Getting down to business

Tue, Jun 17, 2008

Well, rumor has it that some of the natives have been a bit restless around these parts because I had to take the weekend off from posting to clear my schedule, get caught up at work, and deal with a number of issues outside of my office, that required my full devoted attention. That said, I’ve had quite a bit of time to do some serious thinking about taking my business to a whole new level. At the suggestion of some I’ve decided to toss the idea around more seriously.

Making my talents profitable!

It’s been suggested on more that one occasion that I take my talents, write a little bit about them, put up a portfolio of sorts, and start offering some design services to people like you. Yep… premium WordPress theme design! It is after all, part of what I do for a living so it wouldn’t be hard would it?… Okay, so “I think I’m ready to start selling myself”… but, I’m not totally sold on it being a good idea. You all know by now that this blog is a no hold barred look at life on the web, so I have no problem writing from the heart and voicing my concerns (Thanks Zania!). to see what my online friends think.

Sometimes I wonder about things like “Fear of Rejection”, “Emotional Attachments”, “Dumb Questions”, and “Time”.

The Fear of Rejection.

I fear rejection! I’m completely afraid that my themes won’t be needed or wanted, and that adding a “product” to my blog is only negating what it is that I promise to do here… Keep it real! I’m afraid that I’ll be opening doors to critiques and criticisms even though it may not be asked for. I’m afraid of being stuck playing 100 questions everyday from inexperienced people who shouldn’t even be blogging yet, much less buying a premium theme. I fear the unknown and I’m not quite sure why I’m so skiddish to pull the trigger. Hell, back in the day, I’d be all over this like white on rice sow what’s my problem?

I hate dumb questions

No matter the number of FAQs or knowledge base material I could possibly put together, can make up for the fact that hundreds of people will be asking the same time draining questions over and over again. I’ve read on a handful of blogs by premium theme designers, how draining and even aggravating their customer can be. Haha… Nick can attest to this one! He can be found on one site in particular where the same dumb questions are asked over and over again and he’s always trying to help newbies learn. It’s hard on readers, and it’s hard on the theme designers… I know it’s profitable but is it all worth it?

The Emotional Stuff

I’ve personally designed a few hundred websites, blogs, and logos over the years and each one is something that I’m very proud of in their own right. I did it as a freelance designer, and now I do it as a professional. The problem is that as a professional designer, your relationship somewhat ends once the final product is delivered. In fact, many times, it’s like going to a funeral, or reading my post about having the “Blogger’s Blues“. After weeks of daily interaction, you’re left with a feeling of relief that it’s finally over, and a bit of despair that you’re no longer needed. Funny how that works huh! Regardless, it’s the nature of the beast and just a part of the business that as designers we’ve all got to deal with. I think my “idea” takes the emotional roller-coaster out of the equation. I think it’s sort of like having attachment anxiety. One day you’re hot, the next day you’re not.

Time

Time is really really valuable, and as bloggers I know that you know exactly what I mean. Zania, for example, just to a little sabbatical to get caught up on more “profitable” chores. I myself just spent the past few days busting hump to get caught up… and I’m still not at 100% yet! Adii, one of the best WordPress designers out there, has some of the same troubles too. So how do I do something I love, make a little extra, and not get fired or need to take up dinking full time to ease the pain and kill the stress? Simple… don’t design premium WordPress themes!

Okay dude! What’s the “great” idea then?

Within the current position that I’m in with my employer, nothing forbids me from doing “side” work… or being a “hired gun”. However, I appreciate my job, and respect my boss, so aside from my dedication to my daily work, I think it would be a conflict of interest to go for the gusto all on my own. Sort of biting the hand that feeds me in a way.

That said I think that I’ve found the solution. I won’t design new themes… I’ll tweak ‘em! That’s right, after two minutes and thirty-seven seconds of reading, you’re finally going to see what the hell I’m talking about. See, building and maintaining a premium theme resource is serious business. It’s serious enough for some folks, that they spend all day every day working on their business and NOTHING else… that means other things will inevitably start to suffer… like my job, and my time with you guys on your blogs. Not good for my mental health if all this went by the way side. But, what if I spent four hours a night working on theme tweaks for awesome people like you?

