I have recently decided to setup a number of Wordpress blogs, including this one, and one of the most important aspects is picking the right theme. Now some people have the design-foo to create their own themes, I am not one of them. In searching for a new theme I came across Revolution. This was my first introduction to a premium theme. There have been numerous discussions in the blogosphere about what makes a premium theme. Now the first on most obvious difference is that a premium theme will usually cost money, between $20 - $250 seems to be the norm. Support is another difference, if you are paying for a theme you expect a decent level of support. Third, you expect the design to be of a higher quality, probably from a more renowned designer etc. This is a very subjective area, just because I like something doesn’t mean the next person will. That said, with only a few exceptions I much prefer the look of the current premium themes.
Premium themes have a few other benefits, firstly because they cost money less people are going to have them, secondly, if you are currently learning web development and design they are a good source to learn from. The code is usually more compliant and better documented than the free alternatives.
Here’s a list of the themes I have purchased:
Revolution
Revolution Magazine
GrungePress
PortfolioPress
NewsPress
Premium News
Showcase
MagazineNews
As you can see I’ve purchase quite a few of them 
At present I’m using Grungepress for this site and News for another. The others I am using to learn from and for other future sites. The one thing I have noticed is that most premium themes are targeted at the news type site rather than blogs. Is there a move to those type of sites or just that people running those sites are more likely to purchase a theme?
Over the next few posts I will do a brief review of each of the above.
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