Themes and designs are the benchmark for any website to rank efficiently in terms of online presence. To that end, for visitors to enjoy their time on your site and probably come back again, there’s a need to select a suitable theme. This criterion is even more necessary to note when dealing with WordPress sites.
Notably, there is a uniqueness about WordPress themes, and it lies in their ability to determine the aesthetics of your site. Regardless of the type of site, whether it is a fashion blog or one for a real online casino recomended for Aussies, they are the background of your website content. And what’s more? These teams determine how good or bad the user experience of the site would be.
However, with designers working tirelessly to make several unique creations of their own, it is no secret that there are now a lot of themes to choose from, and without proper guidance, you may be caught in a dilemma. This article will cover the top tips for deciding which WordPress template suits your website.
6 Tips to Consider When Choosing a WordPress Layout
There are certain things to remember when considering a theme for your site. It’s safe to say it’s not all about beauty, and we have provided the necessary items to look out for here.
Consider the Purpose of the Website and Target Audience
Just as every colour on a painter’s palette signifies something, the themes on a site should have a message attached. Hence, for a perfect design for your website, the purpose behind the site’s creation should be incorporated into it.
Themes should represent the mission, vision, and what the platform offers as a service to its target audience. For instance, for blogs or sites that talk about children and education, the themes should be friendly and open to welcoming their minds. E-commerce and business sites could improve readability and use a styling that promises product visibility and seamless interaction.
While considering your business type and target audience, the general market where you are situated is important. Every individual is a potential client, so the more appealing your theme is to a large audience, the better.
Check for Mobile Compatibility
Mobile devices are the thrill of the moment in today’s world. People sleep and wake with their mobile devices in their hands, so it’s no surprise that most websites are viewed on them.
To garner tremendous traction on your website, it should be suited to fit a mobile device. There should be significant adaptability to the screen size and text interaction. The page builders to be integrated also play a vital role, and you must remind your developers to ensure to put that in check.
Aside from the effects on potential clients, your site can rank higher on search engines based on mobile friendliness. Hence, site developers should ensure their themes are suited to meet every mobile device user’s interest.
Search Engine Optimisation Check
Optimisation is critical to the growth of any website that requires organic traffic. This is why an optimised layout will align with the core values of any business and be designed to compare with top-ranking sites.
For a better way of optimisation, the theme has to be friendly with SEO practices, and its code should be clean and compatible with plugins. There should be room for creators to customise their tags, SEO elements, and headers.
Other forms of customisations could range from colour schemes to typography, font, layout, and others. It is worth noting that for new websites, there are free themes to try out without being on the edge of cost at the initial stage.
Consider Security
Learning about the security of your theme designs is a principal thing to consider when choosing one. For one, the uniqueness of a brand can be ruined when themes are shared and unprotected by copyright laws.
As time goes on, each theme used will have updates, and regulations are needed to avoid security vulnerabilities or bypass them. Premium themes stand out in this security category, and they offer better features.
It is also recommended that reviews of every developer are assessed for context, read, and understood before hiring or using their products. The truth is that the security of websites is what every developer ensures to keep, and the themes are a significant player to maintain.
Look at Browser Compatibility
The maintenance of a united front on all browsing sites is what it means for a theme to appear uniformly across different web browsers. These browsers are Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Google Chrome, and interface matters from platform to platform.
There are reasons why browser compatibility is a necessary tip, but a major one is how impending issues can be avoided due to design misinterpretation. Hence, every theme likely to be used must be tested for cross-browser compatibility.
Themes should also find a way to verify its compatibility with all necessary plugins. For example, some sites may mean to operate with social media plugins, and others without.
Prioritise Load Time
Websites with quicker load times are preferred to those with slower load times, and the reason is apparent. Customers, no matter how patient, do not want to wait all day for a site to load for their needs to be met. So, while we are clear on this, it is essential to know that themes also influence the loading speed of a website.
In that case, it is essential to prioritise choosing a theme optimised for speed. The end game is how high your site performs in terms of speed, and if your theme is not contributing to this factor, then the design has to be readjusted. For better judgement, there are tools one can use to analyse the theme’s effect on loading speed. One such is Google PageSpeed Insights.
Conclusion
Themes are comparable to the painting that makes a house beautiful. However, in this case, it doesn’t only affect the beauty of the website. It determines what kind of website it is, as well as its overall functionality. Ultimately, your site’s theme has a massive role in your brand’s identity.
Also, your target audience is attracted, mobile compatibility is ascertained, and the speed of load time and optimisation level are determined. Going by the importance of themes, it is crucial to consider several factors before choosing one, and we have provided you with some essential pointers for making the right call here. We hope you find them helpful.