In March 2018 it was found that WordPress powers approximately 30% of the top 10 million websites, according to research conducted by W3Techs, proving that WordPress hosting is one of the best options out there for businesses and bloggers alike. That’s due to its great deal of accessibility, with both free and premium themes available, customization options and ability for bloggers how to choose a right wordPress theme.
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How to Choose a WordPress Theme?
However, with so many options, choosing a WordPress theme can be an arduous and confusing task if you’re going in blind. That’s why we’ve put together a simple yet essential guide for bloggers on how to pick the perfect theme that suits your content, your style, and your needs; and how to stay above water in the sea of 10,000+ themes that are currently out there.
Establish Style of Content
First and foremost, you need to outline what the goal of your blog is, what sort of content will be uploaded and how often, and how much customization will be necessary. Knowing the answers to these questions will give you direction when searching for your WordPress theme.
For instance, if the goal of your blog is to be a personable and frequently updated (e.g. travel blogs), then a single column theme with posts categorised by dates will be perfect for you. However, if your blog is more business-oriented (e.g. a photography blog with your portfolio of work) then a tiled homepage with large images and lots of white space would be far more suited to you.
While you are heading up to how to choose a right wordPress theme, establishing your style of content in this way can then help you figure out the design aspects of your WordPress theme. Will you need ultimate customization? Or will a blog that allows for key banner images and logos to be uploaded suffice for you?
Having a theme specific to your content in this way will also help keep the interface organised, easy-to-use, and looking professional. The navigation will be much clearer to users, and the UPS of your blog will stand out in an instant.
Choose User-friendly and Responsive Themes
Once you’ve established the type of theme you’ll be needing, it’s time to safe-check the themes for their user-friendliness and responsiveness. Making sure your theme is user-friendly is simple.
Pick a theme that makes the menu options clear, either in a sidebar or across the top; allows for picture and/or video embedding to the standard that is needed by your blog; and of course make sure text is readable in terms of colour, size, and placement. If any of these aren’t quite right with a certain theme, ditch it and keep searching.
Checking for responsiveness is also simple, yet requires a bit of testing on your part. A responsive theme is one that is optimized for display of various screen sizes and formats such as tablets, smartphones, laptops, and desktops. There are a plethora of sites online that can help you test for responsiveness, including Google’s own Mobile-Friendly Test.
Whilst the majority of WordPress themes are now compatible with other devices and screen sizes, it is always worth checking to choose a right wordPress theme as per its looks and which aspects of your theme design are lost when displayed on different formats.
Check the Customization Options
Customization is key when it comes to making your blog look unique and on-brand. From color scheme choices to layout, categorization to embedding options; you need to be able to make your WordPress theme work for you.
This is one of the most important aspects of choosing the perfect theme as this is how you create your image. More often than not, WordPress themes offer a demo which also allows you to try out the customization options for the home page and related options.
So make sure you give the theme a test-drive beforehand. If you struggle to find a theme that offers enough flexibility, it may be worth considering paying for a premium theme. Unlike free themes, the premium themes cost a bit more, however, offer a greater deal of customization from drag-and-drop widgets and homepage design, to a wider choice of colors and fonts.
It would also be worth considering which plugins you’ll use to boost your blog. External plugins such as MailChimp and Sumome can help get further reach for your blogs by engaging with your users through email mailing lists and subscriptions; however not all WordPress themes may be compatible.
If you’re planning on using any plugins, it is essential to check whether your preferred themes can handle them. Most premium themes are great with external plugins, so again, it may be worth considering paying a bit more for greater freedom with your theme so you can really increase usability and engagement.
Choosing the perfect WordPress theme isn’t a difficult task; it can actually be exciting to set up and customize your blog, as long as you know exactly what you need first.
The key points to take away are to keep your theme clean, easy-to-use, on-brand, and customizable. After that, fast and efficient WordPress hosting service will boost your blog from the beginning, meaning you can be on your way to a lucrative blogging presence online immediately.
Initially, the blog was treated as the online journal that people used to love writing to vent out their thoughts & stories to the world. However, blogs have evolved since then with the new advancements in the technology. People now use it to showcase their talent or skills, to promote their business or products & also to earn money.
7 Best WordPress Themes to Choose From
And the strike through the introduction of WordPress has changed the arena of blogging. With the uber cool designs, striking features & ease of use, WordPress Recommended Blog Themes are the best bet for any blogging venture that you want to indulge into! So, let’s check out few of the options below, one of which you can use for your blog.
1. Clean
The first theme here is clutter free & minimalistic that widely focuses on the professionals who are looking for a fresh theme that gets down to business straight! The theme has multiple layouts with a highly customizable framework to help you craft your blog the way you want while giving it a personal touch. Also, the theme is optimized for speed & can be used on unlimited sites with a fresh & exclusive look each time.
2. BloggingBox
A multi purpose blogging theme for all the bloggers out there! It is a perfect fit for all the niches you want to use it for with its customizable framework & easy editing option panel. You get advanced typography, unlimited color options along with a responsive layout to attract the readers while reaching out to their preferred devices.
Details | Demo
3. Indigo
Radiate Pro is a perfect theme which includes a light weight framework, responsive & retina ready layout. It is built with advanced features packed with its framework inclusive of widget areas, headers, footer, advanced typography, slider options, RTL support & much more. The theme also has a free version which you can check out along with the demo while you are at it!
Check Free Themes
4. Indigo
Indigo comes with an advanced options panel that gives you the ultimate control over your log with simple & smooth features. The theme offers a pixel perfect display on every screen it is thrown at, thanks to its responsive layout. Among other features, its WooCommerce compatibility sets it apart from the crowd & you can launch an e-store easily straight from your blog.
5. SocialNow
Another social media optimized theme to take advantage of social traffic! This theme brilliantly puts together speed optimization, social traffic & AdSense integration to better use & thus increasing your click rate, your traffic & eventually improves your search engine rankings. With an intuitive navigation, this theme also provides an enjoyable experience to the readers.
6. Highstake
A powerful theme for all online authors, journalists & publishers alike! It is fully responsive, includes stunning sliders, social, navigation & newsletter integration to maximize the user engagement. The theme is constantly updated to keep you in trend & if you encounter any problem after purchasing this theme, the support team is right at your disposal to resolve the issue.
7. Doberman
If you have a lot of content that people will love then take advantage of Doberman & get your content go viral with its social media optimized features. It offers infinite style variations with a drag & drop homepage builder which assist you in building your blog with no coding skills & just the way you want!
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