I think I’m a WordPress theme junkie. I spend waaay too much time trying out demos and switching themes. But, good things can come from all this fun: I’ve decided to scribble down what I’ve discovered in my never-ending trip down the themes river.
Here are eight companies I’ve looked over recently. I’m giving them each a rating based on designs and features, then the company rep (as far as I can find) along with theme fees. Ratings 1 to 5, 5 is best, listing design & features/company info & value.
- Natty WP: Very nice themes, 40 in all. The company doesn’t want to say who they are or where they are. The only contact is email. Why? Not good credibility here. They sell their themes in 2/for deals or in a club format that gets you all of them for a period of time. Rating: 4/2
- WP Zoom: Nice, but basic designs, several free. Options administrative panel, custom widgets, SEO options. Over 40 designs. Company forum, tutorials, docs for each theme. Both a 2/for price and a club format with monthly and initiation fees. Rating: 3/4
- Kreative Themes: A variety of designs, plain to very nice, several free, total of nine. Options administrative panel. Fees by each theme, with or without forum support. Rating: 3/3
- RocketTheme: With their own framework, this company is a prolific producer of elaborate themes. Most, but not all, rely heavily on fancy artwork or photographs in the design. Almost unlimited layout options with their grid system. Might be overwhelming for beginner. Options panels, mobile support, outstanding docs and forum. Club pricing in time periods and uses per url. Rating: 4/4
- Themify.me: Almost 40 varied themes, nice designs all, including several free themes. Options panel not too complicated, but allows many customizations. Priced as 2/for or yearly/all deal. (I have two and have tried both.) Rating: 4/5
- Theme Baker: Six themes, all different and interesting, blogs or photography. Fee for each. Options panel, some custom widgets. Company tells a friendly story, but no location or names mentioned. Rating: 4/2
- Panda Themes (via Theme Forest): Nine themes, all similar, with an Options panel, Photoshop files, custom widgets, help docs, short codes, Google or Cufon Fonts. Lots of deals to buy. Rating: 3/3
- Headway Themes: This is a drag & drop theme framework (layout and operations software with child theme for customization). Plans for child themes, but it works with the one produced via its Options panel. Looks really easy, but might be overwhelming for a WordPress beginner. Not much info on the company; I did find some names on Twitter. I want to try this one. Rating: 4/4
If you agree, disagree, or want me to look over other companies, please comment below. More coming soon…
About Sally EricksonErickson Creative's Sally Erickson is a WordPress website builder, specializing in evaluating and improving business websites for more leads and better profits. Making better websites everyday…. connect with me on Twitter and FaceBook.
