Choosing the right theme for your client?

17 replies
Ive noticed myself scrolling through 100000's of themes...and not being able to choose the right theme for my client. How do you guys choose the right theme...any go to WP themes you guys like to implement? I only have one client right now, but have 2 right now that I am making demo's for. Advice...:confused:
#choosing #client #theme
  • Profile picture of the author somacorellc
    I don't know how much you're charging for the website, but here's a couple themes that have worked for me in the past:

    U-Design - relatively cheap
    PageLines - I think free for the base version

    Don't go looking for themes that fit your client's business. You will spend all your time on theme sites and not enough time getting paid! Find one or two themes that you can customize quickly for your needs and that your clients will be happy with.
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    • Profile picture of the author prodigy1290
      Originally Posted by somacorellc View Post

      I don't know how much you're charging for the website, but here's a couple themes that have worked for me in the past:

      U-Design - relatively cheap
      PageLines - I think free for the base version

      Don't go looking for themes that fit your client's business. You will spend all your time on theme sites and not enough time getting paid! Find one or two themes that you can customize quickly for your needs and that your clients will be happy with.
      Thanks for the suggestions. Ill check them out. Today I spent 2 hours looking for the PERFECT theme and gave up...lol
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  • Profile picture of the author racso316
    I really enjoy pixel's theme, very easy to use, and I think still has developer license. Pretty affordable as well. Great for offline businesses.

    http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...ew-update.html

    not affiliate link
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    • Profile picture of the author somacorellc
      Originally Posted by racso316 View Post

      I really enjoy pixel's theme, very easy to use, and I think still has developer license. Pretty affordable as well. Great for offline businesses.
      Please note I have nothing against you or the person who made that theme, but I would steer clear of buying themes from anyone on the WF, especially in WSO form.

      Wordpress themes are (can be) complex things, and need to be done correctly in order to be useful. For example, many people using that theme you linked to are having trouble getting it to work with WP Touch to make it mobile. While you may not care about that right now, you will when you're pitching mobile sites to your current clients and realize you'll need to redo the theme to get the mobile site working.

      Again, I'm not trying to insult anyone specifically, but I've found the majority of Wordpress themes and plugins sold on this site aren't worth purchasing, with the exception of some plugin makers like Digi and Justin Wheeler's plugin line. Do your research, read the thread carefully and make sure all issues have been addressed and fixed before buying a theme/plugin from the WF.

      IMO a better marketplace for this type of thing is:

      Premium WordPress Themes, Web Templates, Mobile Themes | ThemeForest
      PHP Scripts, WordPress Plugins, HTML5, jQuery, and CSS | CodeCanyon
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      • Profile picture of the author David Miller
        Originally Posted by somacorellc View Post

        Please note I have nothing against you or the person who made that theme, but I would steer clear of buying themes from anyone on the WF, especially in WSO form.

        Wordpress themes are (can be) complex things, and need to be done correctly in order to be useful. For example, many people using that theme you linked to are having trouble getting it to work with WP Touch to make it mobile. While you may not care about that right now, you will when you're pitching mobile sites to your current clients and realize you'll need to redo the theme to get the mobile site working.

        Again, I'm not trying to insult anyone specifically, but I've found the majority of Wordpress themes and plugins sold on this site aren't worth purchasing, with the exception of some plugin makers like Digi and Justin Wheeler's plugin line. Do your research, read the thread carefully and make sure all issues have been addressed and fixed before buying a theme/plugin from the WF.

        IMO a better marketplace for this type of thing is:

        Premium WordPress Themes, Web Templates, Mobile Themes | ThemeForest
        PHP Scripts, WordPress Plugins, HTML5, jQuery, and CSS | CodeCanyon
        I just want to second the thought that you should NEVER buy a theme from a WSO. I did! Turned out to be one that's FREE from Wordpress.org and I paid 17.00 because I just assumed a fellow warrior was legit.
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        The big lesson in life, baby, is never be scared of anyone or anything.
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    • Profile picture of the author MartinK8
      I have got around 10 themes that I use all the time, u-design is one of my favorites, u can get it at themeforest. There are some killer themes, also check out ink themes and I've also picked up some good ones here as wso's (obviously different experience as somacorellc).
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  • Profile picture of the author Quentin
    I make all mine with Artisteer then all the code is the same and I can troubleshoot easily.

    I used to use different ones however I would have to try and find out hey they all worked but now using the same code all the time it is a lot easier.

    Quentin
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  • Profile picture of the author apurvmat
    Yep, great resources mentioned by somacorellc... and like people said, just have a few selected themes for your customers that you can use to practically begin coding on, from the moment you hear them say the word go!
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  • Profile picture of the author SoCalMarketing
    I have been using themes from elegantthemes.com The membership fee is low and the themes are very nice.. support is excellent and the designs are above par.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    I agree that it can be tough to find "just the right" theme for a client. I too have spent hours and hours scrolling through themes and saying "Nope, Not It, Maybe Next Time," and so on.

    Our problem is that we care too much. Seriously. If we cared less about the end product, we'd pick something and be done with it.

    My advice is to get your selection criteria together (space for adsense widgets? side bars? colors?) set a time deadline...say an hour...and note what templates MIGHT be a fit as you go. At the end of the hour, that's it. You stop looking. Pick the best one from the Maybes.

    The client won't care about the template nearly as much as you do.
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  • Profile picture of the author chicka
    Themes are really hard to pick, but you might want to consider the needs and the wants of your client, talk to them and meet half way on the decision
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  • Profile picture of the author failideas
    search for sites on the same niche of your client, see what features they have and make a list of them. Chances are, your client will need those features too .


    check the themes for the features you have in your features list.
    stop at the first 3/5 you see that fits what you need, has the features, has the design, etc. and choose the best of that selection.
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  • Profile picture of the author FormerWageSlave
    First, you need to interview your client to get a sense of what they want and need. Ask them what colors they have in mind, ask them to look around the web and find sites, features and functionality they like and list them for you. Ask them what they absolutely DON'T want on their site.

    Armed with that information, look around on the big three: WooThemes, ElegantThemes and ThemeForest for a theme that fits what you and the client have in mind. Does the theme have the colors your client wants? Did the theme maker create layouts for the various page types (big time saver), etc.

    Sort by sales or rating so you're not looking at a lot of crappy themes.

    Set a time limit. If you can't find something in your desired time limit, then by a super flexible theme like U-Design. I have this theme and I love it. It's been mentioned more than once in this thread.

    Here's a tip: I'll take screenshots from the theme demos and send them to my client as designer mockups. I get approval on the theme before I even buy it and start building. Huge time saver.

    Good luck.
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    grrr...

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  • Profile picture of the author mwhitehair
    Something that reflects the business of your client and make sure that the design isn't just the looks but make it is comfortable for the user.
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    • Profile picture of the author prodigy1290
      WOW. Thanks for all the replys! You guys are amazing here...

      I downloaded U-design. And LOVE it! You can do so much with it
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  • Profile picture of the author donaldcurtis
    Cool, i'll also try on that one, thanks for the share guys.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andy12
    I use Lubith. I can easily work with multiple themes so the client has options to choose from, I can easily change and test my themes, it's very flexible and interactive, it allows me to make my way through the design in no time. For me it's more than enough
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