WordPress Themes-How To Choose Your Theme
Hello WA Family
It is the weekend. Are you working or doing something fun? As for me, working online is fun. Another difficult decision for new members is choosing a WordPress theme, so that is what I am going to attempt to help you with.
Website Goals
Before you even start shopping for a theme, you need to consider what is the purpose of your website. Is it a blog, portfolio, online store, business website, or something else?
- Does your brand have a specific style or color palette?
- What type of content will you be featuring on your website?
- It is important to consider your niche when choosing your theme.
Now, let us think about the functioning of our website. This is another important consideration before installing any WordPress theme.
Website Function
When I started my first website I often would jump from theme to theme until I found the one that worked the best.
This is time-consuming and can be frustrating. Planning what you want to use your WordPress for is important as well.
Let us say you want to create a community for your target audience. you will want to choose a theme that is for a community for the best results.
- Make sure the theme you choose can support the plugins you need. All themes are not created equally. If you want to create a community think about what you want to include for your target audience.
- Choose a lightweight theme that loads quickly and has optimal SEO is a great choice for a blog website.
- Do you want a flexible theme with extensive customization options?
- Ensure the theme is responsive and adapts to desktop, mobile, and tablets for optimal viewing on all devices.
- Look for themes that are WCAG-compliant if you happen to be someone with disabilities.
- Does the theme developer offer ongoing support and updates?
- Look for other users' experiences with the theme, both positive and negative.
- Test possible themes using live demos or preview capabilities before you install them.
- Are you in need of a free theme or a paid theme?
I know this still might be clear as mud to many of you, but carefully planning your website using the information above can save you time and frustration.
Community Themes
I choose a theme for my website primarily for communities. You see my ultimate goal one day is to create a place for my target audience to hang out and engage. Below are some that I considered when I started my website.
Buddy Boss
- Best for all-around community features, and online learning platforms.
- BuddyBoss is a powerhouse when it comes to community building.
- It seamlessly integrates with BuddyPress and bbPress plugins, offering features like member profiles, groups, forums, activity feeds, and even online courses.
- Its flexibility allows you to create anything from social networks and dating sites to niche communities and learning platforms.
Buddy Boss is the theme that I am using because it was created to build a community website. Even if I never add everything mentioned above. It is the best choice for me.
Woffice
- Best for organization communities, and project management.
- Woffice is perfect for building communities within organizations
- It features project and task management tools
- A CRM system, a job dashboard, and more.
- This makes it ideal for companies, teams, or non-profit organizations
Vikinger
- Best for diverse community types, eCommerce integration.
- Vikinger offers a vast library of pre-designed templates for various community types
- Versatile and adaptable.
- It's fully compatible with BuddyPress and WooCommerce
- Easily integrate forums, user profiles, and even an online store
Most of you new members more likely don't need one of these themes, but if you think you might like to create a community these are good ones to install.
Blogging
The majority of you might be interested in a simple theme for blogging instead. There are many more than I am mentioning here to choose from.
Generate Press
- Best for minimalism, performance, and mobile-friendliness.
- GeneratePress prioritizes clean lines and elegant simplicity.
- This theme is ideal for bloggers who value content over bells and whistles.
- Its lightning-fast speed and mobile-responsive design ensure your readers have a smooth experience, no matter their device.
- GeneratePress is like a well-tailored suit, sharp and professional, letting your writing take center stage.
GeneratePress is recommended for beginners interested in simplicity, yet speed and lightweight.
Astra
- Best for versatility, customization, and speed.
- Astra is a lightweight champion, boasting blazing-fast loading times and SEO-friendliness.
- Its modular approach allows you to build your blog exactly how you envision it
- Tons of pre-built layouts, starter sites, and header options.
- Whether you're a travel blogger showcasing stunning landscapes or a tech guru, Astra is recommended as one of your better choices.
Another good theme for beginners to consider. This is a little more complex than GeneratePress, if you prefer more design options this might be the theme of your choice.
Ocean WP
- Best for feature-rich and endlessly customizable.
- OceanWP is a feature powerhouse
- Offering free extensions for eCommerce, social media integration, and Elementor page building.
- This theme is a blank canvas ready to be splashed with your creative colors.
- It's perfect for bloggers who want to experiment, build complex layouts, and add unique functionalities to their sites.
Powerful theme for bloggers no matter what your niche might be. Many more options than the others. This one might be a little complex for beginners.
Professional Business Themes
These are for anyone who wants to impress their visitors with a professional business website.
Sydney Pro
- Best for modern businesses, clean layouts, and ease of use.
