Question: How do I get a unique design for my blog without paying a lot of money?
Many people start off writing a blog because of “easy money” and the allure of making money online and avoiding the day-to-day struggles in the corporate world. But make no mistake, deciding to make a living from a blog is just as intense as starting a traditional business. The good news is you don’t have to jump in all at once, you can ease into it and grow.
For a traditional franchise, you would look at a franchise fee and then a start-up fee, many times in excess of $250,000 and up. By thinking of a blog as a business, you will soon realize that having a good-looking, professional blog is definitely worth $500-$5,000 for a unique design.
But if you are just getting started, and want a unique look without the unique price, there are templates available for wordpress and other popular blogging platforms that are pre-made, and available to purchase.
These templates usually come “out of the box” ready to upload to your site, but you can also customize them to meet your needs. In fact, the templates featured here on asktheblogger.com over the years were purchased and modified. Paying a designer or company to customized a WordPress template is most of the time a lot cheaper than commissioning one from scratch.
The following are some of the most popular template sites:
Templatic
Templatic hosts a wealth of Premium WordPress themes, including the popular Consultant theme popular with many bloggers and speakers. You can purchase themes either one-by-one or the entire suite of themes for $299.
Templatic Premium WordPress Themes
Studiopress
Studiopress templates are not only premium WordPress themes, but an entire framework as well. Their templates are built on the framework called Genesis and are easily customizable. You can purchase themes one by one, as well as an entire developer package with an unlimited license for $249.
Get Genesis with StudioPress
Template Monster
Template Monster is one of the oldest and largest HTML and WordPress theme galleries around. They also have themes for just about every web application/CMS you can think of. You can spend hours going through the themes. Their themes are available for download and use, and you can pay a premium to remove it from the sale to the general public and make it exclusively yours. (except for the ones that have already been downloaded of course.)
View Template Monster Themes
Be sure to read the terms and conditions of themes and templates before you buy. Template right vary to one-time installations to developer (multiple) installations.
Check back soon for a guide to custom WordPress developers.