When it comes to choosing a theme for your WordPress site, you may feel a little daunted. There are several paid as well as free options. And each theme appears to be better than the other. Mind-boggling, right? At the same time, selecting the right theme is of immense importance – it builds a favorable impression among visitors, strengthens your image and helps you stay abreast of competition. Keep in mind that WordPress is essentially used to create all types of websites. Each theme is meant to cater to a different market altogether. Hence, the theme needs to match the content of your website. It is the window to your site and plays a crucial role in how both users and search engines perceive your online presence.
So, how do you narrow down to choose the perfect theme for your site? Here are some factors that might help:
Simplicity
Search for a theme that has a great design layout that supports your ultimate goal. While a theme needs to appear attractive, this should not be at the cost of simplicity and usability. Many WordPress themes are available with complex layouts, flashy colors and animations. While you may need some of those things, often they are not required at all. The main objective of web design is to help visitors find the information they’re looking for and enable site owners to fulfill their goals as well. If visitors find it difficult to navigate your website, it does not have a good theme. Similarly, if a theme looks fantastic but fails to garner subscribers or new business, it is not a good one.
Mobile Friendliness
Ensure that the theme you are opting for is mobile responsive. This is because considerable web traffic is generated from cell phones and other mobile devices such as iPhone, iPad, Android smartphones, tablets and e-reader. Google features mobile-friendly websites at the top of their mobile search results. Responsive themes adapt their layout across various devices of screen sizes, thereby making the website accessible to a wider audience. While most WordPress themes are already mobile-responsive, there are still sellers out there offering fixed-width layouts. In any case, it is a good idea to test a theme for mobile readiness at the outset. The most convenient way to do this is by modifying your browser screen. On resizing your browser screen, a mobile-friendly theme will adapt itself to the screen width.
Browser Adaptability
As your visitors and users will be onto different browsers, the theme of your WordPress site needs to be browser-compatible. There is no point in your theme looking fantastic in the browser you use but not so much in other browsers, where something might be broken. Most theme developers test their themes using advanced browser compatibility testing tools. On your part, consider conducting basic checks on different browsers like Safari, Edge, Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and so on. Remember to check on different browsers on mobile devices as well.
Plugin Support
Plugins enable you to do anything with your website. While there are a plethora of WordPress plugins out there, some are must-haves for every website. These are Yoast SEO, Gravity Forms, Contact Form7, W3 Total Cache and so on. You want to ensure that all popular plugins are supported by your WordPress theme.
Color
As online marketing is essentially based on visual appearances, color plays an important role in your WordPress theme. It enhances your brand recognition too. The color scheme of the website needs to match your logo if you have one. If you want to keep it neutral, some color here and there will make it more attractive. While deciding between light and dark colors, note that it has been statistically proven that visitors prefer sites of a lighter color. This does not rule out a dark website design altogether. You simply need to be aware that a darker color decreases readability and the chances of playing around with more traditional design elements.
Readability
When a visitor comes to your website, there is a need to capture their attention and retain it so that they don’t feel like leaving quickly. It should be as easy and convenient as possible for the audience to navigate your site. For this purpose, ensure that your fonts are simple, attractive and readable. During the theme selection process, you want to make sure that the font can easily be adjusted.
SEO Friendliness
Your WordPress theme plays an important role in your site featuring on search engines. For example, an attractive theme could still deliver poorly coded HTML, which could hamper your site’s performance on search engines. Since it could be challenging for beginners to properly analyze a theme’s source code on their own, many WordPress theme developers give a prior intimation that their pages are SEO-optimized.
Reviews & Ratings
Checking out customer reviews of a theme is a great idea prior to zeroing in on the choice that suits you best. Reviews are typically seen on third-party marketplaces. In case of free WordPress themes, the ratings will appear beneath the download button. On clicking 5 stars, all the reviews that gave the theme 5 stars will become visible. While it is not unusual for any WordPress theme to have a few negative reviews, if the number is exceedingly high you need to read them and consider carefully.
So, there you go! Check out the above parameters and your selection procedure will become way easier. What’s fantastic about WordPress is that it allows you the flexibility to switch themes down the road if you want. As they say, keep your theme right and you’ll get your audience right.
If you’re looking to incorporate or change a WordPress theme for your site, look no further. We’re here to help. Check out our services and reach out to us today!