Choosing the right WordPress theme is something that most bloggers consider much before their blogs are even put up. With the increasing popularity of WordPress themes, there is a vast variety of choices from different authors to choose from. This would be dependent on various factors like how much time and effort can be spent on customizing it to fit your individual needs. Price constraints and your knowledge would also contribute in deciding the right theme.
If you are using CSS style sheets and codes, you would already have a template set up with your desired design and colors. However if you are new to blogging and don’t understand the codes that drive images and designs, it would be best to use one of the themes that have already been set up. These could be free or premium themes. The following are some guidelines to think about when you are choosing the right WordPress theme for your blog.
Price – If you have price constraints, the best option for you are the free WordPress themes. These free themes only require you to leave a link to them in the footer. However premium themes don’t require you to do so. Most free themes are also not supported. Therefore if you are not comfortable hacking your own theme, it is best to invest in a premium theme which would be a supported theme. Finally the risk of sponsored links or malicious codes showing up is much lesser in premium themes.
Color and Design – Think over the images and write ups you are planning to put up on your blog. If you are writing about crafting or painting or such topics which require creativity it is best to use soft pastels with floral and other designs. If your blog is about technology and scientific research, use a bleak black and white color scheme.
Layout – The layout of the blog page should also be taken into consideration. Most WordPress templates have an option of including one or two columns in addition to the body of the posts, along with a header and footer. If you want something else, you will have to work on the code yourself or spend some time looking for a theme that is different and suitable for your needs. For the majority of applications, the simple two column layout works best.
Your Target Audience – Before choosing the right WordPress theme, it is also advisable to think over what kind of traffic would visit your blog and what would they like. The demographics of your target audience could help you in choosing the right theme. Make sure the theme would look just as great on a small screen as it would on a large one. Plus, all features of the blog would work with all browsers.
SEO Ready WordPress Themes – There are many WordPress theme templates that are available for hosted domains that are SEO ready. These are ideal for new bloggers who don’t have much knowledge and information in this area. These SEO ready themes may come with nifty widgets and plug-ins which are just a click away from becoming visible to visitors. SEO friendly themes are usually the easiest to monetize and are often created with the necessary options and space to add links and banners.
Getting started with blogging with the help of a WordPress theme can be reasonably easy and swift if you choose the right theme. There are many choices obtainable but it would take some time and research to find the right one for your needs. However important the theme is, one must know that it does not hold the content. Changing the theme would only change the way in which the information is displayed. It is advisable to choose a simple and decent theme for blogging in the beginning. As your knowledge grows, change the theme as and when it is required. This is all key to choosing the right WordPress theme.
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February 14th, 2010 at 3:26 am
I like the idea of simple theme which you can customize. What I have been seeing a lot of themes with is static sections of static pages making them ideal for marketing and selling products.
One of the good things about blogs is their ease of use but they also have some limitations out of the box but that is slowly being tackled by those who design these innovative themes.
August 18th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Beautiful themes! Gonna test most of them on my wp blog.