The Perfect WordPress Theme for Affiliates?
Posted on 20. Aug, 2010 by Julius.
I recently told you about how I built all my mini affiliate sites. The crucial step in building such a website is always the research. Once you have found a niche for your mini site most of your work is done.
However you don’t want to waste too much time with setting your site up. In order to speed up the process Unique Blog Designs has created the Affiliate Theme.
The reason why I initially purchased it is because I needed a way of building lots of sites fast. That of course requires a theme with lots of customization options. There are other themes out there which you can use such as the FlexSqueeze Theme and Socrates Theme (which I probably would have bought had I known about it earlier) but for me the Affiliate Theme seemed like the best option.
How Does it Work?
Basically the Affiliate Theme is a highly customizable WordPress theme. You can quickly change almost everything about it. Now the reason for this is that as an affiliate you have to customize your sites a lot, especially when you are building a lot of sites. Which is normally the case when you are trying to make money through mini sites.
To be able to easily customize it you automatically get some header and background graphics. The ones below are all the header graphics I got with the theme (by purchasing the multi-use-package):
The header graphics that come with the theme
I was kind of disappointed because of the lack of header graphics, but I will come back to that later. The theme also comes with background images but to be honest I haven’t used them. I just didn’t like most of the images.
The Settings
The header settings
In the beginning I had trouble getting the header graphics to work. You can easily upload a header image to be used in the theme. So that’s what I did. But after uploading and saving the theme, the header image was still not showing up on my blog.
What I found out later was that in order for it to show up you actually had to switch the header display settings from text to custom header graphic. From then on it just worked great.
As I’ve mentioned the theme is highly customizable and therefore there are a lot of things you can change. I didn’t include all the options here because they would take up way too much space. If you want to see the whole settings panel then just go to the Affiliate theme website and click on What Is It? -> Theme Options Panel. There you can see all of the options there are for the theme.
Building Mini Sites
When you create a new blog and use the default Affiliate Theme settings on it, then the website just looks ugly. But within half an hour you can make it look extremely nice. I have to admit though that I haven’t been able to change the theme within half an hour so that it looks good but the more you use it the easier it becomes.
I recently built a mini site around hybrid cars. If I had to guess then it took me around an hour and a half to build my hybrid cars disadvantages mini site. I feel that the website looks great even though I really didn’t spend a lot of time working on it. That’s really the advantage of the this theme.
My Thoughts
I personally like the idea and the way it works. But there are certainly points which I don’t like. As I’ve shown above you only get a few header images. Especially with such a theme I expected to get more images like these. Another aspect which I don’t like are the background images. I haven’t used any of these because I don’t like the way they look. There are also some additional minor problems such as not being able to change the font below a certain number of pixels because the option does not exist. This is a minor issue which can be easily fixed by inserting another piece of CSS into the website.
I still use this theme on all of my mini sites. It’s a great theme for affiliates to use especially because of its high flexibility. Even though the issues mentioned above are annoying you can always create your own background or header image, which is what I did anyway. Once you are accustomed to using it you will be able to build mini sites a lot faster. One advantage of this theme over others is that it’s SEO optimized by default.
In the end I really enjoy using this theme. I hope the article gave you a good idea of the theme and how you can use it. I can truly recommend the Affiliate theme.
What do you think? Have you used something similar?
45 Responses to “The Perfect WordPress Theme for Affiliates?”
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About And Break!
Hi, I'm Julius. I first started blogging over two years ago. On andbreak I hope to provide you with in-depth information on Internet marketing.
Learn more about Julius
Patricia
22. Aug, 2010
Hi Julius
Thanks for visiting my blog. You are obviously a techie and if you had to sort things when you got this theme; how would us non-techies go??!! I like that you told us the pros and cons and didn’t just do a hard sell about the product.
Patricia Perth Australia
http://www.lavenderuses.com
all things lavender
Julius
22. Aug, 2010
Thank you for your comment Patricia. I guess I am more of a techie than other people. Would you like to use the theme? The thing is that the theme is actually for creating affiliate sites. That’s where you need a lot of flexibility and that’s what this theme is great at.
If you want a more professional theme I can recommend Woothemes to you
I personally purchased some themes from there and their themes are just great. Does that somewhat answer your question?!
