I was reading a post on Pro Blog Design, and it says that many bloggers forget to update the “year” in the copyright notice. It you want to solve this problem forever, you can use the following code snippet:
© < ?php echo date("Y"); ?> Blog Name
The PHP code above echos the current year, so you’ll never have to update your copyright notice again. This is an excellent tip for WordPress theme designers, never hard code the year into your copyright.
It seems to me that everyone is jumping into the “News/Magazine” themes. It’s great to see it, it definitely brings out the creativity from the people. By making it premium, they supposedly put a little more effort into it. It’s good, as a matter of fact, it’s great! The thing is… does the cost justify the ownership of the theme? This post is actually for the Premium Theme buyers and makers.
Couple weeks ago, I talked about how Brian Gardner banked at least $5,000 from a single theme. He didn’t create the idea of selling themes, but he sure “revolutionized” it. He inspired many to create and sell their own “news / magazine” themes. Microsoft didn’t invent operating systems, but they sure revolutionized it… just like how Digg didn’t invent social bookmarking and YouTube didn’t invent video services. The point I am making is who do you look at your competition when you’re setting a price for your theme?
It’s like selling a car. Why does a Ferrari cost $200,000+ and a Honda civic cost $20,000? They both get you from point A to B. Do they set the prices based on how they LOOK? It’s all about the mechanism, that’s actually what you’re paying for, not the aluminum body. People pay for the mechanics. If they sold Ferraris for $20,000 instead of $200,000… it wouldn’t be special anymore, it wouldn’t be a Ferrari anymore. Makers of Ferraris aren’t only selling cars, they are selling status, fame, a feeling of being proud. Now… let’s take this idea to WordPress Themes.
Do you want to buy a premium theme? First, ask yourself this question… WHY? Do you need it or do you want it? If you can distinguish between these, then ask yourself this question. Do you want a Honda Civic or do you want a Ferrari? They both do the job of getting you from point A to point B. How exclusive do you want to be, should be the question you should ask. When you’re buying premium themes.
Now the question for themers, how do you set a price? Do you look at the compition and adjust your price or do you simply charge for what you think is the right price?
What do you look for when you’re buying themes? What do you look for when you’re creating a premium theme? I’ll leave this to an open discussion.
This is some great stuff from Ryan Singer, designer at 37signals. He discusses the usability of sign-up forms at the Future of Web Design in London.
Well, two weeks ago I decided that I will do a custom theme for the first two winners of the contest. And I am pleased to say that it’s done! The second winner was very pleased with the design. I am still in the talks with Mark, THE winner, and will be releasing a theme for him soon.
It took a lot out of me, but I finally completed it. The client was great to work with since he had a lot of ideas and knew exactly what he wanted. That’s the good news… the bad news is that, me being generous to the WordPress community, I told him that I will be releasing this theme for free to the WordPress community, and here’s what happened:
DeafMusician: I want this theme to be free for public since it came out really good.
TechGuyTales: What’s your paypal account?
DM: Why? It’s *********@******.com
DM: (5 mins later) Uhm… Hello?
TT: How about now?
DM: Ooooooooooooooooooooooooh. Never mind!!!! Thank you, sir.
So, I regret to inform you that I won’t be releasing that theme since it was purchased for exclusive use. It doesn’t mean I can’t make another similar one and then release it!!! So, look out for that soon.
There are some pages still under construction, but TT was really eager to get the site up, so he released it prior to being it finalized. This was my first office type of website. The directions were very clear: posting memos on a board and in the sidebar some stickies and stuff. I didn’t want crumbled paper style memo, I wanted a professional looking memo, yet still make it look like a paper. I think I achieved that. I also added the twitter updates on the top, since he wanted something quick he could post. The logo was already done, but I gave it a little boldness to it. The design is very clean and easy to read. So, without further ado, here it is:
Go see it live. Please, please… let me know how you guys like it! I always appreciate feedbacks.
Everyone’s talking about making money online nowadays. Wordpress Themes is one of the ways to make some money and Brian Gardner has figured it all out. He started out just a year ago designing themes for WordPress. There’s absolutely no doubt he has a good taste in simplicity. Brian has released 10 free themes and 3 paid-for themes. Let’s look at how Brian made $5,000+ from a single theme.
Two months ago, he released the Revolution Theme, then later released Revolution News Theme, and then the Revolutions Sports Theme. Essentially, they are all the same, different colors.
The total: $4736.65. That’s just the minimum. I am sure people bought different packages. That’s a pretty good money for a day worth of work. I don’t know how long it took him, but it doesn’t seem that complex to create. Nate Whitehill charges a hell lot of a money for a custom design, may be he should adopt Brian’s model. Small Potato should learn something from Brian Gardner, if he ever wants to become a much bigger potato.
Maybe I should start designing some “premium” themes? Hmmm.
I just wanted to take this time to congratulate all the 5 winners of our first contest. It was a great competition. As a matter of fact, it was so great I felt bad for the second guy, who was pretty close to winning.
#1: Mark from Gigadesign (102 votes): Congratulations, Mark. I am looking forward to working with you on your custom WordPress theme! You will also get to name the theme, which will later be released to the public, and you’ll get a footer link on that released theme! I will also do a review of your site in the coming weeks.
#2: Tech Guy Tales (93 votes): Congratulations, “Tech Guy”. Really, a great competition with Mark. Like I said, I felt bad for you for trying. So, I’ll also do a custom theme for you. I can’t find your contact information, so get in touch with me.
#3: David from Blogdinero (30 votes): Congrats, David. As promised, I will do a review of your site. Sorry, but great try. You know what, since you tried too, I will design a banner for you, if you’d like.
#4 & #5 Navdeep from Dezinerfolio and Zac from Nighthacker (tied at 6 votes), both of you will also get a link on the right side.
All of the 5 winners will get a link on the right side for a month! Thanks for trying everyone. I had fun doing this, and I plan to do it again soon. Make sure to stay current on the updates.
Deaf Musician is a blog about web / graphic design and all that is related. Tips, tutorials, useful resources, and much more.