- Sydney Pro is a modern marvel, boasting a clean aesthetic and intuitive interface.
- This theme is perfect for showcasing your work portfolio, highlighting testimonials, and establishing trust with potential clients.
- Its pre-built demos cater to various industries and its drag-and-drop page builder
For a modern business that will impress this is highly recommended. The drag-and-drop feature is beginner-friendly. With the ability to add a professional portfolio, this can be a great theme for the professional.
Divi
Another theme for the professional business is Divi. Let us see what this one offers you compared to Sydney Pro.
- Best for creative businesses, visual impact, and branding control.
- If you want your website to be a visual masterpiece, Divi is your answer.
- Its drag-and-drop builder empowers you to design stunning layouts
- integrate captivating visuals, and craft a website that truly reflects your brand identity.
- Divi is ideal for creative agencies, design studios, or any business that wants to make a memorable first impression.
Sounds like Divi is another good theme choice for a professional business website. Considering what you want to add to your website can help you make the best choice. Also, the drag-and-drop feature makes designing quicker and easier.
Bridge
- Best for: Multi-purpose businesses, diverse projects, and feature-richness.
- The bridge is a jack-of-all-trades, offering over 600 demos catered to various industries and business types
- Whether you're a consulting firm, a restaurant, or a freelancer, Bridge has a pre-built layout to get you started quickly.
- It also comes packed with premium plugins, like sliders and page builders Think of Bridge as your one-stop shop for a feature-rich business website.
Think of Bridge as your one-stop shop for a feature-rich business website. The more bells and whistles often means more time in designing. For beginners, I suggest you go with a simple theme for your first website.
Online Store Themes
The last group of themes will be for those of you interested in an online store. You will be doing yourself a favor by choosing a theme made especially for adding an online store to your website.
WooCommerce Storefront
I have used this theme for my online stores. Very easy to set up with the wizard. You can sell just about anything you desire with this theme. Affiliate products, digital products, and even dropshipping if you desire to.
- Best for simplicity, speed, and seamless WooCommerce integration.
- A clean, no-frills theme that puts the focus on your products,
- Developed by the WooCommerce team itself, this theme prioritizes performance and seamless integration with the plugin
- Ensuring a smooth shopping experience for your customers.
- Think of Storefront as a blank canvas optimized for showcasing your products in a straightforward and user-friendly manner.
Beginner-friendly is why I love this theme. Easy to add your products no matter if they are affiliate products, digital, or physical dropshipping products. Adding images is super easy as well.
Shopkeeper
- Best for minimalism, elegance, and curated collections.
- This theme prioritizes clean lines, spacious layouts, and high-quality visuals
- Ideal for brands with curated collections
- Shopkeeper lets your products do the talking
Porto
- Best for versatility, extensive features, and diverse product ranges.
- Porto is a powerhouse, offering over 500 pre-built demos for a variety of industries
- Its extensive list of features includes product quick views, wishlist and cart functionalities, and even an integrated blog section.
- Porto is like a well-stocked department store, catering to a wide range of products
You have some things to consider before choosing your theme. I also took the time to include some themes for a variety of purposes.
Themes You Like
Members with some themes that they like can share them in the comments. By you doing this you are helping new members. Recommended themes are not always the best choice for everyone. Nothing is better than hearing from someone who has used a theme and how it worked for them.
Jeff
Recent Comments
114
Thanks for this post Jeff, from your descriptions, I am looking at switching from Geratate Press to Astra. I would like more layout options and design capability but still want speed and good SEO. Now I need to find the time to make the switch. Not sure how complex it will be. I will be looking into it this week to see if I am ready for this change.
Great Post,
Linda
Hello Linda
You can install Astra by going to plugins and typing in Astra in the search box. Once you install it you then can activate it whenever you have the time.
When you do activate it all your content and pages will automatically be on your new theme.
Then you can work on the design and layout options, it is not as complex as it might seem
Let me know how it works for you
Jeff
Linda, I will tell you from experience changing a theme is not a big deal until it is...I prefer testing before making a change like this sitewide. I have had my site disappear after changing themes. I have used other plugins that do not play nicely with some themes.
Fortunately, the support at WA is excellent, and backups are taken daily. I have heard that as a Premium Plus member, you can have Site Support set up a staging area. I did this myself in a SiteRubix subdomain called my Sandbox for testing plugins and themes.
Good luck, and proceed with some caution.
