Wriging

I don't really know what your question is trying to ask, but I'm assuming you're asking should bloggers pay for a theme to be developed or go with one of the many free themes available.

Short answer is if you're looking to make your blog look more professional, and will be treating it as a business (or it is for your business) then developing a custom weblog design is extremely important. If you're hopping on Blogger and are writing about cats then no, it's not that important.

And this ticks me off with one of my pet peeves: just because Wordpress calls their blog designs *themes* doesn't mean all blog designs should be called *themes*. A blog is a website and by calling someone's hard design and development work simply a "theme" isn't respectful in my mind. When I was doing blog design work I charged a lot of money for weblog designs because they take just as much effort as any other type of website design.

(Editor's note: I edited your title because it pained me deep inside.)

Make your own. Otherwise why are you using wordpress? Use something like blogger or livejournal if having control and customizability isn't a priority for you.

Mine is free, I have no reason to pay for a theme, and don't design them.

There are a variety of reasons, besides making your own theme, to use WordPress.

There isn't a "right" answer. Individual needs are so diverse what works for one could be the opposite of what someone else needs.

If it is a new blog I'd go with a free theme to get an idea on what is truly needed featured wise. If I wanted to establish a brand, I'd go with a custom one or edit a free one. Just because a theme is commercial doesn't mean it's good.

I actually just paid for a new theme...I found it to be a reasonable price and I'm picky enough that I like having something that's custom. I'm by no means a pro blogger, I just do it because I enjoy it and I have been getting into it and taking more seriously. I felt that the cost was fair for what I got out of it.

I like the new look and it definitely looks more professional and clean I think.

I would agree that there are a several advantages to a theme that is built around your blog's needs. Additionally, I would argue that purchasing a theme helps to drive development for coding WordPress themes.

Subsequently, we have to admit to ourselves that there are a lot of really, really bad free themes out there which (and it pains me to say this) people use for their blogs. Whether they are too web 1.0 looking or cliche web 2.0 looking free themes. bad free themes can deter traffic.

However, with that out of the way, it is important to keep in mind that it is the content which makes the blog, not the look. Lets face it, many avid readers don't ever leave their RSS Feed apps so looks are immediately secondary in this since. Of course the first impression someone may get from your blog will be actually visiting the site and people will equate impressive designs with serious content. This is an unfortunate pitfall of blogging.

Therefor, in summation, I would recommend that people pay less attention to their blogs overall look by paying less for it. Bloggers should go out and find themselves a clean, simple and free design which follows the KISS model (Keep It Simple Stupid) of design. After that, they should wow their readers with the content, not the appearance.

Great topic! I never really thought about this before now.

I think the custom design lends credibility to a blog. All of us that blog on a regular basis can spot the free themes immediately. I'm more likely to link to a blog with a custom design because, in my opinion, it means they've hammered the stakes in. On the other hand, I do still someties link to very good content on blogs with free themes. So content first, theme second.

It really depends on the blogger. If you want something a little bit more unique and customized to your site, then you should probably get a custom layout. If you're more than happy with the layouts on Wordpress' theme site, stick with those.

Seems pretty open and shut to me.

I would like to buy a custom theme to make my blog feel more unique, but for now I'm just editing up a free theme to fit the features (plugins) I want it to. I want to get a custom theme, I just don't have the money right now. :(

make one