Choosing the correct WordPress Theme is one of the most important decisions when designing your website. It will impact:
• How the website looks
• How visitors interact with your website
• How fast your pages load
• How well it works on mobile
• How easy it is to customise
There are so many free and premium themes out there (thousands) that it can be difficult to know which one to choose.
The best WordPress Themes are those that match your needs. This includes what your website is for, what content you want on your website, what features you want, how fast you want your website to be, what your branding is like and how it can grow in the future.
Whether you’re designing a website for your business, blog, portfolio, online store, personal brand or services, this guide will help you.
What is a WordPress Theme?
A WordPress Theme is a set of files that tell your WordPress site how it should look.
Themes can dictate:
• Website layout
• Typography
• Colours
• Header/Footer
• Menus
• Blog layouts
• Pages
• Buttons
• Sidebar
• Mobile responsive design
Think of your theme as the design of your site. Whilst WordPress is the CMS, the theme will control how your site looks.
However, you should ensure you aren’t just looking for something pretty. Ensure you look at how fast the theme is, how easy it is to use, customisation options, compatibility, security and ongoing support.
Decide What Your Website Needs
Before looking into themes, decide what you want your website to do.
Depending on what you’re using your website for, you’ll want different things. For example:
A blog may require great typography and easy reading articles.A business website may require service pages, testimonials, contact forms and clear calls to action.An online store may require great WooCommerce compatibility.
A portfolio website may require image galleries.
A freelancing website may need service sections, case studies and lead generation.
A news website may require category menus and content focused layouts.
Think about what your website needs.
Rather than asking yourself what looks the best, ask yourself,
What theme will provide the structure and features needed?
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Free or Premium Themes?
One of the first things you may come across is whether to use a free or premium theme.
Free Themes
Free themes can be a great option for beginners.
Pros:
• No cost
• Easy to install
• Lots of basic customisation
• Simple websites
• Available from the official WordPress theme directory
A free theme can be a great option if you’re looking to create a simple blog, personal website or business site.
However, they may not have as many customisation options, support and advanced features.
Premium Themes
Premium themes generally will have more features, design options, support, templates and customisation.
They may have:
• Advanced customisation
• More templates
• Professional design
• More headers/footers
• Support
• More design options
• More integrations
A premium theme can be helpful if you require more control over your design. However, just because it’s expensive doesn’t mean it’s the best option. Always ensure it fits your needs.
Ensure The Theme is Responsive
A responsive theme will adjust your website layout for different screen sizes.
This is important as people will likely be visiting your website on:
• Smartphone
• Tablet
• Laptop
• Desktop
If your website isn’t easy to use on a smartphone, but looks amazing on desktop then it won’t be a great user experience.
Look at the theme demo and ensure it works well on different screen sizes. Look at:
• Menus
• Font size
• Button spacing
• Images
• Width of pages
• Forms
• Tables
• Product layouts
Ensure your website is easy to read and navigate.
Look For Fast Loading Themes
Themes with lots of animation, extra features, large files and non-optimised code can affect how fast your pages load.
Look for themes that are:
• Lightweight
• Clean
• Optimised
• No extra effects
• Caching friendly
You don’t need a theme with hundreds of features if you’re not going to use them.
A clean theme with fast loading can often be more helpful.
Look At Customisation Options
Ensure your theme has enough options to create a site that represents your brand.
Depending on the theme you may have:
• Colour options
• Typography options
• Logo
• Header
• Footer
• Menus
• Page layouts
• Blog layouts
• Buttons
• Widgets
• Sidebar
Before purchasing a premium theme look at the customisation options. Ask yourself,
Will I be able to make key changes without editing code?
As a beginner, having an easy to use theme can really help you.
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• Check for Theme Compatibility
• Ensure that your theme is compatible with WordPress.
• Before installing a theme, check whether it is compatible with:
• WooCommerce
• Contact form plugins
• SEO plugins
• Page builder plugins
• Membership plugins
• Learning Management Systems
• Booking systems
• Translation plugins
• Security plugins
Also look at whether the theme is regularly updated.
If it hasn’t been updated for a long time this may not be the best option.
Look At Theme Support & Documentation
Having good documentation can save you a lot of time as a beginner.
Before purchasing a premium theme look at whether the developer has:
• Installation documentation
• Setup documentation
• Video tutorials
• Knowledge base
• Support tickets
• Community support
• Regular updates
Having good documentation means if you run into any issues you can easily resolve them.
With free themes look at what support is available and what support is available on WordPress.org.
Avoid Themes With Too Many Extra Features
A common mistake beginners make is to pick a theme with a huge amount of features.
This doesn’t necessarily mean it will create a better website.
If you only need:
• Homepage
• About Page
• Services Page
• Blog
• Contact Page
Then you probably don’t need a theme with lots of complex modules.
Too many extra features can make your website harder to manage.
Pick a theme based on what you need now and ensure it has room to grow in the future.
Look For SEO Friendly Structure
Whilst your theme won’t directly improve your search engine ranking, it can impact how easy your website is to use, how fast it is and how your content is displayed.
Look for themes with:
• Clean HTML
• Responsive
• Fast
• Proper headings
• Easy navigation
• Schema friendly
• SEO plugin friendly
Keep in mind there is so much more to SEO. Quality content, technical SEO, internal linking, backlinks, search intent, page experience and much more.
Look For Accessibility & Ease Of Use
Your website should be easy to use by as many people as possible.
Look at:
• Easy-to-read text
• Font size
• Contrasting colours
• Keyboard friendly
• Clear buttons
• Easy navigation
• Easy-to-use forms
• Alt text for images
If your website isn’t easy to understand and navigate then it won’t be useful.
