As the premium WordPress themes market continues to grow and competition becomes more intense, it is only natural to begin looking towards the future of premium WordPress themes. We all have different opinions of what that future holds, but one thing that is for sure. Widgets are going to play a huge role in the future of these premium WordPress themes.

The first theme that appears to be almost completely built around widgets is the Shifter WordPress theme, which features a fully customizable dashboard with widgets for pretty much everything.

Here are two screen shots of sample homepages (remember this is Widget based, so there are literally hundreds of possibilities for your custom homepage):

And here is another example:

Though I feel obligated to provide screenshots, I’m not sure a simple screen shot does this theme justice, so you may want to click over to check it out.

Single-Use License ($79.95) | Single-Use License w/author support ($99.95) | Advanced Shifter License ($199.95) | Developer’s Pack ($999.95)

Source/Demo | Purchase

There are quite a premium WordPress themes out there these days, but there are still quite a few niches out there where there really isn’t a premium WordPress theme to fill the demand.

Brian has taken a step towards filling one of these niches with the release of his new Real Estate WordPress theme, which appears to be his most requested theme design. Here are the features Brian lists for this new Real Estate theme:

• Featured listing section, about me section and recent blog posts on the homepage
• Dropdown navigation menu
• Short contact form in the sidebar
• Page template for real estate listings

And of course here are the screenshots:

Real Estate Theme Homepage

Real Estate Theme Post Page

Single-Use License ($79.95) | Multiple-Use License ($199.95)

Source/Demo | Purchase

Has the premium WordPress themes market become a little crowded lately?  Many would say so, but I think that the market can probably support a few more web designers as long as the quality is on par or above what the existing authors are releasing.  That is the great thing about competition. It forces innovation and buyers of these themes win by getting much better products!

One newcomer to the premium WordPress themes market is the Omni WordPress theme. Though I think this theme would appeal to just about any blogger, it was specifically designed with social network addicts in mind.  This theme provides a place to feature your videos, your pictures, and your various social networking profiles, while still maintaining that traditional blog feel to it.

Omni Theme Homepage

Omni Theme Post Page

If you are looking for a theme that can turn your blog into a content management system, this theme probably isn’t for you. However, for pure bloggers, this theme could be the perfect fit.

Single-Use license ($79.95) | Multiple-Use license ($199.95)

Source/Demo | Purchase

It looks like the crew over at Woo Themes have been busy, releasing their eighth theme in the last five months. This premium WordPress theme is called Fresh News, and it was based upon the extremely popular Flash edition news theme.

Here are some of the features included with the Fresh News theme:

• Automatic Image Resizer (requires PHP GD Library to work)
• Custom Page Templates for Archives, Sitemap & Image Gallery
• Built-in Gravatar Support for Authors & Comments
• Author Profiles & Archives
• Featured news section
• Video Panel (for use with Flash videos)
• Traditional Blog Layout (for homepage)
• Integrated aside / sideblog section within the sidebar of the theme (optional)
• Navigation Dropdown Menu’s
• Sidebar Tabbed Box
• 2 different homepage layouts (featured section)
• Widgetized sidebars
• Integrated Banner Ad Management
• Integrated Flickr & Feedburner

Upon first glance, there are two things that jump out at me about this theme. I don’t believe previous versions of Woo Themes have had multiple colors (I could be wrong), but Fresh News comes with 6 different colors to choose from.

The other really neat thing you get is something that I’ve been suggesting premium theme designers do for months now, and that is to provide a blogging template with the theme. It looks like if you purchase the Fresh News theme, you will get a blogging template that you can use. This opens up a lot more options for a potential buyer and creates more appeal to bloggers that don’t want a content management homepage.

