WordPress Theme Smackdown: Free, Premium or Custom

We're migrating our corporate website to WordPress. After a year of searching for the perfect WordPress theme to style our site I've decided to get a custom theme developed. It wasn't an easy decision. My original intention and true wish is to do the whole thing myself. Now I see that DIY could stall the project forever. It's time to reach out and get some help.

Static Version of Stafflink.ca

I created the current version of our website over a year ago. Since then I've done everything in my power to make it look and act like a dynamic WordPress site. I added Twitter widgets, a blog and hooked our site up with an RSS feed and social media. This keeps our content fresh and pushed our Google page rank up a notch. But now it's time for the real deal.

The illusion.

I believed that if I found the right WordPress theme it would just be a simple matter of plugging in our content. Then Presto! I'd have a dynamic WordPress site at my command. I wrote 10 Reasons I Jumped on the WordPress Bandwagon to share this magic solution.

Reality Check.
Turns out isn't that easy. I've dressed up our content with a series of themes. I gave Elegant themes a whirl. I tried the Thesis framework on for size. I read every roundup of theme reviews that I could find. But I now I have to face reality. I'm never going to find the perfect off-the-shelf theme for our site.

The Smackdown.
Here's the smackdown part of this article. AKA my humbling journey from free themes, to premium themes, to frameworks, to hiring a custom theme developer.

Free Themes

The BlueBubble Theme Template

• The Good: They're free! They're part of the beautiful sharing opensource WordPress community. I used the free BlueBubble theme for my e-learning course Build an e-resume portfolio site with WordPress. If you want a personal blog or e-resume/portfolio site, then a free theme might be the perfect solution for you.
• The Bad: It's free so you can't expect the same level of support that you would receive with a premium theme. Plus the developer may abandon the theme and stop updating it for new releases of WordPress.
•  The Ugly: Free themes can hide malicious code so be careful. It's best to get your free themes from the WordPress.org Free Themes Directory.

Premium Themes

• The Good: You get a professionally designed template for an extremely reasonable cost. Here are a few premium theme solutions that I recommend: Elegant themes and Woo Themes. But there are hundreds of great premium theme sources.
• The Bad: I'm often attracted to premium themes with beautiful photographs. But when I add my own content the theme suddenly looks plain and cookie-cutter. If you have your own beautiful photos or artwork, this won't be a problem for you.
• The Ugly: If you use a popular theme then thousands of sites out there will look like yours. Unless you have enough programming and design skills to customize the theme.

Theme Frameworks

A theme framework is designed to be a flexible foundation for faster WordPress development. 

Stafflink Styled with Thesis Folio

I tried the Thesis theme framework along with the Thesisfolio skin. People liked the look of our site dressed up with Thesisfolio. But when we compared the job list, the blog and landing page of our current site side by side with Thesisfolio, the consensus was that our old site was more friendly, approachable and engaging.

Someday I aspire to have our site running on a framework. But right now I need to expedite this project so it's time to hire a pro.

Custom Theme

• The Promise: Experienced web developers design an original theme to showcase your business. You get a unique online identity for your business and expert support for migration and SEO.
• Our Choice: We've hired a local Toronto company to develop a custom WordPress theme for us. We'll see how it works out in a month or so when the project is complete.
• The Risk: Having a custom theme designed is expensive but after of year of unsuccessfully seeking a DIY solution, I think it's worth it. The biggest issue for me is that I'm not doing this development myself. But so far Will Webb, the owner of IMG, is responsive to my questions and I'm hopeful that his team will produce a beautiful site for us. And when it's all finished this baby will be mine.

Who wins the Smackdown? Free, Premium or Custom

It all depends on the purpose of your site, and your level of design and technical skills. For Stafflink, custom theme development is the winner today. But this story isn't over.

Enough about me already.
What's your take on this whole thing?
Do you think I made the right decision to hire a custom theme developer?
What WordPress themes do you recommend?
What's your favourite framework?

Related Links:
10 Reasons I Jumped on the WordPress Bandwagon
Build an e-Resume Portfolio Site with WordPress
WordPress Theme Framework Comparison
WordPress Free Themes Directory

Laura Upcott
Stafflink Solutions Ltd.

Website:    http://stafflink.ca/
e-Resume: http://www.lauraupcott.com/
Email:        laurau@stafflink.ca

Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/lauraupcott

LinkedIn:   http://ca.linkedin.com/in/lauraupcott

Resume SEO Part 2: Keyword Resume Template

A reader asked me to provide a resume template to demonstrate the tips in Resume SEO: How to Pump Up the Keywords Without Turning Off Recruiters. Here's the link to the document I created in response: Keyword Resume Template. Thanks for suggesting it!

I created this template with technology specialists in mind. We're an IT staffing company so that's what I know best. However, I think it could be adapted for other fields.

I modified an existing MS Word template and added some keyword sections headings to make the resume more readable and more SEO friendly. I inserted some tips to explain my reasoning.

Here's the result:

I hope you find this resume template helpful. Your questions, comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome!

Related Articles:

Tim Collins

Stafflink.ca

timc@stafflink.ca

www.twitter.com/stafflinks

www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins

Resume SEO Part 1: Pump Up the Keywords Without Turning Off Recruiters

How do you add keywords to your resume and still make it readable? The secret is to insert keywords in places that help both recruiters and search engines to quickly skim your resume and determine if you're qualified.

What is Resume SEO? Recruiters use keyword searches to mine for resumes in job boards and resume databases. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for resumes means including enough of the right keywords in your resume so that your resume gets picked up by search engines during a keyword search.

Define keyword. Keywords are nouns, phrases and buzzwords or jargon that detail your skills and relate to the position or industry. Examples: MS (Microsoft), PM (product manager), SQL Server, HR (human resources), MBA, technical writer, data delivery, administrative assistant, developing, creating.

Keyword dumps don't work. You may be tempted to try to trick the search engines into putting your resume at the top of the list by dumping a load of keywords on the first page. When I see a keyword dump and no real experience on the first page of a resume I assume that this person is not qualified.

How to Balance Keywords with Readability

1. Add Keyword Summary section to your resume: It's probably best to limit this to less than 50 keywords. Section out the Keyword Summary with the same formatting that you use to define sections in the rest of your resume. This enables the recruiter to quickly skim the heading and move to the next section.
2. Insert a Technical Environment description (or Skills Summary list) with each job in your Employment Experience section. Use a subheading to separate this list from the list of skills and accomplishments for that job. The Technical Environment/Skills Summary helps recruiters determine what specific skills you used for each position.
3. Insert a Technical Skills table that shows all programs, software and technical skills you know well and the number of years of experience you have with each. IT recruiters love these tables because it helps them quickly figure out if you have the required number of years of experience.
4. Within your description of each position in your Employment Experience section highlight specific capabilities such as technical skills, communications skills, organizational skills or management abilities you demonstrated in that role.
5. Use different keywords forms. If you use “coordination” in your Skills summary, use “coordinate” in the body of your resumé. Use both full keywords and acronyms.
6. Don’t go overboard! Your resume still needs to be readable.

Read Next: Resume SEO Part Two: Keyword Resume Template

Tim Collins

Stafflink.ca

timc@stafflink.ca

www.twitter.com/stafflinks

www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins