The debate over premium themes (paid themes) vs. free themes is alive and well at Smashing Magazine. Whether you agree or disagree with this practice, an open market makes it fair to create and sell pretty much anything. The “paid” scenario is not without parallel within other open source genres. Take Linux and Red Hat for instance. Linux is free (open source) but Red Hat wrapped a support license around there distro thus making money but keeping the source open.

This – I feel – is how premium/paid themes (and plugins for that matter) will separate themselves from the FREE community created WordPress add-ons. If you create a quality (this must be emphasized) theme/plugin, offer support and timely security and feature updates the WordPress Community will flock. Pricing is a big issue but again the market will drive the pricing of themes and plugins. Head over to Smashing Magazine and read the article. I think you will agree serious bloggers and content creators will revel the fact that there is a quick and easy way to get premium features and not have to spend a fortune or untold hours searching for a free theme that will do the trick.

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