Four hours a day, for 5 days a week is about 20 hours of work (A Part time job by US standards)… not bad I don’t think! Doing these “Tweaks” would keep me from having to jump into an already hot market, deal with the silly FAQs all day long, and I can still do a little something that I love all while earning a little extra cash to add more and more goodies to The Piss Biscuit.

Here’s where you come in…

So now that you know I’ll be taking the premium themes designed by others, and tweaking them, what do YOU think I should do? Since almost everyone of you own at least one website, how do you think this type of product would fair out? Do you think that it would open doors for theme designers to sell more themes? but when I really think about it, there are some questions that I’d like you to answer for me above the ones I just mentioned.

Do you think there is a market need for theme customization?
What is the number one reason you don’t already use a premium theme?
If you think premium themes are priced to high… what price point SHOULD they be at?
If you could, would you have your current theme customized to make it your own?

Well there you go. Four questions I’d like each of you to spend 2 minutes answering for me. Remember, this isn’t a sales pitch, this is a way for me to decide if it’s time to start doing something for myself again, or just sit back and do a whole lot of nothing!

Tags: Business, Premium Themes, WordPress

22 Comments For This Post

Chris Moran Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 3:42 am

Nice writing style. Looking forward to reading more from you.

Chris Moran

theaffiliatepost Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 5:53 am

“Do you think there is a market need for theme customization?”
Yes, absolutely. There are so many blogs out there that look the same and have no essence of branding whatsoever. I think your early signs of success have a lot to do with the way you have made this theme your own. that and the writing style as mentioned by Chris.

“What is the number one reason you don’t already use a premium theme?”
I am holding out to win PB’s Premium theme giveaway

“If you think premium themes are priced to high… what price point SHOULD they be at?”
Premium themes are not priced too high aside from the fact that you are still getting the same thing as everyone else… re-enforcing the market need as per question one. Unless you go pay big bucks for a custom theme design or are technical enough to do it yourself, for $100 you are still gonna get something that everyone else has. It all boils down to how serious you take your blog!

“If you could, would you have your current theme customized to make it your own?”
No, as much as I like my theme, it is Free. When I make the switch to premium, I will certainly have it customized and will gladly call on your abilities!

Thats my 2 minutes worth for you!

PB Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 7:35 am

1.) Taking a bow!

2.) I knew it!

3.) Great Answer. I love the “Serious” part.
4.) Okay, but you WOULD have your premium theme customized… that’s what I needed to know.

The point of all of these questions are to try and determine if you guys and gals think that the market is strong enough to support a guy like me, who won’t build themes form scratch, but simply “tweaks” them to make them special and of course, your own.

Thanks for the quick reply AP!

theaffiliatepost Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 9:18 am

You are welcome mate. Maybe you could design some new emoticons too….you seem to have used them all up there!

Just a thought.

PB Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 10:23 am

I was thinking about that… “pissicons” has a nice ring to it!

John Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 10:42 am

I definitely think there is a market for premium theme customization. I have no real design skill but I was able to modify a totally free theme and turn it into a pretty decent looking blog…I can only imagine what you would’ve been able to do with a premium theme as your base to work from!

I think once you associate yourself with quality work, there will be no shortage of customers, and let’s face it, your blog is a really nice piece of customization! Maybe you could help me out with a logo design sometime? He he

robin Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 10:44 am

I have done a bit of tweaking myself but with a lot of trial and error, thing is am not afraid to experiment but often it can get quite frustrating if you want to do something that seems simple and it doesn’t work.

Most free themes are pretty straight forward in their code which makes it easier to experiment but the problem with some premium themes is that coding gets more advanced making small adjustments difficult without breaking something else.

F.i. I have been trying to add a paged navigation to my categoriepages and not any plugin seems to help and I’m sure it has to do with the way the theme has been coded. It’s a question that has been asked more then once on Darren’s forum but even he did not seem to have an easy solution and promised to look a bit further into it.

To answer your 4th question then, yes, if I tried everything possible and if it’s important enough for me I would have some tweaks applied by someone who can make it work.

In regard to your 3th question, no, I don’t think themes are priced too high. Most are in the 50-70 dollar pricerange and some like adii ask 100 dollar. I don’t think that he charges too much for his work, I only don’t see a reason why I should pay more for his themes while there are other costing less and having the same quality.

