Review: WooThemes Premium WordPress Themes

by Robb Sutton

In the blogging world, finding your unique look to separate your blog from the masses can be a difficult task. One of the first and most natural ways to set yourself apart from the rest is by investing in a premium Wordpress theme that organizes and presents your content professionally while still holding true to your voice. In this premium Wordpress theme review, we are taking a look at WooThemes and their features for bloggers and website owners. Having used several of their themes for multiple purposes (including the current theme on RobbSutton.com), I have had a lot of experience with WooThemes over the years…so let’s take a look inside.

Behind the Scenes – Woothemes

As with most premium Wordpress themes, WooThemes has their own backend mangement system to let you control things like color scheme, logo insertion, javascript insertion (stat trackers, etc) and other specific tasks that relate to the function of the theme on your blog. Recently updated to 2.0, the new Woo Framework provides a lot more user friendly interface with a couple of new options.

WooThemes Framework 2.0

The previous generation, while looking good on the outside, was rather slow and clunky. With 2.0, WooThemes streamlined and made a much faster interface that is easier to use. Honestly, this is a HUGE upgrade over the previous version from a usability standpoint. The crew over at WooThemes also added a feature that I used to have to get custom coded in the past…including the post image in your RSS feed when you use the WooThemes image resizer. In previous generations, this was not possible without some custom work.

WooThemes Post Options

Within each individual post draft screen, you are given options to include an image in your post that will be used for the thumbnail in archives and on the homepage and…in this case…an option to embed a video that can also automatically display in a widget on your blog. On the post screen, WooThemes keeps things simple with only what you really need. While there are other themes on the market that want you to integrate the SEO with their theme structure, I actually recommend using a plugin like All-In-One or Platinum SEO for those duties so that you are not tied to a theme for your blog’s search engine optimization. WooThemes kept it simple, so it doesn’t clutter up your draft screen with items you are not going to use.

The CSS within the WooThemes markup is organized and easily editable. With the inclusion of a custom CSS file, you can edit your look and still make upgrading easy in the future. Each of the templates for sidebar.php, single.php, etc. are also well organized for easy editing. If you are looking to jump in and start hacking away…it is easy to do within their current file structure.

WooThemes On The Outside

With over 50 themes available and multiple color schemes for each theme, you can almost guarantee a unique look for your blog by simply adding your logo. However, WooThemes does have a unique look, so your readers will be able to tell where you got your theme from, but that is not a bad thing if done correctly.

WooThemes provides some of the best looking themes on the market for Wordpress, but they are heavily image based. What does that mean for you? To get a really unique look out of a WooTheme, you are going to have to edit some image files and not just straight css. This also…typcially…makes your site load a little bit slower than the guys running a plain white Thesis Theme layout, but that is the price you pay for having a unique look on your blog.

WooThemes provides several different widgets, color options and other built in features to bring functionality and uniqueness to your blog.

Final Thoughts On WooThemes

I have tried A LOT of premium Wordpress themes over the years and WooThemes is the one that I come back to every time. With organized code and plenty of options for a lot of different site layouts, they are a go to option for anyone looking for a custom, unforgettable look on their blog. WooThemes is well tailored for beginning bloggers looking for a unique look without a lot of technical knowledge and for advanced coders looking for a solid foundation to build a custom blog off of.

What I Like About WooThemes
  • Easy to use backend administration system with a ton of features (including ad integration)
  • Unique look due to 50+ options and multiple color schemes
  • Consistent quality across all themes
  • Easy to customize markup
  • Great pricing for premium Wordpress themes
What I Don’t Like About WooThemes
  • Loads slower than some of the competition because of image based design
  • High popularity could mean similar look

Click here to check out the premium Wordpress themes from WooThemes

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6 comments

Mike Crimmins January 22, 2010 - 3:11 pm

I loved the way the Woo Themes look, but after having a rough time with a theme of there’s a couple of years ago, I didn’t even consider them when I bought the premium theme from thesis. However, that was a couple years ago, so I’m sure it’s different now.

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Ben Lang January 22, 2010 - 4:33 pm

I love Woo Themes, I think their so easy to use, look amazing, and really can change to level of your blog 🙂

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Lee January 24, 2010 - 12:28 pm

Hi Robb,
Just a quick note of thanks for your support with emails and answering comment questions with email responses etc.. I wanted to let you know that I included you in a post of bloggers who have an unconditional way of paying it forward to folks like myself. Thanks
Lee

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Muzi Mohale January 24, 2010 - 2:36 pm

I find WooThemes to be superior than most themes, based on their wide selection of themes offered. Also like their free themes option, with great themes compared to paid for themes offered by their competitors. Their back-end is easy to understand…I’m proud that the trio consists of South Africans my home-boys.

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tony ramirez | StayStrongDreamBig.com February 2, 2010 - 2:34 am

WooThemes provide the best themes. I think. Definitely gives a blog that edge that it needs.

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Callum February 11, 2010 - 1:05 am

Robb,

Your new look and this review convinced me to go with Woothemes, specifically Headlines.

If only I could design a background as great as this one.

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