If you have already checked all the free templates and you didn’t find anything interesting enough for you – it’s time to review the paid ones (often called Premium themes). Don’t be fooled by the belief that if it’s paid, it’s better. This rule usually doesn’t apply to the WordPress community.
1. Demo
The paid templates need to have a demo version. Remember to always carefully check the template’s Features that come with its demo version. Usually, next to the template description there’s a Demo, Preview or Live preview button. In such versions it’s impossible to check everything, but you can assess the possibilities of the appearance of the website (templates), the appearance of the contact page, variants of the home page, and sometimes additional functions. Never buy templates that don’t have a demo version – you don’t know what’s inside. It would be a shame to spend around $50 and get disappointed.
2. Number of sold copies
Always buy a template on big services that specialize in selling templates. Why? Because you can check how many times people bought this template, you can read the comments / forum. There’s a greater chance that you will learn more about the pros and cons of the template from other users – before you buy it. And once again, it would be a shame to spend $50 and get disappointed 😉 If you’re worried that your page will look like 15,000 others, because for example this particular template has been bought that many times, then:
- Most websites have a similar structure. After adding your content, it will gain more of your “soul”. If this point isn’t convincing you…
- Don’t buy a ready-made template. Invest in an individual project.
3. Your list of Features
You need to know what you are looking for. Do you want to have a big photo gallery? Do you need to expand the template to include a Support for your store? Do you have so many things to add that the template should have a convinient content imput system, e.g. on a drag & drop basis? List the functions that are the most important for you. This helps to eliminate subsequent templates while looking for a perfect one.
4. List of template’s Features
The template must have documentation or tutorials. Good websites and professional developers list template’s Features. After that we can make sure that there are the elements (e.g. a specific slider) that we are looking for. Each template is different inside. The level of complexity of the template can be different, once small (because there are few functions), and sometimes big.
The creators of the Avada template (the most-bought template on Themeforest) have created an entire forum and several video tutorials available only for Avada users. The number of functions that this skin Supports is huge. Without documentation, nobody would be able to quickly understand it. If there is no documentation, check if there is a forum and if someone in this forum is answering questions. There are different situations.
5. Forum or Support Group operated by the template’s creator
Buy templates from serious entrepreneur-developers. Template production is a type of business. There are companies and developers who specialize in writing premium templates. Buy only from such entrepreneurs-developers, who take their craft seriously and provide Support in case of any problems.
6. Don’t let the template labels impact your choice to much
If you are looking for a portfolio-style template, don’t focus only on searching in the “portfolio” category. Equally interesting skins can be in the “creative” category. These labels have different names on different sites.
In fact, the only case where labels can be useful is when looking for a template for a store. The template should be compatible with plugins for expanding the store, e.g. WooCommerce or WP e-commerce. Such templates are usually in the “e-commerce” category.
7. Responsiveness
Does the template you chose look good on your Smartphone and tablet? I always recommend checking it out before making a purchase. Just open the demo on your phone and tablet and click through the entire page.
