This is one of the most important things when deciding to blog i think, there are an abundance of free themes out there that are good, great and some completely rubbish, after trying many free themes i have decided to go for a paid theme from studiopress and have not looked back, obviously i will eventually get a unique theme when or if the blog takes off well but until then im sticking to my theme, i'm fairly new to blogging (about 2 months) so i'm still finding my feet, i have had the blog open for 2 weeks now and i do have 11 subscribers already which i am pleased about, but i have nly had 1 comment so far, firstly what are your views on paid or free themes, and what do you think of my blog? any feedback is welcome. thanks blokebuddy.com
Mandigo 1.41 Widget-ready two/three-column theme, available in blue, red, green, pink, purple, orange & teal schemes. Sony BMG Sweden and the Björk's Volta Tour blog use Mandigo, just like thousands of other sites!
I think free and paid themes both have their perks in their own way. For free themes, I use them (rarely), but the best thing about it is that webmasters (and other people) can have a decently looking design at no cost. You also have a wide selection to go through - but that also means filtering out the junk For paid themes - it depends on the price. There are some wordpress themes for sale that are simply overpriced, and some that are totally worth it. If there's a theme you absolutely love that is paid (and there isn't a free one out there) - I'd personally consider purchasing it.
I set up a lot of Wordpress sites for clients and they love the free themes and it gets them into a site for cheap. Then down the road they can spend a little for some customizations. I love free themes. I try lots of them out and get new ideas them when I get board I make a custom one. I guess it just depends if you want a site no one else has then you need a custom theme. Personally I like custom themes but I have my own labor for free.
I always go for unique themes because it will be unique one you will find many site like you when you use free themes
I think if you don't want to go for a brand new completely unique theme coded for you and if you don't want to go for the cheap free ones; you should just find a good free theme and pay someone to customize it to your liking. It won't cost as much as a brand new one and wont suck as much as a free one plus it would be (sort of) unique.
it's hard to get advice on something that is all about preference. I personally have used both free and premium themes, and as far as users go, they don't really care whether or not you paid for your theme. Not all free themes are junk, some of them are actually really nice. As far as feedback on your site, you should sign up for some affiliate programs and fill up those "advert" placeholders, those are ugly as hell, and it's proven that they don't work. If you have adult ads or something in those spots, you'll be able to really monetize that blog.