The main question is how much pricedifference there will be in tweaking the themes, you have to charge per hour/client I guess and a themebuilder charges per theme. Selling hundreds of them give the possibility to have low prizes. You only have to consider if people who only spend 75 dollar on a theme are willing to pay 400-500 dollar for some more intensive customizations?
Therefore I think the question should not be: “would you have it customized” but “would you be willing to pay $$ per hour of work?”

Your second question is already covered for me since I have a “premium” theme but as said they all look alike, Until now I only have seen one other user in Belgium but no other competitors using the same theme so in that way I stay somewhat unique since my main visitors come from 2 countries. I used to have the free version of mimbo but I wanted something looking more pro and shiny
It’s a first impression your customers get and it has to look good, even if I am not a designer, people see that you take your business seriously.

And reg your first question I don’t know really, I let that be answered by other designers.

Nick Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 11:20 am

You already know my answer I wake up every morning excitedly checking my inbox. Price is a tough one, should it be more than the theme, the same, less? what’s more valuable, the theme, or having a unique theme? I think these are things your going to have to find out yourself through experimenting.

Nick Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 11:26 am

Robin, explain what customization you are trying to do, I think I can help you.

PB Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 1:20 pm

@ John: Your tweaks look great in the meantime think about what you’re looking for and hit me up!

@ Robin: I agree with you about theme designers vs theme tweakers. Theme designers can sell on quantity whereas that’s not really the case with a tweaker. Hmmm… maybe I should jump into the premium theme market… time is the big issue for me though.

@ Nick: You’re special… LOL. It’s coming soon! I have been swamped at work but never fear PB’s version of ImWritingSports is on its way!

To those of you who don’t know, I’m working on a re-design of Nicks blog… go take a look at it because it won’t be that way for long! http://www.imwritingsports.com/

@ Robin #2: I think that between Nick and I we can get you fixed up. Are you simply trying to ad “pagination” to it?

robin Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 1:51 pm

Oooh, that would be nice though I’m not sure if it’s that simple?
Anyways, as an example you can look at http://www.noafilm.be/category/blog/ which is a category containing all my posts.

With the code Darren wrote you can specify the number of posts with an image and excerpt and below that it’s the remaining posts in detail, that’s also with a number you have to specify in the php code. I have around 200 posts but limited that overview to about 50 because otherwise it would get too long.

I just want to show, let’s say 20 posts with an image and excerpt and just below that paged numbers to each time go to the next 20 posts with an image and excerpt.

The plugins I have used until now do create the paged nrs but when clicked upon it stays in the same page.

I take it you need to look at the sourcecode of the php files that generates this?

PB Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 2:15 pm

Easy… see it’s not hard stuff for a pro

You want twenty thumbnails with excerpts to display. Then, you’d like a “pagination” tab below those twenty that would bring you to the next page of twenty more and continue into infinite… Correct?

Nick Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 2:28 pm

Well, actually I just threw up a plain old blog version of one of Adii’s themes in the interim. I have just been curious to see what people prefer: a magazine theme or just the old blog style. I’ve actually gotten quite a few complaints, so I am going to switch it back to the Revolution Pro theme later tonight.

robin Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

yep, that’s right, like this plugin I tried before and didn’t work: http://www.lesterchan.net/wordpress/readme/wp-pagenavi.html

robin Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 3:20 pm

Maybe important to know is that the navigation is for category pages, the blog tab I have on top is actually a category with that name were I placed all my other posts in as there was no other way to keep my blog separate from the frontpage.

Bryan Clark Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 7:50 pm

Great post, and an even better idea. Here is what I think… for what it’s worth

* Do you think there is a market need for theme customization?
-Absolutely! If there is a market for Elvis’s toenail clippings on eBay, I’m pretty sure there is a market for anything. But this especially.

* What is the number one reason you don’t already use a premium theme?
-I’ve got one.

* If you think premium themes are priced to high… what price point SHOULD they be at?
-No. For the work the designer puts in, you are getting a helluva deal buying these for $40-$150.

* If you could, would you have your current theme customized to make it your own?
-Hells yeah. Get on it PB! Can I pay in food stamps?

zania Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 10:07 pm

Hi PB,
thanks for the two mentions!
My answers to your questions:

* Do you think there is a market need for theme customization?
Yes. Sounds like a great idea!

