Wordpress vs templates

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BkSlayer

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Jun 5, 2010
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I've finally come up with an idea for a website that I think is good enough to make some cash so I'm trying to get the design going. The thing I'm wondering is if I'd be better off trying to modify a wordpress theme or a template from templatemonster or something. Without experience, wordpress seems a lot easier to modify to fit my needs but still, all the themes I've seen still pretty much have that wordpress look to them. I'm thinking it'd be possible to get by with a template from templatemonster with little modifications but without coding experience it seems like it'd be easy to mess up the look. Are already built templates hard to modify? Are wordpress themes modifiable enough to get the look I want? Thanks for any advice, noob here.
 


Templates and Wordpress are both highly modifiable if you know some basic HTML/CSS. If you have a decent HTML editor like Dreamweaver there's a lot you could do with a template without any coding knowledge (not so much with Wordpress). On the other hand, many Wordpress templates, especially the premium ones, come with a lot of options that let you customize the site to a high degree. Plus, you could always use widgets and plugins to achieve whatever you want. I'd recommend going with Wordpress if you really don't know much about HTML/CSS. Though a better option would be to learn some basic coding. If you're trying to make websites and make money online, it's more or less essential that you at least know the basics.
 
Hi,

+1 for Wordpress themes. You can see a lot of free as well as paid WP themes available in the net. Just get a matching theme and you can start updating the contents !
 
Really comes down to how well you know html/css and to some extent php.

Like the above poster said they are both highly customizable.

I think in your case, without actually knowing any real details about what your website is, is to try and find a template etc. that is already super close to what you want and then begin editing from there.

If you are editing a wordpress theme you definitely need to understand the folder structure, you can easily get lost in placing images, css files etc
 
WordPress already provides a set of templates. if you are not comfirtable with it, you can add custom templates.
 
If you need something for quick deployment, want some control of the way your Wordpress site will look, but have no design skills, try the Headway Theme. Pretty much drag and drop design for under $100.00 (single site license) if I remember correctly.

Also - SEO is easier to tweak with Wordpress.
 
With all my experience in WordPress (4-5 years) I would recommend it over a basic template due to the fact that WordPress is easier to optimize and also to edit a theme which already looks good.

Template - Crap Theme > Good Theme

WordPress - Good Theme > Amazing Theme
 
The only downside to wordpress is that it is complicated to mod if you want specialized function it may be a bit difficult until you understand some of the internals. OTOH you may find a plugin to do what you need.

For templates. do not, repeat DO NOT, buy the crap from templatemonster or similar sites.

Look at this site for free html/css templates that look as good as any wp theme: Open Source Web Design - Download free web design templates.
 
Thanks for the info guys, I've been messing around with wp and I think it's going to suit me well.
 
BkSlayer said:
I've finally come up with an idea for a website that I think is good enough to make some cash so I'm trying to get the design going. The thing I'm wondering is if I'd be better off trying to modify a wordpress theme or a template from templatemonster or something. Without experience, wordpress seems a lot easier to modify to fit my needs but still, all the themes I've seen still pretty much have that wordpress look to them. I'm thinking it'd be possible to get by with a template from templatemonster with little modifications but without coding experience it seems like it'd be easy to mess up the look. Are already built templates hard to modify? Are wordpress themes modifiable enough to get the look I want? Thanks for any advice, noob here.
Click to expand...

what's the idea that you came up with?
 
hah the idea is worth nothing if everyone knows about it. Also Robo, thanks for the link. I'm learning css basics now so I could try a template like those and see which I like more. Thanks guys
 
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