In the decade since WordPress established itself as the top content management system, website development trends have evolved rapidly. What was once a simple blogging platform has transformed into the backbone for full-fledged websites across industries and use cases. With new WordPress themes releasing daily across envato marketplaces and countless specialty developer shops, choosing the right theme for your needs has become an overwhelming process.
In this post, we'll discuss the key factors to consider when theme shopping in 2024, from design trends and customization abilities to performance optimization and ongoing theme support. By understanding your goals and constraints, along with these theme evaluation best practices, you'll be equipped to make a smart decision that sets your website up for success now and adapts easily as your business changes over time.
What is WordPress Theme?
A WordPress theme functions as a tool to alter your website's appearance. These themes dictate your website's interface layout, typography, color scheme, and other elements. It's essentially a compilation of files that collaborate to establish your website's visual identity. Template files, stylesheets, images, and more come together harmoniously to shape your website's overall look.
Why is it essential to select the ideal WordPress theme?
Your theme is the essence of your website. It's what visitors notice, interact with, and recall. The style and interactivity of your website influence not just how people perceive your online presence but also your whole brand. Choosing the incorrect WordPress theme might be fatal for your website. For example, the improper WordPress theme might make your whimsical and charming items e-commerce website appear incredibly serious and uninteresting. Alternatively, it may cause your website to seem sluggish and clunky.
"Some good-looking themes may hide many technical issues," says Sujay Pawar, CEO of software development firm Brainstorm Force. "If your theme is not properly coded, it can cause your site to load extremely slowly." This implies you'll have more excellent bounce rates and, as a result, will rank lower on Google."
What to Think About Before Choosing a WordPress Theme
We've developed a list of easy ideas to consider when choosing a WordPress theme that should help you make the best choices.
Make A List Of Your Specifications
The initial step in selecting a WordPress theme is deciding what you want from it. Take a moment to carefully consider the objectives of your WordPress website. Is it necessary, for example, to establish a blog page? Do you want to include a video? Do you intend to gather sign-ups or client information? Once you've identified your theme preferences, you can narrow down potential options. It's important to have a clear idea of what you require from WordPress themes before exploring further.
It's also worth considering the type of budget you're dealing with now. Free theme alternatives are available, and if your criteria are pretty simple, you may find that your ideal theme is entirely free. Paid-for themes, however, vary in price, and the cost of feature-rich WordPress theme alternatives may soon rise. A good piece of advice is to look at the themes of current WordPress websites that are similar to what you want to construct - and that work in your niche. What do you like to do? What do you believe might be done better? This will help you create a theme checklist and work from there.
Please Make Sure That It Is Responsive
A responsive theme appears and behaves the same on a mobile device as on a desktop. Responsive themes adapt automatically to suit any visitor's device screen, ensuring your website remains fully functional with top-notch user experience.
An impressive 92.6% of the world's 4.66 billion active internet users opt for mobile devices to connect to the internet. As a result, if your theme is not responsive, you will lose a lot of prospective visitors. A responsive theme ensures that every visitor to your website, regardless of how they got there, has a great experience, increasing the probability that they will return.
Google said in 2019 that it would turn up to "mobile-first" indexing. Google will index and rank your website based on its mobile version. Not meeting the standards could put you at a disadvantage.
Choose Simplicity
When selecting a WordPress theme, it's easy to get swayed by an all-star design packed with intriguing quirks and features. WordPress themes have various color, font, movement, and layout choices that, although appealing on the surface, can be off-putting to users.
Remember that you're building a WordPress website for your intended audience. Consider how you would feel if you tried reading something on a page overloaded with distracting animations and pop-ups or used various colors and fonts. If your theme becomes too cluttered, it might confuse your audience, making it hard for them to find what they're looking for and leading them to exit. While having a visually appealing website is crucial, remember your website's primary goals, and ensure the theme you chose isn't impeding your online goals.
Check Whether It Supports Plugins
If you want to give the finest functionality and user experience, you must select a theme that supports major WordPress plugins. When selecting a theme, remember that plugins are frequently used to elevate it and give the functionality you want. WordPress plugins may help you enhance your website's look and speed, among other things.
If you want to give the finest functionality and user experience, you must select a theme that supports major WordPress plugins. When selecting a theme, remember that plugins are frequently used to elevate it and give the functionality you want. WordPress plugins may help you enhance your website's look and speed, among other things. Choosing a theme that supports essential WordPress plugins and any additional ones you find necessary is crucial for your website's functionality. Before you commit, contact the theme developer and inquire which plugins your selected WordPress theme supports.
Select Something That Can Be Customized
The beautiful thing about using WordPress for your website is that practically every theme can be customized to appear precisely as you want. When selecting a WordPress theme, ensure it offers customization options for fonts, colors, photos, layout, and pages. Tailoring your theme allows you to infuse your website with your brand, ensuring consistent colors and design across all pages.
Choosing a customizable theme also means that you have complete control over which pages your website contains. You might opt against having an about page as a necessity or lean towards making your blog page the main focus. You should be able to design any navigation arrangement you want using an adjustable WordPress theme.
Analyze The Feedback
When buying anything online, it's smart to check the reviews - and choosing a WordPress theme is no different. Remember, those reviews serve a purpose, so make use of them in your selection process. When you've chosen a theme you like the appearance of, check the reviews to find out what other people think about it.
One crucial consideration is ensuring that the theme you download and install is neither outdated nor harboring harmful content. Low-quality or out-of-date themes might expose your website to cyber assaults while also affecting performance components such as page load time. If a theme has no reviews, skipping it and going with something else is usually advisable. The more positive feedback a theme receives, the more specific you may be that it will improve your web presence.
Check It Is Often Updated
Any theme you choose for your WordPress website must be frequently updated. Because core WordPress software is continually being improved, you must ensure that the creators of your theme maintain it up to date. Themes must be updated regularly to address bugs or security risks and ensure the theme works at peak performance.
When considering theme updates, a good guideline is to opt for a theme updated within the past six months. This timeline implies that the developer routinely updates the theme, and you can be sure that you will not install anything already out of date on your website.
Conclusion
There are dozens of WordPress themes available, which might be confusing. But remember that the theme you select will have a crucial influence on your WordPress website, so choose wisely.
Selecting a WordPress theme involves more than just choosing a visually appealing one. This post aims to assist you in making an informed decision. Best of luck and enjoy the process!