* What is the number one reason you don’t already use a premium theme?
I don’t see the point in paying for a theme other people will be using as well as me, and as I am no good at tweaking Wordpress themes (and have no great wish to be one of the constant questioners Adii – and probably other designers – has complained about), I wouldn’t be able to make a premium theme ‘my own’. So I do not see the point at the moment in purchasing one.

* If you think premium themes are priced too high… what price point SHOULD they be at?
No idea!
But I guess it depends on the theme and the designer. Although some premium themes are worth the money and probably a lot more, there are also a lot of crap themes being promoted as ‘premium’. So it’s hard to say…

* If you could, would you have your current theme customized to make it your own?
Which one? lol!
Actually, if I were to think about having a theme customised (and it sounds like a great idea for a site I am going to be setting up in the near future), I would have a much longer look themes than I do at the moment and then come up with one I liked first. And that takes time… (which is why the themes I use aren’t that good at the moment – I never find the time! )

Kirsty Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 11:34 pm

As a WP tweaker myself, I would love to see tips and stuff on how to do it. I’ve struggled through and mashed things together that I’m reasonably happy with but would love to have a place to come to for ideas and tips and stuff like that.

My problem isn’t the design side, it’s the other add on type stuff, plug ins yadda yadda. Would love to see a post about your top choices.

I would for sure think there’s a market for this but I was wondering about how it would work. Are you allowed to tweak another person’s free design and then sell it? I really don’t know a thing about this area since I tend to just dive in and do it myself.

Bryan Clark Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 11:46 pm

Kirsty – Excuse me for answering for PB, but I just thought I’d weigh in. On the legality of tweaking a theme and selling it. It happens more than you might recognize. Before the Web 2.0 and Magazine themes took storm, most Wordpress themes were based around a single design… the K2 Theme.

More recently, on to magazine themes… you had Brian Gardner’s “Revolution” news theme. Only to be bested by Adii’s “Your Revolution Is A Joke” (the original title), which was later changed to “Your Revolution”.

Digital copying happens all the time. “Mockups” I believe they are called in the web design community. As far as the legality… I’m not sure. But it does happen.

Nick Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 11:46 pm

“I don’t see the point in paying for a theme other people will be using as well as me, and as I am no good at tweaking Wordpress themes (and have no great wish to be one of the constant questioners Adii – and probably other designers – has complained about), I wouldn’t be able to make a premium theme ‘my own’. So I do not see the point at the moment in purchasing one.”

Zania- I agree with you here, Adii’s themes aren’t easy to get around because of the way he has coded them. Because of this, and the lack of activity in his forums, when it came time to upgrade my theme I didn’t use him. I don’t want to have to worry about asking a question, wondering if the degree of difficulty is up the designers standards. Brian Gardner, on the other hand, has worked to put together a community at his Revolution site, and the forums thre are wonderful. If you ask a question it is usually answered within an hour or two at the very longest. The users work to help each other, and because of this Brian doesn’t have to answer a single question unless he feels like it.

Mrs. Piss Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 11:58 pm

Hi PB! Groovy name hehe. I just subscribed to your blog. I know I’m late, but that’s what makes me so cute.

Try to get some sleep and stop posting at all hours of the morning. (bad advice huh?) I look forward to your next post. Good Night!

PB Says:
June 18th, 2008 at 12:34 pm

@ Bryan: Because of your coaxing… I thought I’d give my self a stomach ulcer and do A Tweak A Week.

@ Kirsty: I’d love to do more with helpful hints and tricks, but to be really helpful, I’d want to offer specific advice. General help can be found at about 3 million places across the web already. I’m open to suggestions so send ‘em on over.

@ Bryan #2: It does happen more often than most realize… but to be clear, for Kirsty, I think it’s fait to say that re-inventing the wheel at this stage is pretty impossible. I would argue that almost every designer has found inspiration from other designs making it nearly impossible to say that every idea is a unique one.

Individual designers can make a theme totally different than what was originally purchased… that said, quite a few theme designers try and “absorb” credit. I’m all for credit where credit is due, but trying to blanket the market would be absurd.

