The Top 10 Premium Specialty Themes for WordPress
By Steven Snell | Published September 7th, 2008 in ResourcesWordPress has been a popular blogging platform for several years, but the market for premium themes has really just developed within the past year or two. Premium themes ideally will separate themselves from free themes by achieving a better, more professional look as well as through added functionality and options from within the dashboard.
One of the more recent trends is a move towards a greater variety of premium themes created for specific types of websites. Magazine-style themes are by far the most popular type of premium theme, however, most of them have a fairly similar look and functionality. While they are certainly attractive, they’re best suited for news-related sites and may not be a good option (at least, not without some customizing) for many types of websites.
At the other end of the spectrum are specialty themes created with one purpose in mind. With many of these themes the developers are pushing the boundaries of WordPress as a CMS, and as a result, making it more useful for a greater number of individuals and businesses. As specialty themes increase in number and popularity, WordPress becomes a more viable option for a greater number of uses. For this reason the growth in the market of specialty themes plays a considerable role in the future of the WordPress platform.
While there are some quality specialty themes that are available for free, many of the premium themes include features and functions that drastically improve the control and ease of using the theme. The time required to develop these themes can rarely be justified for a free theme. Just like the free options, premium themes can be customized to create a unique, branded look.
For more WordPress resources on DesignM.ag see:
- 15 WordPress Portfolio Themes
- 11 Non-Traditional Uses of WordPress
- 15 Resources for Setting Up an E-Commerce Site with WordPress
- 20 WordPress Tricks to Improve Your Blog
Here are 10 of the best premium specialty themes available today.
1. Revolution Real Estate
As part of Brian Gardner’s famous Revolution series, the Revolution Real Estate theme makes it easy for real estate agents to have their own, attractive website. For agents, being able to add new listings and photos quickly and easily is a must, so a specialty WordPress theme is a great fit.
2. Video
As it’s name clearly suggests, Video is a theme especially for video bloggers. It features a very nice look in addition to the specialization for video content.
3. ProudFolio
Designed by Elliot Jay Stocks and sold through WooThemes, ProudFolio was created specifically for designers and other professionals that want to display their portfolio and keep it separate from the blog on the same site.
4. JobPress
More and more websites are adding niche-specific job boards to make the site a more complete resource for visitors and to monetize traffic. With JobPress you can easily, quickly get a job board up and running. While it doesn’t have all of the functionality of a custom job board, it has all the essentials and it’s a drastically cheaper option.
5. Church Communications Pro
Churches are often on a tight budget when it comes to web design. With a premium theme like Church Communications Pro they can get an affordable, attractive site that’s easy to maintain.
Church Communications Pro Demo.
6. Video Flick
Video Flick is a gallery-style theme for video blogging (with 4 layout and color choices).
7. Market Theme
WordPress can even be turned into a functional e-commerce site with the Market Theme. It’s probably one of the quickest ways to get your e-commerce site up and running on your own domain.
8. E-Commerce Theme
Market Theme isn’t the only option for turning your WordPress-powered site into an online storefront. Cory Miller offers the E-Commerce Theme.
9. Revolution Sports
As part of the Revolution series, the Revolution Sports theme is specially designed with sports news sites in mind.
10. ClassiPress
Also from Daily WP, the makers of JobPress, ClassiPress gives WordPress users the option to easily build a classified ad site. It’s not the most attractive of the premium themes, but it’s functionality is ideal if you’re looking to build this type of site. The look can always be customized.
What’s Your Opinion?
Do you feel that specialty premium themes are a good option for businesses in the represented industries? How do you see premium themes and specialty themes influencing the future of WordPress as a CMS? How would you rank the themes listed above?
But there are not free
[...] view article [...]
Web 2.0,
A lot of worthwhile things in life are not free. Using a premium theme is still a very cost effective way to get a great design and functionality out of your site.
“But there are not free”
Thus the title of the article, “The Top 10 Premium Specialty Themes for WordPress”. I seriously don’t understand this sense of entitlement that is felt by some of us in the open source world. People deserve to make money for their hard work.
Agreed. Designers/Developers count pour in countless hours to develop a free theme, but they can for a premium theme.
Nice post.
I like both the e-commerce themes but anybody serious about e-Commerce should use Corrys theme because it integrates with the WordPess e-Commerce plugin which is for when you want a real e-Commerce solution.
Also keep watching Billion Studio if you are interested in this space. Bill has something very cool on the way.
[...] The Top 10 Premium Specialty Themes for WordPress [...]
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[...] done some work with specialty premium themes like the real estate themes. My opinion is that specialty premium themes are going to be more [...]
[...] done some work with specialty premium themes like the real estate themes. My opinion is that specialty premium themes are going to be more [...]
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I liked the e-commerce and market templates the best. Not only do they show a pleasant viewing experience for your ideas, products, or services that looks gorgeous when you fit in the columns and fill them up. Great to put these all in together like you have. Have a great weekend.
love the e-commerce template theme, it looks tight and professional
[...] 10 Premium Specialty Themes Themes [...]
I Agree with you “Agreed. Designers/Developers count pour in countless hours to develop a free theme, but they can for a premium theme.”
[...] The Top 10 Premium Specialty Themes for WordPress [...]
[...] About 10 months ago I published a collection of 20 specialty WordPress themes that I had come across at that time. Today I’d like to feature another 17 specialty themes, all of which are free. Over at DesignM.ag I published a list of the top ten premium specialty themes. [...]
Thanks for the info friend.
beautiful themes. would like to try them out as soon as possible.its pretty attractive.Well , thanks for the good helpful info~
Yours sincerely,
donnie
[...] About 10 months ago I published a collection of 20 specialty WordPress themes that I had come across at that time. Today I’d like to feature another 17 specialty themes, all of which are free. Over at DesignM.ag I published a list of the top ten premium specialty themes. [...]
thanks for the good list.
I’m looking for an events template/theme for wordpress, and how to display “upcoming events”. Each event is treated as a post.
If you have seen one theme like this, please let me know!
WordPress e-Commerce is the future
I love the 3D Wall!!