What must be considered when choosing a WordPress theme?
There are more than tens of thousands of WordPress themes out there. Some themes are overloaded with tons of customization options. Some look really good but can actually make a website incredibly slow. Many people feel overwhelmed when it comes to choosing a theme for their WordPress website.
It is totally understandable. Since the selected theme would subsequently become a core part of the face and a significant client experience of their business. Although we have the option to install and switch to another theme at any time, no one would want to do it again and again. Not to mention some of the themes are chargeable. It does not just cost time, and very likely money too.
10 most essential features to consider when choosing a WordPress theme
It is important to look beyond the cost to choose a theme that is the best fit for your project. The following list gives us the 10 most essential features to consider before deciding on the theme for your website.
1. Lightweight and fast
The speed of your website has a major impact on your search engine rankings and visitors’ experience. Unliked custom websites, they are created specifically for a client or a project. They don’t need to stuff as many features as they possibly can in order to please a broad audience. This makes them innately lightweight and fast.
However, themes are made with a different mindset. Many general purpose themes are loaded with tons of functions and features. The reason behind this is to make them easier to sell. You may not need or use all these functions or features. The theme you finally decide must be perfectly optimized for speed. It must load fast and should be light in size.
2. Strive for simplicity
Make sure that the theme’s presentation style is not overly complicated. A good website design helps users find the information they need. Make sure you look for a design layout that supports both of the goals of your business and your customer’s.
3. Mobile optimization
Responsive themes adjust their layout across different screen sizes and devices. It is not optional anymore.
Nowadays >50% web traffics came from mobile device and its rate is rising. Regardless of your site’s topics and demographics, all websites must be responsive and fully mobile ready. The menus of the theme must be perfectly optimized for mobile devices.
4. Browsers compatibility
When you choose your WordPress theme, it must be able to work well on any major browser irrespective of whether it is the mobile or desktop version of the browser.
5. SEO friendliness
Your WordPress theme plays a crucial role in your site’s SEO friendliness. A good looking theme can still generate poorly coded HTML, this could affect your site’s performance on search engines.
6. Page builder support
Page builders are WordPress plugins that allow you to create more stunning page layouts using drag and drop user interface. Make sure that your WordPress theme supports all the most popular page builder plugins.
7. Retina ready
With a retina ready theme you’re going to get shaper images and smoother fonts. Fonts are going to be clearer for mobile users. Using a retina ready theme is to ensure that your site is always looking the very best that it can.
8. Plugins Compatibility
Before selecting a WordPress theme, you have to make sure the must-have plugins can be added to it without any compatibility issue.
9. Validated on the latest version of PHP
It should work on the newest version of PHP without issues.
10. Validated on the latest version of WordPress
It should work on the newest version of WordPress and be perfectly valid according to the coding requirements of WordPress.org.
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We hope this article has given you some ideas to help narrow down your selection process in choosing your WordPress theme. In case if you need any assistance, we are here to make your web projects free from worries. Our team covers everything you need to get the most out of your WordPress project.
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