Regards, Matt
Linda, Astra is a good theme. I have used it before. I found speed issues with Astra. Kadence offers better speed since it minimizes the JavaScript and CSS codes. That's been my experience. Ultimately, it is up to you. The only way you will know if you like the theme is to play with it. Just as Matt says, contact SiteSupport to get a staging site; that site is SiteRubrix. It leaves your site intact while you work on a new one. You will not lose anything. When you are done with it then use the move feature from SiteRubrix back to your domain name. SiteSupport can give you another staging site to play with. I have had four or five themes that I tested out before I found the one I liked. That is Kadence and GeneratePress Premium.
Awesome Matt
WA support has saved many members' websites, that is a fact.
You have just taught me a lesson on a staging area to test themes, I thank you for sharing this with us
Jeff
Hello Linda
I have never lost anything myself by installing and activating many themes over the years.
Some members share that it is possible, but it has never been a problem for me.
Jeff
No worries, Jeff. I have been in IT for more than 20 years, and I wholeheartedly believe in testing, redundancy, and backups to backups.
(Also, never schedule meetings, implementations, roll-outs, or upgrades on Mondays or Fridays...everything goes to crap on Mondays and Fridays. 😉😉
Thank you Brenda
I appreciate you helping Linda with a staging site. Even I didn't know about this before now
Jeff
Thanks for this advice. I have worked with Wix for years even though I went back to school and took 2 years of Web Development, learning HTML, WordPress, and other tools. But in the end, most of my small biz clients wanted more capability to make their changes, etc. Wix offers a very user-friendly atmosphere they can learn easily and only call me (and pay me) when they need something big. So I could easily use Wix to create a new site for someone with a new theme, look, and feel without touching the old one until we were ready. Then just transfer their domain name to the new one.
I avoided WordPress for years for that and a few other reasons. Then when I joined WA I began to use and relearn so much of what I had learned with WordPress before. I like it much better now and see the value of how it handles SEO and a few other things. Knowing I can get a staging site with WA SiteSupport is super. I will use this when I am ready. But I have a lot to learn and not sure I want to spend my time transferring my site to a new theme until I have my affiliate networks figured out and am seeing followers and people are signing up on my site to receive my notifications. And Dollar 1 has come in as well.
I love this business and have fun with it and am so very grateful for the community and all the help. Looking forward to a time when I can support others as well.
Thanks again,
Linda
PS
I will eventually transfer my consulting site to WordPress through WA too. So much to do so little time...
Hi Linda, this is good to know. Yes, I know the feeling about having so much to do and so little time. I felt that way many times. Sometimes, I feel like I get further behind when people are ahead of me. I must learn to stop doing that and focus on the task at hand. Just do what you can do when you are ready.
Hi Jeff,
I enjoyed reading this post. It's full of great information. Thanks for providing significant insights into choosing WordPress themes and e-commerce Woocommerce WordPress themes. I did hear about Shopkeeper. That is the one I am familiar with.
I want to add something you should have mentioned, which is the Kadence theme. Kadence is another ultra-fast, lightweight SEO WordPress theme similar to Astra. They offer Starter Templates, and they have free starter templates to use, just like the Astra theme.
I use Kadence on one site. GeneratePress Premium on another site. I like both. Speed-wise, Kadence offers a better deal.
Another good one is the Schema Lite theme from MyThemeShop. I used that one long ago when I first set up my website. However, due to too many changes with WordPress over the years, that theme is not popular anymore.
A brand new theme for "affiliate marketing" related to Amazon or another niche in "affiliate marketing." is the Popcorn theme. It's expensive, though it costs $99 per year. With a coupon, about 79 dollars per year. This great blogging theme is very product-focused with "Amazon."
Thanks for sharing the different WordPress themes! 😀👍
Awesome Brenda
I do appreciate you mentioning Kadence, GeneratePress, and Schema for other members to consider. That is what I like about this community. We learn so much from one another
Jeff
Hello Brenda
I just want to mention I have learned very much from reading your posts and other members' posts.
Jeff
Aw, Jeff, that's so sweet. Thank you. Yes, all of us! 😀. That is why I never left for 5 years. The other Jeff knows this. I remember when I joined five years ago in 2019, I was close to giving up, but the other Jeff, the army guy, kept urging me to stay, so I did. The reason was that the training was not closed or captioned at the time. I am Deaf and I can't hear. I depended on other members to help me with the training, especially with Jay's Friday night classes. Kyle promised me that the WA platform was working towards enabling the closed captioning features, which I finally did a couple of years ago. I became a Plus member so I could catch up on the training. I sure did catch up. I am thankful for staying here!
