New blogger find it difficult to choose the right WordPress theme to use for their blog due to the fact there are so many WordPress themes both free and paid options. With so many themes choose from, you might end up choosing the wrong theme that is outdated. This is why in this article, we are going to look at 6 things you need to consider when choosing your WordPress theme.
WordPress is the undisputed platform to use for your blog or website, and if you are thinking of starting a blog, you should choose WordPress as your blogging platform.
6 Things to Consider When Choosing Your WordPress Theme
WordPress makes it easier to create different types of websites with so many themes and plugins to choose from when customising your website or blog.
Many WordPress themes are poorly coded and will not work properly with selected plugins that you might need. This will result in poor performance of your blog in SEO, page speed and user interface.
If you want to avoid messing up your blog, you should buy your theme from trusted theme marketplace like Themeplanet.com
- Responsive Design
The most important part that you need to consider is whether the theme is responsive or not. Responsive theme should be able to work with any type of device whether laptop, tablet or Smartphone.
Mobile traffic accounts for more than 50% of Google traffic and you will be missing this massive traffic if your blog is poorly designed for the smartphone user.
You need to check if the theme you want to buy is mobile-friendly or not, Head over to Google’s mobile-friendly test page and add the theme demo page to check whether the theme is mobile-friendly or not.
- Page Builder Supported
Page builder are plugins that make it easier to create any website pages by using its drag and drop features to create your page.
Most paid WordPress theme comes with page builder pre-installed and also starter site design that you can customise to your taste. You need to find out whether your theme provider supports your preferred page builder before buying.
- E-commerce supported
A theme that is e-commerce supported makes it easier for you to sell physical or digital products on their blog. All you have to do is install WooCommerce plugin on your WordPress site.
You need to check out the theme demo pages like shop, products to look at how your online store would like.
You can also create your online store on Shopify, all you have to do is sign up and customise your online store with Shopify themes.
- Compatible with essential plugins
WordPress can’t function with essential plugins that are needed for the day to day running of your blog. Plugins like Yoast, Akismet, W3 Total cache, Wordfence security, and so many popular plugins must be compatible with your WordPress theme.
If you are not sure if the theme with be compatible with WordPress plugins, you need to contact the theme creator before buying.
- Multi-lingual ready
If your blog is not in English language or you are thinking of starting a new section of your blog in other languages, you need to check if your theme is multi-lingual and translation ready.
Theme with multilingual and translation ready functionalities makes it easier for you to have your blog in other languages.
- Fast Load Time
An average blog load time is 3 seconds and anything longer than 3 seconds lead to high bounce rate and reduction in SERP.
Google like site that load faster with an increase in SERP and you need to invest your money by buying a WordPress theme that has a fast load time.
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A lot of beginner bloggers mistake is having a wordpress theme that is not mobile friendly.
Really helpful for newbies!
Yeah ! I really liked what you mentioned. Among every point, the most important is response time. If you don’t have fast loading time, users may migrate to others site as they don’t have such patience to wait for your site to show up haha.
These tips are spot on. There’s more to a theme than looking pretty or having the right layout, you need to pick a theme that functions well in all these areas.
Great advice! I recently revamped this blog with a new theme and did A LOT of searching before I settled on a theme that I was happy with. The other point that I would add to the list would be a focus on adequate customer support. While some themes are built by companies that stand behind their product, ready to assist you when necessary, this isn’t always true. I’ve had to reach out to support twice while setting this site up and knowing I had that available to me was HUGE!
I wish I had read this post before I started my blog. I think finding a theme was the hardest part for me. I did not take into consideration all of this when I first started. But I guess we learn from our mistakes, right? Great read:)
Great tips! I’m going to transition to a faster loading theme soon. So important! Thanks for the information.
Blogging is like a secret society and I am always learning daily. Thank you for outlining the 6 things that I should prioritize when selecting a theme. I hadn’t thought of language considerations.
More is the wordpress theme is light, the quicker it loads but also loading time also depends on the number of plugins running on your site. It’s a good read for a newbie starting his/her own website.