I don't understand what I need to by.

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  ephormilio · Member · Apr 28, 2015 at 5:25 pm

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  I’d like to build a WordPress site with a theme, and customize it. I understand that I need to buy the theme, and pay for the Premium package in order to customize it. Do I still need a hosting company, or does Premium come with ad free hosting? And is the Theme free a one time fee, or an annual fee?

  The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

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  geekinthegirl · Member · Apr 29, 2015 at 10:33 am

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  Hello!

  I’ll tackle each of your questions in turn :)

  1. Buying a theme isn’t absolutely necessary with a WordPress.com blog. There are plenty of free themes available that you can use on your site, and you can find those right here: https://wordpress.com/themes/aptus3.wordpress.com/filter/staff-picks/type/free/

  If you do choose to buy a theme after all, though, it’ll be a one-time payment. This varies, but will be clearly stated underneath the thumbnail of the theme, and as you go through to make the payment.

  2. Purchasing Premium does indeed allow you more freedom with your customisation options as part of the ‘Custom Design’ feature. More info on that can be found here: https://store.wordpress.com/plans/premium/

  The Premium package has an annual fee of $85.

  3. Nope, no extra hosting needed with WordPress.com blogs. The Premium upgrade also includes a ‘No Ads’ feature.

  Hope that makes things a bit clearer for you? If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to shout :)

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  ephormilio · Member · Apr 29, 2015 at 7:56 pm

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  Hello! And thank you so much geekinthegirl! That’s so helpful! I’m seeing the rate for premium as $99.00. Which is fine. :)

  The theme I chose had just one sidebar in the demo, but my site has two sidebars, giving me a very narrow content area. I’m not seeing how to deactivate one of those sidebar columns. Am I missing something? Is that a Premium function? Thanks much. :)

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  geekinthegirl · Member · Apr 29, 2015 at 8:56 pm

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  You’re very welcome, glad I could help! :)

  Which theme did you choose in the end? That might help to narrow down the issue.

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  timethief · Member · Apr 29, 2015 at 9:00 pm

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  Every theme has a detailed theme description page with set up instructions. Example: https://wordpress.com/themes/oxygen/
  Every theme also has a live demo site. Example: https://oxygendemo.wordpress.com/