Before choosing a WordPress theme, there are certain questions that you should ask yourself. These questions include responsiveness, SEO, and Plugin compatibility. Choosing a theme that meets these criteria will help you create an engaging and useful website that people will want to return to.
Questions to ask yourself before choosing a WordPress theme
There are several things you need to consider before choosing the best WordPress themes. For starters, you will need to consider the functionality of the theme. If you are creating a website for an eCommerce business, then you will need to look at the number of third-party plugins that are available. You will also need to know if the theme you are interested in supports an email platform. Many themes come with a few essential plugins built in, like WooCommerce or Gumroad.
Another factor to consider before choosing a WordPress theme is the developer’s response time. If the developer takes a week or two to respond to an e-mail, then you should probably steer clear. The reason for this is that developers aren’t allowed to manipulate the review process. Getting a fast response time from a developer is crucial if you want your theme to function properly.
Lastly, the theme’s design should complement the content of your website. Look for features that will help your site look great across different devices. If a theme looks too fancy, your visitors may not like it. For example, a theme that uses pop-ups, animations, and different colors will not be user-friendly. Users may be turned off by such a theme and leave your site in search of the content they are looking for.
Moreover, a premium theme should offer support for its users. While free themes are often available, you shouldn’t expect the same level of support. If you need help with your theme, look for one with five-star reviews from satisfied users.
Plugin compatibility
When choosing a WordPress theme, you should consider how compatible it is with the plugins that you use for your site. If you are running a website that stores a large amount of data, plugin compatibility is especially important. Plugins can interact with each other, causing errors that can affect your website’s performance. Check for compatibility on the theme’s website or contact WordPress developers to get more information.
WordPress themes support thousands of plugins. You’ll want to ensure that they support the plugins that you plan to use, such as contact forms, advanced SEO, social sharing, and eCommerce functions. Popular themes will support most popular plugins, but lesser-known ones may not.
Plugins are often updated. While this can cause security issues, it can also bring new features to your website. A regularly updated plugin can help limit security vulnerabilities and ensure better efficiency. Make sure to read the documentation that comes with the plugin, and check the version number. Most plugins will not work on outdated versions of PHP.
Themes that support all popular browsers are generally a safe choice. However, some premium themes are not compatible with all of them. Some have poor coding standards and may not work with plugins. Checking plugin compatibility is crucial, especially if your theme has a lot of features and customization options. You don’t want to spend your money on a theme that will not work for your users.
Responsiveness
Responsiveness is an important feature to consider when choosing a WordPress theme. A responsive design will make your website look great on any device. Today, many people are using small handheld smartphones to browse the web, so it’s essential that your website is compatible with a variety of screen sizes. A responsive theme will automatically adjust its layout and content to fit any screen size. In addition, a responsive design will be cross browser compatible, making it easier for your visitors to browse your site on any device.
Responsiveness can also have an impact on SEO efforts. A responsive theme will respond to a smaller window and should look similar to the desktop design when the window is shrunk. While some theme developers will claim their themes are responsive, they are not necessarily mobile-ready. You should always verify that the theme meets your specific requirements before purchasing a theme.
Responsiveness is also important because the theme must be flexible enough to display a website on all devices. This will not only increase user experience, but it will also help your site rank higher in mobile search results. Responsive themes also feature a unique layout and are optimized for various screen sizes, including smartphones and tablets.
Choosing a responsive theme should be easy. The first step is to enable a responsive view on your WordPress dashboard. You can do this from the Appearance menu or the top bar on any page. The responsive view will allow you to view your website on both mobile devices and desktop computers. You will also be able to test changes on smaller devices without having to make changes to your website.
SEO
Search engine optimization is crucial, and your theme should be SEO-friendly. Using an SEO-friendly theme will allow you to easily optimize your site for mobile devices and improve its performance in search engines. In addition to this, you should choose a theme that is mobile-friendly, because more than half of website traffic today comes from mobile devices. Search engines such as Google give preference to mobile-friendly websites, and recent algorithm updates have emphasized this.
If you are a business owner, an SEO-ready theme can make all the difference in your rankings. The Ekko theme, for example, is optimized for online businesses. It includes more than 50 fully-customized demo sites, a drag-and-drop page builder, an advanced theme options panel, hundreds of template blocks, and a blog section. The WordPress theme is crucial for your site’s SEO, since it makes up a significant portion of the site’s code. Its design determines how your pages appear to indexing bots, and using an SEO-ready theme can make the difference between page one and page twelve in SERPS.
Another SEO-friendly WordPress theme is Beaver Builder. It has numerous shortcodes and an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. If you plan to add content on a regular basis, you should choose a theme that makes the process easy and seamless. Its developer-friendly interface also makes it possible to make changes without having to learn any code. Furthermore, you should pay attention to plugins that enhance your website’s SEO.
Well-coded
There are many different WordPress themes available, and it’s important to choose one that’s optimized for SEO. This is important for a variety of reasons. Firstly, your theme’s code can affect your SEO. A poorly-coded theme can really hamper your SEO efforts. It’s difficult to analyze the source code of a theme, but you can check customer reviews for clues. Also, many premium theme makers will state that their themes are SEO-optimized.
Themes should follow the latest coding standards. A badly-coded theme will negatively impact the performance of your website and could even leave it open to hackers. When looking for a new WordPress theme, make sure you choose one that complies with safer practices and coding standards. There’s no need to open every single file inside the package to check whether it’s optimized for SEO, so make sure the developers follow the latest best practices.
It’s also important to check for updates and bug fixes. WordPress themes are constantly evolving, and you should keep an eye on them to ensure that they’re up to date. Ensure that the developer of your chosen theme has a good reputation and is active in keeping their themes updated.
Another important factor to consider is whether or not your WordPress theme is compatible with different browsers. Many users access the internet via various devices, and their browser preferences may vary. So, a WordPress theme should work well on popular browsers. But it’s important to keep in mind that some themes may not be compatible with all browsers, so you should test them first to make sure they’ll work on your site.
Mobile-friendly WordPress Theme
To make your website mobile-friendly, you need to choose a theme with the right features. One of the best mobile-friendly WordPress themes is OnePage Lite, which comes with various features such as a parallax effect, multiple backgrounds, CSS3 animations, and a floating menu. This theme is highly customizable and can be installed with one click. You can also integrate Twitter feeds with the theme, which helps you keep your content fresh and updated. Another free mobile-friendly WordPress theme is Zakra, which comes with an elegant contrast color and gray background with an agency layout. It has ten free demos, so you can try it out and see if it suits your needs.
Another good mobile-friendly WordPress theme is responsive, which automatically adjusts page elements according to the size of the screen the visitor is using. This is an excellent feature because it can keep your visitors’ eyes on your site. This is because mobile devices display websites in a different orientation than desktop computers, so a responsive theme can make your site look great on both devices.
A mobile-friendly WordPress theme that features a responsive layout is a great choice for startups and agencies. It is compatible with Google AMP, includes a customizable scroll-to-top button, and supports Google Fonts. It also includes a user-friendly interface and is compatible with all major drag-and-drop page builders.