WordPress Themes
I theme is basically what makes your website look like your website. It is your website’s color scheme, layout and overall look and feel. If you are here to make your own website then selecting the right theme is one of the most important things you can do. There are an unbelievable amount of themes available so how do you know which theme to pick?
When picking a theme you should always consider your website’s needs and goals. For instance if you are an accountant you probably don’t want a website that uses a lot of illustrations or clip art. You will want to pick a theme that let’s your visitors know you are professional. Remember your website is most often your first impression on potential customers and your theme’s design should match your organization.
You should also consider functionality when picking a theme. Several themes have “options” that are unique to the theme and may be built just for a website like yours. If you are a real estate agent you may want to consider a theme like AgentPress from StudioPress. It has a setup that is specifically made for real estate.
Free Themes vs. Premium Themes
So now you are probably wondering if you should use a free theme or purchase one? And, why buy a theme if there are free ones all over the web?
Free Themes
Free themes are great if you can find what you are looking for. But you should know a few things before you use a free theme. WordPress has a great community of developers that give things away all the time. However, odds are that a free theme is free because it is helping someone else as much or more than it helps you. Developers like to give away free themes because they put a link back to their website (great for Search Engine Optimization, SEO) in it and you can’t remove it. Or they may then use the theme for advertising purposes.
Occasionally, developers with an evil side will put virus’ in the theme and when you install it you will have trouble. While there are a lot of good quality themes out there you never really know what you are going to get, I personally have purchased premium themes to use on my websites.
Premium Themes
Premium themes are very inexpensive and offer many benefits to using free themes. First and foremost there are some amazingly well designed themes on the market that will give you a very professional website design for a fraction of the cost of hiring a web designer to develop you a website. If you are a business then the last thing you want on the bottom of your homepage is a link that says “this theme designed by” and a link to the designer or website where you got your free theme. Why? It gives the appearance that you and/or your business is cheap which is not the impression you want to leave. If you are a club or organization then this may not be an issue.
Premium themes are typically the best coded, best looking and will offer the best options to you as your website administrator.
Where do I get a theme for my website?
Free Themes: When selecting a free theme make sure you download from a reputable WordPress designer or organization. I like websites like SitePoint.com, WordPress Beginner, and WP Candy has recently released a theme finder.
Premium Themes: My absolute favorite is StudioPress and the Genesis framework. These guys have put a lot of thought and effort into their product and it shows. I have used their themes more than any other. For this website I am using the theme inFocus from ThemeForest and I have been very impressed with it. I have not personally used them but WooThemes is also a very well respected theme directory.
