to the designer. He’s not a mind reader nor is an excellent guesser. He can’t just guess how you want the design to look like! Send him a detailed layout so that he can get an idea on how you want the theme to look like.
Be specific on the details as much as possible to help the designer come up with a design that will surely satisfy you. Tell him what you like, and what you dislike. If you can, show him some themes that you find great and some themes that you don’t really like. To make the communication easier, get his instant messenger ID.
Be updated! Chat with the designer through IM to be updated with the design’s progress. Ask him to show you the design that he came up with every now and then. Review it if the design is to your liking or not. Ask the designer to make necessary changes.
Once you’re satisfied with the looks of the theme, it’s time to proceed to the coding work. If your designer can code the design himself, then that’s good. If not, then you have to find a WordPress coder to do it. I recommend Andrew from PSDtoCode.com. He’s the one coding my theme right now and I think he’s doing a good job. All of his past customers have been happy and have asked him to do multiple coding jobs.
Note: This is NOT a sponsored post or whatever. I really recommend Andrew for his professional yet affordable coding service.
After the coding has been done, it’s time to scrutinize! Well, it’s what we’re good at, right? Scrutinizing, analyzing and observing weird stuff. Check if everything is aligned perfectly. See if images were used in the navigation and other parts of the theme instead of text. Is the search bar working? Better make sure it does. Does the theme break if you have long post titles? Check and make sure the theme looks great at all times.
Bottom line: Be sure that you’re 100% satisfied with the code before asking the coder to zip everything and send the files to you!
Get your theme and upload it! It’s time to open your favorite FTP client and upload your theme’s files. Log in to your blog’s admin panel and change your blog’s theme to the new one! Tell your friends to visit your blog ’cause it has a new look and feel. Don’t forget to ENJOY YOUR THEME! 
P.S. If you’re just looking for free WordPress themes, check out my small collection.
I’ll settle for making my own custom themes for the sake of saving money. :p
Sounds like you’re a designer yourself…
Do you mind showing me your portfolio?
Well, that is IF I have a portfolio.
My 2nd latest template is at my main site.
The great thing about making your own templates is that you get to save a few dollars, and at the same time you will have a 100% unique template that you know inside out.
Nice template.
I hope I had the creativity that others have so that I can make my own templates. How I wish I had the talent to create themes!
I saw this from google search. I am curious what exactly is the range when buying a ready made template with WP theme and how much it would be to have it custom designed? Any suggestion?
I have been looking around how this stuff works because I just bought a domain and want to pair it with better theme.
Thank you.