Choosing the Desired WordPress Theme is one of the most important decisions when building a website for your online business. With thousands of themes to choose from ranging from free to premium, the options can feel overwhelming. This guide will walk you through the key steps and considerations when buying and searching for the perfect WordPress theme.
Why Choose Desired WordPress Theme for an Online Business
WordPress powers over 30% of all websites, with good reason. The platform offers unmatched flexibility, ease of use, robust features, and scalability to grow an online business. Here are some of the main benefits of using WordPress:
Open Source & Free
At its core, WordPress is open-source software that is totally free to use. You have full control and ownership over the platform and your entire website.
Easy to Use & Flexible
The intuitive WordPress dashboard allows you to easily publish content and make changes without needing to know code. There are also thousands of themes and plugins available to add new functionality with just a few clicks.
Entreex is an advanced WordPress development agency that will transfrom your ideas into a unique user experience through innovative solutions.
Our team of experts ensures that your applications stand out not only on technical aspects but also on the design front. So, if you are looking to develop advanced wordpress website for your business, get in touch with us!
Robust Plugin Ecosystem
WordPress supports over 55,000 plugins to add advanced features like ecommerce, forums, social media integration, and more. Popular plugins have been installed on millions of sites.
Great for SEO
WordPress was designed to help sites achieve optimal search engine visibility. Yoast SEO and other plugins make optimizing your content for search engines simple.
With this flexibility and breadth of features tailored to running an online business, WordPress is by far the best choice compared to building a site from scratch.
Learn More about Choosing the Right WordPress Theme
Determining Your Website Goals and Requirements
Before even starting your theme search, you need to gain clarity on what goals you want your website to achieve and what functionality it will require. Consider key questions like:
What is the main purpose and focus of my website?
For example, are you building an:
- Ecommerce store to sell products
- Content site focused on publishing articles and tutorials
- Service-based site to promote your consulting services
What types of content and features will my site need?
Determine must-have pages like:
- Product listings and shopping cart for an ecommerce store
- A blog section for publishing articles
- Contact forms and sales pages for lead generation
What is my available budget for this project?
Plan both short-term budgets for getting your initial site launched as well as longer term funding to scale and improve the site over time. Low-budget options include free themes, while premium themes provide additional features and design customization for $500-2500+.
What is my desired look and style for the site?
Do you prefer simple and minimalist designs focused purely on content? Or a bold, graphics-heavy theme that makes a statement? Outlining any visual preferences will help narrow the options.
With clear goals and requirements defined, you can zero in on WordPress themes built specifically for that purpose rather than wasting time on themes that don’t fit your needs.
Where to Search for WordPress Themes
The three main places to find quality WordPress themes include:
WordPress Theme Directories
The official WordPress Theme Directory houses thousands of free and paid themes that meet WordPress standards and guidelines. These are generally safe, well-supported options. Popular directories include WordPress.org and Elegant Themes.
Marketplaces and Theme Stores
Developers sell premium commercial themes through marketplaces like ThemeForest, TemplateMonster and Creative Market. These offer a wide selection along with options for advanced functionality.
Individual Theme Developers
Many talented developers sell premium WordPress themes through their own independent stores and sites. Browse sites like WooThemes, StudioPress and Themeisle.
Searching multiple sources gives you the most options to find that one theme that perfectly matches your precise needs and budget.
Evaluating and Comparing WordPress Themes
So how do you narrow down the options and determine which theme is best suited for powering your online business? Use this checklist of key criteria to compare choices:
Responsive Mobile Design
Since over 50% of web traffic now comes from mobile, responsive design is an absolute must, enabling your site to adapt seamlessly to any device.
Fast Page Load Speed
Quick loading speeds enhance user experience and improve WordPress performance. Look for themes incorporating caching, image optimization, minimal code and modern design practices.
Customization Options
How flexible is the design? Can you easily modify layouts, colors, fonts, graphics and elements using the built-in theme options?
Pricing & Licensing
Premium themes range from $500-$2500+ for a single site license. Understand exactly what you’re getting for the money as well as usage rights.
Support & Documentation
What access do you get to the developers for questions and troubleshooting? How detailed are code comments and instructions?
Also assess if navigation menus, homepage layouts, blog templates, and essential pages like Contact align with the goals for your WordPress site. Testing demos is invaluable.
