A WordPress theme dictates the appearance of your website. This is why it’s imperative that you carefully select your theme to ensure an excellent user experience for your visitors.

Currently, there are thousands of WordPress themes available. This is great news for website owners like you since more options mean higher chances of finding one which suits your requirements. On the other hand, the abundance of choices can make the task of selecting a theme daunting. So, how can you make it easier for you to find the perfect theme for your WordPress website?

Decide if you’re going for a free or a premium theme. If you are on a budget, a free theme may be the most sensible choice for you. However, know that choosing free themes comes with risks. One of them is the lack of support. Hence, if you encounter problems, you would have to resolve it on your own. Moreover, these themes may not be regularly updated. In some cases, they may come with hidden malware or virus.

Suffice it to say, if you can afford it or if it’s for business purposes, it’s best to go for a premium WordPress theme. Apart from offering support, paid themes are updated on a regular basis to meet current web standards or WordPress versions. Most importantly, most of these themes are designed with functionality in mind, enabling you to easily make design and formatting changes when necessary.

Know the type of design and features you need. Before starting your search for the best WordPress theme, determine what features you need to have on your website. What type of layout do you prefer? Do you need footer widgets? Knowing these things can help narrow down your search.

Choosing a feature-rich theme can be tempting. However, this isn’t recommended. Apart from making your site cluttered, having too many features can hurt the performance of your site. Hence, it’s best to only choose those that are essential in helping you achieve your goal. For example, if you are planning to have a multilingual website, it’s best to pick a theme that’s translation ready.

Similarly, when it comes to the design, one of the most important things you should consider is the layout. Avoid themes with complex presentation styles; instead, choose a theme that’s going to make it easier for your visitors to navigate your site and find pertinent information.

Choose a responsive theme. Nowadays, more people are visiting websites using mobile phones and tablets. This is why it’s important that you select a responsive theme to ensure that visitors using non-desktop devices like mobile phones and tablets have a pleasant experience on your site. Additionally, choosing a responsive theme can help your SEO efforts since Google has made “responsive web design” a ranking signal.

To check if a theme is mobile friendly, you can try resizing your browser screen. Doing this should result in the automatic adjustment of the layout to fit the screen if the theme is responsive. You may also use Google’s Mobile Friendly Test Page to know if the theme is mobile-friendly.

Think about SEO when selecting a WordPress theme. In setting up a website, your goal isn’t just to have an online presence. Naturally, you’d want people to visit your site. No matter how great your site looks, if it doesn’t generate traffic then it’s not serving its purpose. This is where an SEO-friendly theme comes in.

Aside from responsiveness, other factors that can affect a WordPress theme’s SEO friendliness include layout, page loading speed and HTML code. A theme with poorly coded HTML can hurt your website’s performance on search engines. Hence, you must carefully analyse the source code of a theme before using it. Admittedly, this is not an easy task for beginners. So, if you’re creating a website for the first time or if you don’t have an in-depth knowledge of WordPress, it’s best to let a professional web design company do the job.

Searching for the perfect WordPress theme is a challenging task. However, by following the tips above and checking out the ratings and reviews of the themes, the process can become easier. Moreover, you can enlist the help of experts to achieve a professional-looking website minus the hassle.

Need help choosing a WordPress theme? Call us at 019609023.

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