Why Do People Create Free Wordpress Themes?

[Bloggeries]

Why Do People Create Free Wordpress Themes?

Someone asked me this the other day so I thought I'd give my $0.02.

The reason people make free themes is because of the links in the footer. Some are from the author but more often than not they are "sponsored" by someone. They pay $50-$150 (High End) to be a sponsor. If 100 people download it they just got each SITEWIDE link (sitewide means it appears on every page of content) for $0.50 or $1.50 a link. If 1000 people... Now the interesting part is if say 1 or 2 of the sites that installed it free are powerful PR5+++ suddenly you just got a "lifetime" or until they switch sitewide from a PR5 , 6 or 7 which could cost the price of the sponsorship for a few months let alone permanent.

So basically that is why there are so many free wordpress themes out there. It's like fishing you never know when someone may like it install it and pass on seo benefits to you from a powerful site. That being said if you have a powerful site and you are running a free template you may want to decide if you wish to keep it or if it's worth it to get a custom one made.

I still recommend using a free one when you are starting out or even when you are powerful if you don't care; I do believe you should be informed however.

Best of luck on all your blogs,
Rob

[Qurratulain]

Thanks Rob for the explanation, but I can't spread some green coz I've to spread somewhere before giving it to you

[Bloggeries]

LOL! Thanks it's the thought that counts. I'm greened up as is so spread it to some others. That doesn't stop me from sending some green your way though...

Glad you enjoyed the explanation.

Originally Posted by Qurratulain

Thanks Rob for the explanation, but I can't spread some green coz I've to spread somewhere before giving it to you

[solidghost]

I have seen a lot of themes that are sponsored too. Like from webhosting companies, SEO companies and so on.

[bloggingmix]

I don't think it's free. First of, they get a link to whoever decides to use the theme. Secondly, they get traffic referrals from the users of this theme. In fact, making a quality "free" theme then make it available to the public is one of the fastest ways to climb up in the search engine ranking.

[beautyinmd]

I create themes for the money and for the links basically, Its really one of the fastest ways to get higher serps. If you are coming from the sponsored end it might get quite expensive but if you are the one actually creating the themes you can get a high PR and lots of links in no time

[callmeminty]

hey thanks for the information .i was thinking the same thing the other day !!

tc

[Lorelei]

some people release non-sponsored themes to promote their portfolio, these normally higher quality layouts because they are meant to advertise the designer's skills and draw clients.

the free themes are generally of a lower quality, and just to correct u, Bloggeries, some designers get over $300 per sponsored theme, which explains the never ending productivity

[J2icharcI]

Hrm, very interesting, that makes sense.

[WPThemeSite]

Many people overcharge for wordpress themes I create them for the exact reason Bloggeries said though . They do provide quick SEO help and long SEO help. I suggest you never stop using free wordpress themes