Seems the newest fad in WordPress theme creation is to obtain sponsorships for the themes. Basically, this means that some sites will pay you to place their link in the footer credit of the themes you create in order to increase the PageRank and exposure for their own website.

I’ve seen a lot of this going on at the WordPress Themes Site - and, personally, I find it distasteful. If I were a theme user - I would not place one of these themes on my site.

Why? Because the theme author requires that you keep the sponsored links in the theme, whether you want them there or not. This means that if you use the theme, you are required to link from your site to some sponsored website - - often these ’sponsor sites’ are the same sites you see and delete in all the comment/trackback spam you get on your blog. Viagra, Pharmaceutical sites, Credit Card Financing sites..and on and on.

These sites are having a hard time getting through comment and trackback spam filters - - so now they are approaching WordPress Theme authors and offering them money to place their link in the footer of the ‘free’ theme. Now those themes are no longer really free, are they? In order for you to use them - - you have to agree to provide a link from your site to one of these shady sponsor sites. They aren’t exactly paid themes either… I call them ‘conditional’ themes. You can use the theme as long as you keep the sponsor site links in the footer.

No thanks.

Recently, I’ve been approached by two types of ’sponsors’ -

1.) Sites who want to pay me to put their links in the footers of my free themes

2.) People who want to pay me to create a theme for them so they can release it as a free WP theme with their sponsored links in the footer.

I’ve declined the several offers that I have received in both cases. I dunno, call me old fashioned — but I like the purity of what the WP Themes site used to be. You used to see alot of emerging talent and learning going on there with WP theme designers. Now it is becoming a repository of spam. You don’t really know if the author of the theme is REALLY the author of the theme - - or someone who paid someone else to create the theme for them so they can release the theme under their name and their sponsored sites. You also see a lot of themes redone. Like the new theme author takes a theme already done by someone else and changes the background color and calls it “Theme XXX revisited” or “Theme XXX Reduex” or whatever - - but this new author isn’t really a theme author at all. They are just a guy who can change a color code in the CSS and has sold sponsored links on a theme he hasn’t even created.

It’s no longer an area where designers would create, share and learn from one another anymore. If I had the ability to remove all of my themes off the WP Themes site, I would. But, sadly, they don’t give you the ability to do that.

Don’t get me wrong — I’m a capitalist. I have no problems making money with what I do for my business. I also have no problems selling ads on my own sites and making a few bucks per month doing so. However, it is I who makes the decision about what links go on my site. I don’t have anyone telling me that I HAVE to provide a link if I don’t want to. Also, as a theme author, when I release a free theme for the WordPress community to use — it’s free. It’s not sponsored or filled with all sorts of nefarious links.

I also have absolutely NO problem providing a link back to the actual author who put in the work and time to create a theme that I’d like to use. Theme designers deserve the credit and the link back for creating a fabulous theme. However, on some of these themes you’re seeing 2, 3…10… links in the footers that are things like.. “sponsored by: Pharmaceutical site, Viagra site, Web Directory, Credit Card Finance site….” and so on and so forth.

Today, Viagra sponsors.. tomorrow.. Porn? Who knows, really.

I’m not saying it’s necessarily wrong, exactly…but to me, it just doesn’t feel right. I dunno, am I in the minority on this one?

Posts on “WordPress Theme Sponsorship” from Other Blogs
“Sponsored” themes from Mark at Weblog Tools Collection - “I have been largely silent about the the whole “sponsored theme” controversy going on in the Wordpress theme world. However, the post above left a really, really bad taste in my mouth….”

Theme Ethics from h4X3d.com - “There is currently a new trend going on the internet among people that want to make money…”

“Sponsored” WordPress Themes from Sassy at The Sassy Lawyer’s Journal - “I suppose it goes without saying that I am boycotting every free Wordpress theme with sponsored links….”

Deteriorating Theme Community from Small Potato at WP Designer - “All together, sponsored theme designers are ruining the user experience. Would you download a theme with three to four sponsored links in the footer? How much patience do you have? And how long would you browse through the theme viewer to find a regular, non-sponsored, good looking theme?…”