Should I hire a web designer?

I'm having the exact same doubts! I've heard you can get guys on odesk for 20-30$ to design/redesign your website, but I'm suspicious of the quality...

Iv just started using ithemes builder for wordpress as im not a web desinger myself and find that its easy to use you dont need to know any coding and you can edit layouts create new ones with just click of button

For just a new header image or logo or "nice banner" (whatever that might be) you do NOT need any web designer.

For that kind of graphic products you need a GRAPHIC DESIGNER - nothing related to WP. Get the new image, upload it to your your server to replace the old one and you are good to go.

Both you guys have the problem that you have no idea what you need...
and you are setting up false alternatives, like:
"premium theme or webdesigner"

Then by a closer look it's clear you just want some customization of an existing theme, mainly because the complete lack of html/css knowledge.

Get a guy that makes you some custom graphics.
Pay a few dollars (look in the Warriors for Hire and the Classifieds) to a webmaster to upload the new images and replace the old one and, eventually, do a few small tweaks to change what you can't.

Everything else is over-complication

Really depends on your needs and abilities - for most people a free WordPress theme will do the job (there are literally 1000s available). I've rarely felt the need to buy a theme.

Or if you're comfortable with HTML and code, you can customize a free theme.

Otherwise, get a pro to make you a theme, but have your wallet handy...

If me , i will go with wordpress premium theme.
It save time and save cost . Hire designer is too costly and time consume.
Wordpress Theme now do have lot of choices and professional design and even with perfect plug in and seo friendly.

Unless you need customize lot of thing , then you have to find designer .

I'm a newbie to WF, but not to web solutions or the wonderful WordPress, so I thought I'd weigh in.

In my opinion, a premium theme is seldom the right way to go, especially with WordPress. Premium themes can be excessively bloated, and frequently slow down WordPress even with the addition of caching plugins. They're focused on budget-minded consumers who want what they don't need, and decide on looks more than efficiency.

On the other hand, hiring a specific web designer who you haven't worked with in the past, thus proving your compatibility, can and frequently does end up in turmoil. Crowd-sourcing, through sites like Crowdspring is by far the best way to obtain a great design, however, it's definitely not the most budget friendly.

If your website is your business, and the budget is tight, you don't need a premium theme or a designer. What you do need is what the industry calls a front-end or user-interface (UI) developer. This type of a developer has a specific skill-set that enables them to ensure that a design works, and that it doesn't sacrifice the usability of the site. They are well versed in things that you've probably overlooked, such as PageSpeed and YSlow scores, semantic coding, image sprites, resource compression, drawing elements with CSS, code validation, and important things like WCAG and Section 508 compliance.

In regards to the actual aesthetics of design, you should know what your site needs to look like. If you don't, then take a look at the sites of those who have the highest brand recognition and estimated conversion in your niche. They obviously have a recipe that works. You don't want to copy them, but you do want to zero in on what is working, and find a way to implement the same type of aesthetic. And, trust yourself because you know what website designs you find easy to work with and which ones you don't.

In the end, a front-end developer can merge your aesthetic desires with your conversion requirements, and turn your website into a positive user experience that chaperones a larger percentage of your visitors through the path to conversion. I took a look at your blog and assume that you're conversion goal is based on CTR. So, in an effort to promote regular readers, and increase new ones, the "redesign" that you're referring to has much more to do with UI than with graphic design, so neither a conventional web designer nor premium theme would likely provide the results you seek.

I hope this helps a bit, and remember, there are many variables I haven't mentioned here, plus I could have your goals pegged incorrectly.

In any case, good luck!

Hello
Hope you are fine.
Well dear i just want to suggest you a simple and well known thing and that is, don't think about the budget if you are getting better performance. If you want to hire a developer then you have to judge his reputation in market and after that you can easily avail whatever you want

Hi Wilson, sorry I have to reply to your PM here, but I'm a newbie so I can't PM just yet. Anyway, in response to your message, a front-end developer is a person who develops the front-end of the site. Every website has a front-end, i.e. the part of the website that users see.

A skilled front-end developer is proficient in development languages like xHTML/HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, which are the most common languages used to compile a user interface, because they're the language of the browser. They also understand the importance of validating the website code, standards compliance for accessibility, and can work with things like media queries to ensure that visitors from a mobile device see a website optimized for them (without you needing to have a separate mobile website or theme).

If you didn't already realize by my ranting, front-end development is a part of what I do for a living, so if you ever need assistance, or have questions, please feel free to drop me a line.