If you want to take your WordPress powered blog or websitesite to a higher level you need a unique or custom theme to stand out from the crowd. If you cant afford a custom WordPress theme then a premium WordPress theme might be what your looking for.Premium WordPress themes are offered for a fixed price (but also occasionally free) and usually cost between $50 and $100. These premium themes are well deigned, highly functional, top-quality themes which can transform a WordPress installation from a simple blog into a powerful content management system (e.g. magazine, news, portfolio or ‘traditional' web site). Some of the best themes to help you take your site to a higher level are listed below:

What specifically makes a premium WordPress theme premium? What should you look for when thinking of buying a WordPress theme? Some characteristics that should set a premium wordpress theme apart from a free theme are listed below:

Quality and Unique Design

Premium WordPress themes should be just that - Premium. They should look better and be of a much higher quality and unique design than compared to those available for free.

Features

While all themes are different, in general premium WordPress themes should have more "Features" than their free counterparts. What that means depends on the theme in question. However some features may include: "Featured Posts" areas, Multiple layout options for the home page, drop down menus, multiple customs templates for pages, custom field options, print style sheets etc.

Customization Options and Fexibility

People want options, so Premium WordPress themes should be customisable. Buying a premium theme will set you apart from the crowd significantly, but since other people will still be using the same theme, premium themes should be able to be easily customized further, whether it be for the layout, colours, images, or all of the above.

Live Preview or Demo

There should be a live demo or preview of the theme so you can test it and check it out before buying. If there is no live preview or demo that should be a warning sign. You should ask why don't they want you to test the theme first? All reputable premium theme sellers will have a live demo full of content for you to test. Explore the live demo thoroughly, testing all pages to see that the theme works properly and there are no errors or mistakes.

Full Support

If you're buying a premium WordPress theme it should also come with a certain degree of support from the designer. The level of support can vary however and will range from personalised individual support from the designer, to the provision of forums or blog comment sections for asking questions and obtaining support from the designer and other people who have purchased the theme.

Supporting Documentation

Premium WordPress themes should come with an instruction manual or document. This should explain how to upload and install the theme and how to manage any of the options that are built into the theme.

Free Updates

Wordpress is continually being updated and improved and a premium WordPress theme developer should be offering you free updates of the theme when required.

Well Coded and Error Free

There should be no coding errors, misspellings, X images, etc in a premium WordPress theme. The theme has cross browser compatible and been tested to work properly on all the major browsers, plus the theme should have clean and valid code and adhere to strict XHTML and CSS standards.

The Original Premium News

Theme Premium News is a user-friendly, feature and function-packed theme, which will turn your WordPress site into a great looking magazine / news style site.

NewsPress Theme

NewsPress is modified version of the original Premium News theme. NewsPress is a user-friendly, feature and function-packed theme, which will turn your WordPress site into a great looking magazine / news style site.

The Gazette Edition Theme

The Gazette Edition is a magazine / newspaper style WordPress theme, which looks amazing and has some great features as well such as integrated options page to change colour schemes and homepage layout, featured article panel using Mootools, drop down navigation, and integrated ad management script.

Flash News Theme

Flash News Theme is an attractive and very functional magazine / newspaper style WordPress theme

Live Wire Series Theme

The Live Wire series of wordpress themes are feature rich 3 column magazine / newspaper style premium WordPress theme They have a classic look and feel, often associated with newspaper layouts. It makes use of serif typefaces, minimal colour and lots of open space.

Fresh News

Fresh News is a professional and elegant magazine / news style premium WordPress theme from Premium News Theme. The theme features two homepage layout options: the default magazine style layout and a traditional blog layout, and also comes with 6 built in colour schemes.

Revolution Sports Theme

The Revolution Sports theme is a widget-ready, customizable theme for online magazines, online newspapers and other websites.

Revolution News Theme

This theme is a great solution for those who want the online newspaper look similar to websites such as CNN News, US World News & World Report, etc

Revolution Real Estate Theme

Revolution Real Estate is a premium WordPress theme from Revolution Themes. It's a widget ready, customizable WordPress theme for Real Estate agents wishing to showcase their listings, as well as blog and market themselves in the community.

Revolution Magazine Theme

Revolution Magazine is a customizable theme ideal for online magazines and has a new enhanced featured video location on the theme as well as drop down menus.

Revolution Pro Media Theme

A theme is structured towards media, making it an ideal theme for online media magazines and other media focused sites. Revolution Pro Media boasts a very diverse homepage - including a place for featured tabs, video, photos, and thumbnail images.

Revolution Pro Business Theme

The Pro Business theme is a great solution for a small business or company who wishes to have a static web page as well as include a corporate blog.

Revolution Tech Theme

A theme ideal for the Tech fan, and who wants their site to feature a technology, focusing on the latest tech news, product reviews, etc.

Revolution Theme

This theme was built mainly to be used as a static website or CMS. It's a great solution to use WordPress for small businesses, portfolio sites and more.