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Wordpress is a fantastic platform for many small businesses and pleasure bloggers. It’s low-cost, easy to use, and incredibly adaptable to all kinds of technology needs. The first step in knowing whether or not you need to invest extra money in a custom-built Wordpress theme is knowing what the site will be used for. How big do you want it to be? Will you need to edit it often? These are all questions you need to answer yourself before you ever think of choosing a theme.
Let’s take a look at some of the best things about having a custom Wordpress theme, and a few of the reason you should probably stick with a theme that’s pre-made.
PROS:

Uniqueness
Perhaps the single greatest thing about having a custom Wordpress theme is that you’ll be the
 only site in the world with that theme. That is, if you choose your designer carefully. This is great news for entrepreneurs and companies looking to definitively brand their business. It’s also a huge perk for creative types looking to set themselves apart like food bloggers and artists.

Customization
Well, obviously. Custom Wordpress themes are
 customizable which means you can build in any kind of functionality you need. Do you want an Instant Messenger box to pop up anytime someone visits your Contact page? Or perhaps you want to incorporate a whole host of photos into the blog’s background and you can’t find a plugin that makes it all work. With a custom theme, you get exactly what you want.

Tech Help
Many Wordpress users who choose to go with a custom theme either buy a pre-made custom theme (which kind of defeats the whole purpose) or hire a developer/designer to make the theme they want. If you’re not very tech-savvy and you’re afraid designing your own theme may take weeks, spending the cash to have one created for you based on your input might make a lot of sense.

CONS:

Cost
First and foremost, many people don’t want to shell out the hundreds and even thousands of dollars it can cost to have a custom Wordpress theme designed. People like Wordpress because it’s
 free, afterall. It’s important to consider what’s important to you and how that stacks up against the cost. Is it worth the money to have something different and functional? Only you can answer that.

Lack of Confidence
Having a custom designed theme made for you requires some faith that the final product will be what you want. Not with a pre-made theme. You can input photos, text, and plugins right from the get go, making changes along the way if you don’t like the layout. In that sense, you know what you’re going to get a lot more so with a predesigned theme than with a custom one.

Inflexibility
If there’s a chance you may need the whole site redesigned in a year when your business or blog changes, you may want to rethink a custom theme. Usually, they’re priced per theme and depending on who you use to build it you may not get a lot of long-term tech support. Every time you want to make a change to a custom theme that requires the help of a developer you’re going to be out extra money.

Whether you need a custom or commercial Wordpress theme greatly depends on your goals for the site. One thing’s for sure: the more you learn about your business and about the way you’ll be using Wordpress before you decide on a theme, the better.



About Author: 


Ryan Currie is a product manager at BizShark.com, with 5 years experience in online marketing and product development.  In addition to web related businesses, he also enjoys the latest news and information on emerging technologies and open source projects.

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