@ Nick: I know that you’re a huge help around Adii’s premium theme network and I know you get around quite a bit… so I just wanted to make one quick comment. I am a firm believer that themes are NOT meant for everyone. I’m a firm believer that it takes skill and knowledge regardless of how “easy” a theme designer says something is. In fact, I don’t really agree with the theme buyers montra of ” I bought it… why can’t I make it do everything with a click of a button”… I wrote more about it over at Adii’s blog a while back…

For those of you who haven’t seen it… Read it here

@ Mrs. Piss: Thank you for finally stopping in! I didn’t stay up late so don’t worry… and the name is “super groovy”… of course I might be a bit biased. Good night to you too!

1 Trackbacks For This Post

» Getting down to business All Living Fear: What The World Is Saying About All Living Fear Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 4:23 am

[...] down to business Posted in June 17th, 2008 by in Uncategorized Getting down to business It is after all, part of what I do for a living so it wouldn’t be hard would it?… Okay, so “I [...]

Chris Moran Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 3:42 am
Nice writing style. Looking forward to reading more from you.

Chris Moran
theaffiliatepost Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 5:53 am
“Do you think there is a market need for theme customization?”
Yes, absolutely. There are so many blogs out there that look the same and have no essence of branding whatsoever. I think your early signs of success have a lot to do with the way you have made this theme your own. that and the writing style as mentioned by Chris.

“What is the number one reason you don’t already use a premium theme?”
I am holding out to win PB’s Premium theme giveaway

“If you think premium themes are priced to high… what price point SHOULD they be at?”
Premium themes are not priced too high aside from the fact that you are still getting the same thing as everyone else… re-enforcing the market need as per question one. Unless you go pay big bucks for a custom theme design or are technical enough to do it yourself, for $100 you are still gonna get something that everyone else has. It all boils down to how serious you take your blog!

“If you could, would you have your current theme customized to make it your own?”
No, as much as I like my theme, it is Free. When I make the switch to premium, I will certainly have it customized and will gladly call on your abilities!

Thats my 2 minutes worth for you!
PB Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 7:35 am
1.) Taking a bow!

2.) I knew it!

3.) Great Answer. I love the “Serious” part.
4.) Okay, but you WOULD have your premium theme customized… that’s what I needed to know.

The point of all of these questions are to try and determine if you guys and gals think that the market is strong enough to support a guy like me, who won’t build themes form scratch, but simply “tweaks” them to make them special and of course, your own.

Thanks for the quick reply AP!
theaffiliatepost Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 9:18 am
You are welcome mate. Maybe you could design some new emoticons too….you seem to have used them all up there!

Just a thought.
PB Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 10:23 am
I was thinking about that… “pissicons” has a nice ring to it!
John Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I definitely think there is a market for premium theme customization. I have no real design skill but I was able to modify a totally free theme and turn it into a pretty decent looking blog…I can only imagine what you would’ve been able to do with a premium theme as your base to work from!

I think once you associate yourself with quality work, there will be no shortage of customers, and let’s face it, your blog is a really nice piece of customization! Maybe you could help me out with a logo design sometime? He he
robin Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 10:44 am
I have done a bit of tweaking myself but with a lot of trial and error, thing is am not afraid to experiment but often it can get quite frustrating if you want to do something that seems simple and it doesn’t work.

Most free themes are pretty straight forward in their code which makes it easier to experiment but the problem with some premium themes is that coding gets more advanced making small adjustments difficult without breaking something else.

F.i. I have been trying to add a paged navigation to my categoriepages and not any plugin seems to help and I’m sure it has to do with the way the theme has been coded. It’s a question that has been asked more then once on Darren’s forum but even he did not seem to have an easy solution and promised to look a bit further into it.

To answer your 4th question then, yes, if I tried everything possible and if it’s important enough for me I would have some tweaks applied by someone who can make it work.

In regard to your 3th question, no, I don’t think themes are priced too high. Most are in the 50-70 dollar pricerange and some like adii ask 100 dollar. I don’t think that he charges too much for his work, I only don’t see a reason why I should pay more for his themes while there are other costing less and having the same quality.

The main question is how much pricedifference there will be in tweaking the themes, you have to charge per hour/client I guess and a themebuilder charges per theme. Selling hundreds of them give the possibility to have low prizes. You only have to consider if people who only spend 75 dollar on a theme are willing to pay 400-500 dollar for some more intensive customizations?
Therefore I think the question should not be: “would you have it customized” but “would you be willing to pay $$ per hour of work?”