Check For WooCommerce Compatibility (Online Store)
If you are looking to create an online store then ensure your theme is compatible with WooCommerce.
Your theme should have:
• Product pages
• Product categories
• Shopping cart
• Checkout
• Account pages
• Product images
• Product filters
Don’t just look at the homepage. If possible look at the product and checkout pages.
The shopping experience is much more important.
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Creating a professional website using WordPress involves more than just installing it and choosing a theme. You need to understand layouts, pages, navigation, design, plugins, optimisation and managing your website.
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Review Theme Demo
Themes will have a demo to show you how they look.
However this doesn’t mean your website will look like this.
The demo may have:
• Professional images
• Custom graphics
• Well-written content
• Premium plugins
• Custom setups
• Optimised layouts
Look past the images and ask yourself:
• Are the menus easy to navigate?
• Is the typography easy to read?
• Is the page layout easy to read?
• Is it mobile-friendly?
• Is the blog easy to read?
• Is the footer easy to read?
• Is the contact page easy to read?
• Are the product pages easy to read?
• How does it load?
• Are you able to add your own content in?
Look At Reviews & Developer Reputation
Before installing/purchasing a theme look up the developer.
Look at:
• Reviews
• Updates
• Support
• Documentation
• Number of active installs (if available)
• Developer reputation
• Compatibility
Don’t just look at the rating. Look at the reviews. Are there any common complaints?
If multiple users are complaining about poor support or compatibility then this is something to note.
Ensure It’s Easy To Manage
Your website will likely change over time.
Eventually you may want to:
• Add new pages
• Change your branding
• Add blog posts
• Add products
• Change your navigation
• Add new plugins
• Improve performance
Ensure your theme has enough flexibility.
A theme that looks perfect but is difficult to customise can cause unnecessary issues.
Create A Checklist
Before installing a theme ask yourself:
• Does it fit your website?
• Is it responsive?
• Is it fast and lightweight?
• Does it have enough customisation?
• Is it compatible with your required plugins?
• Is it regularly updated?
• Is there good documentation?
• Does the developer offer support?
• Is it suitable for your content?
• Is it easy to manage?
• Is it mobile-friendly?
• Is it compatible with WooCommerce (if needed)?
If the theme has all the key requirements then it’s worth considering.
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Common Mistakes
Picking A Theme Based On How It Looks
Just because a theme looks great in the demo doesn’t mean it will perform well, be easy to use or be compatible.
Too Many Themes Installed
You only need 1 theme active. Having extra themes installed can cause unnecessary issues.
Not Mobile Friendly
Always check how the theme works on mobile and tablets.
Too Many Features
Don’t pay for features you’re not going to use.
Not Updated
Ensure the theme is being actively managed and is compatible with the latest versions of WordPress and relevant plugins.
Not Thinking About The Future
Think about where your website could be in 6 months/1 year.
Final Checklist
Your theme should support your website.
Before deciding on a theme ask yourself:
• Does it fit your website?
• Is the layout suitable for your brand?
• Is it fast and efficient?
• Is it responsive?
• Can you customise it?
• Is it compatible with your key plugins?
• Is it regularly updated?
• Does it have support?
• Is it easy to navigate?
• Can it grow?
The best theme isn’t necessarily the one with the most impressive demo. It’s the one with the right balance between design, performance, features, flexibility & ease of use.
Conclusion
By thinking about what you want your website to do, choosing the right WordPress Theme becomes much easier.
Once you understand what you want your website to do look for themes that are responsive, fast, customisable, compatible, supported, updated, easy to use and can grow.
Remember your theme is just one part of a successful WordPress website. Your content, structure, branding, user experience, SEO, security and management will all play a part.
As a beginner don’t feel pressured to find the perfect theme. Find a reliable theme that fits your needs and has enough flexibility.
The aim isn’t to find the most popular theme, it’s to find the right theme for your website.
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FAQs
1. What is the most important thing to look for when choosing a WordPress Theme?
The most important thing to look for is whether it fits your website. Also look for performance, responsiveness, customisation, compatibility, updates & support.
2. Should beginners use free or premium themes?
Both free and premium themes can be used. Free themes can be enough for simple websites. Premium themes may offer extra customisation, templates, features & support.
3. How do I know if a theme is responsive?
Look at the theme demo on different screen sizes. You can also use developer tools within your browser or responsive tools.
4. Will a WordPress Theme affect SEO?
A theme can affect technical aspects of your website such as performance, mobile friendly, HTML structure & accessibility. However it won’t directly impact your search rankings.
5. How many themes should I install?
You should only install 1 theme. It can be useful to have a few themes to try but you should remove any unnecessary ones.
6. Can I change my theme?
Yes you can. However ensure you test your new theme thoroughly as your layouts, widgets, menus, customisations and more may change.
7. What is a lightweight theme?
Generally lightweight themes will have less extra features. This can help create an efficient website. However this depends on the whole website including plugins, images, hosting, scripts & content.
8. Do I need a premium theme to create a professional website?
No. A professional website can be created with a suitable free or premium theme. The quality of your content, design, structure, branding, performance & user experience will also play a part.
9. What should I look for before buying a theme?
Look for updates, documentation, support, reviews, compatibility, customisation, performance, responsive, licence & whether it has the required functionality.
10. Can I create a WordPress website without coding?
Yes. WordPress can be used by beginners to create many different types of websites. Themes, the editor, plugins & website building tools can help make your design easier. However learning some basic HTML & CSS can be beneficial as your skills develop.
