DIY WordPress vs custom design by service provider??

  • Hello there,

    I am fairly new to WordPress, but have created a site using a free theme (Oria) and realize I will need to customize or adopt a new theme to take it to the next level aesthetically and functionally. I am a real stickler for aesthetics. I am looking at the prospect of:

    a) Since I really don’t want to muck around with code, downloading a new versatile & customizable paid theme such as Divi and redoing the site myself or…

    b) Have a new theme customized to my specifications by a designer. I currently have a designer proposing to produce a 1 page parallax theme that would be customized off an existing template at +/-$1000.

    Any thoughts on the options above and if option “b” is a fair and reasonable price. Your feedback most appreciated. Thanks!

    Jeff

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Andrew Nevins

    (@anevins)

    WCLDN 2018 Contributor | Volunteer support

    Hi Jeff, we can’t talk about costings.

    So a), you need to make sure your commercial themes comes with a good support package. Some vendors do not support customisations.

    There are three ways to get a theme

    1) Download a free one on www.ads-software.com/themes
    2) Purchase one at many of the theme shops around
    3) Create one that is brand spanking new, 100% custom

    Just because you pay for a theme, does not mean it is good quality
    Just because you download a free theme, does not mean it is crappy quality.

    There are many themes that upload to www.ads-software.com/themes a lite version, you can buy the pro version. Maybe you can go that way.

    There is NO guarantee that your $1,000 theme will be a good quality one.

    There are places around the world that the standard of living is lower and thus you can get a spanking brand new customized theme for a lot less than $1,000. Where I live in, Canada, it might cost you more.

    You could get a student/noob to do your theme, it is cheaper but no experience.

    You can get an “expert” but there is no guarantee.

    Some of those theme shops give you 6 or 12 months support, you get an e-mail when a new version of the theme is created. However depending on the popularity of the theme, there could be thousands of sites looking like yours.

    Try hiring a local developer, specially a new one, we all need the experience when we were noobs.

    I am not going to tell you how much you should pay for a theme, just don’t cheapen out.

    Thread Starter jeffre38

    (@jeffre38)

    Thanks Miroslav for the wealth of info and Andrew for the feedback.

    Miroslave, I agree about not cheapening-out, but a firm believe in being fair and reasonable.
    I thought what a guy quoting me; essentially to customize an existing theme/template he ostensibly already had was a bit ‘heavy’. Both him and I are local: Toronto, Canada.

    There is a lot of skill in the WordPress community, but it’s the balance of skill and aesthetic sensibility that is hard to find.

    I’ll check with a few other designers to prove positive what is fair and reasonable. Save, for that, I may have to roll-up my sleeves and customize some of themes available out there allowing for maximum customization, with the coup de grace of not having to manipulate code.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
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