Your second question is already covered for me since I have a “premium” theme but as said they all look alike, Until now I only have seen one other user in Belgium but no other competitors using the same theme so in that way I stay somewhat unique since my main visitors come from 2 countries. I used to have the free version of mimbo but I wanted something looking more pro and shiny
It’s a first impression your customers get and it has to look good, even if I am not a designer, people see that you take your business seriously.

And reg your first question I don’t know really, I let that be answered by other designers.
Nick Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 11:20 am
You already know my answer I wake up every morning excitedly checking my inbox. Price is a tough one, should it be more than the theme, the same, less? what’s more valuable, the theme, or having a unique theme? I think these are things your going to have to find out yourself through experimenting.
Nick Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Robin, explain what customization you are trying to do, I think I can help you.
PB Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
@ John: Your tweaks look great in the meantime think about what you’re looking for and hit me up!

@ Robin: I agree with you about theme designers vs theme tweakers. Theme designers can sell on quantity whereas that’s not really the case with a tweaker. Hmmm… maybe I should jump into the premium theme market… time is the big issue for me though.

@ Nick: You’re special… LOL. It’s coming soon! I have been swamped at work but never fear PB’s version of ImWritingSports is on its way!

To those of you who don’t know, I’m working on a re-design of Nicks blog… go take a look at it because it won’t be that way for long! http://www.imwritingsports.com/

@ Robin #2: I think that between Nick and I we can get you fixed up. Are you simply trying to ad “pagination” to it?
robin Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Oooh, that would be nice though I’m not sure if it’s that simple?
Anyways, as an example you can look at http://www.noafilm.be/category/blog/ which is a category containing all my posts.

With the code Darren wrote you can specify the number of posts with an image and excerpt and below that it’s the remaining posts in detail, that’s also with a number you have to specify in the php code. I have around 200 posts but limited that overview to about 50 because otherwise it would get too long.

I just want to show, let’s say 20 posts with an image and excerpt and just below that paged numbers to each time go to the next 20 posts with an image and excerpt.

The plugins I have used until now do create the paged nrs but when clicked upon it stays in the same page.

I take it you need to look at the sourcecode of the php files that generates this?
PB Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Easy… see it’s not hard stuff for a pro

You want twenty thumbnails with excerpts to display. Then, you’d like a “pagination” tab below those twenty that would bring you to the next page of twenty more and continue into infinite… Correct?
Nick Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Well, actually I just threw up a plain old blog version of one of Adii’s themes in the interim. I have just been curious to see what people prefer: a magazine theme or just the old blog style. I’ve actually gotten quite a few complaints, so I am going to switch it back to the Revolution Pro theme later tonight.
robin Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
yep, that’s right, like this plugin I tried before and didn’t work: http://www.lesterchan.net/wordpress/readme/wp-pagenavi.html
robin Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Maybe important to know is that the navigation is for category pages, the blog tab I have on top is actually a category with that name were I placed all my other posts in as there was no other way to keep my blog separate from the frontpage.
Bryan Clark Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Great post, and an even better idea. Here is what I think… for what it’s worth

* Do you think there is a market need for theme customization?
-Absolutely! If there is a market for Elvis’s toenail clippings on eBay, I’m pretty sure there is a market for anything. But this especially.

* What is the number one reason you don’t already use a premium theme?
-I’ve got one.

* If you think premium themes are priced to high… what price point SHOULD they be at?
-No. For the work the designer puts in, you are getting a helluva deal buying these for $40-$150.

* If you could, would you have your current theme customized to make it your own?
-Hells yeah. Get on it PB! Can I pay in food stamps?
zania Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Hi PB,
thanks for the two mentions!
My answers to your questions:

* Do you think there is a market need for theme customization?
Yes. Sounds like a great idea!

* What is the number one reason you don’t already use a premium theme?
I don’t see the point in paying for a theme other people will be using as well as me, and as I am no good at tweaking Wordpress themes (and have no great wish to be one of the constant questioners Adii – and probably other designers – has complained about), I wouldn’t be able to make a premium theme ‘my own’. So I do not see the point at the moment in purchasing one.

