设计为先 – 在WPTavern.com网站最近的一次投票购买主题时考虑的最重要卖点是什么？不出所料，设计成为最关键的卖点。购买主题之前，我事先对网站的样子已经有一定的概念了，因此我就会注意整个主题的设计、布局、结构。我变得相当擅长修改已有的主题设计，使其符合我的要求。

演示 – 这是非常关键的打分。我逛过几个商业性主题站点，他们用相当精致的图片来为他们的作品宣传，但却没有演示。在我个人认为，要是没有实际的演示，我必定不会 购买。其它开发者也经常用演示来衡量主题内部代码的质量，以决定是否购买该主题做为开发他们客户主题的基石。我认为：购买之前务必要演示一番。

技术支持 – 要是无法确定你将会获得技术支持以保证质量，我劝你还是别购买该主题。我记得曾碰到一款设计非常光滑的主题，我非常喜欢，但是由于我不是该论坛的付费会 员，我无法享受他们提供的技术支持服务。可以肯定有电子邮件和论坛支持才可以保证主题的质量，购买没有技术支持的主题还是有风险的，因此我没有花75美元 在那个主题上。

我所看到和我所获得并非同一物 – 购买主题之后，最让人恼怒的事情。原本展示的时候看起来非常完美但是启用主题之后发现它是如此糟糕。这也是为什么我购买这么多主题的原因，我无法让他们启用后的效果与展示时的效果保持一致， 或者说很难实现我所设想的样子。

有些问题的责任在于我。在一个主题站点浏览主题时，要是碰上一款喜欢的主题，我脑袋里就会设想我可以如何如何改造它使其符合我的要求。可购买之后才发现要实现我当初的预想是何其繁杂，于是，我就不使用该主题。

概不退款 –这同样令人讨厌不过至少还是可以理解的。在WordPress社区，下载后的产品是无法获得退款的。想想看，一个产品一旦销售出去，商家就失去对它的控制权，如果他们还需要退款的话，那真是无法运营。这就是要求用户购买时对产品要了解十分。

资源文件 – 除非产品销售页面明确指出你可以获得资源文件：如PSD、脚本文件等，你得向主题制作者询问，这些资源文件是否跟主题一起出售。如果不是的话，主题使用的logo图形就很难修改，除非你有PS经验。

有一个范本 – 在我购买的过程中至少有几次是这样的。我不断地环视看看是否有现成的范本。我很喜欢看人们如何修改自定义主题，感受下将来要是我使用这款主题可以实现怎样的效果。如果你是一个商业化主题制作者却没有主题的范本，这对你来说是极为不利的。

附原文：

7 Tips For Customers And Theme Authors

By Jeffro on August 10, 2009 | 110 views

Over the past two years, I think I’ve spent a few hundred dollars purchasing WordPress themes for various reasons. The downside is, I’ve only used a few of them. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to buy something that looks great in the display case but no matter what you try, it doesn’t look that good in practice. With that in mind, here are 7 tips for both theme authors and customers for a better shopping experience.

Design First – In a recent poll conducted on WPTavern.com, I asked what the most important selling point was regarding purchasing a theme. Not surprisingly, design came out on top. When I go shopping for a theme, I already have an idea of what I want my site to look like. So, I take notice of not only the design but the layout or structure of the theme. I’ve become pretty good at modifying existing designs to the point where they look like something custom.

Must Have A Demo – This picks up where point 1 leaves off. I’ve been to a few commercial theme sites that preach all the stuff their themes have to offer with pretty pictures and the works. But, no demo. The bottom line is, if there is no demo of the theme in action, I’m moving on to something else. Demos are also used as a way to gauge the quality of code within the theme by other developers who may be looking at purchasing the theme to use as a base for their clients. I think of demos as a way to try before you buy.

Support – You can’t even begin to think about purchasing a theme unless you know for certain you’re going to receive quality support. I remember coming across a really slick design that I fell in love with but because I couldn’t access the forums without being a paid member, I couldn’t get a feel for how good support was. Sure, the email and forum support could have been top notch but since I had no way of knowing that before hand, it was a risk I wasn’t willing to spend 75$ on.

What I Saw And What I Have Are Different – This has to be one of the most annoying aspects which comes after the purchase of a theme. What I thought looked great in the display case turns out to be a nightmare to configure. This is the number one reason why I haven’t used the majority of themes I have purchased because I can’t get them to look the same they did in their display case or it’s to hard to make them look the way I envisioned them to.

Some of this problem lies on my shoulders though. As I shop around for a theme, I see something I really like and inside of my head, I envision how I would change things around to fit the idea I have in my head. After making the purchase, I find out that it’s too much trouble to go through to get the idea from head to paper so I don’t use the theme.

No Refunds – Equally as annoying but at least understandable is the fact that there are no refunds on downloadable products in the WordPress community. It makes sense considering once the product has been distributed, the business loses control over that products distribution and if they were to refund that money, they would go out of business really quick. This just means that it is very important that you cross your T’s and dot your I’s before going through with the purchase.

Resource Files – Unless it’s specifically stated on the purchase page that you get access to the source files such as PSD, font files, etc ask the theme author if these come with the theme or not. If they don’t and that particular theme uses a graphic for a logo, it will be difficult to change unless you have Photoshop experience or know someone that does.

Have A Showcase – At least a few times during my shopping trip, I’ll browse around to see if there is a showcase available which shows examples of the theme in action. I enjoy looking to see how people have modified the theme as it gives me a sense of what I would be able to achieve. If you’re a commercial theme author and you don’t have a showcase, you are really doing yourself a disservice.