Here are some screen shots of Fresh News:

Fresh News Homepage

Fresh News Post Page

This theme comes with everything you’ve come to expect from the Woo Themes crew, and it is available at the same price. You can purchase a

Single-Use License ($99.95) | Multiple-Use License ($249.95)

Source/Demo | Purchase

One of the first things most people notice when they visit Blog Perfume is the great blog design they have. I know it is the first thing that got my attention the first time I visited their site.  Recently I noticed that they have finally gotten around to releasing a premium WordPress theme which showcases the great work they can do.

This theme is called Blubs, and it stays true to the Blog Perfume brand with a unique look to go with the unique name. Here are the features that they list with the theme:

• Clean and Elegant Design
• 2 columns flexible layout
• Navigation Dropdown Menu
• Widgets ready on sidebar
• Serach bar at the top
• Ready for125px and 250px ads integration
• Separated comments/trackbacks
• Built-in gravatars in comment section
• Print.css stylesheet
• Author Profiles & Archives
• Clean & valid codes - XHTML 1.0 Strict + CSS 2.1
• Cross browser compatible - tested on IE/Win, Opera, Firefox, Safari/Win.

A lot of this stuff has become standard with todays premium themes, but I really like the idea of a separate print.css stylesheet and archive/author profiles. You won’t find that on most of these themes. Separated trackbacks and comments is also another great feature, and I like that it was built for blogs, not CMS-style websites.

So how does Blubs look? Here are a couple screenshots (though you really need to view the demo to fully appreciate it):

Blubs Homepage

Blubs Custom Homepage Footer

Archives Page

Blubs Comments Section

As you can see, the design is incredible and it comes with a laundry list of features, all for one really low price.

Single-Use License (49.95) | Multiple-Use License ($99.00)

Source/Demo | Purchase

The WordPress community is filled with a number of great WordPress theme designers who are regularly releasing both free and premium WordPress themes. One thing that quickly becomes apparent when reviewing all the themes out there, is that each theme designer has their own unique style, and each person who downloads or buys themes has different tastes as well.

One of my favorite WordPress theme designers right now is Lee from ThemeSpinner, whose themes have a very unique and custom style that I personally have always enjoyed.  Today I was excited to find out that Lee has followed up his ThemeSpinner campaign with a new theme, this time called One Theme.

This theme boasts one of the largest feature lists I’ve ever seen:

• Five Color Schemes: Blue | Green | Pink | Black | Red
• Custom Control Panel
• Widget Ready
• AdSense Ready
• Javascript Drop Down Menus
• Custom Search Result Page
• Archive, Links & Sitemap Templates
• Child Pages Ready
• Child Categories Ready
• Numbered Comments
• Valid XHTML/CSS - Full div layout (no tables)
• SEO Optimized Code
• FREE Updates forever
• FREE Support
• Logo Design Service Available
• Theme Installation Service Available
• Two Homepage Layouts
• Tracking Ready (Statcounter/Google Analytics)
• Gravatar Ready
• Thumbnail Ready
• Unique “Hot Conversation” Plugin
• Featured YouTube Video
• Feedburner RSS
• Feedburner Email Subscribe
• Featured Homepage Article
• Featured Homepage Categories
• AdSense / Affiliates / CPM or any other advertisement
• Exclude Category Links
• Exclude Page Links
• Exclude Footer Links
• Upload Main Logo
• Upload Footer Logo
• Upload Site Background
• Upload Header Background
• Four Featured Categories
• More Tag Management
• Sidebar Image Styles
• Remove Content Limit
• Social Bookmarks
• Contact Page Template
• Exclude Author Information
• SEO Friendly Search Result URL’s
• 125×125 Banners
• Related Articles Feature
• Affiliate Link Ready
• Title Limit Option
• Embed Code for Featured Video
• No Sidebars Page Template

Here is a screen shot of One Theme’s homepage:

Here is a screen shot of One Theme’s post page:

I’m not sure those pictures even do the theme justice, as the comment form and every detail is incredibly well done.   You’ll really need to check out the demo in order to fully appreciate this theme.

Webmaster License ($99.95) | Webmaster Pro License ($199.90) | Web Developer License ($299.00)

Source/Demo | Purchase