Free, premium or custom?

[sizzler_chetan]

This is in regards to a wordpress theme, if you are using it for your blog.

Do you go for a free theme always or a premium paid or a real custom theme which is specific for your blog?

Which one has worked well for you?
Want to hear everyone's views on this. :)

[Kevin]

I would usually customise a free or premium theme at the start of a blogs life but once it starts making money, pay for a unique professional looking theme.

It all comes down to budget though. If you have money behind you I would get a unique theme designed from the start.

[sarahG]

Some blogs that are more up for commercial purposes have custom themes, however for my own personal blogs I tend to grab a nice free theme and then either clean up the code (it's rare to find a well coded free theme!) and/or add my own enhancements to it.

I think if it's just a personal site or just starting out then a freebie theme is fine to get on with, however once you can afford to or if you have the design skills, then a custom design is a good idea. Unless you choose a very unpopular freebie you'll most likely run into the same theme over and over as I know I have!

[sizzler_chetan]

What i have always seen is that many people use the free theme, try to customize it a bit and then remove the link to designer. It is not at all a good practice, as the original code is still provided by the designer who gave the theme for free.

[navjotjsingh]

It depends on budget only nowdays. I have seen new blogs using custom designs from designers who charge the moon and blogs older than a year like mine using a free theme! :D All that matters is money!

[sizzler_chetan]

I don't think its money that matters always. As i have seen a few bloggers who have blogs earning thousands a month but still have a basic theme with no customization. They might not be caring about the money to go for a new custom theme, but actually they would be happy with the current theme and see no reason to change to a new one.

[narendra.s.v]

well at first i went for a free themes(ofcousre even now) used them and they are just fair enough to use later time i used to have some paid themes but as they are just pre made they haven't suited well so again when back to free theme and i like it! not to say & you don't say, now we are on the way with a stunning custom theme with a BANG! ish silence plz!!!! ;)

[wahmsuzanne]

I've paid for a theme and later found it didn't meet my needs (thanks kevin for some help with that one LOL) ... and most recently I found a free theme and paid the designer/creator to customize it a bit ... so a combination I guess.

What are you willing to pay to have a theme customized for you? I paid $112.00 and felt it was worth every penny! I do not know much at all about design or code so I'd rather hire it out and spend my time promoting. *SmiLes* Suzanne

[narendra.s.v]

@wahmsuzanne thats cool! and even $112 is fair price as designers these days take some $300 to $1000+ per job(including me ;)) :D

[EmmaB]

I like using free themes to help keep overhead down. I recently learned a bit about CSS designing, so I will soon be customizing the look of the free theme I am currently using. I have won premium themes in contests before and love them. If I am lucky enough to win a custom theme you can bet I will use it :p

Somewhere down the line, I am hoping to either buy or create a custom theme.

[narendra.s.v]

hehe i wish i would win some premium or 1 theme in this contest from UBD and will keep one with me n one as a giveaway :D

[ap4a]

I created my own Wordpress template for my blog. I prefer the flexibility of creating my own and tailoring it to my needs. If I get around to setting up a gallery on there then I may need to redesign it so that it works better with the new content - though I may do that on a different domain instead.

[Rarst]

I am using free theme but with plenty of tweaks. I will probably hire someone to customize parts that are to hard to do for me in the future.

[athlon24]

I'm also down to free themes then I'll customize it to suit my taste. In reality, there are lots of free themes out there that is even much better than paid themes but of course, uniqueness matters for most. The good thing is that, sometimes premium themes seller give away some free decent theme and it's always nice to have them because reputation of premium theme maker is still embedded in free deals.