Fundamental tips for choosing WordPress Theme have been explained in this article.
There are so many WordPress themes available with most of them being available for free.
However, one thing you have to understand is that regardless of whether you opt for a free or premium theme, not all themes will be ideal for you.
This is what always makes it hard for you to pick the perfect theme for your needs. All in all, this should not scare you.
There are a couple of considerations you can make when searching for the best themes for your next WordPress project.
This post is a simple guide to help you know what to look for in a good theme and what you need to do to achieve the best results at the end of the day. The following points are essential whether you are using premium or free themes.
Focus on versatility
It will be counterproductive if you will have to use a different theme for every new task. You need a theme that will adapt to your web development needs. Therefore, the first thing you need to focus on before investing on a theme is how adaptive it is to your needs. What can you do with the theme and what can’t you do?
The problem with having to use a new theme every time is that you will have to adjust to the new coding style. You will be better off with one theme that is both powerful and versatile to deliver the requirements and needs you desire across projects.
It is important to keep an open mind too when searching for a great WordPress theme. You can’t please everyone even with the most impressive theme. Your unpleased audience will ask you to make all manners of changes. The question you should ask is whether the changes are worth making or not. You will also need a theme that you can tweak around especially when it comes to the content/sidebar or the full width. Make sure that you can also modify the navigation.
Superb Support is Crucial
When choosing a WordPress theme, it is very important to ensure that you will receive great support services from the developer. There are times when the theme you use will experience some technical problems. Before you install even the most promising of themes, you have to ensure that there are adequate resources to help you get back on track whenever there is a problem.
As a developer, time is always of essence. A theme will not be useful to you if it requires too much of your time to install and maintain. Always make sure that the themes you are considering are backed by a reliable support team that has great communication skills and ones that can handle any issue that may come your way.
A great support team should be able to reply to your complaints within 24 hours if not 2 hours. He should also give you practical advice and not keep lying to you. Don’t settle for any service that forces you to wait for over 48 hours for help. Doing some background check on the developer will also help you understand what to expect from the developer in relation to customer support.
Clean code and great short codes
The purpose of using WordPress themes is to reduce the technical part of web development and also to save time. Therefore, any great theme must have a solid code and should offer shortcuts to make work easier for you. Manual programming is repetitive. The last thing you want is to pick a theme that will keep you glued to your computer screen and keyboard refining the theme.
The purpose of using a ready-made theme is to optimize your working process in order to launch your website faster. Choose WordPress theme that will not take up much of your time in coding. A clean code that has no errors will save you time. The theme should also be tested for cross-platform compatibility and responsiveness.
Plugin Compatibility
Most WordPress themes will rely on plugins for them to work effectively. Plugins offers extended functionality. With that in mind, when considering themes, check their plugin compatibility. You should also make sure that the theme has impressive functionalities because the overuse of plugins can easily slow the load time of your website.
The first thing you need to check is the variety of plugins that come with the theme or that can be used with the theme. Some themes only offer two or three plugins then you have to purchase the rest. Second, consider the usability of the plugins you get. There are certain plugins that will be fundamental to you. Make sure that they can be used with the theme. It is also good to check for customized plugins.
Supported resolutions
When searching for a WordPress, your primary focus should be mobile friendliness. However, although this is important, it is critical that you consider the resolutions that are supported. Not all resolutions will work for you. Therefore, when it comes to mobile views, make sure the theme will display your content properly on various screen sizes without breaks. It should work on resolutions of 480px or less.
There are various tools you can use to test how a theme displays. A good example is the Resizer. It will help you set the desktop window to test for common handheld devices. If you notice any oddities at different screen sizes, that should be a red flag.
Know how the menus are handled
Another important point to consider when choosing themes for mobile friendliness is how the menus are displayed. If the menus are not correctly handled, navigation might break or the menus may interfere with the display of the pages. Choose WordPress theme that handle menus in a manner that is intuitive.
The above tips will help you choose WordPress theme best for your project. Picking the best theme is not something you should rush into. Take time to evaluate the themes you are considering keenly. You should stay true to the following principles when choosing themes: versatility, reliable support, clean code with great short-codes, and essential plugins.
Bio: Michael Bentos is an experienced digital marketer having worked with top firms through the changes in digital marketing trends. He is currently part of the team at ParadoxSEO.com – the powerful platform that makes SEO simple. He provides SEO and internet marketing services throughout the world, including analysis using small SEO agency tools, metrics and a variety of other options.