Signs of a Quality WordPress Theme
Spotting the highest-caliber WordPress themes among the thousands of options comes down to these hallmarks of quality:
Regular Updates
The most reliable commercial themes release steady updates to fix bugs, patch security flaws and add new features. This protects your site.
Positive User Ratings & Popularity
High user ratings and large active user bases signal themes that deliver on features and performance for real sites much like yours.
Developer Reputation & Support
Choose an experienced team that stands behind its products 100% and provides timely, responsive technical support.
Clean, Commented Code
Premium theme developers follow WordPress coding standards to produce clean, validated code that incorporates ample inline comments for modification later on.
Secure Coding Best Practices
Rigorously tested, secure code protects you from vulnerabilities like SQL injection attacks and cross-site scripting.
While assessing different themes, lean on user reviews, developer reputation in the community and previews of the underlying code whenever possible.
Purchasing Your Chosen WordPress Theme
Once you select the ideal theme for your online business needs from product demos and comparisons, it’s time to make a purchase. Here’s an overview of what to expect:
Buying Options – Most premium WordPress themes offer either a one-time purchase price for use on a single site, an annual subscription for larger sites and higher levels of support, or a club membership for access to all a developer’s themes and products.
Understanding Licenses – Carefully read license agreements detailing usage terms related to number of sites, attribution, modifications allowed, integrations with other tools like page builders, etc. See what is and isn’t permitted.
Using Child Themes – Employing a child theme separates customizations from the parent theme files. This helps prevent losing your changes if the main theme updates. Quality theme developers make creating and using child themes simple.
Take time to familiarize yourself with precisely what you’re buying to avoid surprises or confusion later on. Reputable theme sellers stand behind their products and clearly communicate policies upfront.
Configuring & Customizing the Theme
Once you complete your WordPress theme purchase:
Download and Install It – Use the Appearance > Themes menu to upload and install your new theme file in just a few clicks. This activates it as your live site theme.
Set Up Pages and Menus – Create essential site pages like About, Contact, Blog, & Services and organize them into primary site-wide navigation menus that display on every page.
Customize the Design– Make the theme your own using built-in theme options for colors, fonts, layouts pages, backgrounds and more. Start with easy changes instead of diving into deep code edits.
Add Plugins & Extensions– Extend functionality with compatible plugins and add-ons from the theme developer. An ecommerce store needs plugins for payments, shipping, wish lists and more.
Save time by asking the theme seller for advice tailoring the design to your niche. Thorough documentation resources and community forums with other users are invaluable ongoing references as well.
Conclusion
Selecting the ideal WordPress theme provides a powerful foundation for building an effective online business presence that serves both customers and search engine results. Defining your website goals, optimizing for speed and conversions, choosing designs strategically, and customizing the frontend can make a world of difference in achieving success online. Take time to research options, ask questions, and leverage all that WordPress offers.
What is the cost range for quality WordPress themes?
Quality WordPress themes typically range from $50-250+. Free themes can work but often lack the level of features, design options, documentation and support available from top-tier commercial themes priced at a premium level.
Should I build a custom theme from scratch for my site?
In most cases, that is unnecessary. Quality commercial themes already incorporate best practices for WordPress standards, security, and performance. Building from scratch requires significant technical expertise and maintenance over time. Leverage an existing theme for faster launch saving customizations only where truly essential.
What are signs of a poorly coded WordPress theme?
Red flags include infrequent updates, minimal inline code documentation, bloated code, validation errors, poor performance scores, and lack of child theme support. Security vulnerabilities, outdated platform dependencies, and reliance on deprecated functions also indicate low-quality code.
Can I use a free WordPress theme for my business site?
Exercise caution with free themes. While some reputable free options exist, many lack robust features expected on business sites, offer minimal design flexibility, and feature poor support. Prioritizing quality over cost pays dividends in the ease of use and customization a commercial theme brings.
How important is responsive design for a WordPress theme?
Building a mobile-friendly, responsive website is mandatory given over 50% of web traffic now originates on smartphones. Since a theme powers site frontend design and layouts across devices, choose only responsive WordPress themes, enabling your content to reflow and adapt to smaller screens and tablets. Mobile optimization is vital for an effective site.
