Many small businesses and startups choose to create a website in-house using WordPress, a DIY website builder that powers around 40% of all websites on the internet.
To build a website using WordPress, you need to decide on a theme. In this article, we will look at what a WordPress theme is, and how to choose one.
What is a WordPress theme?
A WordPress theme consists of the code, style and graphics of your website that give it its general appearance and layout. Themes can be tailored to suit the needs of a particular website and can have features like a blog, online store, calendar booking system or brochure pages. As a WordPress user, you don’t need any coding or programming skills, you can simply pick the most suitable theme for your business and level of expertise, and get started.
What to think about when choosing a WordPress theme
The most important job of a theme is to make sure your website can achieve its intended purpose. You might need to return to your business strategy and marketing plan to get really clear on what you need your website to do before settling on a theme. You can choose the nicest looking theme out there, but if it doesn’t have the functionality you need, it won’t work for you and your business. (It’s worth mentioning here that it is possible to amend a WordPress theme, but unless you can code, this is something you’d need a professional to do for you.)
Our top 5 tips for choosing a WordPress theme
1. Don’t over complicate things
It can be tempting to get the theme with the most bells and whistles, but we’d suggest thinking about the features you really need and finding a lightweight theme that meets these requirements. This is for two reasons: unnecessary extra features can complicate the user experience and slow down the loading speed of your site.
It’s always best to go for a simple, clean, user friendly website that is easy to scan and navigate. You want to make things as easy as possible for your customers.
The same goes for loading speeds. As internet users get more impatient and less prepared to put up with slow loading websites, if your web page doesn’t display quickly enough, your bounce rate will be high. Google also recently announced that loading speed now impacts ranking, so it’s even more important to get it right. Hubspot has a great article on which WordPress themes are best for fast loading speeds here.
2. Make sure it’s responsive
A responsive website adjusts its layout to display on all devices, including desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphone. Although most WordPress themes are responsive as standard, some are still only designed with desktop display in mind. As so many users access the internet from smartphones, it’s vital that you choose a responsive theme. As well as being essential for user experience, it’s also important for your search engine rankings, as Google and other search engines penalise websites that are not mobile friendly.
3. Check compatibility with plugins
Where a WordPress theme dictates the layout and design of a website, plugins allow you to change the functionality. It can be better to choose a theme that fits aesthetically, even if it lacks some functions that you need, then to add on plugins to build the perfect website for your business. Some themes pair particularly well with certain plugins.
4. Free or premium
You have the choice of either free or paid-for WordPress themes. Free themes are typically quite simple and lean, meaning that they’re good for building basic websites with fast loading speeds. However, don’t discount a premium theme, as they usually have additional extras that justify the spend. Premium themes offer regular updates and customer support, meaning that you can maintain a secure and functioning site more easily. They also allow for more customisation so you can achieve greater functionality. For businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors, we’d always recommend a premium theme.
5. Check the ratings
Our final tip is to check the ratings of a theme before you commit. As you browse the WordPress themes, you can click through to find more information, where you’ll see the description of the theme along with customer ratings. Each rating is scored out of five stars, and you can click the stars to read some short comments. The more established a theme, the more ratings it will have. It’s always best to go for a tried and tested theme with plenty of positive ratings.
We’re here to help…
Many of our clients come to us because they tried to build their own website, but couldn’t achieve the results they really wanted. You only have one chance to make an impact on a website visitor, so your aim should be a high-functioning, intuitive website that gives a great user experience. It also needs to be optimised for SEO to increase visibility and drive traffic in the first place.
You’ll often find that it costs more to rectify mistakes than to build from scratch, so it’s worth spending the time and money to get this right from the outset. If you’d like help designing and building your website, we’d love to work with you. Contact us to find out more.