That is awesome Brenda
I am happy you were able to overcome your disability to succeed. Jeff the writer has become a good friend of mine too.
I am so happy that you didn't throw in the towel
Jeff
Being I have some disabilities as well I understand how valuable closed captions are for you.
My mom has hearing problems as well. If it was not for the captions on her TV she would be lost.
So many members here have disabilities, yet they are succeeding thanks to this community and its members
Jeff
You're very welcome, Jeff! Keep up the Great work! I have been out in the snow working my locksmith magic right now!
Jeff
I hope it is not too cold outdoors there today. I prefer Columbia jackets and coats since they are not bulky.
Great you got some locksmith work today
Jeff
I believe you about the weather Jeff
There is an alert on my phone for where I live weather advisory for this weekend and all next week.
I guess winter is here
Jeff
Yes Jeff
I must admit our weather has been very mild until this week, let us hope for a short winter and early spring
Jeff
It's in Florida, too. Very windy on a 74 deg day, but going back down to upper 30s at nit again, so still have to cover some of my palms, etc.
we just uncovered all vulnerable plants yesterday which were covered for almost a week. i have a ton of ferns that keep growing farther out. had to get more ground/plant covers to for them!
We are having a whiteout as I write this to you, Jeff
Luckily I got to the store and back before it hit. We have not had hardly any snow in the past 5 years. This will be a test for many if they remember how to drive on snow-covered roads
Jeff
Wow Teri
People here in Pennsylvania never imagined those in Florida would have to go to so much work to save their plants.
Very cold and snowing here today. Maybe you would want to come see the beautiful scenery.
If you do, wear your long underwear
Jeff
Wow, Jeff! Stay safe, my friend! We have more coming too!
I know your mother has not been doing well, but is she still alright?
Jeff 🙏
Thank you Jeff
My mom is doing better than she was. Still not able to go out of her apartment yet but hopefully with more time she will.
Coming down now here. They are calling for snow steady for about one week with 3 storms back to back
Jeff
Thanks for the update, Jeff! We will be getting hit in the next few days, but it sounds like your storms are much worse!
Hang in there, and stay safe, my friend!
Jeff 🥶🙏
Thank you Jeff
Hopefully, it will not be as severe as they are predicting. Just have to go with the flow.
Jeff
The first snowstorm of the year was not too severe. We only received 3 inches and the temps are not severely cold.
The second storm is to hit us on Sunday and Monday. This one is supposed to be the worst of the three.
Winter is here
Jeff
Same here, Jeff! Ours is coming again very soon too!
Winter is definitely settled in right now!
Jeff
I hope the next storm is kind to you there. No plans on going out for the next few days anyway.
Say Hi to Kitty
Jeff
I have no plans on leaving except for one small errand ahead of more coming snow. After that, I will remain inside as much as possible, Jeff!
Take care and stay warm!
Jeff
I am happy to hear you won't be out and about too much before the next storm hits you.
Keep me posted on how the weather is there for you
Jeff
I only have one small errand, and then I will remain indoors for the next couple of days if the weather takes a turn for the worse, which has been forecast for use!
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
I have used Schema and found it a very good theme.
I had another called Socially Viral I was using for a travel site I had. It was great for displaying lots of images.
Michael.
Thank you for sharing, Mick
By sharing Schema and Socially Viral you are helping members with possible themes to use for their websites
Jeff
See more comments
Hello Jeff
Thank you for this great blog post. I like Astra and I use it on my main business website. I also like Blocksy and I use it on one of my other websites. It's also a great theme that is fast and simple to use.
Astra and Blocksy are the 2 best themes i recommend for beginners or anyone looking for a great WordPress theme. I also don't mind generate press as I use it one one of my other websites as well but I like Astra and Blocksy a lot better.
Thank you again for this great blog post. I have bookmarked it for future reference. I wish you all the best for your blogging journey in 2024. All the best best to your success.
Regards
Timothy
Thank you for sharing, Timothy
Experienced members such as yourself are priceless for beginners to learn from.
Take care
Jeff
Following you Timothy. Thanks for your comments.
Hello Jeff
You're welcome and thank you for your kind words. You take care to. All the best to your success.
Regards
Timothy
Hello Linda
You're welcome and thank you for following me. I'm now following you to. All the best to your success.
Regards
Timothy
Thank you Timothy
I appreciate you helping Linda
Jeff
Enjoy your day, Linda
Jeff
Hello Timothy
I have learned so much from reading your posts
Jeff
Hello Jeff
You're welcome and thank you for your kind words. All the best to your success.
Regards
Timothy