And thank you, whenever I will review a product I will just basically talk about my experience and the pros and cons. I personally don’t like reading an article about how great this product is. I just enjoy articles where the author talks about how he used the product and the experiences he had with it, whether bad or good.
Mike
27. Aug, 2010
It’s right, Julius, seems we have the same point here. I especially find it very inspiring if the author talk about how he used it as well as what the role of the software in his way of making money online. For how great the product is, the software sales page does more excellent jobs than most of us
Julius
27. Aug, 2010
Hey Mike,
I agree. There is no point in trying to sell something to your readers. In the end they need to decide for themselves whether the product is worth it or not. And yes you won’t be able to do a better job than the sales page itself, even if you are trying to sell the product.
Sathish @ TechieMania
24. Aug, 2010
Looks like a nice theme. No offense But I don’t think it will beat the professional layout of Thesis. I am using Thesis for the past 4 months and I am happy to recommend it to anyone who want a professional layout.
Julius
24. Aug, 2010
Thanks for the comment Sathish. I didn’t mean for you to use this theme for your own personal blog. All I wanted to say is that if you are building lots of sites, especially affiliate sites then this might be a good plugin for you to use. I believe that Thesis is a great theme and I wouldn’t exchange Thesis for the Affiliate theme.
Mirko Gosch
24. Aug, 2010
Hey Julius,
You´ve come up with a thorough and honest review of the affiliate theme which you are using for your mini-websites. Good stuff.
Did you check out any other affiliate specific themes apart from the two you mentioned?
Personally I´ve been using iFlexxThemes for my personal blog and I haven´t decided yet whether I am going to use it for some mini-affiliate sites in the near future. I´ll check out your recommendation.
Thanks for this good review and also for the much appreciated comment on my blog post on article marketing.
Talk to you soon
Mirko
Mirko Gosch
24. Aug, 2010
Hey Julius,
I realized that I had been checking out the theme before. It is endorsed by a lot of high-class and well known internet marketers but I quickly remembered waht I didn´t like about there themes: I think they are just too expensive for what they offer.
Mirko
Julius
24. Aug, 2010
Thanks for the comment Mirko. The theme itself is not really inexpensive yet I believe you don’t that much more as for other themes. I actually purchased the multi-site-license which costs around $140 I believe. I personally think it’s worth it especially if you are building lots of sites.
Have you built lots of sites? You know you don’t need to purchase it especially if you feel that it won’t be worth it for the price. The thing is that you can also setup your site quickly using other free themes.
I actually don’t know of any other affiliate theme besides the two I have mentioned. But I will try to find some more.
Vishal Kuberkar
25. Aug, 2010
Hello Julius,
I liked this post. But what I liked the most is one of your comments, which gives me an Idea @ how you think when you read a blog…here is what you said & I liked it,
“whenever I will review a product I will just basically talk about my experience and the pros and cons. I personally don’t like reading an article about how great this product is. I just enjoy articles where the author talks about how he used the product and the experiences he had with it, whether bad or good.”
Keep up the good work and thank you for visiting my blog…you may like my 2nd new blog http://shareups.wordpress.com/
thanks
Julius
25. Aug, 2010
Thank you Vishal. I am glad you like what I wrote. It’s just my personal opinion but for me it’s best to see how a product can be used in order to decide whether you want to buy it or not. I will be sure to checkout your other blog
Peter J
25. Aug, 2010
This looks most awesome
And it actually offers a decent amount of customization compared to others.
Julius
25. Aug, 2010
Thank you Peter. That’s the reason why I bought it. I mean the thing is that if you want a theme that is highly customizable then this might be the theme for you. If you take a look at the theme options panel you will be able to see all the things you can change. Be sure to checkout my site I mentioned. The theme is great to use especially once you get used to it. That’s when you will be able to build sites within minutes.
Sire
25. Aug, 2010
Not bad, but for me Flexsqueeze is the best theme, better even than Thesis, which I use on one of my blogs. All the others use Flexsqueeze so I know what I’m talking about. It even has it’s own Squeeze Pages which I’ve played around with and will be making more use of later.
