As a WordPress user, you have the possibility to customize your site the way you want to. Maybe you already have an idea of what your site should look like. However, this might not be easy if you don’t have any design or coding knowledge needed to create a site.
Fortunately for you, themes are one of WordPress’ most fundamental features; they allow you to change the design of your site and even add new functionality. In general, a WordPress theme is a tool that enables you to alter your website’s layout and look. The layout, font, color, and other design components of your site are all customized by themes.
Therefore if you choose a suitable theme for your website, you will be able to customize your site to your exact specifications with no coding or design experience required.
In this article, you will know what WordPress theme is and how you can use it for creating your site.
What is a WordPress theme?
A theme of WordPress is a package of files (graphics, style sheets, and code) that determines what your blog or website looks like. Themes may manage anything from your site’s style to the colors of its hyperlinks. It’s easy to think that a theme is a “skin” for your website; however, they’re so much more.
A theme allows you to manage the appearance of your blog rather than just giving it a look and feel.
As an example, let’s imagine you have a beauty blog as well as an online store. The correct theme may display your blog entries in one manner while giving your store’s pages an entirely different look.
How does the WordPress theme work?
A fresh WordPress installation comes with a clean and simple default theme. You may also remove the default theme and start from scratch, however, this would require significant coding abilities. Besides, even experienced developers may consider this a waste of time because a theme has already done a lot of the design work.
WordPress has the apparatuses for controlling a site, yet it doesn’t incorporate much as front-end configuration. This is where a WordPress theme becomes possibly the most crucial factor.
Changing your WordPress theme will not affect your blog’s content, pages, users, or other database information. Your theme merely affects how all of that data is shown to your website’s visitors. You may choose from tens of thousands of free or paid WordPress themes.
The official WordPress theme directory offers free themes, alternatively, you can purchase premium themes with more sophisticated functionality from third-party developers. You may even develop your custom themes for a distinctively unique site design.
To download and use WordPress theme, you can use the following websites:
1. The WordPress.org Theme Directory
WordPress.org Theme Directory is the official page of free WordPress themes. This page is accessible via web browser, you can also access it via your WordPress dashboard. All themes uploaded on that site were checked manually via a stringent review process before being listed on the official page.
All themes are provided with information that helps to choose the suitable theme. You can see how many active installations every theme has when it was uploaded the last time, read other user reviews and ratings, and access the theme support forum.
2. Directly From WordPress Theme Developers
If you do not want to search through all themes, you can always go directly to the source because many developers sell their work directly. However, there is usually not enough information that could help you pick the right theme for your site.
If you cannot choose the right theme for your website that corresponds to your needs, you may decide to look for a developer who will create a custom theme for your site. However, keep in mind that it will cost more than choosing a paid WordPress theme.
WordPress theme types
There are two main WordPress theme types: multipurpose and niche. A multipurpose theme is used in a number of different website types. Usually, they are used for multiple kinds of pages, extensions, widgets, codes, and tools to provide more possibilities to customize your website.
Niche themes are more specific, however, even they can be customized. However, this type of theme normally sticks to a design adapted to one particular industry, such as a food blog or a travel website. So if you choose a niche theme, you will need to select a theme based on your functionality or industry. Themes usually fall into one of the categories below:
hotels and travel;
blogging;
food and restaurants
forums and communities;
entertainment;
membership sites, etc.
Then after selecting a multipurpose or niche theme, you’ll have to make another choice, as there are two more types of WordPress themes – free and premium/paid WordPress themes.
There are many free WordPress themes on the internet, some of them are great, and some are not. The same applies to paid themes, however, paid WordPress themes usually have more quality control.
There are some distinctions between free and paid WordPress themes.
Premium/paid WordPress themes:
1) These themes are not free of charge. Usually, you need to pay a one-time fee, however, sometimes you might need to pay for the extended support and updates;
2) Premium themes usually offer more advanced features that minimize the need for bulky plugins;
3) Paid themes tend to have a knowledge base and more information on the internet;
4) They have security and updates as well. Some of them have high-quality support via chat or email.
Free WordPress themes:
1) They can be downloaded for free and immediately installed on your website;
2) They are often easier to manage;
3) Usually, users who use these themes talk about them in various forums, so it is pretty easy to find information;
4) The best free themes are usually maintained and updated regularly. However, developers are not required to do that.
Conclusion
In most cases, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing a WordPress theme. However, it is essential to have a clear picture of what you need before making your choice.
