Selecting The Perfect Theme for Your Blog determines the future of your site. Not only does a good theme makes a good first impression to your user, but it helps your SEO. Yes the structure of your design plays a major role in search engine optimization. In this article, we will share our expertise on picking a design that is right for your industry and your blog.
Pick a Theme that Relates to Your Industry
The most obvious point, but it is the most important one as well. You should pick a theme that relates to your niche, industry, and/or business. If you have a blog about politics, then don’t use a design what was made for a web hosting site. For most bloggers, the option is very simple as they choose a theme that is very generic and add a logo that matches. This might not be a bad option for someone with a low budget who is just starting out.
Strive for simplicity
There are many free themes in the market that has alot of complex features. It might look very good in the display, but it might not be the best for functionality. If you want a theme that has alot going on, get a custom one because that is the only way you can assure functionality. We suggest you don’t get into the fancy work instead go for simple designs because they are easier to modify and are compatible with most browsers.
Check for Browser Compatibility
Always make sure that your new theme is compatible with all browsers. It is good for those themes to be w3 valid and cross browser compatible because you know that you are not leaving any one behind. Some people might suggest that you should not worry about older browsers like IE 6 if it doesn’t work. And most tech designers are now ignoring Internet Explorer compatibility completely. You don’t need to support a theme or a designer when he/she did not put enough time to provide quality work for you. There is still a large audience that use Internet Explorer and other browsers, so make sure you look for browser compatibility.
Be Aware of the Terms of Service
When you are choosing a free or commercial theme make sure you are aware of the terms of service. If a free theme requires alot of backlinks then move on. There are thousands of free themes in the market. You can pick another one. Always follow the terms of service because we appreciate the work of all designers and we want them to keep producing good themes for us.
If you are looking for a free theme, we are working on to release some themes by wpbeginner, but there are some really good ones available in the WordPress Theme Directory. But you may also check out our footer for more resources because there are other themes that are available.
Our Recommendation
There are tons of free themes that you can download. But we recommend that you go for something that you will get guaranteed support for. Commercial themes are a one time fee, and you get life time support. Below are the commercial theme providers that we highly recommend:
Headway Themes – 20% off coupon “wpbeginner” (This is an amazing theme for BEGINNERS)
Elegant Themes – (Over 77+ great looking themes for only $39)
StudioPress – We use these guys on our projects.
Themify – 20% off coupon “wpbeginner”
Thesis Theme
iThemes
Mojo Themes
If you are looking to get a custom WordPress theme, then please use our Custom WordPress Theme service.
Installing a Theme
Installing a theme is very easy in WordPress. Just follow the steps we are showing you below:
1. Download the Theme
Considering the tips that we gave you above, download the theme files. Unzip the file and upload the theme in your following directory: /wp-content/themes/
2. Activate the Theme
Once you have uploaded the theme, all you have to do is activate the theme. You can do so by going to your wp-admin panel. Look at the sidebar on the left. Click on the tab Appearance > Themes. Find your theme there and click activate.
Once you have the theme activated you are good to go.
Remember if you don’t want to go through the hassle of uploading a theme and installing WordPress, you can have us install WordPress and install the choice of your theme in your new blog. Get Free WordPress Setup by WPBeginner.
I’m looking at the Standard Theme and Headway Themes. Do both of them support ecommerce? The website is going to have an online store, as well as the s2member plugin.
Yes, they should support eCommerce. For customization however, you will have to edit CSS.
@wpbeginner thanks for response ..
how is headway theme compared to thesis seo ??
@aamir.pc6 Genesis, and many others have similar SEO options as to Thesis…
i am not any pro in this
but i have heard a lot about thesis that its the best seo theme but i am not sure if i will be able to give a good look using thesis
therefore want togo for other theme but again dont know if other theme seo options.. will match thesis!!PLEASE HELP!
@aamir.pc6
I heard too but newer try it. Im steel on free theme but think to move on premium:). Today there are 1 mill premium themes so its really really hard to choose one.
Great tips in choosing a perfect wordpress theme. I always go for simple designs that do carry all the basic and important functionalities in a website. It should be be clear and should provide ease of navigation to readers.
We’re getting ready to overhaul our church website and we’re planning on going with Word Press. Very excited. Question: How do you build a new site while the old one is still up and running? We’d like to unveil the site when it’s done for the “WOW” factor as opposed to people tapping in from time to time and noticing we’re updating the site?
thanks for any direction you can give.
Joel
Develop it on the subdomain, and then when you are ready to go live, push it on the main domain.
i had a question about the theme installing, should i install the plugin that cames with tame in the same folder where i upload the theme or in the plugins folder…? btw you have a great site for the begginersss …
You will install the plugins in the plugins folder
Everytime I create wordpress themes, i always think of simplicity and how it will help the user
yes ! I liked this site
I really liked the site…fresh and crisp layout
I’ve been following you all on Twitter for awhile now…Thanks for twittering
I am in the process of overhauling our youth group’s website and now being asked to do our whole Church’s site, too. A designer that’s offering some time/advice insists that WordPress is the way to go. I’m familiar with the basics, but have only really used Dreamweaver for my sites so far.
Right now, we’re really stuck on picking the right theme. Visual appeal is key and my designer friend is only thinking about backend functionality. We love the look of a site like http://www.ctab.org We also need a theme that would allow for a lot of multimedia and interactivity. My designer friend says just pick a theme we like and then we can make it work, but I’m not so sure about that. Not so sure what I need to be looking for in a theme in regard to ease of use, customization, etc.
Do you all have any suggestions?
Thanks so much!
DebG.
WordPress is definitely the way to go. If your designer say pick whichever one, then you should pick the one you like the look of, and let the designer worry about customization. We always prefer custom theme designs if you are looking for something specific. Let us know if you need someone to design it for you.
I’m loving this site! I have technical skills but no web skills. I think I don’t have room for them in my brain
With WordPress I can let my husband do the heavy lifting and I get to have all the fun. Just couldn’t be happier with finding this site and finding you on Twitter!
We are glad that you like this site. If you have any questions about WordPress feel free to ask us on twitter, shoot us an email.
Nice site, i`m waiting for the next post