Doing research for that post about BS marketing phrases used to promote WordPress themes in marketplaces felt like going to a clothing store and seeing all those suits that can mow your lawn, cook for you, drive your car and who knows what else. And then maybe, just maybe, make sure you look good while wearing them.
Something’s not right about that. It makes me wonder why ability to easily create stunningly looking blog posts rarely gets a mention. It’s like going to a doctor and hearing:
I haven’t checked your vitals, but other than that I say you’re 100% healthy.
Shortcodes for columns, buttons, horizontal and vertical lines lines, X’s, O’s, it’s all there, built in ([and][it][really][shouldn’t][be]), giving you a unique opportunity to learn a new pseudo markup language you’ll likely never use again, but what if you wanted to find a theme that looks good, that you can install and just write that same second?
You know, paragraphs, headings, quotes, that sort of things. No importing demo content, no spending hours trying to make it look like the demo, none of that bullshit. Just writing and publishing. Isn’t that what WordPress really is all about, deep down inside, regardless of the fact that you can extend it (using plugins!) and make it do anything.
Most theme shops have at least one flagship theme for bloggers, so what’s the deal with marketplaces? You’ll find lots of “blog” themes there, most of them being described as some sort of “X in 1 magazine/blog theme”, but you’ll rarely see them in top sellers lists. Is marketplace featuritis to blame? Does the fact that authors are competing against “try to do it all” themes force them into building a “try to do it all + 1”?
Honestly, I have no idea, but I would love to hear what you think about this. Are blogging themes dead?
Slobodan Manic
@slobodanmanic
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I love blogging themes. Not only because I started out as a blogger turned into developer, but also because I love being able to focus on design when creating a theme and not worrying about “how can I create a profitable business theme that isn’t jammed with useless crap”. Over at AuthenticThemes 6 out of our 26 themes are actually blogging themes, I think our percentage is much higher then the “average” theme shop (marketplaces are a different story) and we will keep pushing these themes out ;)
Maybe the issue is that a lot of bloggers simple can’t afford or do not want to pay a premium price for their theme and those that do, probably still expect their blog theme to be jammed with garbage (a theme option for every design element and 100 layouts)….
Hey AJ! Thanks for dropping by.
I love blogging themes, too :)
You’re doing a great job over at Authentic Themes. Well designed themes, not cluttered, really allowing content to shine.
That could be a valid point, with so many free blogging themes it’s not as easy to justify paying for a blog theme, but even with that in mind, and at a lower price point compared to “pick me, I can do anything” themes I’d still expect them to sell better.
This blog post goes straight to my heart. Why? Because I’ve got the same problem: finding out modern blog themes for my WordPress powered blog. And I call “modern” a clean and beautiful theme like this one here at Thematosoup.com.
You see, I’m not a coder. I’m a wannabe coder and perhaps I could spend some time to get the same look like this site but this is not an “out of the box” WordPress theme for blogging.
Yes, there are plenty of themes out there that can be turned into blogging themes but you need some skills to make them look professional.
Thanks! We’ll consider either making our theme public or creating something similar and release it.