* If you think premium themes are priced too high… what price point SHOULD they be at?
No idea!
But I guess it depends on the theme and the designer. Although some premium themes are worth the money and probably a lot more, there are also a lot of crap themes being promoted as ‘premium’. So it’s hard to say…

* If you could, would you have your current theme customized to make it your own?
Which one? lol!
Actually, if I were to think about having a theme customised (and it sounds like a great idea for a site I am going to be setting up in the near future), I would have a much longer look themes than I do at the moment and then come up with one I liked first. And that takes time… (which is why the themes I use aren’t that good at the moment – I never find the time! )
Kirsty Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
As a WP tweaker myself, I would love to see tips and stuff on how to do it. I’ve struggled through and mashed things together that I’m reasonably happy with but would love to have a place to come to for ideas and tips and stuff like that.

My problem isn’t the design side, it’s the other add on type stuff, plug ins yadda yadda. Would love to see a post about your top choices.

I would for sure think there’s a market for this but I was wondering about how it would work. Are you allowed to tweak another person’s free design and then sell it? I really don’t know a thing about this area since I tend to just dive in and do it myself.
Bryan Clark Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Kirsty – Excuse me for answering for PB, but I just thought I’d weigh in. On the legality of tweaking a theme and selling it. It happens more than you might recognize. Before the Web 2.0 and Magazine themes took storm, most Wordpress themes were based around a single design… the K2 Theme.

More recently, on to magazine themes… you had Brian Gardner’s “Revolution” news theme. Only to be bested by Adii’s “Your Revolution Is A Joke” (the original title), which was later changed to “Your Revolution”.

Digital copying happens all the time. “Mockups” I believe they are called in the web design community. As far as the legality… I’m not sure. But it does happen.
Nick Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
“I don’t see the point in paying for a theme other people will be using as well as me, and as I am no good at tweaking Wordpress themes (and have no great wish to be one of the constant questioners Adii – and probably other designers – has complained about), I wouldn’t be able to make a premium theme ‘my own’. So I do not see the point at the moment in purchasing one.”

Zania- I agree with you here, Adii’s themes aren’t easy to get around because of the way he has coded them. Because of this, and the lack of activity in his forums, when it came time to upgrade my theme I didn’t use him. I don’t want to have to worry about asking a question, wondering if the degree of difficulty is up the designers standards. Brian Gardner, on the other hand, has worked to put together a community at his Revolution site, and the forums thre are wonderful. If you ask a question it is usually answered within an hour or two at the very longest. The users work to help each other, and because of this Brian doesn’t have to answer a single question unless he feels like it.
Mrs. Piss Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
Hi PB! Groovy name hehe. I just subscribed to your blog. I know I’m late, but that’s what makes me so cute.

Try to get some sleep and stop posting at all hours of the morning. (bad advice huh?) I look forward to your next post. Good Night!
PB Says:
June 18th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
@ Bryan: Because of your coaxing… I thought I’d give my self a stomach ulcer and do A Tweak A Week.

@ Kirsty: I’d love to do more with helpful hints and tricks, but to be really helpful, I’d want to offer specific advice. General help can be found at about 3 million places across the web already. I’m open to suggestions so send ‘em on over.

@ Bryan #2: It does happen more often than most realize… but to be clear, for Kirsty, I think it’s fait to say that re-inventing the wheel at this stage is pretty impossible. I would argue that almost every designer has found inspiration from other designs making it nearly impossible to say that every idea is a unique one.

Individual designers can make a theme totally different than what was originally purchased… that said, quite a few theme designers try and “absorb” credit. I’m all for credit where credit is due, but trying to blanket the market would be absurd.

@ Nick: I know that you’re a huge help around Adii’s premium theme network and I know you get around quite a bit… so I just wanted to make one quick comment. I am a firm believer that themes are NOT meant for everyone. I’m a firm believer that it takes skill and knowledge regardless of how “easy” a theme designer says something is. In fact, I don’t really agree with the theme buyers montra of ” I bought it… why can’t I make it do everything with a click of a button”… I wrote more about it over at Adii’s blog a while back…

For those of you who haven’t seen it… Read it here

@ Mrs. Piss: Thank you for finally stopping in! I didn’t stay up late so don’t worry… and the name is “super groovy”… of course I might be a bit biased. Good night to you too!

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