In many cases, free is great but when it comes to websites or blogs, free is never great and this I can proclaim a statement of fact from experience. This is even more important to note if you are intending to use WordPress. Granted, there are so many freebies available for wordpress including thousands of themes and plugins with hundreds of websites offering free WordPress themes or templates but if you are serious about creating quality blog or website, you will need more than just a free theme or template; you would require premium wordpress themes

This means you need to be ready to spend some money in buying a WordPress theme. It is common to think you should spend on themes when you have access to thousands of free themes you can choose for your website of blog? The simple reason is that you need much more than what most free themes can offer or deliver, especially if you expect complex functionality, state-of-the art design and top-of-the-range support. Moreover, most free WordPress themes come with an obligation no to remove the attribution (usually present at the footer) as that could be a violation of the copy under which it is licensed as free.

While buying premium WordPress themes makes perfect sense, however, it would be unwise just to go to your browser, find any dealer selling these themes and pick the one you lay your eyes on and install. You have to be equipped with enough knowledge that will enable you make the best choice when it comes to the WordPress themes for your website or blog. In this discussion, you will find out about everything you must know before you buy a WordPress theme.

How to Find the Best WordPress Themes

Who is the dealer?

The very first thing you need to keep in your mind is who is selling in the themes. Obviously, you cannot purchase something without first knowing where to find it. Because of the popularity of WordPress as a content management system and a blogging tool, many unscrupulous people take the advantage to swindle unsuspecting people of their hard-earned cash by selling fake themes. There have also been incidences of core-edited WordPress themes with malicious codes inserted to provide a gateway for hackers who created or modified the theme in the first instance.

Take your time and research only reputable premium theme shops like themeforest. The internet is full of several of such online shops and this can be a little bit confusing. You can use our carefully selected WordPress theme shops and resellers at the end of this article as we have used them and they come well recommended, making up most of the best WordPress premium theme shops.

The purchasing cost

The selling prices of premium theme vary so much depending on the seller, the quality as well as the functional features such a theme possesses. Some dealers offer both one time sale as well as membership clubs in which members have access to full range of themes including the latest after paying an annual membership of a specified amount of time. Often times, part of the benefits also include support which could come either as a life-time support or limited to one or two years.

There are different approaches you can take to properly balance the cost you are going to spend on a theme and how many themes you may possibly need. You can purchase a theme, which you may have to change with time if you have limited cash. The other alternative is joining a membership club like Elegant themes which is one of the best WordPress theme creators with over 85 awesome Wordpress themes and even future themes you can have access to for a fee of only $69. This approach could be much more advantageous if you are hoping to buy or use more than one theme as this grants you the unlimited access you will have on both the classic and new themes. This plan is cost-effective in the long end because you will not have to spend any money to switch themes once you have paid the membership amount. However, you need to find out if the theme dealer has some refund policy for your own protection incase the theme is ineffective.

Features supported by the theme

The most important reason for choosing to buy a WordPress theme is to get better features. Take your time and go through the features supported by the themes of interest. Choose a theme whose features match those required by your website or blog.

However, there are features that are common to all kinds of websites and blogs which a theme must support including responsive web design, properly coded HTML and CSS codes, regular updates as well as specialized support. The additional features will depend on the nature of your website or blog you are starting or already running.

Compliance of the Theme with acceptable codes

Failure to comply with World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) can lead to many problems including slow processing speeds, poor ranking on Search Engine Result Pages(SERPs) and make it susceptible to security challenges opening way for hackers as well as information thieves. This is why you have to ensure that the theme you are choosing to purchase fully complies with acceptable W3C codes. However, achieving absolute (100%) compliance is impossible. You can use a W3C validator to test compliance of the theme you are interested in.

Conclusion

The other things you need to consider include customer support, update frequency as well as the overall appearance and customizability of the theme. If you take these points, you are unlikely to go wrong in choosing the best WordPress theme for your website or blog. There is no need to rush into this decision. Take time and get the best theme for your money.