With over 10,000 WordPress themes to choose from, there is a probability that you will get overwhelmed on which one to go for. Just when you thought that a paid theme seems to be the best option for you, you stumble upon a free one that looks even better.
We understand the confusion that comes with selecting a WordPress theme. It’s like a kid lost in a candy bar with lots of options to choose from. Since the theme you choose is very important to the success of your website, we shall be looking at 6 things you ought to have in mind before settling for any particular WordPress theme.
1. Price
You may already know that WordPress has both paid (premium) and free themes that you can choose from. The first thing that will help in determining the theme you settle for is whether you are going with a free or paid one. Agreeably, there are free themes that will serve your website’s needs just right without you having to pay for the paid theme. However, you will most certainly get more features and options with a premium theme. Aside from that, if at any point you need help or want to add some options to your paid theme, you can easily reach out to the seller or designer to set up the features for you.You can get great deals of premium themes if you buy at the right time. But if you are not willing to start off with a paid theme, you will still find a good free WordPress theme that works.
2 Features
It is always a great idea to go for a WordPress theme that has a lot of features to choose from. It is better to be spoiled for choice than to have just a few options. There are some themes with features that give you some flexibility and some that are not just lightweight but loads pretty fast. You should check out if the theme you are considering going for has room for different types of plugins. With that, you will be able to execute some tasks on your website with ease. Although having more features for your WordPress website is a good idea, having too much of it on your website can negatively impact on its speed.
3 SEO Friendly
The importance of an SEO friendly website cannot be overemphasized. It’s one major reason people go for WordPress because it is known to be about the best SEO friendly website as regards to Content Management Systems. While you are at it, don’t forgo a theme that allows essential site traffic which is one thing you want to have in mind when it comes to a theme that is SEO optimized. It is a great idea to test the efficiency of your theme with a Theme Check Plugin to make sure it meets all WordPress standards.
4 Security
Security is one very important aspect that every website owner shouldn’t joke with. As long as your website is public, it’s like having a public facility that all types of visitors will troop into year in and out. So, when it comes to choosing a WordPress theme, you need to ensure that it is such that it is very secure. This is where you will most likely benefit from a premium theme because the developer will ensure you get that as against a free theme where you may not have such an option. In fact, you shouldn’t be in a hurry to settle for any paid theme without first going through reviews from previous buyers to know how secured the theme really is. The security should be such that it comes with excellent password strength and appropriate plugins.
5. Speed
We cannot go any further into this discussion without mentioning another very important aspect of any theme you should go for. We are talking about speed. All the factors mentioned above are important but without a good speed, your website will be sitting at the back burner. This is why you must be careful with themes that have a lot of JavaScript animations and sliders as they tend to slow down a website’s speed. Always consider a theme that loads quickly and very fast as against all others.
6 Responsiveness
Your website’s responsiveness can make or mar your efforts at having a user-friendly website. In this regard, we are looking at how easy your website is for users to view regardless of the device they make use of. And from research, the majority of users make use of their mobile phones to view most websites. This is why it is advisable to check your theme to make sure it passes Google Mobile Friendly Test for the best result. The best theme for you is the type that adapts to various devices and screen sizes. Also, manually resize your browser screen to check if it is responsive or not.
Final Thoughts!
Other things to look out for when choosing a WordPress theme is how easy it is to customize, how related it is to your subject of interest, among others. Make sure the theme you settle for will serve you the best so that you don’t jeopardize the success of your website.