WordPress is a true powerhouse when it comes to providing all of the necessary tools for users to create their own websites starting from very basic blogs to competent marketing platforms that help promote your business.
When creating a WordPress website, arguably one of the most important parts is finding the right theme to implement. While most have a general understanding of what a website theme is, we argue that it’s much more than a general layout or look for your website.
A WordPress theme also has to be functional and recognizable as part of your brand identity, all of which is achievable with the right choice of a theme.
Further on, you’ll find a few valuable tips on how to choose a WordPress theme that represents your website and will help you to achieve your overall business goals.
Choose a design and general layout based on your website goals
Naturally, the design of the theme is one of the most important things as it helps create an impression of your website right from the moment they land on your webpage. Depending on your overall goals, you should focus on getting a theme that creates the look that you desire.
For example, most business websites will seek to present themselves as professional and true experts in a certain field. These entities often feature the most important, well laid out information, allowing users to easily find what they might be interested in.
On the contrary, if you plan on running something like a fashion blog, there’s more freedom and creativity involved, perhaps focusing more on an eye-catching layout and design.
However, as mentioned in the beginning, the design is only one part of a website theme an owner needs to focus on. There’s also the functionality, ease of customization and many other things.
Don’t neglect any aspect of performance for other factors
No matter how well a theme is designed, it would mean nothing if your website becomes too slow for users to operate or if any other performance aspect is left unoptimized. When it comes to first impressions, the statistics are brutal.
A new user will typically spend a maximum of three seconds waiting for a website to load up when they do shopping or are looking for certain information. Google typically applies even stricter rules for its results in the TOP 10.
Speeding up a website can be done in a number of ways, however, one of the main things that determines it from the get-go is the code found in a WordPress theme. Both free as well paid themes can be programmed in an insufficient manner.
We suggest testing a theme out or consulting with your developer before potentially applying a faulty theme for your wordpress website.
Consider the security measures implemented within a theme
Cybersecurity has always maintained a strong relevance in the world of digital business and there’s no exception nowadays. For a new website owner this has to be especially important since there are new threats out there almost daily.
Your website theme is the backbone of your business and not addressing vulnerable gaps can have catastrophic consequences not only in terms of the business itself, but things like important data leaks and so on.
While no theme is completely immune to threats, certain measures can be taken to ensure better safety including proper coding, regular updates, among other things.
Read more about how increase your WordPress website security ⇾
The free versus paid question you should ask yourself
If you’re a business that’s just on the rise, you obviously won’t have the luxury of spending endless amounts of money on your business, especially when it comes to your website and its development.
When it comes to WordPress website themes there are many free as well as premium options out there to choose from. While a free one might work just fine if you’re running a very basic entity, as you grow, you will obviously want more features, better support and an overall better product.
Free themes or free versions of themes often come with limitations and corner-cutting from the developers, often leaving website owners themselves to figure out how to improve the key areas on their website.
Of course, this doesn’t apply in every case, as sometimes creators are kind enough to give their platforms out for free.
The question of free versus premium should be asked when you’ve reached a point in your business allowing you to develop your website into a truly competent entity and after evaluating the potential benefits of investing into a theme.
Why support shouldn’t become a neglected aspect as well
As mentioned, a paid or premium theme provides many additional benefits, many of them relating to regular updates and support. When it comes to implementing new ideas and improvements to your website, a good support team might be an invaluable asset.
Your developers can easily ask questions or address any issues by contacting the theme creators allowing more simple and effective task solving.
Of course, some may never need a support team if everything is taken care of already, so this aspect of purchasing a premium should be carefully considered as well.
All in all
Today we’ve discussed a few tips on how to choose the right WordPress theme for your website. Choosing one might not be as easy as you think, however, carefully considering the most important aspects will allow you to find one that works for you just well.
