Over the past two years, I think I’ve spent a few hundred dollars purchasing WordPress themes for various reasons. The downside is, I’ve only used a few of them. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to buy something that looks great in the display case but no matter what you try, it doesn’t look that good in practice. With that in mind, here are 7 tips for both theme authors and customers for a better shopping experience.
Design First – In a recent poll conducted on WPTavern.com, I asked what the most important selling point was regarding purchasing a theme. Not surprisingly, design came out on top. When I go shopping for a theme, I already have an idea of what I want my site to look like. So, I take notice of not only the design but the layout or structure of the theme. I’ve become pretty good at modifying existing designs to the point where they look like something custom.
Must Have A Demo – This picks up where point 1 leaves off. I’ve been to a few commercial theme sites that preach all the stuff their themes have to offer with pretty pictures and the works. But, no demo. The bottom line is, if there is no demo of the theme in action, I’m moving on to something else. Demos are also used as a way to gauge the quality of code within the theme by other developers who may be looking at purchasing the theme to use as a base for their clients. I think of demos as a way to try before you buy.
Support – You can’t even begin to think about purchasing a theme unless you know for certain you’re going to receive quality support. I remember coming across a really slick design that I fell in love with but because I couldn’t access the forums without being a paid member, I couldn’t get a feel for how good support was. Sure, the email and forum support could have been top notch but since I had no way of knowing that before hand, it was a risk I wasn’t willing to spend 75$ on.
What I Saw And What I Have Are Different – This has to be one of the most annoying aspects which comes after the purchase of a theme. What I thought looked great in the display case turns out to be a nightmare to configure. This is the number one reason why I haven’t used the majority of themes I have purchased because I can’t get them to look the same they did in their display case or it’s to hard to make them look the way I envisioned them to.
Some of this problem lies on my shoulders though. As I shop around for a theme, I see something I really like and inside of my head, I envision how I would change things around to fit the idea I have in my head. After making the purchase, I find out that it’s too much trouble to go through to get the idea from head to paper so I don’t use the theme.
No Refunds – Equally as annoying but at least understandable is the fact that there are no refunds on downloadable products in the WordPress community. It makes sense considering once the product has been distributed, the business loses control over that products distribution and if they were to refund that money, they would go out of business really quick. This just means that it is very important that you cross your T’s and dot your I’s before going through with the purchase.
Resource Files – Unless it’s specifically stated on the purchase page that you get access to the source files such as PSD, font files, etc ask the theme author if these come with the theme or not. If they don’t and that particular theme uses a graphic for a logo, it will be difficult to change unless you have Photoshop experience or know someone that does.
Have A Showcase – At least a few times during my shopping trip, I’ll browse around to see if there is a showcase available which shows examples of the theme in action. I enjoy looking to see how people have modified the theme as it gives me a sense of what I would be able to achieve. If you’re a commercial theme author and you don’t have a showcase, you are really doing yourself a disservice.
Share Your Tips:
That rounds out my list of 7 tips for both commercial theme authors and customers. Thank goodness I finally found a theme I can invest my time in and not worry about changing every three months. I’m interested in hearing what sort of tips you have to share either as a customer or for commercial theme authors.
Once you’re done here, pop into the forum and let us know what are the top three preferences for choosing a theme.
Interview With Ryan Imel Of CommentBits.com
By Jeffro on July 9, 2009
What is CommentBits.com?
CommentBits.com is just a little shop I put together for selling a few different comment designs for WordPress. Right now there are three different sets, available on their own or together, and pretty cheaply. I hear every now and then that people hate developing their own comment areas, so this is one idea I have to remedy that problem. Each set comes with the PHP, CSS and images you’ll need to incorporate it into your theme. Oh, and the PSD too, to make tweaking easier.
Is this aimed for those putting a theme together where they can quickly add in a comment style you created? Or is this more for people who simply want a fresh new look for their comments even if it looks nothing like the surrounding design?
I guess I was thinking mostly of myself and people I know when putting it together. I’m not one for hypothetical customers, or anything like that. I know that I, myself, have come to the point in a site design where I hit the comment area and just cringe. So I tried to build something that would be attractive to me, and to people like me, in that situation.
So each style comes with a 4-8 color options, which is one way to make it a little bit easier to fit into your themes. At the same time, customization isn’t difficult either, as all of the markup is clean and valid.
So if you don’t have a comment design that matches a customers site, are you willing you whip one up for them?
Sure. The site mentions that we’ll take any PSD design and whip it into a comment setup for them, same as any other style on the site. Just get in touch with us via the site’s contact form and we’ll set it up.
Speaking of implementation, is it a simple matter of copy and paste?
I would call it an install process. But easy enough for someone running their own site, downloading and installing themes/Plugins, etc. Just drop in a comments.php file and a matching folder (for images, if necessary) and add a single line to the functions.php file. Not exactly copy/paste, but some solid instructions are included on the site, and with every purchase.
I have to say that after looking at the prices, a stylish comment form design could be had for just $7.00! That is pretty darn cheap.
I’m glad you think so.
I also noticed you have an affiliate program already lined up. What are the details regarding that?
The prices are set up that way specifically to lower the barrier to entry. They are just comments, in the end. But hopefully, at that price, some might consider giving one or more of them a shot when taking on their next comment styling project. Handy for you, a little money for me. Win win.
The affiliate program is pretty straightforward. The payout is 20%, and works just like you would expect. For now we have the one 125×125 button, but will add more as the demand shows.
I think what you have here is a great idea and could prove to be quite a little niche for yourself in a big market. Other than providing stylish comment forms, would you be interested in doing outsourced development of a comment section of a theme if a theme author hired you? For instance, being the go to guy for comment form design?
I’m always interested in particular work, sure. Not sure that I’m up for being typecast that way, ha. But comment styling can be a real hangup at times, especially when you want to get just the right design in there. I’ve done my fair share of nested comments, in WordPress and elsewhere, so it’s not the worst thing I could be doing.
It’s also worth saying, I think the direction to go right now is stylish theme niches, whereas the big theme shops have a lot of clout right now, dominating most of the commercial WordPress world. We little guys have to think cleverly and move quick to keep up.
We haven’t mentioned this but how is support handled?
For now I’m channeling all support to either the contact form for one-on-one support, or to the Theme Playground forum if the customer so chooses. If it becomes clear that a CommentBits specific forum is necessary, I’ll happily put one up. Besides, I’ve been wanting to play around with bbPress 1.0 since it poped up this last week.
Thanks for giving us an inside look at CommentBits. I’d say your launch was a success as a number of WP folks took notice on Twitter. What plans or ideas do you have for the site that we can look forward to?
I’m looking forward to seeing these styles in use, and getting feedback from the community most of all. These are the sorts of ideas that get me excited, so I hope to be able to spend time on more like it in the future. Regarding the future of CommentBits, expect more styles in the near future, and perhaps a user gallery to show off the comments in use in the field. Thanks for the interview, Jeff!
Half Price Special
Ryan was kind enough to give WPTavern readers a special discount code that can be used within the next 24 hours to receive half price off of his lifetime pass. When checking out, use the coupon code DrinkUp.
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Posted in Themes | Tagged commentbits, designs, services, Themes | 12 Responses