Simple Wordpress Themes Are Best
From time to time I get a request asking which theme is "best". Well, there is no "best", but I always leave them with a recommendation to find a theme that is very simple.
- White background
- Black text
- Simple menus and sidebars
- No fancy homepage setup
There are literally thousands of themes that you can choose from, and hundreds that look almost just like these below, but with small color and menu tweaks. These are just the first ones that popped up in the feed that caught my eye, and a few I researched.
If you are frustrated that your theme has too many moving parts or things you don't know how to customize, maybe one of these is for you. BTW, Leo made a great beginner's tutorial on Wordpress themes.
Update 2020
I used to have a list of free and simple WordPress themes you could install on your website, but the list was too small to showcase all the good ones you could choose from AND themes kept going out of date.
A theme which has not been updated for many years can be a security issue for your website, so rather than get you in trouble by having you install an old theme, I'll just have to stick with general advice on this page!
Simple WordPress Theme Advice:
1. Blog roll for your home page
2. Single side bar (right-align)
3. Small header image (or none)
- large images look nice, but can take too long to load and push content futher down the page
4. Simple menu setup
5. NO IMAGE SLIDERS
- uses website resources
- usually annoying
- does not contribute to clicks
Simple But Versatile Recommended Theme
These days, I know that many Wealthy Affiliate members, including some of the coaches are using a theme called GeneratePress. I like GeneratePress as well, because:
- it's free
- it's fast
- it's got a simple design
- there are some advanced features to explore (not required)
- there's a pro version you can upgrade to later (not required)
- commonly used so lots of tutorials on custumization options
So it's the best of both worlds IMO. Lots of customization options, but you don't necessarily need to use them.
This is Why I Love the GeneratePress WordPress Theme
How to Change Your Website Theme in Wordpress
Recent Comments
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Hi Nathaniell, Twenty Fifteen is fabulous!nI like it very much, especially the one with a left rather sidebar because majority of us read from left to right.
I am going to check some of these out. I know they say not to keep changing themes, but sometimes certain themes just do not work with what you are trying to accomplish. Some themes may look nice, but have a lot of different options you don't need, while others lack what you are looking for. Thanks for the help
My thisiskidsart theme Anjirai is super simple too, I wouldnot advice Custom Community to a starter though
Great list - there are so many to choose from the one I recommend is called BlogOLife - it's a great clean theme has the WPlook Studio by wplook.com
Features are:
Full HTML5 and CSS3
Drop-down Menu
Custom Widgets
Multiple Color Schemes
Post Format
SEO Options Section
Internationalized & localization
It has the option to upgrade to the pro version -But many find there is no need to upgrade.
I chose the theme HIERO, and seems like a lot of WA members also uses the same theme. I don't mind much though because I have my own logo and cover heading to separate my brand from others.
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Thanks. I like these