Julius
25. Aug, 2010
Good to hear. Before I decided to purchase the Affiliate Theme I also took a look at Flexsqueeze. It seems like a great theme to use and I think the reason why I didn’t initially buy it was because it didn’t look as professional. I don’t mean this in a bad way. Can you customize the theme as easily as the Affiliate Theme?
TrafficColeman
25. Aug, 2010
Howdy Julius,
Well I must say I like those themes to get an new site up fast, I might just try a couple of these on some new niche sites I’m working on.
“TrafficColeman “Signing Off”
Julius
25. Aug, 2010
Sure go ahead and use this theme. I personally like it and can recommend it. As you’ve probably seen Sire is recommending the Flexsqueeze theme. So be sure to check that out too. Just decide on what works best for you
Thanks for stopping by.
Adam Paudyal
25. Aug, 2010
hey Julius….
Thank you for the honest review of the affiliate theme…I did go and check your mini site about hybrid cars….Pretty impressive..
I use headway for my blog and couple of niche websites..I am in love with this theme…It is very easy to customize headway into any kind of page – affiliate page, squeeze page, 3 column, 2 column…and so on….And I think headway is something you should also look into… It will make your job of creating micro sites, online store or even large sites……a breeze…
Julius
25. Aug, 2010
Hey Adam,
thanks for the comment. I’m glad you liked the review. The layout of my mini site is pretty simple yet I am satisfied with the result.
Headway sounds like an interesting theme. Would you care to send me the link? I would love to check it out, it sounds great.
Even though I like WordPress very much I won’t use it for everything. For example I wouldn’t use WordPress for online stores just because there is better software available for that, e.g. Magento.
Adam Paudyal
27. Aug, 2010
hey Julius…here is the link to the headway theme……http://headwaythemes.com/
I have used this theme in couple of my sites including my blog….And having played around with couple of premium themes….I can tell you that the simplicity and the ease headway provides rivals that of any other premium themes in the market…..
Julius
27. Aug, 2010
Hey Adam,
thank you for mentioning the theme. I just took a look at it, but from what I saw it didn’t look as highly customizable?! It definitely looks good and I think I am going to add it to the post.
Murlu
25. Aug, 2010
Thanks for giving your thoughts on the matter Julius and it’s great to hear that you’re still moving ahead with your mini site work.
Themes like these are great little tools for people that want to not worry about the design end and get started now but I have always personally preferred to take the full approach in my own hands.
That’s not to say that I wouldn’t use a theme like this – it would be great when I have a niche idea that I’d like to put together quickly.
Keep us updated as the minisite projects come along
Julius
26. Aug, 2010
Hey Murray,
yeah mini sites are really interesting. But at the moment I am not focusing as much on such sites. I am right now rather trying to grow my blog. Which I guess seems to be working after all.
I understand what you mean. I always liked to do things myself. The problem is that it takes up so much time. Especially if you are building lots of different sites you know?!
Yeah I will definitely keep you updated as to whether it’s working out
Tinh
26. Aug, 2010
Affiliate themes is a great one for any bloggers and internet marketers, however, it is hard for those who are using theme framework to fully integrate it into this framework. Thanks
Julius
26. Aug, 2010
Thank you Tinh. You are right, affiliate themes like these are hard to integrate into Thesis or other frameworks. But why would you need to? I mean especially if you are setting up a lot of websites, why would you want to install Thesis (or something like it) on all of your sites?!
Wayne Howard
26. Aug, 2010
Nice. I may have to check these out when I get further into affiliate marketing. That is where all the money is right?
Right now I just have a seperate page set up on my blog for it, but if I could make an entirely new and simple website, that would probably be more efficient. \
Thanks for the review!
Julius
26. Aug, 2010
Thanks Wayne. Well I wouldn’t say that that is where all the money is. If you are passionate about something you will always find a way to make money. Yet mini sites are an easy concept of how you can make money through affiliate marketing.
Yeah the Affiliate theme is only useful once you set up lots of websites. I would never recommend buying it for your personal blog.
Samuel
26. Aug, 2010
woo!! awesome theme julius! i guess i will look into these theme lol thanks for sharing bro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Julius
26. Aug, 2010
Thanks Samuel. I am glad you like the theme. Yeah be sure to check them out. Afterwards tell me what you think about them.
