Sponsored Themes - whats your opinion

[Kevin]

i found this article today

Sponsored Themes (http://weblogtoolscollection.com/archives/2007/04/12/on-sponsored-themes/)

in my opinion the guys basically encouraging people to rip designers off

this is my reply



This has to be one of the poorest arguments i have read about this as yet.

First off, i am the first to admit that there are designers out there ripping off designs, changing it a bit and calling it their own. However, i do not believe that has anything to do with this. Neither do i believe that because wordpress is free, designers must not place any links back to their website on it.

If a designer wants his themes sponsors then it really is up to them…if you dont want to a theme with a link on it then just dont download it. Simple

If you are happy with taking off designers links then im sure youd have no problem with bloggers copying every post you make on your blog and never linking back to your site. Its the same thing.

Im not a designer but what conditions a designer places on a theme he or she releases is up to them. The same can be said for plugins etc too

the fact is, there is a great number of blogs which are just for personal use - for family and friends etc. These themes allow them to spice up their personal page without shelling out a few hundred for a unique design.

[cmanlong]

I know that for some folks that don't have a knowledge of HTML or CSS these downloadable themes are great. They can get a better theme than blogger or wordpress offers without having to shell out the dough for a true custom theme. Many people in this position wouldn't have a problem with a link back to the theme author or in most cases editor.

I know for me when I was first starting my blog I really wanted a 3 column template and blogger just didn't offer one. I found quite a few places that had slightly modified the original blogger themes so as to make them 3 column while placing a "modified by:" link at the bottom. I didn't really like this idea so I started brushing up on CSS and made the edits myself along with making some really nice additions that these sponsored themes just didn't offer.

While my template is certainly not the greatest, it is still a work in progress, I have had a few requests from newer bloggers about where I got it and could they use it. Almost all of the edits I have made to my template have eventually found their way into posts on my site and in this way my template is already basically available for free for those who are willing to read my posts and take the time to follow a few instructions.

I think sponsored themes have their place and market and if done right are pretty much a win-win for the author/editor and the end user.

[Kevin]

I found messing about with the theme of BloggingTips gave me a lot of ideas for blog posts too. I've been meaning to cover more blogger related topics as after wordpress its probably the most popular blogging platform.

[Michael-Martin]

I think sponsored themes are fine. The designer made it, so it should be up to them, and people will only use them if they don't mind it. What's the problem with that? :)

That said, it gets unfair when you see theme designers who have simply taken HTML templates from elsewhere, converted them to WP themes, then slapped an advert on them.... :(

I can also understand Matt removing sponsored themes from the theme directory. Matt doesn't force you to retain the WP logo even, so having his site handing out themes that force you to keep an advert, and make someone else money would be quite annoying to him I imagine.

[rhyswynne]

I don't agree with Matt removing sponsored themes, if done correctly. How many blogs out there that have not been worked on have the same blogroll, and he gets links from them?!?

Though I don't agree with putting php to force the user to keep the sponsors name within the theme, but a simple text link in the footer is fine IMO.

[Mani Karthik]

Kev, Recently at the WordCamp, Matt has openly declared his dis-interest with the sponsored themes. In the power point slide he made available on the site he says (on slide no.25) - "Don't use sponsored theme - can lose all your trust in different search engines".

:(

[Michael-Martin]

"Don't use sponsored theme - can lose all your trust in different search engines".

:(

I think that that is just an over-exaggeration.

What he means is that if the sponsor's site is a spam-site, and you're linking to it, then yes, Google will notice that and it could well judge your site based on that.

But what if the sponsor isn't a bad site?

It's rare that you'll get a great sponsor, but a half decent one even? I doubt it would hurt all that much then.

[ses5909]

This is something I am doing...kind of. Basically I plan on providing unique themes to my community members and at the bottom in the footer I will have a link back to my website: theme provided by TBE...or something.

I've got a few reasons for doing this.

1. I want to provide more value to the members
2. Having the link there does provide a link back to the community and could help in the SEs as well as spreading the word.

Obviously people CAN change the footer, but my hope is that they won't.

[Kevin]

Doesn't Matt appreciate that a link back to the original designers portfolio is their only way of promoting their site ie. thousands of great designs would not have been released if the designer knew they would get no credit for it

[ses5909]

yeah i don't get it. I find it similar to contributing plugins or contributing to the OpenSource community. It's nice to at least provide a link back to the author.

[Mani Karthik]

Im guessing that Matt is thinking about it this way.
- Aren't they paid links? (Which google doesn't like.)
- What if they are unrelated sites? (Aren't you trying to alter the algorithm?)

In that perspective. I think i should support Matt.

[ses5909]

are they paid links though? If the person gets to download the theme for free? The only link is the designer who put their time and effort into the design...free of charge.

or are you referring to people who sell links on their themes?

[Mani Karthik]

Yes Sara - i've written an article on it here - http://www.bloggingtips.com/2007/08/14/using-a-sponsored-theme-wrong-decision-my-friend/

[shypys]

So you're trying to say that a link in my footer to getk2.com, a pr8 site that provides the best coded(and most easily customizable) WP theme for free, will dilute my TrustRank? You had me there mate...

Btw, if you guys have a problem with those footer links, just email the author/designer if you can remove the link(s). He wont mind it, more often that not.

[Ginene]

I think a link back to the author is fair but I wouldn't pay for a theme when I can google alot of free themes.