21 Jun What You Should Pay Attention to When Choosing a WordPress Theme

WordPress powers over 34% of all websites on the internet, so it’s no wonder that most beginners opt to build their site through this open-source content management system.

It offers a variety of features that can make any page stand out, and almost anything can be customized to perfectly suit the user’s needs.

It can be overwhelming, however, deciding on a WordPress theme, as there are thousands of them to choose from.

So, have a look at why it’s important to choose the theme carefully, and what users should pay attention to the most.

Why It’s Important to Choose a WordPress Theme Carefully

It takes about 50 milliseconds for readers to assess a website’s appeal. That’s a very short amount of time to make a good first impression.

The theme chosen can either attract more website visitors, or it can discourage them from visiting the site again.

The right theme should match the content of the site – it should make the website easy to navigate, and should, of course, look appealing.

When the WordPress theme is chosen carefully, it will not only attract readers with its design, but with its functionality as well, and it can work to improve the website’s ratings on search engines.

Opt for a Minimalist Design

Most beginners are overwhelmed with the choices and want to take advantage of everything that a single theme can provide. The flashy animations, colors, intricate layouts, all of this is often very interesting, and beginners want to try it all.

This is not advised, however.

The flashier and more complicated a design is, the more difficult it is to navigate. Visitors will often have a hard time figuring their way around such a website and will go someplace else to find what they need.

It’s better to opt for a minimalist or simple design that can help users find what they need. This will also ensure that the page can be loaded quickly, improving the site’s ranking.

Responsive Theme Is a Must

Most WordPress themes are responsive, meaning they allow the website to be comfortably viewed from any device, PCs, smartphones, tablets, etc.

There are always some sellers that only offer fixed-width layouts that aren’t mobile-friendly in the least, so it’s always best to check.

Over 48.71% of internet traffic is generated from mobile devices, and this is excluding tablets. Depending on the content of a specific website, well over 50% of traffic could come from mobile users.

Mobile-friendly websites will always be on top of the mobile search results, as these sites will load more quickly across all devices and generate more traffic.

Free or Premium Theme?

Free themes can be okay for beginners on a budget, but they can cause certain problems.

Primarily, the quality of the coding could present issues. If the theme comes from an unreliable source, users could come across a malicious code that’ll end up becoming a part of their site.

The second problem with the code could be that the author isn’t as good, causing the site to be slow, or even worse, causing it to become a target for hackers.

Another downside of free themes is that they often don’t have guaranteed support. If the user encounters a problem, they might need to invest in third-party developers for help.

Premium themes are clearly the better choice, as they often come with 1-year email-based support, and are updated on a regular basis, ensuring better site security.

Keeping the WordPress Page Secure

As mentioned, certain free themes can pose security risks for a WordPress site. Another problem is that WordPress is an open-source system, meaning that anyone can have insight into its code and learn about its vulnerabilities.

The first step toward improving and securing a WordPress site is to ensure it’s always up-to-date. The updates offer new features, but they also include security patches and bug fixes.

Using a VPN on android when editing or simply entering the site is also essential, especially for those that make changes to the website while they’re connected to a public network.

A VPN will ensure a safe and encrypted connection, making it impossible for any outsider to gain access to the device and the site.

The Bottom Line

Choosing the right WordPress theme can be daunting, but the most important things to keep in mind are that the theme should be appealing, but functional and that it should never make the site vulnerable.