Karl Hadwen
26. Aug, 2010
Hey Julius,
I find just starting a theme from scratch is a lot easier for me, or edit a previous theme. The affiliatetheme just didn’t have what I wanted, but I guess it comes down to personal preference.
Regards
Karl
Julius
27. Aug, 2010
Hey Karl,
I guess it all depends on personal preferences. The thing is that I would usually also change things in my themes. But once you start creating lots of websites that tweaking will take up so much time that you might have to look for an alternative. And Affliate Theme is one, I believe.
Thank you for your great comment.
Rick LaPoint
29. Aug, 2010
Has anyone tried the Socrates theme? It looks pretty extensive and flexible for this kind of thing. I used Thesis on my latest site, but have given Affiliate and Socrates serious consideration.
Julius
30. Aug, 2010
Hey Rick,
thanks for pointing that Socrates theme out. I just included it in the post at the top for people who are looking for alternatives. It really does look like a great theme especially with all of the customization options and over 200 header images to choose from. Also the price is lower than the affiliate theme which is a huge advantage.
digknowzone
01. Sep, 2010
Nice detailed explanation on the Affiliate theme. Sometimes when you really want to earn with mini-sites, you really have to invest on some other stuff like themes. Good job on this post!
Julius
01. Sep, 2010
Thanks. I am glad you enjoyed the post. Mini sites can actually generate you a nice amount of money. This month I made my first money through my mini sites
I am actually really excited 
Swamykant
03. Sep, 2010
Thanks For Sharing
Julius
03. Sep, 2010
Hey Swamykant,
I am glad you like it. What would you like to hear more about?! More reviews?
Cole Stan
04. Sep, 2010
In creating a site, you’re not only required to deal with the posting, but also with the background of your site. Just like any other readers, I’m after of an appealing background which catches my eyes. It actually boost my interest for that blog.
Julius
08. Sep, 2010
Hey Cole,
What do you mean by background? The layout of a website? Content is important but it should also be presented in a nice way. Thanks for the comment.
Cole Stan
01. Oct, 2010
Yes, that’s what I mean. You need to make sure that the design of your is very appealing to your visitors. It must also be very easy to navigate. As a site owner, you must remember that first impression last. The background itself can help visitors decide if the site is worth of their time.
Julius
01. Oct, 2010
Hey Cole,
I believe that’s true. You need a good design because it will also convey trust to your readers. On the other hand I see a lot of blogs with great designs but they still have content that’s crap. So you need to find a balance.
Scott Sutherland
08. Sep, 2010
Hi Julius,
Just subscribed to your blog and think it’s great. I’ve got a question about your approach to these mini-sites: Have you tried both organic and paid traffic to attract customers? I know that it’s “good” SEO to build backlinks and optimize your website for certain keywords to get organic traffic, but have you tried using paid traffic to your LPs (through Adwords, Facebook, etc) and comparing the ROI? (specifically ‘time’ as an investment as well!) Would love to hear your thoughts and experience on this. Cheers!
Julius
08. Sep, 2010
Hey Scott,
Thanks for subscribing to my blog. I hope you are going to like what I write about. Well I have tried both. I used PPC (Google Adwords) to drive people to a page. But it really didn’t work. Maybe that was also because I didn’t do it right. If I am making enough money then I will be sure to try it out. But for now I have to rely on free methods.
I mean there are people out there that are making thousands of dollars through Facebook ads etc. But I haven’t tried it yet. Since I built a lot of websites and tried to get them to rank well I think I am now pretty good at SEO. That makes it of course easier for me to get mini sites to rank well. The thing with mini sites is this: Experiencing is important. I can now build mini sites in a few hours and then I just have to wait for visitors to come. The more mini sites I build the faster I am able to build them.
So if you want to build mini sites then just start building them. There is no right or wrong way to approach it. It’s just about starting in the first place.
A. Tatum
11. Sep, 2010
Thanks for all the tips and I enjoyed the comments as well. Right now I’m considering moving my blog to a word press theme, I’m just trying to learn the ins-and outs of it all.
Julius
12. Sep, 2010
You probably should move your blog to WordPress. It’s such a great piece of software and with all the plugins available there is nothing you can’t do with it. The comment section is usually a great way to get some additional ideas.